It had happened before I knew what was going on, or before I knew what to expect. Right after Miss Lucy Heartfilia collapsed onto the ground in tremors after her chaotic release of energy in the library room, three tall men, all clothed in what I thought was black metacloth suits, barged in and took her away, connecting her two arm braces together behind her back as if she were their prisoner. Before I could move or call out to them a woman standing an inch taller than me, with short brown hair, wearing a lab coat, stood out in front of me, blocking my way.
"I'm sorry Mr. Dragneel, but I'm going to have to ask you to come with me. You're not at liberty to ask any questions nor refuse to cooperate." The woman said to me, her soft and kind tone holding a shadowed air of seriousness. The woman walked away from him, another man in the same kind of suit as the others flanked behind her. I begrudgingly followed the two of them out of the library and out into the evening darkened hallway, light provided by the small lamps on the walls. The walk was silent and still, only the echo of our feet on the wood plank floor broke through the lack of communication. The woman led me over to the student restricted area that was only accessible by the Dean and certain members of the faculty. We came into a small room that looked like an office with white walls, a metal floor, and no windows as if to keep secrecy.
As soon as the door closed the air became stiff and hard to breath in, breathing became more troublesome and my head began to pound in an intense migraine. I fell to my knees on the cold floor as I felt myself choke on nothing.
"Neat huh?" The woman at last spoke again, her voice still sickeningly sweet. "Some of the same fibers used in the metabraces are sown into the metal floor so mutants are rendered immobile, but are still left alive." The woman took her seat on a rolling chair, completely unaffected by the room as I was. That's when it dawned on me, she's not affected because she wasn't a mutant.
"Now, Natsu Dragneel, you are not allowed to speak of what you have seen, nor are you allowed to contact the subject at anytime. You cannot tell any other person of what you have experienced tonight, or who we are. Any further involvement in this case will immediately in confined detention and the forced wear of mutabraces."
The way the woman spoke and her choice vocabulary only served to bring me into confusion. Subject? Case? What in the world was this woman going on about? I had half a mind to snap at her for not making any sense, but the brain splitting pain rendered me unable to speak in a coherent sentence. The nameless woman gave me a single glance of disgust, a look of sadistic pleasure hidden in the depths of her eyes from my apparent suffering in that room. With a flick of her wrist, her lackey grabbed me by my upper arm and quite literally dragged and threw out of the room like a dead sack of potatoes. As soon as my body left that room I felt my strength return to me once again. I laid there on the ground for a few moments, gasping, and trying to stand. I felt a little wobbly on my feet, but I managed to stand and walk over to her door. On it was a placard that read: Dr. Marson.
I don't know who this woman was, what she was doing, or who she worked for, but what I've learned from her in the short time that she spoke was that she was a human who I could be held partly responsible to why Miss Lucy Heartfilia was never seen in class, and never converged in conversation with anyone. Dr. Marson should have known that I have a real knack for doing what I'm not supposed to do. If she thinks that little chat and room could scare me out of stalk- I mean, observing Lucy Heartfilia, she was dead wrong.
Walking away from her office and the restricted area I headed for the cafeteria to have my dinner, which was hopefully still warm and plentiful. Guess that's wishful thinking, huh? By the time I got there the majority of the student body had already left the dining hall. Going to the now small kitchen line, I grabbed myself a large bowl of spicy chicken ramen with a side of miso soup and mochi ice cream for dessert. I headed for the table where I usually sit at for my meals, seeing it was empty and that my friends had abandoned me like assholes. Sitting myself down alone I dug into my food, not bother to take my time and savor the flavor 'cause I had to hurry and tell Gray what just happened tonight. Like I said earlier, I'm not good at following orders.
Finishing off my meal quickly and dropping my dishes off in the bins I run off back to the eastern lounge, where he'd most likely be. And as I thought, when I arrived into the large open-spaced room, he was there with Erza and his girlfriend Juvia. I stepped into the room walking briskly over straight for them, but froze when I saw one of Marson's lackeys standing in the corner of the room, keeping a keen eye on me. Dreyer Academy has always had security within its own walls in order to protect the students from each other and from anti-mutant terrorists. But the guards took regular rounds around the building halls and outside grounds, not staying in one place for too long so the students often ignored them. Though for some reason this man stood out like a sore thumb from all the other guards I've ever seen before. For starters, his clothing attire was completely different from what the usual guards, it was darker and more formal, the usual guards wore black pants with a short-sleeved, white button-up shirt. This nameless man was wearing a black suit with a white button-up and a black necktie, I could only guess it it was metacloth, which was really hard to distinguish from normal cloth unless you wore it.
Now aware of this strange man watching me I walked less briskly and more casual over to my friends, but I felt my muscles tense against my will, suddenly feeling nervous about saying anything.
"Hey guys!" I said in a fake voice, hoping the others would notice something was wrong. But none of them looked up from the Disney movie they were watching, too entranced with Mulan running away to join the Chinese army to bother with me.
"Hey, now be quiet." Erza ordered, more enthralled than anyone else, as this was her favorite Disney movie. I sighed and sat down on the ground, leaning my back against the arm of the couch since there was no more room it. After sitting down I felt a hand tap my shoulder, and looked back at Gray, who had taken his attention away from the movie.
"How was the stalking?" He inquired in a whisper, his face still coy. I opened my mouth to answer him but stopped when I heard footsteps behind the couch. Looking back I noticed the man had made his way closer to me, now sitting at the round table not far behind them, staring at me with an intense gaze. I felt my mouth go dry and my mind freeze up, I suddenly felt vulnerable.
"The same." I answered hastily and focused back on the movie. Gray seemed to be weirded out by my fast answer, but didn't bother to question me.
I allowed myself to enveloped in the movie as well, but my focus would not sit still and my mind kept wandering to two things: The man behind me, and the strange air surrounding Lucy Heartfilia. Even when the next movie started, which I had decided on since it was my turn to choose, my favorite Tarzan, I spent another two hours, now on the couch since Juvia decided to occupy Gray's lap, with my thoughts running wild in my mind. Every so often I would take a look back and see the man still there in the back of the room watching me, which gave my nerves no time to relax. The man's presence was like a chain on my own mind, almost forbidding me from even thinking about today's events. I kept picturing Lucy Heartfilia hunched over in pain and fear as her own powers as they grew out of her own control. I kept thinking of the five restraints she had on and wondered what kind of pain they would create for her, as they are designed for punishment and are meant to cause constant pain. The restraint of the muta gene from just one brace can cause a mutant piercing pain based on their power level and age.
Since a mutant's power grows as they age, a power ranking isn't given until the age of fifteen. The rankings are UA- under average, A- average, AA- above average, S- super, and SS- super strength, and lastly WD- world destruction, meaning they have the ability to destroy the world. Only three mutants of that caliber have ever lived, and they were all killed by the humans and other mutants when they posed to much of a threat.
I myself am level AA, along with all of my friends except Erza and my other friend Mira, who are both level S and have to wear a level one restraint at all times because of it. All mutants S and above have to wear at least one restraint at all times as a sort of precaution. It seemed cruel, but the government said it was for general protection. I didn't buy that bullshit though, it's because of a lack of trust in mutants, pretty much everyone knows that.
Being distracted with my own mind I failed to notice the movie pass and end, as well as the signal for curfew. Everyone around him put away the controls, games, and movies, then headed out for their rooms. I stood and walked out along with them like a zombie, still not completely out of my thoughts yet. When I walked out into the hall I saw another man at the end of the walkway, dressed similarly to the man in the room. I strode down the hall towards him, keeping off to the side and trying my best not to look at him. Turning the corner I saw another man in my way, there was an entire line of odd guards leading down the path to mine and Gray's dorm. None of them moved towards me, but simply watched as I walked. The ice user also seemed to notice them, getting crept out as well. The last man stood next to their door, staring me down, not bothering with Gray. Gray took out his key and we went inside, locking the door behind them.
"Dude what was that about?" He questioned turning to me. I shrugged my shoulders and played oblivious card.
"Dunno, I'm going to sleep." I told him and walked over to my bedroom closing the door behind me. I wanted to tell Gray what was going on, tell him of my encounter with the almost sadistic doctor, but I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched. Being paranoid I went around my room in search of any proof that someone was listening in on me. I looked up at the walls and ceiling, down on the ground and under my carpet. I checked my on top and under my mattress, blankets, and pillows, then looked around the bed frame. I guess I was making more noise than I thought because Gray walked in, looking concerned.
"Natsu what are you doing?" He asked. I didn't answer him right away as I tore apart my drawers, throwing my clothes every which way.
"Looking for a camera or a wire tap!" I replied and moved to my closet, throwing things out and looking through my clothes in search.
"Why?" He questioned, making his way further into my now dirty room.
"I need proof!"
"Of what?!" He demanded and grabbed my arm, stopping me from looking any further in the closet. I ripped my arm away and went over to my desk.
"Someone is watching me." I hissed and continued my search.
"What is going on?" He groaned and rubbed his temple. "You're not acting like yourself, Natsu, and now there are a truck load of strange guys outside our door. What happened man?"
Knowing I couldn't answer that question yet I continued to look around his desk, kneeling down to look under I saw a small foreign object under the desktop, a small and black looking speaker, a wire tap. Pulling it off I stood up and showed it to him."
"Found it." I said. Lighting a flame in the palm of my hand I burned and destroyed the device.
"Why was that there?" Gray asked pointing to the ashes.
"They wanted to watch me, keep me quiet." I told him and dumped the ashes in the garbage.
"Who's they?"
"I'm not sure, but I know they're trying to keep something about Lucy Heartfilia a secret."
I then proceeded to tell Gray everything that had happened this evening. About Lucy Heartfilia's strange outbreak of power, her wearing five restrictions with the ability to use her powers with such strength. I talked about the men who took her away and the woman who brought me into a metafiber room and how I was brought to my knees and the warning she gave me. Then finally about the man who had been watching me the entire time we were in the lounge and the odd feeling he gave me. When I finished explaining Gray looked at me a bit dumbfounded, not knowing what to think or say.
"...Five braces?" Gray finally worded when he eventually broke out of his initial shock.
"Yes." I responded. "She had the mutant's crown." My confirmation only served to send him into further confusion on what to think.
"Shouldn't you just stop seeing her?" He asked in suggestion.
"What? Why?"
"Because, dude, if she had the fifth restraint it means she must have a power level of WD. If the government has kept her alive, it must be either because they have a plan for her or because she can't be killed!" He warned me, putting his hands on my shoulders.
"You don't know that!" I argued back at him, shoving his hands off. "There was concern and fear in her eyes when it happened, I know she doesn't want to hurt anyone."
"Natsu you don't know that. You don't know who she even is, what can you say about her?" Gray challenged taking a step forward.
I don't know who she truly is, I don't know what she likes and what she doesn't like, I don't know her age or what she wants to be. But these are all things I want to learn, ever since I first saw Lucy Heartfilia reading alone in the library, or walking quietly in the hallways, I've wanted to know who she was. There is something big going on beneath everyone's nose that no one knows about, non-mutants from the government or a secret organization, or even the school itself are using cruel methods against this single mutant who is almost never seen and kept hidden away. And now it has affected me and invaded my life and privacy, I have a right to know what is going on.
"I want to know what's going on." I said to him. "Please keep this between us." Gray sighed, he knew my stubbornness best and that I wouldn't listen to anything else that he has to say.
"Okay then, just don't don't get yourself killed." He told in an order.
"Of course." I smirked and we fist bumped. Not having anything else to say, I turned away and began to clean up the large mess I had created in my room from throwing everything out of it's place. Gray left to go sleep while I spent the next hour cleaning.
I didn't know what I was getting myself into, or who it was I was going up against, but what I did know is that whoever these people are, they've made a grand mistake in threatening me then trying to scare me away. I don't care if they have an entire arsenal on their side, I will get to the bottom of this. I will know who the girl Lucy Heartfilia is.
.
.
.
Just so you know there will be the occasional cuss word in this story to make it seem more realistic. ALSO! I will most likely only be updating on weekends because of school, and not every weekend because I have other stories and a life to tend to. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, you will be left in the dark along side Natsu until everything is uncovered.
This is a Natsu POV only fic! Lucy will not receive a pov at all. Please leave a review and tell me what you think, they help more than you know! Until next time, stay safe and stay happy everyone.
Favorite, Follow, Review~