Title: Blank
Rating: M
Warning: swearing, violence, death, blood.
Pairing: Laxus x Lucy
Disclaimer:I don't own Fairy Tail
Summary:
A/N:I'm so sorry I haven't written in so long! I hope you enjoy this one!
My name is... well, actually, I'm not quite sure. No one has ever called me by a name. There's no record of my birth. I'm just 'that blonde girl', or 'the nameless one'. I've never known who my parents were. what about where I grew up? Nobody cared. They never spared me a second thought. I'm just kind of...there. I exist, but I have no identity. I'm a nobody, with not even a letter to my name. you see, I think that even the planet, the very earth beneath my feet, has rejected me, turning all the other inhabitants against me, just to make my life utter misery; if there was a record of my life, that is.
Then again, it could just be my over active imagination. I mean, when no one knows you exist, and you don't even have a name to go by, what else is there to do but live your life within your own mind? I lost touch with reality a while ago. Hell, I don't even remember the last time I slept In a bed-it's pretty difficult to own or rent a house without a name. And, to be honest, spending money on a hotel room every day is pretty ridiculous and expensive.
It's not only my living conditions this has affected though. I mean, who wants to be friends with someone who has no idea who they are? I never really explored my personality as a child, either, see. What was the point? And so, here I am, homeless, nameless, with no personality and what felt like the contents of a full, scalding hot take-out coffee cup being poured over my head. Just fantastic.
Picking up a bit of my previously, reasonably clean bleach blonde hair, I cringed as I felt the crusty, now sandy brown mess that it had become. It's like no one even acknowledges my existence. It's not like I can stand up to them either, shout that 'I am here' at them. Because, really...who am I?
Sighing, I let a dormant shiver take over- winter was coming, and I had no place to stay any more. My day had just gone from the worst possible to,well, worse. And, trust me, beating a superlative is no easy feat.
Most people think I'm homeless because I'm poor and try to mindlessly drop their undesired loose change, thinking that the almost-worthless piece of metal is helping me in some way, but they really don't understand either. I'm not poor at all- in fact I'm relatively wealthy. All because I found a small piece of hope in a job that doesn't require a name, a job that lets me be who I am on paper, where I can let my imagination flow- I'm a relatively successful anonymous author. It's strange how I could see someone on the street carrying one of my novels within their arms, cradling it as if each and every thought-out page were their own child or trophy, and then blindly walk past me, slightly glowering at me as they do so.
Some ask me why I haven't just given myself a name in order to live that luxury life of an author, but they don't seem to understand. I don't want to live a life knowing that that isn't who I truly am- I don't want a fake persona, I just want to be who I am, whoever that may be.
And so, I exist, but simultaneously, I do not. I'm receiving both love and hatred from the public. They know who I am but they don't at the same time.
A strong gust of wind blew, forcing my eyelids to squeeze shut and elicited another shiver. Suddenly, I felt something warm wrap around my frame, and then I was floating, rising higher and higher, until I felt whatever had picked me up reach an equilibrium between my weight and theirs. I let out a small squeak, which was promptly met by a short, affirmative grunt. And then we were moving.
I didn't struggle against them- I could tell that the intentions weren't hostile. However, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes; after all, this was the first time I had felt so warm and content. It was perfect. Until we came to a sudden halt.
As always, nothing can ever be perfect, not for a second. In fact, this was the worst thing I had ever seen after first opening my eyes. It lay there, it's expression solemn,eyes full of pain, practically begging for me to help, although it was clearly too late. As the life seeped out of it, and the spot on the pavement at which I once sat began to fill with that liquid vermilion that our very existence depends on, a choked cry for help tried to escape but was never heard. The voice that should have spoke, the face that should still be smiling, ceased to exist within a few seconds. It's strange how something that has lived and grown for so long can just fade away, robbed of anything and everything. The ashen countenance was motionless, broken and unfixable like some kind of discarded toy. And that's all they were, really. The killer's plaything. A scream made itself at home at the back of my throat, not daring to come out as I was slowly placed back down on to the ground.
"Stay behind me." I heard him say, but I never saw his lips move.
Seeing the crazed look on the other's face and the death-causing blade that dripped with the corpses hopes and dreams in a vibrant crimson, I did what he told me, pulling the coat that he draped across me tighter as I stood. The man chuckled, knife spinning around in his hand.
"Don't worry, I never strike twice in one day, I might get too excited. Although, you two may be an exception." His smirk slowly became maniacal laughter as he gave us another nonchalant glance before walking away, leaving the body to rot.
"Dammit!" The man with the Lightning-shaped scar over his right eye cursed, before turning to me. "Guess you'll be staying with me, Blondie. He definitely knows your face now."
He sighed, and paused to take out his cell, dialling a number and recounting the events.
"Let's go." He said, hanging up.
"W-we're just leaving her there?" I questioned, looking at the body.
"Coroner is coming to get her pretty soon. There's no need to wait."
"B-but-"
"Let's go." He repeated, grasping my hand and pulling me down a side-road. "Name's Laxus. I guess you could say I work in a kind of criminal prevention agency."
"Like, the police?"
"Not exactly. But anyway, that guy is a serial killer. Targets blondes, reason unknown. Latest victim was Jenny Realight. Previous victims: Shou and...Mavis Vermillion." He faltered for a second. "Potential next victims; Sting Eucliffe, Laxus Dreyar, and...you."
"M-me?" I asked, looking up at him, only to find him nodding sadly in reply. "S-so what do we do?"
"Nothing." He stated, sighing.
"Huh?"
"Not my case. All we can do is wait. I'm taking it you have no house, judging by where I picked you up from. You live with me for now, got it?"
"O-okay." I said, still a little shaken.
"What's your name? There's no record of it in the system back at the office. All we know is that 'Crow' is targeting you. He had a picture of you on him after he killed Shou."
"Of me?! I-I don't have a name. I never knew it. Mother apparently died when I was young- too young to remember, and father... I don't know who he is. Or was. I know nothing about him. I'm a nobody. Wh-why would someone like him want t-to kill me?"I shuddered at the thought.
"Hmm. No name, huh? Okay, I guess I'll refer to you as 'Blondie' until I figure it out." He said, patting my head.
"You mean?!"
"I have nothing better to do. But first, lunch?"
"Sure!" I replied a little too enthusiastically. It's not every day that someone is actually willing to help. My excitement was cut short by the ringing of a cell phone, causing me to reach into my pocket- not mine.
"You haven't got a house, but you have a cell?" Laxus asked, chuckling slightly as he answered the call.
"In case my editor calls." I stated, crossing my arms and fake sulking.
"Editor?"
"I'm an author. An anonymous one, 'cause well, name issues, but an author none the less."
"Hmm." Was the reply, as he turned to his phone conversation. "Seriously? Right now? Fine, fine, but there better be two sandwiches on my desk by the time I get there. And two colas. I think. Hold on- oi, Blondie, cola okay?" I gave him a nod. "Yep, two colas. Well, I'm not gonna just leave her here, am I? Shut up, just get the food, would ya? Or do I have to give you all the paperwork I don't want to do? Thought so." And he hung up, pocketing his phone once more. "Seems we're eating at the office, they said they need me for something."
"Okay." I replied, the smile from before still plastered on my face.
I understood what Laxus meant earlier about how it 'wasn't exactly' like the police. They sure operated like a police force, or at least it sounded like they did, but the 'office' as Laxus calls it? Not exactly precinct material. It was an old run down bar, complete with barmaids and customers. The look on my face must've said it all, because Laxus felt the need to lean down and whisper in my ear.
"Undercover. Everyone here is like me. This is our 'office'. We have other departments too, but this is our one, named 'FairyTail'." I suppressed a giggle at the name, causing him to add "not nearly as bad as the 'Blue Pegasus' department."
We walked in, Laxus ordered a beer and led me to a table, which had two sandwiches laying on it. I suppose that this table is his 'desk'. He tossed one over to me and I gratefully began to eat, whilst a silver haired girl came over with Laxus' beer on a tray, files underneath it.
"Thanks, Mira." He grunted, effectively dismissing her. We ate in silence. At least, until a particularly noisy pink haired officer- I'm guessing he was an officer- waltzed in.
"LUCE!" He yelled, staring directly at me. Not knowing how to react, I simply turned away slightly in my seat, so I was looking at Laxus. This apparently didn't work, as I heard footsteps coming closer until they came to a halt behind me. "Lucy." He said, tapping me on the shoulder. I turned to see a grin the length of his face. "It's been forever, Luce!" Was all he said before enveloping me in a bone-crushing hug.
"U-um, and you are?" I asked, trying not to be offensive.
"You don't remember?" He asked, pulling back from the hug so that he could see my face, hands still gripping my shoulders. "Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. You used to live next door and we played all the time! Until your dad sent you away because your mum..." He trailed off. My eyes widened. This guy, with salmon pink hair, knew. He knew the things I didn't. He knew what happened before the orphanage. My dad. My mum. He knew what they looked like. He remembered.
"She doesn't remember." Laxus cut in for me before my brain overloaded. "She's never known her name. She doesn't remember her parents. So how come you do? Her name isn't on the system. 'Crow' had her picture, so we tried finding out who she was when you were on the Galuna case."
"Doesn't remember her name? How could she forget?! I yelled it enough when we were little." He chuckled at the memory. "Lucy, Lucy Heartfillia. It makes sense that she's not on the system. Jude was always the overprotective type."
"L-lu-cy...Lucy..." I began testing it out. It was a little strange but it felt right, like it fit.
"It worries me that the creep had her photo though." Natsu stated, looking at Laxus, who just nodded in agreement. "She can stay with me for the mean time then!" He proclaimed, practically dancing around.
"No." Laxus began."Your house is a mess. Your cat is...strangely blue. She's staying with me, rookie, suck it up."
"Happy?" I questioned under my breath.
"SHE REMEMBERED SOMETHING. LUCE DO YOU REMEMBER ME YET, HUH, LUCE? I CLIMBED THROUGH YOUR WINDOW ALL THE TIME, REMEMBER?"
"Uh, no" I chuckled slightly, embarrassed by the attention.
"But you know my cat's name!" He exclaimed.
"I do?"
"Happy! You just said it, right?"
"I-I guess I did... I don't know, it just felt like I...knew. But I don't remember anything else."
This caused the pink haired man to leave Laxus' 'desk' and go to sulk and whimper at the bar, complaining to the barmaid, who I guess would be the 'secretary' in this place.
I stared. How was it possible for my life to flip upside down within a day? Earlier it was the worst day possible- and that was before I witnessed a murder- but now...now I know my name. The one thing I had been searching for my entire life. However, now that I knew it, I found myself feeling strangely...empty. Finding my name was my purpose, my one goal in life, and that part of me, that ambition has disappeared in almost no time at all and to be completely honest, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that.
"Blondie." The deep voice pulled me from my thoughts. "You're staring. And your sandwich is getting cold."
"Huh? Oh, yeah." I replied, going back to staring. A sharp jab in my side brought me back to reality again. "Huh?"
"You weren't listening." Laxus stated simply. "I said your sandwich was getting cold. Sandwiches don't get cold, stupid."
"Oh. Sorry. It's just a lot to take in." I sighed and bit into the bread, but it was tasteless compared to the first bite.
I could see the concern that Laxus was trying to hide from his face out of the corner of my eye.
"I'll show you where you're staying for a while, eh?"
"Sure." I said and got up from my chair a little too quickly as the legs screeched across the floor before it forcibly hit the glossy wooden planks- little did I know that I was soon to be following in it's footsteps.
We left the bar and began walking in the complete opposite direction- it was safe to say that he lived a fair distance. The walk was relatively silent, Laxus giving me time to process everything. That was, until a noise as unbearable as nails scratching a chalkboard resonated throughout the streets. The next thing I knew, my head was throbbing with what I thought was the worse migraine I had experienced, and then I was falling, my face becoming dangerously close to the paved street. I could see him, but I couldn't hear him. He seemed to be yelling at me, calling my name as he got closer, but he never reached me. As the stone grated against my face like industrial sandpaper and blood matted my hair, my eyes slipped shut and I was consumed by the darkness.
LALU
"The hell do you think you were doing, Freed?"
"I-I-" a throat was cleared. "You never order sandwiches for just anyone, and I was concer-"
"YOU KNOCKED HER OUT." A familiar voice barked. "WITH A ROCK."
"I just meant to throw an eraser at her and I reached into my pocket and picked up the wrong thing, Laxus, I'm so sorr-"
"WHY ON EARTH WAS A ROCK IN YOUR POCKET IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
"Self defence?" The second voice questioned, not really believing himself.
"YOU HAVE A GUN ON YOU AT ALL TIMES. IN WHAT SITUATION WOULD A ROCK BE BETTER DEFENCE?"I couldn't stifle the chuckle that bubbled, and I choked.
"Lucy." I heard Laxus' voice and relaxed. I was safe. For now, anyway. My eyes shot open and I squinted at the sudden change in light.
"I'm sorry." A man with long green hair spoke softly. "This... This is all my fault. I'm Laxus' partner at work, and well, I threw a rock at you. I'm sorry. Please accept my apologies." He said, extending his arm towards me, a small piece of paper in his hand. I took it sceptically.
"No." Laxus stated, taking the paper from me. "A goddamn pizza coupon doesn't make up for this Freed."
"But everyone wants pizza coupons!"
"For free, maybe. For getting knocked out with a rock, it doesn't even begin to add up!"
"S-so what do I give her? 3 pizza coupons?"
"NO AMOUNT OF PIZZA COUPONS IS GOING TO MAKE UP FOR THIS FREED!"
I broke out into a smile, and pretty soon I was laughing as loud as I could manage. I never thought that the first time I'd see Laxus angry would be because of pizza coupons. Said man sighed in defeat.
"At least she's happy." He mumbled under his breath before chuckling, finally seeing the funny side, although Freed was still trying to work out how many coupons he owed.
Sitting up, I coughed a little again before taking in my surroundings. I was in a room that I didn't recognise, but it strangely felt like I belonged. My nails scratched along the silky haven that I appeared to be sitting on.
"How long was I out?"
"About an hour."
"Ah. That explains why I'm hungry then." I chuckled, the happiness scratching my throat a little.
"I'll be right back! Don't move!" Freed yelled before darting out of the room.
"Uh..."
"Don't ask. I don't understand him half of the time either. That's why I usually go solo on cases and send him to work on Ever and Bixslow's case with them. He's too strange to deal with. He's super submissive as well; he'll do anything I say, without question. One time I walked in on him shining my shoes for me. Who even does that?!" Another laugh erupted from my core, making my ribs start to hurt. Freed sure was strange.
It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door and a familiar smell wafted into the room.
"I'm back!" The green-haired man announced proudly, three square boxes piled up on top of his left hand.
"That better not be..." Laxus began, obviously unimpressed.
"Of course it is! I hope you guys like pepperoni!" He exclaimed happily, handing a box to each of us with a massive smile plastered onto his face. "And don't expect mushrooms, I find those revolting." He made a face resembling somebody chewing a wasp.
My ribs shook once again as a box that read 'Crime Sorciere pizza' was placed into my lap.
"Did you seriously just go to Jellal to ask for some pizza?" Laxus sighed.
"He gives me a discount!" Freed explained. "And I get to cut in line!"
As Freed rattled off the benefits of this particular pizza company, I took a bite of pepperoni and found Laxus looking at me expectantly.
"Ish goof." I said with my mouth still stuffed to it's fullest capacity. A rather blond sounding grunt was aimed at me. I swallowed. "It's good." I said again, and Freed's mouth didn't wait a second to turn up at the corners and meet acquaintance with smugness.
"I KNEW IT!" The proclamation came from across the room. And then another sigh drew from his breath.
"Crime Sorciere is another department."
"Really?" I shovelled in more of the delicious delicacy. "But the pizza's so good!"
"And they're an even better department. They aren't the best though. The best actually only has two people in it."
"WHAT?!" I choked.
"They're called 'The black dragon'. Apparently the two don't even like each other, but they're the most efficient and get through the most cases. The case that you're caught up in is in the midst of being sent to them, actually."
"Wow..." I whispered, recovering from spluttering.
"No one's even seen the members, nor do they know their names. They're that good. The case will be solved in a blink of an eye."
Suddenly, the window was torn open, revealing the knife that loved to feel the skin of blondes, clutched in the hand of a familiar face sporting the same crazed look that didn't belong.
"Found you! I can't let you get away after all." The maniac's laughter sounded almost like a twisted song of joy. "Ah, there's a spoil sport!" He exclaimed, pouting in the direction of an unsuspecting Freed, who still had half a slice of pizza stuffed into his mouth.
"Don't move." I heard Laxus whisper as I began to tremble. This guy had my photo for an unknown reason, and now here he was, clambering through the window of my temporary room, gripping a knife that had taken the lives of many people before me.
"You're the girl from the missing poster." He laughed. "Too bad daddy's never going to find you!"
Instantaneously, a violent bullet leaped through the air, making a home in the insane man's skull, small chips of bone and splatters of crimson lining the walls that Laxus had lent me.
"FOR MAVIS!" A yell followed the bullet, most likely from the person that just saved our lives.
"Lame heroic line! And you do know that you're gonna have to go get that dry cleaned now, right Zeref?" A man with long hair stated sarcastically, pointing toward the other, who still had a gun in his hand and blood staining his clothes.
"Oh, fuck off Acnologia. That's another case to me by the way, bastard."
A prompt huff was heard.
"GUYS!" A shout caught the attention of everyone. "IF YOU ROLL A SLICE WELL ENOUGH, YOU GET A PIZZA CONE!"
"For fuck sake Freed..."
End