A/n: Welcome to my new story! It's probably a bad idea for me to be updating many stories at the same time, but I've wanted to write this idea for the longest time. This story really means a lot to me, so hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it~! Please tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you! :)

Disclaimer: FT doesn't belong to me!

"I can't do this," a petite girl with a cute bob cut repeated dejectedly as she sobbed into her hands. Her shoulders slumped as she sank deeper into the chair she was sitting in, making her appear even smaller. "Laki, I can't do it. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

Kinana was referring to an eerie threat message that had been sent to her a few days before her debut concert scheduled for later in the evening. When she had first stumbled across the blank envelope in her mailbox, she had expected it to be nothing more than a fan letter. But when it turned out to be otherwise, she had contacted her manager, a stern woman named Evergreen, who immediately called the Magnolia police. While the police had confiscated the original message as part of their ongoing investigation, what was written on it was forever burned into her mind: Sing, and you'll be sorry. Even thinking of those ominous words now made Kinana shiver.

But with her concert ticking closer and closer, and still having not received any updates from the police, Kinana had a sickening feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

Laki, a pink-haired girl who was also in the room with her, gave the other girl's shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "Stop crying, Kinana. You're going to ruin your makeup," she chided softly. This turned out to be the wrong thing to say, however, as Kinana wailed even louder.

Laki was Kinana's best friend. In high school, Kinana had been bullied because of her chubby build, and Laki had been the only one who stood up for her. The two had become fast friends, and eventually attended Magnolia's local college together. Laki had always supported Kinana in her dream to become a singer, and she wasn't going to have her give up now, not when she was so close to achieving it. She had seen how hard Kinana had worked for this moment, practicing every day and night until her voice was hoarse yet refusing to stop until the early hours of the morning. She had also worked out everyday until her figure developed.

Kinana deserved to be here, and she wasn't going to let anyone take that away from her.

"Today's your big day, Kin. You're finally going on stage for the first time. So get out there and make your fans proud," Laki reminded her, smiling at Kinana's reflection in the mirror. The twenty-two year-old singer was wearing a strapless silky pale green dress, which brought out the shine in her emerald eyes and matched her fair skin tone perfectly. The gown, adorned with sequins that sparkled under the light, flowed out in waves, and accentuated her curves in all the right places.

Kinana was simply beautiful.

The girl in question nodded, hastily wiping tears out of her eyes. She reached for a tissue from the makeup counter and blew her nose in a very unladylike fashion, making Laki chuckle at how endearing her friend could be. "I know. Thank you, Laki. I just wish...I just wish that there was something I could do," she said helplessly, letting out a frustrated sigh. The police had offered to protect her, but that wasn't what she wanted. Kinana hated not being able to do anything while her friends and family could be in danger because of her.

But she knew Laki was right – Laki, being the calm and collected one, was always right in these kinds of situations - and that the only thing she could do would be to keep her promise to her fans. If they saw the state she was in now...

Kinana shook her head, then stood up and smoothed out her dress. She had been cramped up in her dressing room all day, and the small space was really getting to her. It would be good for her to go out for a little while. "I'm going out for a walk. I won't be long," she informed Laki, stretching her arms.

Laki blinked with concern. "Will you be okay by yourself? Whoever sent that message could be out there..." she trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.

Kinana hesitated, knowing that Laki did have a point. But she had been surrounded by bodyguards all day - courtesy of a Mr. Dragneel - and she wanted time to gather her thoughts before her concert. She couldn't afford to mess up, not when she had practiced so hard and her friends had given her so much support. "I'll be fine," she insisted firmly. A tiny part of her wished that if she didn't think about the threat, it wouldn't come true. She quickly shook her head again. "I'll ask Mr. Dragneel to wait nearby, so I can give him a call if I need anything."

"Alright, but be careful," Laki agreed, jumping into her overly protective best friend mode. The two of them were both the only child of their family, and so they had developed a close, sisterly bond over the years. "I'll wait for you here."

Kinana grabbed her purse and waved to Laki before she opened the door to her dressing room and stepped out into the corridor. Sure enough, Natsu, a member of the Magnolia police, was waiting outside dutifully, pacing back and forth and humming to himself. Kinana bushed slightly when she recognized that he was singing the tune of one of her own songs. "Mr. Dragneel," she bowed her head to him politely.

"Hey," he said cheerfully to her, scratching his head. "Where are you off to? And I told you to call me Natsu. Oh hey, that rhymes!" he laughed out loud at his own joke, making Kinana feel a little better already thanks to his cheery tone.

"I'm going out for a walk," she explained, unable to hide her smile. "It's fine if you stay. I won't be long."

"But Makarov said I shouldn't let you out of my sight," he argued, running a hand through his spiky pink hair. Kinana wondered how a guy with an appearance like him could join the police force, but then again, they were rumored to house many weird individuals.

"It'll just be for a few minutes," she reassured him. "I...I want to be alone for a while, that's all."

His eyes softened in understanding at the desperation in her voice. "It's been pretty hard for you, huh? Well, I guess a few minutes won't hurt. I'll be just around the corner," he decided, giving her another toothy grin. Kinana beamed gratefully at him before she turned the corner and headed down the hallway. A few turns later, she arrived at the back exit that led to the parking lot.

She pushed open the heavy steel door, and sucked in a breath when she saw how packed the lot was. She would never expect her concert to sell out, but it had, and her popularity had increased after the release of her new album. And it was all because of her fans...

Kinana shook her head, doing her best to prevent any more tears from spilling. She couldn't cry now; she had to be strong. If she practiced a little, maybe she would be able to feel better...

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let her body relax as she always did before she sang. She opened her mouth, and after checking the area again to make sure that nobody was there, began to sing. Her voice rang out, shaking a little at first but eventually growing stronger to the tune of the song.

"If I can fly, I'll do it so I can hear your voice. I love you, I miss you, I need you. Oh baby,..." As she sang, something wet trickled down her cheek, making her pause. "Stop crying, Kina," she said to herself softly, wiping her eyes with her hand. "You can do this." She was just about to start over again when a voice suddenly spoke up from next to her.

"Speaking to yourself is the first sign of madness, you know."

Kinana's heart leapt to her throat when she realized that she wasn't alone anymore. She eyed her surroundings warily, stopping when she spotted a hooded figure lingering a few yards away from her, perfectly tucked away in the shadows of the tall building. When had he gotten there?

She had been warned many times in her life to not speak to strangers. But there was something about this person that intrigued her, Kinana thought as she recalled the sound of his voice. Why was he there, listening to her and talking to her when he probably had better things to do? He didn't seem like the average fan, either, yet he had taken the initiative of approaching her. For a few moments, she debated whether she should talk to him at all. She glanced in the direction of the door, judging the time it would take for her to get to safety.

"Sometimes a little madness helps keeps you sane," she retorted.

"Aren't you a weird one? What's a little lady like you doing in a place like this?" the figure asked, and Kinana guessed from the tone of his voice that he was smirking at her.

"I…I wanted to practice before my concert," she said carefully. That wasn't completely a lie, she told herself.

The man let out a humorless laugh as he watched her debate silently with herself. "I wouldn't be out here if I were you. For all you know, I could be the bad guy."

For a moment, Kinana wondered whether he was the culprit behind the threat message. But somehow, she didn't think he was as bad of a guy as he made himself seem. His voice, deep and gruff and alluring, drew her to him. As a singer, she was especially sensitive to people's voices. And there was something about his that enthralled her.

"I don't think you're a bad guy," she admitted. Her eyes never left the hooded figure as she waited for his response.

"What if you knew who I really was?" he asked slyly, a hand reaching up to lower the hood from his head and revealing his identity at last.

Kinana's eyes stretched wide as she studied his physique. The man who stood before her was dark and handsome, but no doubt dangerous. His arms were buff and strong from years of exercise, and he could probably kill her with a single hand if he wanted to. One of his eyes was badly scarred, leaving him with just one eye. She couldn't tell what his hair color was in the dark, but under the dim street lights, there was a red tinge to it.

She could recognize him anywhere.

"Cobra," she breathed, the name sounding foreign, almost deadly on her lips. He was a ruthless gang leader, infamous for going around town and doing odd jobs for large sums of Jewels. He had been one of the most wanted men in the country before he had been caught during a gang skirmish. There were many rumors of what he had done in the past, the most famous one being that he had killed over a thousand men (though Kinana guessed that that one was made up by the media). But somehow, he never left evidence for his crimes, and so the police had been forced to release him early, after spending just five years in jail. Since his release a few days ago, reporters had been in a frenzy as they tried to interview the "sexy bad boy" for their tabloids.

Kinana mentally slapped herself for trusting strangers so easily. But then, a tiny voice spoke up in her head, he'd had many opportunities to hurt her already. Yet all he did was talk to her, standing a respectable distance away with his body completely relaxed. He couldn't be all that bad, could he?

And, in a sense, she also felt bad for him, knowing what it was like to be constantly pressured for interviews. Unlike celebrities who were used to fame, Cobra had just been released. He was still adjusting to the world, and definitely didn't deserve to be treated like some caged animal. It was too cruel.

He mock bowed, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Actually, the name's Erik. I've retired from, ah, that line of work."

Erik...It suited him a lot more than Cobra did. "I'm Kinana," she blurted.

"I know," he said, giving her a smirk that made her heart jump. "I've heard your music. It's…good."

She felt warm at his praise. She was used to praise from her fans, but there was something different about Cobra, no, Erik's words that made her cheeks flush. Perhaps it was the fact that she would never have expected that someone like him would appreciate the same music that she did, but then again, that was the one reason Kinana loved music so much - it could bring people from all over the world together.

"T-Thank you," she said. "What…what are you doing here?" she gestured to their surroundings. It wasn't the kind of place she would expect an ex-criminal would want to be in.

"I don't know, really. I heard about your concert, and I somehow made my way here. And no...I'm not drunk." He said the last bit more to himself than to her, but his words made her giggle. "I guess a part of me wanted to see what kind of girl could have such an….interesting voice. I never would have expected to actually meet you."

"That goes for me, too," Kinana said shyly, her cheeks burning. "I've always wondered what kind of person you would be." Before she could change her mind, she reached into her purse and pulled out a concert ticket. She had meant to save it for Laki, but she could find another one for her friend later. She felt that if she said goodbye to Erik now, she would never get the chance to see him again. And for some odd reason, she didn't want that. "Here. I want you to have this."

His good eye widened in surprise at her offer. The last thing he expected was for her to willingly invite a criminal like him to attend her concert. "I don't think that's a good idea. There's a bunch of those damn police around here, and they'd kill to lock me behind bars again. I shouldn't show my face around them."

"I insist," Kinana tried again, feeling bold. "You have that hood, don't you? Besides, they probably won't care, as they're too busy dealing with my threat message case anyway."

"Oh? Threat message?" Erik repeated, raising an eyebrow. This caught his interest.

She nodded. She didn't know why, but something told her that she could trust him. "Yes. I received one a few days ago, telling me not to put on the concert. Or else..." she trailed off, shivering at the memory.

Seeing her discomfort, Erik instinctively took off his cloak and draped it over her small shoulders. She could still feel his lingering warmth as the coat fell over her, and couldn't help smiling at his gesture. The last thing she would expect was for someone like him to be a criminal, and her heart ached for him.

"Do you have it?" Erik asked, deciding that he liked it when she smiled. He almost laughed out loud at soft he was becoming, all because of a silly girl – a silly girl who smiled at him - he met barely a few moments ago. Sitting in jail for so long must really have messed up his head. But now that he had seen her smile, he had a sudden urge to protect it if it was the last thing he did. He wasn't a gang leader for nothing.

"I don't have the original message anymore, but I took a picture of it with my phone." Kinana quickly rummaged through her bag. Once she'd found it, she located the photo and offered it to him. He took the smartphone from her, accidentally brushing her hand with his own. Her skin tingled, and she quickly pulled her hand away. She noticed that his hands were large and callused compared to her smaller, innocent ones.

Erik studied the message, frowning in thought. There was something familiar about the messy scrawl, but he couldn't really place it. He'd probably encountered it during one of his exploits, but it had been so long ago, and he had done so many of them, that he hadn't bothered to remember every pointless detail. "I've seen that handwriting somewhere," he said out loud. Kinana's eyes brightened with hope, but he knew he was going to disappoint her. "Though I can't remember where. Anyway, I guess it won't hurt for me to stay for your concert. I'll try to scout around without the police noticing."

Before passing her phone back, he scanned through her contact list. There were a few names he recognized, like Mirajane Strauss, a supermodel who was especially popular with the guys. He noticed one name in particular that made him curl his lip with disgust. Natsu Dragneel. So she knew the bastard who had caught him…

She probably didn't know about that part of their relationship, though, so he decided not to make a comment about it. He smoothly added himself into her contact list as Your Savior, forwarded the photo to himself, then tossed it back to her. "I added myself, so call me if anything comes up. I'll be around."

"Thank you, Erik. For everything," Kinana told him gratefully, returning his cloak to him. This was the first time - well, the second in one night - someone had thanked him for something, rather than begging him for forgiveness. It caught him by surprise, and made him feel strange emotions that he wasn't used to feeling, and for a moment he wasn't sure how to react. In the end, he nodded curtly to her in response. He gave her a wave before disappearing once again into the shadows, where he belonged.

He wasn't sure what had made him want to speak to the girl in the first place. Perhaps it was the loneliness in her eyes that reminded him of himself, or something else, that lured him to her like no other woman had. But he was glad he talked to her.

Maybe, just maybe, this was what he needed to get his mind off Oracion Seis for good.

Kinana watched him disappear and waited a little while longer before turning to head back inside herself. She was glad that she had gotten to talk to him, and for the first time in days, she felt as if a weight had been finally lifted from her shoulders. She could imagine her mother scolding her for talking to strangers, and an ex-murderer at that, but there was something different about Erik.

She took out her phone and searched for the newest addition to her contact list. Your Savior. What kind of name was that?

She smiled to herself.

But before she could walk any further, a shrill scream pierced through the air. Blood drained from Kinana's face, and her smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Laki!

A/n: leave a review if you liked it? :)