Back from vacation and I'm glad to be back in air conditioning and internet access heaven. Had to add the finishing touches to it before I posted it so it's pretty late at night right now, though I always post my stories late at night so it's not really all that different for me.

I thought it was pretty cool how it's August 14th and the story starts on the 14th of August, so that made my day for some odd reason.

Gotta thank all of you who gave such inspiring reviews to the first chapter. It's like I hear epic singing in the background whenever I read one. Why epic? Don't really know why but epic is good. Epic is so so good.

So enjoy chapter two of 'Burn this City to Ashes.'


Chapter Two: Fantasy Becomes Reality

Phantom Lane

Sieg. Rain Events Planning Company

Morning of August 14th

All that she needed to do was forget. Forget what had happened the night before; all about the man with the pink hair. Though it was tough to forget it when the memory of him seemed burned into her mind and her clothes. The material her clothes were made of was apparently not fire, water and saliva proof. She didn't notice exactly how much damage had been inflicted on her until she had woken up that morning after her phone alerted her that it was time to go to work. The black stockings not only had runs, but gashes in them from the broken glass and the skirt's edges were burnt so much so that it could be seen as a mini-skirt; something she wasn't exactly that looking forward to wearing. And her heels? Nowhere to be found, no problem though, as she didn't like them much anyway. Amazingly however, though she was coated with dust, water and ash, not a single cut or bruise was to be found on her body.

She stared up at the building that was her new work place, not very enthusiastic about going to work after such an event, though happy to wear casual clothes; as if she had much of a choice. She moved her hand up to the side of her head, making sure the bigger than normal red clip that held that side of her hair back hadn't fallen out of place. Walking into the building in black flats made her a bit self-conscious about how she looked. She wore gray skinny jeans, a black belt and a white t-shirt that had a tiny heart pattern that turned from red all the way to purple, in accordance with the rainbow, going down the front of it. She waved to the woman at the front desk as she passed; knowing full well that she didn't like her, it was the only enjoyment that Lucy could get out of this hopeless situation of hers. Once more, as she made her way to the elevator, not a single person gave a glance her way.

Phantom Lane

Sieg. Rain Events Planning Company

Floor Five, Room C

Morning of August 14th

Streamers and confetti flew in front of her view as she opened the door of Room C, almost startling her enough that she tripped backwards. She grabbed onto the doorframe, preventing herself from falling as she looked up from her now disheveled bangs to see her familiar co-worker and another person, a very tall, big person. Another confetti popper blew up in her face just as she thought she had a view of her surroundings. "Lucy's welcome party!" Lucy flipped her hair back with a light whip of her head. She smiled at her friendly co-worker before turning her attention back towards the bigger person she had glanced at just earlier.

Levi, a bit let down that Lucy didn't react as loudly as she thought, followed Lucy's gaze to find out what she was looking for. When her eyes turned towards the bigger man next to her, she let out a laugh and pointed at him with her thumb, "This here is Elfman. He's what you would call our decorative expert." Lucy nodded, unsure why such a large and obviously fit man would actually pick decoration as his interest. She continued to stare at him with large eyes, making him scowl at her in response. Levi stifled a laugh at Lucy's reaction to Elman, "Don't worry, he won't bite, just crush you to death." Lucy stepped backward, not at all encouraged by her co-workers ability to crush bones.

Elfman eyed her down while Levi continued to be amused at Lucy's misgivings. He took a step to his right, revealing a large box labeled 'Floor 2, Room D' in chicken scratch handwriting. He lifted it with ease and urged it towards Lucy, "Any real man can handle this much."

Lucy looked up at him, confused and a bit annoyed at his tone, "Real Man?" She was forced to take the package that Elfman practically threw towards her. Her knees bent at the very weight of it as her arms struggled to keep it suspended in the air. She looked towards Levi, a light gleaming in her eyes, as if asking for help. Levi hopped as she moved herself towards Lucy, holding her arms up as she gently pushed her out the door.

"Go go! Your first job is to deliver this package. Congratulations!" Levi continued to force her out the door while Elfman, Lucy's new intimidating co-worker, threw colorful confetti at her.

The door slammed shut in front of her face, a clear sign that going in and pleading with them would in no way help her situation, perhaps only make it worse. She stumbled over to the elevator, the huge package weighing down at her like an anchor to a boat. Not even wanting to know what was inside, she made her way over to the elevator, trying to look as professional as possible as she squinted and furrowed her brow.

Phantom Lane

Sieg. Rain Events Planning Company

Floor Two, Room D

Morning of August 14th

Lucy's stumble had been reduced to a waddle as she had finally made it to the second floor, room D of the building. It would have been a much easier job if not for the elevator going out of order due to some weird technical difficulties. She slugged her foot up to the door and kicked it as hard as she could in her crippled position. It opened quickly, revealing a man just a few inches taller than herself, with light brown hair and a smile playing on his face; it was hard to believe that he was her senior. Lucy glanced back to the chaos going on in the room behind him; four people, six desk, papers everywhere, laptops clicking, just chaos. He looked down at the box Lucy was holding and slid his hands under it, hugging it from the bottom, and lifting it easily out of her arms. He looked back at Lucy then at the mess behind himself, "Floor two deals with records. We record event information and send out the invitations." He opened the box in his hands, in which were a series of binders that were set orderly on top of each other, "You're new right? I've never seen you around before, so you must be." He glanced at the box than back at Lucy, "Just like floor five to give the newbies all the tough work, it's the most infamous floor in the company. Hang in there." He pivoted on his foot and closed the door behind himself, not giving Lucy any time to respond to his quick comments. She figured that it was typical of someone who had a lot of work to do to be a little unwilling to wait for a response from someone, so she decided to take the word of wisdom she had just gotten, if they could be called that at all, and make her way back up the stairs towards the familiar room in which she had a place in, a place to be, just like everyone seemed to have in room D.

Phantom Lane

Sieg. Rain Events Planning Company

Floor Five, Room C

Morning of August 14th

Lucy let out a sigh of relief as she leaned over and hugged the door to room C of floor five. She opened the door slowly, a smile played her face for the man from before was contagious. She entered the room, half expected to be greeted by Levi with welcoming arms, though of course, this was not the case. The room was empty except for Elfman, who apparently had the desk to the left of hers, who was answering calls while flipping through various samples of decorations. She sighed, not sure why she was feeling an uncomfortable chill run up her spine as she walked back to her desk.

Lucy reached out for her chair when an arm spread out in front of her, out stretched towards the edge of the desk next to hers, and at the end of it, an index finger that extended to a point. She looked at Elfman confused, as he was still answering questions from the supposed costumer on the other line, then she looked to where he was pointing and there sat another large box labeled 'Floor 3, Room F, Event Scheduling Floor.' She looked at Elfman, who made no effort to look back, still continuing to point at the box. She narrowed her eyes at him as she shuffled over to the box, pointing at it. This, Elfman reacted to; he moved his arm towards the door of the room in the most intimidating way that she had ever seen. She was ordered to take out the box, all while the said man smiled at the customer on the other side of the phone.

Phantom Lane

Sieg. Rain Events Planning Company

Top Floor, Executive Offices

Afternoon of August 14th

Lucy skipped up to the desk of 'Mr. Jellal's' secretary, happy and pleased with her last job of the day being so simple. Elfman told her to take the manila packet up to the president's office, which she was pleased to do since the recent fix of the elevator around three o'clock. Lucy looked around the desk then towards the doors that should have led to the big boss' office, no secretary was in sight. She slumped her arm down onto the desk, figuring she could relax since there was no one around. She closed her eyes and thought back to exactly how many boxes she had delivered that day, wiggling her toes as she got into the twenties. She leaned over the counter of the desk, stretching her back as much as she could, and purring almost cat like in satisfaction. A voice calling out behind her sent her back flinging up, making it pop at the sudden movement. Lucy crouched back over, rubbing her back as she turned to the voice.

"Is there a problem?" A woman of red long hair stood behind Lucy, the stance she held was definitely that of a confident woman. She walked forward, peering over Lucy, who was now awestruck at the woman's beauty, towards the manila packet. "Delivery? Which floor?" She slid the packet away from underneath Lucy's hand. Lucy felt almost pathetic looking in front of the woman, who stood just a few inches taller than herself and seemed to have an odd aura that crushed Lucy's confidence. The word to be used? Dominating. Definitely Dominating. The woman slipped the contents out of the packet, eyeing them before returning her gaze to Lucy once more, "Which floor?" She repeated her question again, this time with a more demanding voice then before.

Lucy fumbled over her own feet as she readjusted her back to straighten, "Floor Five, Room C Ma'am." Lucy almost felt compelled to salute the woman and had to mentally hit herself in the head to stop from doing so. The woman's face reverted back to the calm expression she had presented to Lucy at first. She nodded and walked behind the counter, to the secretary's desk. Lucy wasn't sure whether she should leave or stay, thus she chose the former of them and continued to stare at the woman.

After a few shuffling of papers, the woman looked up at Lucy, tilting her head in an expression that looked like confusion or something like it, "Was there something else?" Lucy flinched and shook her head no quickly, not seeming to stop the motion anytime soon. The woman pulled a sheet of paper from the desk, sliding it across the counter to Lucy, whose head shaking stopped after the movement, "Give this to your decorative coordinator, he should understand its meaning." Lucy nodded yes; as if these were the only movements she could manage under the pressure of the woman's aura, and picked up the single sheet of paper from the counter. She bowed, not sure why after she did so, and walked away from the desk, towards the elevator; her arms and legs not bending as she walked stiffly. A woman came from the corner of the hall as Lucy turned, making them almost collide together. Lucy tilted her head a bit as she saw the woman come to a complete stop as she saw what was in front of her.

"M-Miss Erza Scarlet. What are you doing here?" The woman seemed obviously guilty of something, which made Lucy walk a bit slower to the elevator, her curious side not wanting to leave without digging up some dirt.

"You left you post?" Lucy recognized the voice as the woman who had spoken to her just moments before.

"I-I'm sorry. I just needed to take a package to the first floor."

"You stink of cigarettes; please refrain from doing that during work hours."

Lucy shook her head, sympathizing with the woman who had screwed up. Though she shrugged it off as she pressed the elevator down button, for it wasn't her problem that the woman had had an unauthorized break. She racked her brain as she waited; searching for the name she had heard. "Erza?" She tapped her foot as she continued to think, "Sounds familiar." The elevator doors opened abruptly, making Lucy flinch in surprise. She got on, forgetting what she had been trying to remember.

Fairy Boulevard

Sushi Tails

Evening of August 14th

Lucy sighed as she found herself in front of the familiar restaurant once again. For some reason, she would always end up there whilst being lost in thoughts. She stared at the door, which seemed to have a welcoming aroma of vanilla coming from it, most likely from the incense set up inside the place. She opened the doors, giving up with the idea of leaving, and found a pair of grayish-black eyes look up at her, filled with no shock at her arrival. After a moment, the owner of the eyes looked back down towards a pair of customers, continuing his work. Lucy shuffled over to an empty table, setting her bag down next to her as she got settled in at the low table accompanied by floor pillows; which were used on all of the window seating areas instead of the stools and chairs used in the middle and counter of the place. She looked out the window; the sky had been twisted into a shade of gray that was not seen just that afternoon, "Rain again tonight?"

"Looks that way." Lucy looked upward, towards the voice, and watched as a hand placed a glass of what appeared to be water down in front of her, "You don't drink alcohol so water is the next best choice." Lucy furrowed her brow, at first wondering how he knew, then remembering what he had told her just two days before.

Lucy eyed the glass before picking it up due to the pressure the man was giving her as she stood next to her, "So you've worked here awhile then?" She took a gulp of the water, trying to avoid eye contact with the man who seemingly had nothing better to do. She finished the water and set it back down on the table.

"I've served you every single time," He picked up the empty glass, refilling it with the jug of water on the tray he was holding before setting it back down in front of her, "You either have short term memory, which I doubt, or you're just a little different from the rest of the people who come here."

Lucy eyed the newly refilled glass of water in front of herself, her stomach not eager for it in the least, however, she picked it up and held it anyway, "What's that supposed to mean?" She looked up at him over the rim of the glass as she took a sip, not really knowing what to expect from him.

"Exactly what it sounds like." He looked down at her, his eyes not moving from her own, "No wasabi, large sushi plate right?" Lucy gripped her one-third full glass of water before biting her lip, not sure how to answer his all knowing statement. "A bit of wasabi then?" He reached down and placed his hand onto the glass that was still in hers; the tips of his fingers touching hers sent a cold sensation through her body, "More water?" He filled the glass again, despite it not being empty yet, and placed it back onto the table before smiling at her and walking to the back of the restaurant, through a walkway, which seemed to lead to the kitchen. She looked back down at the water, her stomach now furious and mumbling at the sight of it.

"He's messing with me."

Phantom Lane

Sieg. Rain Events Planning Company

Lobby Floor

Afternoon of August 15th

Lucy looked around the lobby at all of the top management that seemed to be having meetings there. She normally would try to avoid the lobby floor if she could, all due to this very fact. She looked out of place as she made her way over to the front desk in converse, jeans and a t-shirt. Even though it really wasn't what she would usually wear in her off time, wearing jeans instead of her adored skirts and shorts to work seemed more appropriate, if it was at all. The woman at the desk saw her coming and her customer grin turned into a deeper scowl as she got closer. Lucy avoided eye contact as she questioned the woman, "I was told there was a visitor for me?"

The woman rolled her eyes and huffed as she pointed towards the front doors, "He refused to leave without seeing you, says he used to work at your old company. We told him to wait outside." Lucy opened her mouth to say a word of thanks when the woman lifted her hand and cut her off, giving her a shooing motion towards the front door. Lucy narrowed her eyes, for even if she wasn't the most likeable person, there was no reason to be so cruel. She pouted as she finally reached the front doors, peeking out of them when she did; which earned her a look from a business man whose path she was blocking. She stepped out of the way apologetically and slowly walked more forward to the front of the building. She turned and looked around when she reached the fountain in the centre, not sure what to be looking for, her eyes scanned the trees and bushes that were strategically planted around the fountain for the building to look more inviting.

She jumped forward when a hand snaked onto her shoulder. "Lucy Heartfilia? Nice to see you again."

Lucy turned to the blonde haired man, who wore glasses, a sweater vest with a blue tie, and tan pants. She squeaked slightly, fear rising up in her for no reason. She had the urge to run away, but her common sense stopped her from doing so. She didn't speak, for another squeak might have come out if she tried, instead, she found herself not able to remember the man in front of her. He was supposed to be an old coworker but his face just didn't ring a bell. "Do I know you?"

The man's face shifted for a moment, making Lucy tremble, "Of course. From accounting remember?"

Lucy shook her head no, her fear moving her feet into a quick walk down the street before she could make sense of her own fright. The man followed behind her in his own quick step, yelling after her to stop and that there was no reason to be scared, which never usually calms a person down when they hear it in the kind of situation that she was in. She must have bumped into twenty some-odd people in her quick dash for her life, which for some reason didn't feel like a hyperbole. She turned back to the man, who was still following her in his calm and collected manner, making her feel like one of the teens in a horror movie in which the villain is walking as slow as can be yet she couldn't get away; the only other worse thing that could happen were if she were to trip over some kind of condensed blob of air.

"You're fear looks delicious." Lucy felt chills as she moved her will to break into a run. Her speed made her hair fly back as she went faster than she even thought she ever could. She turned a corner into a crowded street of taxis; apparently a traffic jam had clogged the street. She looked back as she jumped over the hood of cars, something she saw in the movies and had always wanted to attempt, though never in this sort of circumstance. She looked back at the man who had decided that taking a route over the cars was not worth his time, as he continued down the opposite street of Lucy, smiling as she squirmed over another taxi. When she reached the other side of the road, she stopped her tired legs, which were burning and had neither enough strength nor endurance to continue to leap better yet run. She walked calmly back towards the way she came, not taking her eyes off of the man across the street, who seemed to give up his pursuit and was now standing still in place.

And the worse came into reality, Lucy's lower body was yanked backwards, making her upper body slam onto the concrete of the sidewalk, no pedestrian even questioned the sudden move, instead ignored her silent plea for help. She picked herself up onto her elbows and looked towards her feet as if demanding them to answer for the crime they just committed. However, it wasn't her feet's fault; instead, a large black hand seemed to be gripping tighter around her thin ankle. She looked for the origin of the arm and spotted it being rooted from the dark shadow of a taxi near herself. She yelped in pain as it proceed to pulled backwards on her ankle, making her legs drag on the concrete. She pulled at her ankle to free it from the grasp of the hand, deciding that stabbing it with her hair pin was her only option; she yanked it from her hair and proceeded to do just that. It drew back quickly, somehow feeling the pain. Lucy launched up to her feet and stepped backwards, looking up towards the other side of the street, where the man still stood, however, a large black shadow grew in size around him, seemingly invisible to the people who walked past him.

She shook, not knowing how to protect herself from such a thing. The man raised an arm up in her direction, which made yet another black hand shoot up from the shadow of the car. She kicked at it when it came towards her, turning her eyes back to her attacker after it recoiled back. The man smirked at her struggle, raising his other arm as a flurry of shadow hands make their way towards her from the ground. Her eyes shook as she watched the man, her legs not willing to run any longer, she would have nowhere to run anyway. She felt her body slowly giving out on her when the man was suddenly sent hurling towards the wall of the building he stood beside. Falling to the ground, covered in what seemed like some sort of white gleam. She flinched when she found herself looking at another man who stood over him. The distance between them should have made him hard to see, but after recognizing him, there was no way Lucy could've tried not to.

The same black haired man from the evening before stood where the 'shadow' man had just before, apparently recognizing her as well. The time they continued to stare at each other seemed endless. Lucy no longer felt the fear she had before, though a different feeling welled up inside of her that made her shiver. He made no movements as he stared at her from across the street, his face looked puzzled from afar. He turned to his pocket, the only time he had moved his eyes away since he first saw her, and pulled out his phone. Nodding to the person on the other side before hanging up. He mouthed a few words to Lucy then pivoted and ran in the opposite direction of her, turning the corner and leaving her sight. However, Lucy, being both mentally and physically drained, not to mention a bad lip reader, understood none of it.

Why was there some strange man claiming he knew her trying to catch her? What was that strange thing he was doing? And why was that man there afterward?

All of it was too much, and seeing as there were plenty of taxis around her vicinity, Lucy took one back to work before signing out early.

Fairy Boulevard

Sushi Tails

Evening of August 16th

Lucy hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. Once more, she found herself in front of the restaurant, except this time, she was determined to not go in. As she turned however, she almost bumped into a woman a bit taller than herself. She looked up after doing so, seeing a shade of red that seemed she recognized. "Are you going in or are you just going to stand there?" Lucy's voice stuttered as she tried to find the right words to address the woman. "Shall we go in together then?" The woman grabbed onto Lucy's arm as she dragged her into the restaurant. Lucy struggled to cover her face with both of her hands, a sorry attempt that did not go unnoticed. The woman stopped dragging Lucy and instead, took a seat next to the window, not sparing a second glance.

Lucy uncovered her face after she realized she was no longer being pulled forward. She turned to see the red haired woman sitting calmly outside the window, the space across from her at the table open. Lucy looked around, making sure there was no certain black-haired man there. Oddly enough, he was nowhere to be found, a woman with long wavy black hair was in his place now, wearing the familiar blue apron with the logo of the shop written on it. Lucy heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that she wouldn't have to deal with explaining or hearing the explanation of such a confusing event. She walked slowly over towards the seat across from the woman, who smiled confidently, as if she knew Lucy wouldn't leave. "Now then. You were the young woman who visited the president's office with a package correct? I never forget a face." The woman still had her boasting smile playing on her face, as if showing the signs of stubbornness beneath it, something Lucy could see immediately that dealing with this woman was not going to be the easiest thing ever.

Lucy nodded to her, placing her hands onto the table, her bag lying close to her as she did so, "Yes. Elfman sent me up there." The woman nodded in satisfaction at the sound of his name, as if he was someone she trusted greatly. She picked up her arm and waved to the black haired woman over on the stool in front of the counter. The woman stood up and walked over to them, not at all enthusiastic, though it was obvious she had no choice but to respond.

"What's up Erza?" The black haired woman scratched the back of her head, "Don't tell me you're actually here for the sushi this time?" The woman sitting across from Lucy, the red-haired beauty, Erza, shook her head no.

"Where's Gray?" Erza looked around the restaurant, looking for something, and Lucy, who for some reason found herself feeling confused a lot lately, felt that this moment in time was no different. She looked around the room as well; following Erza's gaze as she apparently was looking for either one, a person named Gray or two, the color gray. However, the way she was looking, it must have been the former.

"The master sent him out one a job yesterday afternoon. He hasn't been back since." The black haired woman looked around as well now, as if she herself didn't really understand her statement. "You want two large plates? Since you came all the way over here anyway." She glanced at Lucy, who widened her eyes at the way she was being looked at, as if the woman was judging her with her eyes, though it was slightly unsurprising at the same time.

"How did you know what I want-" Before Lucy could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the woman.

"He always talks about you. Amazing you order the large plate almost every day. No wasabi for you or is today a bad day for you?" The woman stared at Lucy, waiting for her to answer. Though it looked like she wasn't going to anytime soon, for she was too stupefied to even answer. Had the black haired man talked about her? So much so that this woman immediately knows what she wants to eat before she says anything? Even the way she only eats sushi with wasabi when she's having a bad day? Lucy's heart leapt a bit at the thought that he knew so much about her little habit, her heart beat faster when the woman opened her mouth again, "He said you don't talk much. Wasabi today then? And constant refills of water if I remember. Be right back with that."

Erza stopped her before she left, "Thank you Cana."

"No problem." The woman rubbed her stomach as she slumped over to the entryway to the kitchen. Erza looked back to Lucy, who turned to look back at her slowly.

"Nice to know there's a newbie who actually enjoys the subtle flavors of sushi." The way she spoke of it made Lucy think that she must also be completely insane, like all of the people she seemed to be meeting lately. She extended a hand to Lucy, who reluctantly shook it, "I am Erza Scarlet, nice to meet you new co-worker."

Lucy felt warmth flow into her body, a similar experience that she had felt just a few days earlier from Levi. She smiled at Erza, who smiled back confidently, "Lucy Heartfilia, 19. Nice to meet you."

"So easily you reveal you age. A woman must have some secrets you know." Lucy let out a laugh at her, something that her body had seemed waiting to do for the last few days. She felt the stress drain out of her as the night went on and soon she had forgotten all of the things that seemed to be happening around her without explanation.

Magnolia Station

Last Stop at Edoras Drive

Evening of August 16th

Lucy smiled to herself as she stepped off of the train, finishing off her coke bottle that she had bought at a vending machine after leaving Sushi Tails. She felt warm inside and she was committed to enjoying it to the fullest, deciding that she would go out of her way to find a recycle can. She looked around the column to find the recycling bin next to the trash can. She satisfyingly placed it in, happy to find one, which rarely happened. She spun on her heel and hummed to herself as she took large steps towards the stairs of the subway station. She shuffled past a man in red who was standing in front of the stairs, her own happiness making her not realize exactly what kind of situation she was now in.

"Can't believe you get on one of those things each day." Lucy turned quickly, her eardrums recognizing the voice immediately, despite only hearing it upon a few occasions. She froze in place as her eyes shook to try to somehow see it as some kind of illusion. The owner of the voice grinned, "Found ya." Lucy twisted forward quickly, running up the stairs in an attempt to escape from the thing that threatened her current normal reality. She heard him laugh behind her. "You're just making it more fun." She heard a rush of footsteps follow her as she ran down the street, rain pouring down on the city streets, once more, no one giving a second glance to the event occurring before them. Lucy crossed the street at a crosswalk, racing for her apartment, her haven. "You're pretty fast you know?" Lucy shifted her head slightly to glance at how far he was behind her, her feet screamed in pain when she sent brain waves for them to run faster as she saw that he was just two arm lengths away.

Lucy became annoyed at his antics as she passed another block, "How many red hoods do you have anyway?"

"Apparently not enough for you to notice me before I notice you." The hooded man laughed and Lucy could just see his face right now, most likely grinning the same way he did just days before. Though she didn't feel threatened by him, she continued to run. Truthfully, she feared him differently than she did the strange man who cast shadows over her, instead it was more of a fear of discovering the truth. Finding out exactly what was going on instead of the fear of dying. She felt her body burn, most likely from the excess heat he was giving off. Her heart thumped faster with every step she took down the wet sidewalk. "No wonder everyone's so interested in you, aren't you tired yet?" Lucy felt her eyes glaze over as she ran, in fact, if it wasn't already obvious, she was completely tired, like she could just collapse onto the concrete and not even care if he had caught her in the process, but still, her legs propelled her forward. Not quite ready to face the music yet.

She prepared herself to turn the corner onto her street, Pegasus Drive, her sanctuary calling to her from just around five blocks away after she would turn. However, after the turn, she didn't expect what she should've have seen coming. The air chilled around her as she flopped onto the ground, exhausted and giving up. The hooded man slowed his pace, "What happened? It was getting interesting." He looked around the corner to find a certain black haired man, standing with one hand in his pant pocket and the other hand holding an umbrella above himself. "Ah, Gray." The hooded man looked down at Lucy, who breathed heavily as the rain pushed her hair into her eyes. "What are you doing here? Ruining everything as always."

The black haired man grunted at the hooded man's tone, "And you're the not one who freaked out and started chasing her right?" He moved his arm holding the umbrella above Lucy's head, causing himself to get wet as he shielded her from the rain. "C'mon Natsu, she's exhausted, unbelievable that she could still run in this condition."

The hooded man leaned forward, trying to take a looked at her head that was drooped over, "So she's one of us then?"

Lucy tried to lift her head up, her eardrums pulsing as her body experience both hot and cold at the same time, a seemingly impossible feeling. The black haired man opened his mouth to say one more thing, "Not yet she's not." Her eyes fluttered in an effort to stay open as she stared at the faces of the two of them, red hood grinning and black hair sighing, before she shut them for a well deserved rest.


Just to clarify, in this chapter I used the named 'Jellal' instead of 'Gerard' because that's what his name is listed as on fanfiction.

Thank you for reading chapter two and if you enjoyed it, or even if it didn't completely make your heart pound

(yay for over exaggeration!)

Please do review.