Hey guys! I'm new to the FT fandom so this is my very first NaLu fanfic! I was inspired by Into The Ring by eviltrinity and waiting for their weekly updates were so painful my heart couldn't like seriously. It dies every chapter. And so this was born, because I had to do something while waiting for LITERALLY THE BEST NALU STORY EVER. If you haven't read Into The Ring, I suggest you do. It's so worth it.

Prompt: Worst in Me - Bad Omens, Holy - PVRIS

I don't own Fairy Tail!

Enjoy x

CHAPTER 1 – GRIP

I had you in my grip

But you're simply lost; a set of empty bones

Natsu Dragneel had his head smashed against metal parts of the van at least 3 times in the past hour. It wasn't a pretty image, really –not with the string of curses that flew in his head every time his grip slipped from the seat.

Actually, make that 4.

The van ran over another unexpected bump and Natsu barely had the chance to slam his body against the metal interior of the van lest he fall off his seat. Was the driver really that bad that he couldn't cross a damn bump without making him feel like his head was splitting apart? Pressing his body against the solid structure, he waited for the van to smoothen its ride once again before relaxing his back. Mavis, his head was pounding from the repeated beatings and his hands felt numb.

He attempted to wiggle of his fingers but all he felt in return was a smarting feeling. He wasn't surprised that his arms fell asleep, after all they did strap him up in a straitjacket and bound him tightly he scantily had enough room to take a deep breath. The straitjacket wasn't the only thing he had on him that prevented him from doing pretty much anything, there was a stupid mask that smelled like something he didn't even want to know. His sense of smell had always been sensitive; maybe they dosed the mask in something on purpose, or maybe they didn't. Either way, the smell choked him and he tried to breathe in as little as possible. And this brought to the part where movement, sight and smell –all 3 robbed from him. Talk about preventive measures much.

You might be wondering how he got himself in this situation, being strapped down and transported to Mavis knows where. Hell, he'd like to know how he'd got mixed up in this too. Because as far as he could remember, his whole life had always been like this; being treated like some sort of prisoner. Natsu did feel like a prisoner, but he really wasn't. Close, but not quite.

He was a slave-fighter, if that was even the correct term he could call himself.

Circuit Runner was an underground trade company that involved the illegal trade of slave-fighters, and they were a company that owned Natsu up 'till a week ago. This group of people called him 'The Merchandise', like he was some sort of object to be used, displayed and sold and you know what's the worst of it? He was treated like the object he'd described. But description aside, Natsu didn't like calling himself 'The Merchandise', and so he'll call himself as how he saw fit, which was a slave-fighter.

What he's probably telling you at the moment probably makes no sense so logically speaking, he should begin at the beginning. Which he will –like right now.

The sole reason why slave-traders like him existed was because of an underground fighting community, known as the 'Circuit'. Like other rings, the Circuit pitted 2 fighters against each other. Unlike other rings, safety words did not exist. You think the word 'no' would get you out of a fight? He'd give a laugh –the only way out from a fight is to get knocked out, or you know, die. Most of the fighters (or players like a chess piece because Natsu felt incredibly used) in the Circuit had to be owned by a Master, which most of the time happened to be blue bloods that just had too much cash and time on their hands. The fighters that weren't part of a rich snob's property, they were part of the Circuit Runner's display list. Those on the display list were sent into the Circuit in hopes for potential customer to like what they see and buy them off. But a Master was only entitled to a single fighter in the contract with the Circuit Runner, something Natsu was thankful for.

Now, why exactly did rich snobs from the world above the underground slums want fighters in the Circuit for? The answer to that was simple: easy money. And when Natsu meant easy money –he meant thousands generated in a single night. Bets were placed on players in the Circuit and the winning champion brings home 60% of the profit for his Master, or something along those lines. Natsu wasn't quite sure how money was distributed after each fight but with any indication of the wads of green paper he saw in his previous Master's hands, it was a lot.

Slave-fighters were more or less primarily bought as a fighter to win a chance to gain instant cash in the Circuit. Fights in the Circuit were held once every 2 months, and they lasted for a week. The interval between fights came to the part where fighters were reduced to slaves. Because after all, what sane rich miscreant would let their prized 'Merchandise' relax and be treated fairly? If slave-fighters were lucky, they'd only need to do measly house chores, if they were not… other undesirable things lay in wait for them.

And so that was what a slave-fighter was –

-what Natsu was.

What a happy life he led, he thought darkly, his brows furrowing together. But before his thoughts could drag him further down, a voice interrupted him.

" Salamander."

Right. He had forgotten there was a guard stationed next to him during this journey. Well, it was peaceful while it lasted, he internally grumbled as he kept silent.

Unfortunately for Natsu, it seemed that his silence only served to agitate the guard because even with a bag covering his face, the venom in the guard's voice was not left unheard. " Salamander."

Salamander, he hated that name. His name was Natsu, not Merchandise and not Salamander. Heavens knows how he'd gotten that name.

In a matter of seconds that came after Natsu's refusal to acknowledge the guard, something cold was pressed to the side of his head. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was the cooling metal nuzzle of a gun snuggling next to his head.

" Unless you want your brain bits on the wall," The man said as he placed more pressure at the site where his 'brain bits' resided. It was right at that instance Natsu decided to name his fellow guard Potty Head courtesy to the fact that Potty Head's head was full of shit like the rest of Circuit Runner's lapdogs. " I suggest ya use that mouth of yours. You're blind but you ain't mute."

Deciding that the Potty Head was probably not putting a bluff with that death threat, and also the fact that he'd like to see it to the end of the day, Natsu hissed out his reply between clenched teeth. " What?"

The sudden blow to the side of his face was definitely…unexpected. Or expected, he supposed, because his mouth was just itching for a fight. But then he remembered he was strapped down in this godforsaken straitjacket and he was blinded by this stupid rag. So yes –maybe he should've thought things through but Natsu was never prided on his intelligence. So what was the point of regretting anything now?

The punch at his jaw was sure to give him immediate bruising. His head snapped to the right and the force of the attack sent him sprawling across the floor –at least it should've if the man didn't grab him by the shoulder and shove him back at his seat.

" That's better but ya ain't polite, kid. " Potty Head spoke as he gave Natsu a mock satisfactory pat on the cheek closest to where he'd been punched. The gun was gone from his side, probably back to that slimeball's holster. Potty Head withdrew his hand from Natsu and there was a shifting noise that gravitated to his ears; he could only assumed that the man sat back down. " Now you listen here Salamander," He began again in that no non-sense voice, " We ain't happy that Everlue sent you back to us and we sure as hell ain't happy that we lost a customer. But you're good money, so you get another chance."

Of course, money equated to mercy. How stupid would Natsu be to think otherwise?

But Natsu wasn't overly concerned over money and mercy because -Everlue, that miscreant. Just the thought of him made Natsu growl. He was Natsu's first master and he absolutely despised that insufferable fat old man! The things that Everlue made him do –he shook that thought away; it was for the best if he didn't relive them. By some stroke of luck that was bestowed upon him, he had managed to get away from the old fart. Granted, it got him sent back to Circuit Runner for a few months before getting sold again, but anywhere would be better than with Everlue.

Any time would be a time too soon for Natsu to see that asshole again.

And if he does see him, you can bet his possessions (which wasn't much but it was all that he had) that Natsu would rip out his throat and shove it down that miserable's -

" But if ya screw this up again Salamander, no more mercy ya hear me? We ain't got the time for your shit." Potty Head continued, bursting any train of thoughts that involved Natsu highly efficient method of killing Everlue. And by the stars that hang above them, did Natsu want to kill Everlue right now.

While it was all fun and games thinking about Everlue's death, the guard's death threat loomed over Natsu's head like a towering vulture. Giving himself a moment to compose his thoughts, he took a deep breath. Well, as deep as he could take without feeling like choking from the smell or bodily restrictions.

After a second or two, Natsu replied, his voice cloy as his lips curled into a sinister sneer. " Of course."

" Good," There was a break then, as Natsu heard material ruffling against each other and sound of metal being torn apart from the seams. Not a second later there was a click of a pen and a tap on something solid, probably a file. " Did anyone tell ya about your new Mistress?"

A Master he had expected. But a Mistress?

Natsu frowned. He had definitely not been preparing himself mentally for a Mistress for the past week. There weren't many Mistresses in the Circuit, and Natsu could only place a name on one of the few, which was Minerva. The only reason why Natsu remembered her was the fact that she owned a fighter that looked like he didn't belong in the Circuit at all. His name was Sting, if Natsu recalled correctly, and he had smugness radiating off him like he was some sort of idol to be worshipped. Natsu didn't like him. He didn't like a lot of people to be honest, not when almost everyone he knew weren't the friendliest out there.

He wondered if Minerva dumped Sting's sorry ass and bought Natsu in return. Or if it was one of those nameless Mistresses that bought him instead.

" No."

His answer wasn't a surprise to the guard, seeing that it was standard protocol for slave-fighters to be unaware of the 'confidentially' of things until the very last minute. All he knew was that after his fight which was around 2 weeks ago, someone placed money on him and off he went getting himself dragged around like a ragdoll.

" Her name's Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude Heartfilia, " Potty Head said and then he paused, sucking in a large breath of astonishment. Potty Head must have discovered something because he swore a string of words with such utter joy, it made Natsu think he sounded like he struck a jackpot. And then Potty Head started laughing.

If Natsu could name a few things that he found irritable, one of them would be not being in the loop of things. Natsu wondered if there was some sort of joke to her name that he didn't get. Because he failed to see why Potty Head was laughing or why the name 'Lucy Heartfilia' or whatever he had just read was so amusing. Just as he was about to asked what Potty Head's deal was, his unasked question was answered. " Looks like she just turned 21 because Daddy here bought you as her birthday gift."

The fact that Natsu had new blood as a Mistress was overridden by the fact that he was bought as a present. For whatever the reason, Natsu choked at that, feeling his saliva going down on the wrong pathway. The fastenings that surrounded his neck did nothing to ease his pain as he coughed, instead it seemed to draw itself tighter with each cough. Tears stung around his eyes and the familiar burn nestled at his nose as he tried to regain his breath. After a while, he managed to breath properly again and he settled on processing what information he had just received.

In all honesty, Natsu wasn't anticipate that at all. The answer, he meant. It was one thing to know that his master was a Mistress and a whole 'nother thing to know that he was some sort of a birthday gift to a little girl? Because like, what on Earthland? What type of sicko would give his daughter a slave-fighter?

With the way Potty Head was laughing still, Natsu knew he had his answer.

Apparently rich miscreants like his new Mistress's father did.

Trying to calm things down in his mind like the adult that he was, Natsu interrupted Potty Head's laughing spree with a question. " Are there any special requests?"

Special requests were a common thing for experienced buyers, when they were looking for certain traits in a slave-fighter to be used to their benefits. Everlue had filed in a special request before getting Natsu and his request was for a 'pretty face' for guest entertainments. Seeing that Lucy's father was the one that bought him in her place, and he knew Jude was a regular at the Circuit, Natsu was sure that special requests were definitely made before they narrowed Jude's choices down to him.

" Healthy man under the age of 20," Potty Head recited off what Natsu presumed to be Lucy's file, " From the way this sounds, ya probably gonna be her new sex toy."

…sex toy?

The thought of it left Natsu shaking under his restraints from anger, feeling the slow rise of heat boiling under his skin. Minutes ago, the initial thought of Everlue made him want to scream bloody murder and he barely managed to contain himself without the help of Potty Head's death threat. Now to find out that he was being sent back to another person exactly like Everlue –he couldn't believe his ears.

He had thought that maybe a new blood Mistress would be at least a little bit better than Everlue.

But it seemed like his luck ran dry because Natsu was stuck with another person exactly like Everlue.

Potty Head on his part, seemed very in tune with Natsu's behavior and possible derangement as he took quick action.

Natsu heard the buzz of static crackling in the air before it was rammed up at his side. His muscles jumped at the contact, but he was a second short from stopping the lick of electricity that jumped into his system. Everything that happened right after this was an absolute nightmare. A coarse scream tore past his lips as he felt a burst of sudden foreign energy invading his skin and making its way underneath it. Electricity pulsed within his veins like a slithering snake, working its way around his body quickly and Natsu felt nothing unmitigated pain coursing through him as it did so. Not an inch of his muscle or anything for that matter was in his control as they spazzed uncontrollably, his heart clenching painfully tight under his chest as the pace of its beating increased quickly. The loud thuds of his heartbeat pounding loudly in his ear but it wasn't loud enough to drown out the buzz of static bouncing between both ears and mind.

Then, as quickly as it came, it stopped.

His muscles went lax immediately as he slumped in his seat, the vibration that hummed in his body seconds ago lingered still.

" What did I just say to ya?" Potty Head jeered tauntingly. " No screwing it up? Ring a bell?"

Natsu couldn't even answer Potty Head's jibe, not with how his tongue was flaccid in his mouth.

" Let me tell ya something kid, you better listen to what your Mistress wants. If she wants sex, ya give her sex. I don't want a word of complain from the Heartfilia's." And then he stopped, for emphasis sake. " Or else."

Natsu had enough of threats for today, so he settled by saying nothing to Potty Head's final remarks. He was still angry at the new found information about being another sex toy to his Mistress but what good would his anger do at this point? Like what Potty Head had said, whatever this Lucy wanted, he had to give –lest he served the consequences. He could give his Mistress the benefit of doubt, that she would somehow be a little kinder to him by ignoring his very existence in her home. But Natsu doubted that kind of treatment would pass him by; the rich blooded rarely –if not never, passed up the opportunity to show the dominance over Natsu's own actions.

The ride to the Heartfilia's after that was a quiet one. Potty Head was uncommunicative on his end, and Natsu was still trying to recuperate after getting tazed. His body still felt like jelly, and the state of his mind… It wasn't in any condition to be considered as 'okay' too. A sex toy and a Mistress… The 2 things that Natsu was not prepared for in the least. Another hour passed and eventually he had come to terms with the situation. If his Mistress wanted him to do xyz, he would do xyz. He could only hope that performing what his Mistress wanted could at least grant him some sort of freedom in his her home.

When the van abruptly came into a stop, Natsu heard Potty Head stood up and made his way to Natsu.

" No funny business," Potty Head warned, as worked out the fasteners around Natsu's neck before taking the rag off his head.

Finally, he could see and breathe again. He blinked a few times to get himself adjusted to the brightness illuminating the tiny compartment he'd been coped up in for the past hour. The place was bare, save for Natsu's duffel bag of belongings and Potty Head's bag.

Once the straitjacket was off, leaving him in his threadbare muscle tee, his arms once folded against his stomach fell limp at his side, numb and heavy. His arms were so far lost from feeling that he couldn't feel the cold kiss of metal on his palm when he leaned against the metal frame of the van. After a while of moving it around, its smarting eventually wore off, leaving gradual warmth flooding its in wake. He pressed his palm on the metal again, and was greeted with a cool touch. Good. It's working again.

A heavy click dragged Natsu back to Potty Head, who was busy unlocking the door. Giving a quick assessment to his guard, Potty Head looked like the standard Circuit Runner thug: solid bulk of muscle, bald and grouchy. With the deadbolt undone, Potty Head turned to him and said warningly, " If ya even try to escape," He stopped as he moved his hand and patted down on the gun hoisted in its holster. Natsu eyed it, his brows closing in on each other and he felt a grim frown work over his lips when the unspoken threat was made clear to Natsu.

And with that, Potty Head quickly ushered Natsu out of the van after grabbing his bag and they both made their way into the Heartfilia estate.

The sky was dark around them, and Natsu could see the stars that hung in the celestial pan clearly, so he could safely assume that they were well out of the city. Another sign that made Natsu confident in his inference was the size of the Heartfilia estate. It was just huge -like massively huge. There was no possible way that the city was able to spit out enough space to build this whole structure. As they walked closer, Natsu noticed that the mansion before him was not the only building in sight, but it was the only one that was lighted brightly enough for him to see clearly. The rest had a muted glow of embers hanging along the rooftops and at the pathways; they had an eerie look if you'd asked him. But Natsu didn't get the chance to give a closer inspection because the entrance door opened, with a pink haired maid standing next to it.

" Princess is not home right now, but she has told me to stand in her place," The maid said, her tone was light and inviting, but the funny thing was that her voice somehow was void from any sort of emotion. How did that maid do that, he had no absolute idea. Natsu gave her a weary look when he noticed her steel blue eyes taking in his appearance, her facial expression remained passive as she did so. She pushed the doors opened wider, allowing the both of them to enter the house. " My name is Virgo." She added awkwardly after she closed the door, like an afterthought.

" Gurnik," Potty Head replied Virgo and Natsu internally snorted, looked like Potty Head had a name after all. Not that Natsu would be using it anytime soon. " The kid here is Natsu Dragneel."

" Hello," Natsu droned.

" Welcome to the Heartfilia's Natsu-sama."

His eyes that were once wandering around to the decorations littering the room whizzed back to Virgo, the suffix –sama behind his name not going unwanted in his ears. Virgo still had her blank smile plastered over her face when he numbly let out a small choke, echoing his name on Virgo's lips.

Potty Head frowned at the honorable suffix, and he folded his arms. " I don't think ya should be calling him that."

Virgo who seemed to be incapable of emotion, at least in Natsu's opinion, somehow managed to flip a switch of emotion and glared at Potty Head. Her icy blue eyes mimicked the look of a hissing cat, only with less hissing and more composure. " Any of Princess' associates will be called sama. Is there a problem with that?"

Potty Head harrumphed in defeat, surely knowing well enough that if he started anything, it was more likely than not to end terribly. With how Natsu's eyes followed Potty Head's line of sight to the suspiciously shiny black suitcase, which was probably holding the amount needed for this final transaction, Natsu knew he was doing it for the money.

" I am glad that is settled," Virgo said with a smile, her aggressive demeanor gone from sight. " The money –"

Virgo's sentence was cut off by an abrupt slam of the entrance door, which made everyone turn around to give a good look. In came in a young busty blonde girl, a frown on her lips as she spoke sharply into the phone.

" Look Loke, I told you I can't make it tonight," Natsu heard her say into the phone as she hastily threw her bag onto a nearby couch, not once looking over at their direction. " What do you mean –NO! I'm tired okay! I swear, if you're implying that I'm lying you better be praying to –" She stopped herself short, a look of surprise washing over her face when she heard Virgo calling out to her. A quick assessment was done with her diligent brown eyes as she gave a once over on the situation and then she spoke into her phone, " I need to go. I'll call you back later –yes, 5 minutes. " There was slight pause before her face morphed into a literal demon as she hissed, " Goodbye Loke." And promptly hung up.

So this was his new mistress, Natsu gathered. From the way how she had responded to Virgo's 'princess' call, he knew instantly that this was Lucy Heartfilia.

Natsu eyed her as she moved in closer to their little group, her heels clanking loudly against the marble floor. " I'm sorry for that earlier," She said, " I wasn't expecting you all to still be here."

" We were just finishing up Princess," Virgo replied.

" Is that so?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow at Virgo who just nodded a reply. Lucy turned her gaze at him then, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized him. " Is this the Merchandise?"

There it was again –the Merchandise.

Natsu found himself giving out a snarky reply instead of leaving it to Potty Head to make any confirmations. His lips curled into a smile as he gestured to himself, hands moving from his head to his hip. " Yes this is the Merchandise in all his glory."

Lucy clicked her tongue but said nothing in reply -at least not to him. Under her breath, thanks to his overly sensitive hearing, he heard her mumble 'Filthy'. Yes, Natsu knew he was grubby, covered in nothing but dirt and grime seeing that he hadn't had the chance of cleaning himself since he was dragged out from the Circuit but she could at least not mention it out loud. Despite the multitude of comebacks he had running in his head, he settled to chewing the insides of his mouth to refrain from saying anything, when Potty Head shot him a warning look.

Potty Head decided to take ahold of the situation as he began to apologize to Lucy, all the while shooting discrete glares at Natsu's direction. His apologizes were cut short however, when Lucy's phone began to ring in her hand, effectively drowning out Potty Head's voice.

A flash of annoyance slipped onto his Mistress' face when she checked the caller ID, and Natsu could assume it was from the person she had been speaking to earlier. Instead of picking up the call like he thought she would, she directed her attention to Virgo.

" Get him cleaned up," Lucy instructed Virgo, " And prepare a set of clothing for him as well."

" I will Princess."

" I'll be taking my leave now," Lucy told them, but Natsu felt like she was directing it to Potty Head instead. " Thank you for coming."

She murmured something to Virgo and when Lucy pulled away from Virgo, she gave one last nod towards Potty Head and her gaze bypassed him entirely as she answered her phone. So now he was an object not to be acknowledge? Wasn't that something new, Natsu silently snarled to himself. The muscles around his lips tightened as Natsu watched her walk up the stairs with her back turned towards him, her voice being softer as each second passed and then she disappeared from his sight and Natsu could no longer hear her anymore.

Virgo passed Potty Head the suitcase enclosing the cash almost soon after Lucy left, but Natsu wasn't interested in the politics of things that evolved around the sale of himself. After a while, things seemed to be settled as Potty Head looked ready to leave the mansion. Natsu looked at Potty Head when he called his attention, his eyes narrowing slightly as he silently wondered what Potty Head wanted to say to him now.

" Remember its ya last warning Salamander," Potty Head said with a smile that made Natsu bite his own tongue. " No more mercy if ya get sent back to us."

And with that, he left, leaving Natsu alone with Virgo.

Natsu watched the doors slam shut, its sturdy frame causing a booming echo along the empty hallways. The echo somehow seemed to latch onto the tempo of his heart, and Natsu could hear it ring within his own ears. Doors were a good metaphor, in his opinion. They represented an opening as much as an ending. The Heartfilia's entrance door, the one that Potty Head exited minutes ago –showed a new chapter in Natsu's life, one that involved a Mistress named Lucy. And it also represented an ending for his time of freedom, no matter how limited it had been in the Circuit.

It was ironic, really, that a door could bring about various meanings to it.

" Shall we go, Natsu-sama?" Virgo asked, pulling Natsu out of his thoughts. The dry humor left him instantly, a sudden heaviness feeling him in its stead. He couldn't lament over closed doors anymore, and he couldn't think of freedom. No more chances, he reminded himself, not if he wanted to die.

Meeting Virgo's pale eyes, he forced a smile and rolled his hands out before her. " Lead the way."

Welcome to the Heartfilia's.

And that concludes chapter 1! Currently I only have this one chapter done, and who knows when I'll be done with the next chapter and if I'll continue with it. I'm actually kinda posting to see how you all response to it :) If no one is really interested I'll be keeping this story for myself haha, and write at my own pace x)

On a side note, I also do hope that Natsu and Lucy isn't too OCC - I mean Lucy is in this chapter but that'll be explained in future chapters.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Tell me your thoughts of this story too!

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Inked.