"Hey, careful!" Luke complained as Natsumi dragged him across Magnolia. She ignored his protests, and forged on, pushing past anyone in their way. Geesh, this is Natsu's female counterpart alright. . . He thought irritably, as he almost tripped over a rock.
Once they were at the borders of Magnolia, Luke could see a small house built with gray cobblestones. The roof was painted reddish orange, and Luke noticed bushes growing from crevices in the roof. There were five windows: two on one side of the house, two on the other, and, one right beneath the roof. The bricked chimney let out puffs of smoke. He remembered following Natsu and Happy home at one point, but it just felt so long ago since then. Luke stumbled over the fallen branches and winced as brittle leaves crushed beneath him. He really was unfamiliar with this place, he didn't know where to place his feet. The sky was pink, and dappled with enormous, white clouds. The sun shone brightly, that the celestial mage had to cover his eyes.
"We're here," Natsumi said gruffly, once they were standing in front of the house.
Luke knew it looked exactly like Natsu's house back at Earthland. The only difference was the sign that stood, guarding the house. In sloppy red handwriting, were the words, "Natsumi and Happy's House". Two faces were underneath the words. One was of Natsumi's face and another of Happy's face. Luke couldn't help but chuckle at the poorly drawn faces. Natsumi led Luke to the bumpy steps, which were draped in moss. The celestial wizard almost tripped over the second step. He coughed uncomfortably, trying to regain his composure. He noticed Natsumi's lip curve. Luke crossed his arms grumpily, and swiveled his head to the right, refusing to see Natsumi's amused expression.
The fire dragon slayer pushed the wooden door open, and Luke could hear a loud creak. After scrutinizing the view, Luke fanned his face without thinking. The room was a complete mess. The doormat was shaped like a fish, reading the words, Welcome. Newspapers were thrown all over the floor, ripped up chew toys were scattered on the kitchen counter, and the hammock was stacked with food scraps, causing it to lean downward, only adding to the dismal setting.
Natsumi glanced at Luke, who was still surveying the house's interiors. "Who are you?"
Luke was taken aback at the question. "W-What?" He stammered.
"I said," Natsumi's hands burst into red, hot flames, "who are you?"
Luke cautiously stepped back. Did Natsumi already know he wasn't Luke? He had to give her credit, she was definitely wiser than her stupid male counterpart. Should I tell her the truth? His eyes flitted over to Natsumi's stern gaze. Her arms were crossed, which meant she put out the flames, and her charcoal eyes continued to stare him down, waiting for an answer.
"I'm. . . Lucy Heartfilia," He finally confessed. "I'm from Earthland, and I'm not really sure how I ended up in here-" He gestured to his form. "-but since you knew I wasn't Luke, maybe you can possibly help-"
Natsumi's eyes dilated, and then -"Lucy!" Natsumi yelled, and embraced the celestial mage without warning. "Hell, I thought I got lost or somethin'!' The fire mage babbled as the male Lucy gasped for air, "And I'm stuck in this weird body too, and I have a weird scent. Also I have these things-"
She released Luke from her grip and before she could do something very VERY wrong, Luke grabbed her hands and halted her actions. Natsumi blinked in surprise.
"Natsu, you're not supposed to do that!" Luke regained his composure and ended up admonishing him. "Baka. Why didn't you tell me it was you, sooner?!"
"Why didn't YOU tell me it was you, sooner?!" Natsumi retorted childishly, with a pout on her face that surprisingly suited her.
"You think I could?! I thought you were the actual counterpart of yourself, I was only being alert!" Luke said in exasperation. He cringed as the smell of rotten sardines met his nose. "And why did you invite me to your HOUSE?!"
Natsumi rolled her eyes and wrung her hands from Luke's grip. "Because, I went to your apartment. It was still really comfy, but. . " She wrinkled her nose. "It smelled weird."
"Smelled. . weird?" Luke echoed.
"Yeah! Like some sort of man perfume," Natsumi shivered at the thought, and her tongue stuck out to show her disgust. "So stupid."
"My counterpart uses man spray?! Ugh, just great." Luke palmed his own face and groaned.
"Yeah!" Natsumi clutched her white muffler. "Plus, you got a collection of these weird blue headbands."
"Head. . bands?" Luke said slowly.
"Mhm," Natsumi nodded vigorously. "In fact," She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "You're wearing one right now."
"I am?" Luke placed a hand on his forehead. "Oh. . ." Sure enough, he could feel a thin cloth wrapped around his forehead. "Wait. . " He felt stupid, with his calloused (ugh) hand on his head. "What are we doing?! We're supposed to be figuring out how we got here!"
The fire mage blinked, "Oh," She rubbed her chin again as if she had a beard. Her eyes suddenly glazed over. "The book. The book did all this, right?! What is that thing?!"
Oh no. Oh, why, oh, why did he change the subject? Luke scratched his sandy blonde hair and laughed awkwardly. "Book?. . What book?"
The female Natsu narrowed her eyes into dragon-like slits. "I'm serious,"
Gosh, what was going on, here? Why was this baka so obsessed with his book? "Don't you owe me an explanation?" Natsumi demanded as if reading Luke's very thoughts. "I told you to let go of that book but you wouldn't. Why didn't you?"
Luke bit his lip anxiously. "I-I guess I should tell you."