She panted and huffed as she ran faster than she thought she could. Her legs throbbed and begged her to stop, but she knew she couldn't. Behind her she could hear shouts, men calling after her, shouting slurs and profanities. A young girl no more than 10 ran through a forest, tripping over branches and roots on the ground. Her clothes were old and worn, tattered with a sheathed sword strapped to her back. Her light brown hair that reached her lower back was matted with blood and dirt. Brown eyes held fear and panic as they brimmed with tears at the thought of being caught.
Yuki Okami, the girl running, had just turned 10 when she made her escape from a dark guild with the help of one of their members. Now she was on the run. Peeking behind her, Yuki could see the men closing in and knew she had no choice but to call her out. Stopping dead in the middle of a small clearing Yuki reached to her side and grabbed a black key shouting, "OPEN GATE OF THE WAR MAIDEN, ARIMINA!"
Black light blinded the men as they came into the clearing and as the light cleared a woman now stood in the center of the clearing, a warning glare on her face. This woman was Armina, the war maiden, the leader of the black Zodiacs. Armina's hair was a light blonde with matching ears and tail. Her clothes consisted of a gold plated red crop top with fur lining it, fur gauntlets, fur lined short shorts that were easy to move in, and thigh high black laced combat boots with a slight heel. Armina's brown eyes set on Yuki and softened. Her master was hurt and she was going to be sure whoever did this payed the price.
In the sternest voice Yuki could muster she commanded, "Amina, take care of these men." Getting a single nod in return Armina turned to the men who had just entered the clearing when she showed. A single glare from the war maiden had a shiver run down their spines. Within a second Armina was on them, throwing a flurry of punches at the largest guy, hoping to set an example. Armina knew her master could not hold her gate open long with how weak she was at the moment. Still, Armina wished she could stay longer than a few minutes to really show these dark guild members what happens when you mess with her master.
The dark guild members watch at there guild mate was punched repeatedly by Armina who seemed to not be letting up anytime soon. They watched as he fell to the ground, bruised and beaten. Armina raised her hand and in a flash of black light a sword appeared. In one quick motion she drove the sword through the man's chest, killing him instantly. Pulling her sword free Armina rounded on the other two and ran at them, her eyes holding a deadly fire. The guild members jumped back and as they began to start a spell Armina had cut off one of the members head and was turning to the other one.
Shocked the man stood there, his spell long forgotten as Armina advanced on him slowly. Her sword dripped with blood as she continued toward the man a wicked smile in place; she was enjoying this a little too much. The man started backing up, silently begging the war maiden to spare him. An airy laugh escaped Armina as she drove her sword through the man's head, watching with glee as blood poured from the wound. Yuki watched with wide eyes as Armia's sword disappeared and the man fell to the ground lifeless. "Armina, thank you. You can go back now," Yuki said looking at her spirit cautiously.
Whirling around Armina's eyes landed on Yuki and softened, losing their malice almost instantly. With a nod the war maiden disappeared and a cloud of black stars. Sighing Yuki fell to the ground exhausted and as she hit the ground everything went black.
The sun was shining and the birds were chirping as a salmon haired dragon slayer walked through the woods. He hummed a little toon as he sauntered through the trees easily navigating the forest. Natsu Dragneel finally had some time to himself and he was going to savor every bit of it. While he enjoyed his time with his team sometimes he just needed a break. Usually he would bring Happy but the little exceed decided to stay at the hotel with the team wanting to give Natsu time to clear his head.
Lately he had been thinking a lot about a certain blonde stellar mage. Though that wasn't the only girl on his mind, the younger of the Strauss siblings Lisanna was also consuming his thoughts. Natsu was confused. He liked both, but lately he when he saw Lisanna his heart would flutter and his face would heat up. Natsu wasn't sure what it meant he was planning on asking Lucy about it. Then again he wasn't sure if wanted to. Before Lisanna came back Natsu felt the same things for the blonde stellar mage but now with Lisanna it felt different. Stronger.
Sighing Natsu paused in his steps when the scent of blood hit his nose; a strong scent of blood. Starting toward the smell in sprint Natsu hoped whoever was bleeding was okay, more importantly he hoped it wasn't their blood. God, he hoped it wasn't their blood. The scent was so strong it almost had Natsu gagging.
Stopping in his tracks Natsu came to a small clearing where four bodies lay. One was a small girl who was sickly thin, the other three bodies were man each covered in blood; one of the men didn't even have a head. Panicked Natsu ran over to the little girl and listened for a heart beat. There was one, but it was faint. Looking over the girl he searched for any wounds she may have. What he found had many questions swimming in his head.
Her wrists were bloody and scabbed over while blood trailing from between spaces in the scabs. Blood soaked her plain grey dress by her abdomen indicating she was injured severely there. Covering her arms and legs were various scars and bruises, some old and some new. Carefully Natsu picked her up, her head laying in the crook of his arms while her legs hung over his other arm.
Turning to look at the dead men curiously Natsu thought to himself, 'Did she do this?' The little girl in his arms was sickly thin with matted light brown hair. Her skin was pale with a slight gray tone to it. Her face was thin and smudged with blood and dirt. Determined Natsu began running back to the hotel, knowing Lucy would be able to help. Natsu's thoughts were consumed with the little girl in his arms. Who is she? Why was she next to three dead bodies? Where did she come from?
That's when he heard it; a light jingle of keys hitting together with each step he took. Stopping Natsu looked around for the source of the sound before looking at the little girl. Attached to her hip was a small key ring with several keys on it, some black and come sliver. Realization struck Natsu as he looked at the keys, 'She's a celestial mage like Lucy!' Again Natsu started running determined to get back to the hotel and help the small girl in his arms.
The hotel was getting closer and soon in the distance he could see it. Pushing himself to go faster Natsu burst into the hotel, startling the attendants. Looking around Natsu made sure none of his team was in the lobby before jogging up the stairs. It wasn't long before he could hear his teammates voices indicating he was in the right place.
Opening the door Natsu watched as his team turned to him with smiles only for those smiles to drop. Shock was written on there faces as there eyes set on the little girl in Natsu's arms. Erza was the first to break from there stupor. The red head walked toward Natsu asking, "Natus, who is this?"
Setting the little girl on one of the couches Natsu turned to his team shrugging, "I'm not sure. I found her in the woods next to three dead guys."
"Why would you bring her here instead of a hospital, flame brain?" Gray said from his spot against the wall which only caused the two to start fighting.
Ignoring the arguing Lucy walked over to the little girl and checked her pulse, it was faint but strong. Removing the sword strapped to her back Lucy noticed the keys on her hip and moved them to the table, deciding to mention it later. Sighing the blonde looked over the girl noticing the wounds on her arms and legs along with the blood stain on her dress. "She's hurt," Lucy's soft voice was heard causing the team to look at the little girl.
Erza walked over to the couch and looked at the little girl asking, "Natsu is she still bleeding?" Sniffing the air Natsu shook his head causing a collective sigh to echo through the room. Walking over to the couch Gray handed Lucy the med kit he had fished out of his bag. The blonde graciously accepted it and sat next to Erza ready to patch up the little girl. The two gently wrapped the girls wrists before moving onto her arms and legs. Natsu and Gray stood there watching, having forgotten about there fighting when Lucy spoke.
Lucy's mind whirled with thoughts along the same lines as everyone else, who is this girl? As they finished wrapping the little girls arms and legs they went to move to her most serious wound when they paused. Erza looked at the two boys and motioned for them to leave. When they hesitated Erza glared making them rush out of the room. Sighing Erza turned to Lucy who had begun to roll up the girls dress slightly relieved when they saw she was wearing a pair of bloody white shorts. Then came a gasp of horror as they saw the wound the little girl had on her abdomen.
Tear welled in Lucy's eyes as she looked over the little girl again. On her side were several open stab wounds ranging in size. Littering her stomach were more wounds though most of them were either old or scars. A sense of sadness washed over Lucy as she and Erza started wrapping the little girls torso. Lucy didn't know what this girl went through but she was going to make sure it never happened again.
Just as they finished a light flashed in the room, alerting the two girls of a spirits presence. Turning Lucy smiled at her spirit, Loke leader of the zodiacs. "Lucy, I've brought some healing ointment from the celestial realm. When you change the bandages use this on the wounds, it'll help speed the healing process," Loke spoke softly handing Lucy the ointment.
Taking the ointment Lucy nodded to her spirit, "Thank you Loke."
As Loke went to reply an ear piercing scream rang through the room chilling them to their bones. Heads turned and the door swung open. The source of the scream was the little girl who was now cowering back into the couch eyes wide with fear. When her scream died down the girl was staring at them taking short panicked breaths.
Yuki stared at the people in the room with wide eyes. One stepped towards her making a whimper escape the girls lips as she crawled further into the corner of the couch. She didn't understand what she was doing here or how she got here. All she wanted was to hide from their gazes. Curling in on herself Yuki let out another whimper as pain wracked her body. Looking down at her hand she noticed blood was covering it. Gasps spread through the room as they saw the young girls hand.
Tears welled in her eyes as a tall busty blonde took a step forward. Silently Yuki called to her spirits for help. Almost a second later a blinding flash came and went. In its place now stood Armina, who was holding a sword to the blondes neck. Fear flashed through her eyes and Yuki immediately felt sorry. "A-a-armina," Yuki whimpered. Said person whipped around to see her master bleeding. In an instant Armina was at her side laying her down on the couch to see her wounds better. Armina rolled up Yuki's dress to see the bandages that were covering her stomach were now bloody.
As Armina went to work on her master Loke stood in shock. He never thought he'd see the person before him again. In a strained voice Loke asked, "Armina?"
Her ears twitched at the sound of her name and looking behind her she froze. "Leo?" Armina's voice held shock and sadness as she stared at the leader of the zodiacs. Her shock soon faded when she hear her master whimper again. Snapping her head down to Yuki she finished wrapping the little girl up before turning and placing herself between Yuki and the others. They all stared at each other, a silence in the room before the busty blonde cleared her throat, "I'm sorry we scared you." Getting on her knees Lucy peaked around the Armina to look Yuki in the eyes before continuing, "I'm Lucy and this is my team Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy." She motioned to each person as she spoke a small smile on her face. "Natsu found you in the woods and brought you here to get patched up."
Eyes still wide Yuki nodded her head in a slight thanks before hiding behind Armina. "My names Armina, this is my master Yuki. We," Armina paused before shaking her head and continuing. "We thank you for your help but it is no longer needed."
Loke stepped forward toward Armina his eyes holding pain as he spoke, "Armina, let them help you. I promise they won't hurt Yuki."
Armina's skeptical gaze landed on the other people in the room. The door was closed now and everyone was standing near them. The one closest was Loke or Leo a slender man with orange hair and ears. Like the last time she saw him he was wearing a suit and tie with rings on each finger. Lucy was next to Loke, her blonde hair held in a side pony that draped over her shoulder stopping above her large chest. Her clothes were tight and looked like a second skin. A blue crop top and short black shorts. Adorning her feet were a pair of thigh high boots with a slight heel. Erza was next to Lucy, her red hair was down and reached the middle of her back. She wore a silver chest plate with a blue skirt and silver metal boots.
Next were the boys who had huddled together behind the girls. Natus was behind Lucy, his pink hair making him stand out among his friends. His chest was bare besides a black and yellow vest with matching pants that were tied at the waist and ankles. Upon his feet were open toed sandals. Next to him was Gray, his only garments were a pair on baggy pants since he had no shirt on. On his feet were a pair of boots that reached hit knee.
Nodding Armina turned to Yuki saying, "These people are going to help you. They mean no harm."
Yuki peaked around at the five individuals and blue cat with a skeptical gaze. Looking at Lucy she spotted a set of keys hanging from her hip; eyes widening she looked up at her faithful spirit. Her eyes darted to Leo next before realization struck, 'Lucy's a celestial mage too.' Eyes turning back to Armina she nodded sitting up on the couch with her legs dangling off the edge.
Lucy was the first to respond and in a second she was at the girls side. Soft brown eyes stared into fear brown eyes as Lucy rolled up Yuki's dress far enough to see the wound. Grabbing the healing ointment that Loke got her Lucy applied a little to the open wound. Feeling Yuki's body tense Lucy pulled her hand back and quickly started on wrapping the little girls stomach again. Armina had moved to sit next to the little girl a comforting hand on her shoulder. Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Happy all stood away from the little girl not wanting to startle her by being so close. As for Loke, he was standing next to Armina arms crossed and leaning against the arm rest.
Yuki whimpered slightly causing Lucy to move slightly faster. She knew her movements were startling the girl but there was nothing she could do about it. Other than move faster. When the bandages were finally covering the wound, Lucy applied adhesive and moved away from the girl to stand by the arm rest. Yuki rolled down her dress quickly before curling up to Armina. Lucy sat down against the arm rest a few inches between their legs and asked, "Yuki, how did you end up in the woods?"
Fear flashed through her eyes at the mention of the forest. Armina, noticing the young girls fear, wrapped an arm around Yuki's shoulder. A exhausted sigh escaped Armina as she looked over the other people in the room. The war maiden could decide whether or not to trust these people. While she trusted Leo there was no way she was going to trust these people so easily after what mages did to Yuki. "Yuki was running from a dark guild. Those men you likely saw were a part of that guild. I personally took care of them before Yuki passed out from exhaustion."
Shock was written on everyone's faces while Yuki just curled further into Armina's side, not wanting to talk about what happened to her. "But why?" Gray asked taking a step forward. "Yuki's just a little girl what would a guild want with her?"
Armina's cold gaze landed on Gray causing him to take a step back to where he was, slightly fearful of what the woman would do to him. "It's not my place to tell what happened to her. When Yuki will speak of it when she's ready," Armina stated coldly adding in a glare to let them know not to push it.
A grin spread onto the salmon haired boys face as he said, "Until then you should join Fairy Tail! It's our guild."
Turning to look at Natsu a slight glimmer shone in Yuki's eyes at the mention of the famous guild. Yuki could remember when she was really little and wanted to join Fairy Tail with her siblings. Looking up at Armina, Yuki gave her a questioning gaze. Said person looked over at Leo who in turn nodded. Armina looked down at her little master and nodded, letting her know it was okay. In return Yuki looked at Natsu and nodded stuttering, "O-okay I'll j-j-join."
A small smile appeared on everyone's face before Natsu lit his fists on fire shouting, "I'M ALL FIRED UP!"
Yuki's eyes widened in fear as she stared at the fire, memories flashing in her mind. A scream came from the little girl as she jumped behind the couch and hid. Shaking in fear Yuki peeked over the couch to see Armina holding Natsu by the throat sword in hand. Everyone was around Armina trying to calm everything down. Then came a soft voice, "Yuki, Natsu didn't mean to scare you. He just gets excited easily." Lucy was crouched next to Yuki hand held out to her. The little girl stared at Lucy's hand for several seconds before hesitantly placing her boney hand in Lucy's dainty one. A bright smile came to Lucy as she gently pulled the little girl from behind the couch and sat her on the couch. Lucy then sat next to her and the little girl hesitantly curled herself into Lucy's side, shocking the blonde.
Yuki looked at her faithful guardian asking, "Armina, can y-you put N-N-Natsu down?" Armina turned to Yuki and released Natsu, who fell to the floor in a heap. Seeing Yuki curled up to Lucy made a soft smile come to the war maidens face.
Turning to the rest of Team Natsu Armina bowed saying, "I'm very sorry for my actions. I am just trying to protect Yuki."
Erza stepped forward extending her hand to Armina, "It's alright. From the scaring Yuki has I can tell she needs someone to look after her." The others nodded along with Erza's words, agreeing fully. Though Natsu and Gray were slightly confused by what scars the little girl had.
Turning to her master Armina bent down to look Yuki in the eyes saying, "I'm going back to the celestial realm, if you need me call out my name. Do not summon anyone until you at full strength." Getting a nod in return Armina disappeared in a flash of black light.
Loke stepped forward clearing his throat to get everyone's attention before speaking, "I will also be heading back, I have much to discuss with Armina." Nodding to Lucy Loke disappeared in a flash of gold.
Erza looked at the group nodding to herself before saying, "Let's get to bed. We have a long day tomorrow." With that everyone but Lucy and Yuki started moving, gathering clothes to change or in Erza's case, requiping into her pajamas. Lucy glanced down at the little girl at her side and smiled, Yuki's eyes were drooping. Moving slowly Lucy moved the little girl so she was laying down on the couch. Grabbing a pillow and blanket Lucy tucked in the small girl, putting the pillow under her head and putting the blanket on top of her. The small girl curled into the warmth the blanket gave her and as she dozed off she whispered, "Thank you."