Author's comments: What happened to updating weekly? Answer: Life. It sucks but cheers to me finally posting another chapter. R & R!

There may be some grammatical and spelling errors. You've been warned.

Chapter 4

Leaning against the tree, Lucy watched amongst the shelter of the tree's leaves as Romeo and Wendy played a game of tag. It had been almost five weeks since she had received the order from Brandish to stay with the people whom had treated her injuries. During this time she had come to learn along with this Erza, Natsu and Wendy that several other staff resided within the inn. The wind blew and her hair which was upheld in a ponytail whipped.

There was a Gray whom was polite enough to her but always careful, cautious and distant. Juvia who was married to Gray took to her quite nicely (threatening her about coming too close to her Gray-sama) along with Levy and a Jellal. Gajeel never spoke to her. Erza always inquired as to her health and how she was doing and Natsu.

Her eyebrows scrunched together in distaste. She didn't hate him as much as before but she knew danger when she saw it and he was dangerous. No matter how much he tried to hide this with his lazy grins, smirks and ridiculous teasing he couldn't hide the fact that a predator laid hidden within the edges of his ki.

Countless times Lucy tried to stay away from the man but fate seemed to have other plans for her. Sometimes they would meet up in the hallways or sometimes if she were on waitress duties then he would be there on security or cleaning duties. That was another thing she never imagined she'd be doing. Working at an Inn. Of all the undercover missions she had done never had she worked as a hostess, dish washer, cleaner all at the same time, especially for such a long period of time. It almost felt peaceful to be here. In fact in moments like now when the Inn wasn't busy and Wendy and Romeo played like children their age should while the others lingered around in the backyard, Lucy hardly thought about revenge. She almost felt normal.

Tsking, the blonde stood. Her red kimono seemed to glitter under the rays of the sun. She raised a hand to shade her eyes from the blazing sun. Outside was dry, heated but beautiful. The wind blew again and she snorted before heading to the dojo.

All the others knew about her was that she was a samurai for hire. A bounty hunter. They didn't judge and each of them all seemed to have a past as stained as her own. If she hadn't had a dojo to train in, Lucy might have worried that her blade would have begun to dull. The others weren't aware of her skill set just yet. All they knew was that she was quite skilled with a sword. They didn't know that she possessed ninja and other martial arts skill along with deception, thievery and assassination. The blonde supposed this was good.

Once she had reached the dojo, Lucy quickly went for a sword. She conducted a few strikes before finally letting her body lose. A slash here. Another one there and as her practice continued, gradually she began to imagine that she was tearing apart those fairy tail scum whom had changed the world for the quote and quote better. Another angry thrust.

She spun around and immediately brought her blade down diagonally. Her movements were growing more erratic, more violent. The anger soon morphed into rage as she thought about how they had invaded her home.

Flames of the past erupted around her.

Slash.

Bodies laid shredded amongst the mansion's furniture and other finery.

More blood pooled into the ground, connecting to the other pathways of blood.

Two more angry strikes. A ground sweep and a couple of mad sprints across the boarded dojo.

A sword was thrust into a blonde haired man's throat — her father.

Lucy released an angry battle cry as she brought her blade down into the ground then sent an imaginary kick at her opponent.

Next, a bloodied blade slid into her mother's skull.

Another cry. Lucy raised her blade as moisture reached her eyes. It was at that moment she noticed another presence. Quickly the blade was thrown towards the entrance where the handle of the blade was caught rather easily.

And a second or two later sparks flied at the sudden collision of two powerful blades.

Natsu whom had originally been leaning against the door, watching as the blonde practice with such vicious onslaught of emotions narrowed his eyes down at her. As soon as he had caught the sword the woman had sent flying at him, with obvious intent to kill, she had appeared in front of him, sword aimed for his neck. Luckily he blocked in time.

He realized a second later that her brown eyes seemed dull as if they were trapped in a memory and he frowned. For a moment they stared and then Lucy glared rather coldly.

He applied more force to his weapon just like her however he overpowered her and her own blade was lying against her neck with his closely behind. Natsu narrowed his eyes at her, gazing at her darkly. "You really don't value your life, Lucy."

Lucy glared. "What the hell do you want?"

Natsu smirked.

Lucy didn't take too well to that smirk. The next thing he knew her foot had connected with his stomach. Eyes widened and he was sent stumbling backwards, further into the dojo.

But it didn't end there. The blonde had quickly tripped him with a ground sweep before stomping her foot roughly on his chest when his back had hit the ground. "I'm not in a good mood right now." She finished coldly, gazing at him with that impassive look, the tip of her sword at his neck and he merely chuckled. The blonde still refused to call him by his given name and she was much stronger than he had originally anticipated. Not to mentioned pretty damn skilled too.

Grinning lazily, he quickly brought a foot to swipe at her feet. It reached its intended target; however before the woman could fall she quickly back flipped, placing some distance between them.

Natsu was crouching; his blade resting idly atop his shoulder.

Gritting her teeth, the assassin charged towards him. Swords collided and more sparks fled. Even as time began to pass neither of the two samurais seemed to have any intention of stopping. Lucy brought a knee to Natsu's stomach before she roughly grabbed hold of his chin and threw him over her. Raising her blade she brought it down but the pinkette parried the attack before landing on his two feet. His head was bowed and Lucy continued to attack him. Lashing out left, right, diagonally, horizontally, and vertically yet the man countered each of her attack. And for each time blades collided, more sparks flied.

As the two continue attacking viciously, a red head who had been originally merely passing the dojo paused at the noise she heard coming from it. The shoji was slid opened by an inch and when she peeked her eyes widened in astonishment. Before her Natsu and their newest hire seemed to be going at it rather violently. They moved in blurs, appearing this way and that way. But what startled her most was the fact that even with his head lowered she could tell Natsu was smiling. He was enjoying himself and she smiled softly.

It was just as she hoped. This new girl though obviously damaged just like them was the right person to break their mundane life and though no one would admit it things were much interesting with her around especially with her constant bickering with Natsu and anyone whom pissed her off.

Chuckling, the red head slid the shoji shut.

Things got more violent between the two. Both appeared as equals until Lucy made one slight mistake in terms of her footing and that was enough for Natsu's attack to send her blade flying into the wall behind her. Before she could react with her fists, the blonde found herself roughly forced against the wall with the pink haired man's blade at her throat. His head was lowered and his lips were tugged down.

She glared hatefully. Knowing he had won this one battle pissed her off even more.

"Samurai for hire, you say?"

Lucy clenched her fists.

When Natsu raised his chin, her eyes grew abruptly larger. Red eyes were narrowed darkly, staring down at her with a cruelty she didn't know anyone other than a killer could possess. Something deep within her snapped to life at those eyes. Then it happened. Her senses were doing it again. Running rampant. A bead of sweat trailed down the side of her face. This man wasn't just dangerous. Weren't his eyes green or charcoal or something?

His sword pressed further into her throat. "You move more like an assassin."

Though his voice was deadly Lucy continue to maintain immunity. Lucy smirked wickedly. "I could say the same to you, Mr. Inn Keeper."

Natsu stared at her harder before giving her a dark smirk. After a few moments passed with the other glaring at each other he pulled away from her. "A spy then?"

Lucy arched a brow. "Are you someone who needs spying on?"

He chuckled. "They usually send attractive ones so I suppose that rules it out."

Lucy's eyebrow twitched and she glared. "What did you say, asshole!"

Natsu laughed again. "Luigi, you're actually quite funny."

"It's Lucy you imbecile! OR would you like me to slit your tongue out for you since you it's obviously no use to you."

Natsu merely watched her, staring at her in amusement then his hand outstretched and Lucy flinched when she felt his thumb trace at the slight bruise on her neck. "I was a bit rough. Sorry. For a moment I forgot you were a woman."

The blonde pulled away. "What exactly are you trying to say? That a woman can't be as powerful as a man." The blonde stepped closer to him, aura menacing. "Would you like me to demonstrate just how much of a woman I am when I kick your sorry butt?"

Natsu chuckled again and bent so that his lips were inches away from her ear. "You can demonstrate alright(his eyes slid up and down her form) just how much of a woman you are in other ways, ya know." He grinned carefree and bent his neck back just in time to avoid a blow to the face. When Lucy prepared to kick him he disappeared appearing near the entrance, his back to her. Raising a hand, the pink head waved. "Let's spar again, Lucy! You're strong."

From then on five weeks had turned into three months. Natsu and Lucy had become unofficial sparring partners. While Lucy would practice Natsu would seek her out and eventually had even started to give her some tips. Everyone had changed also. Maybe it had to do with how she worked just as hard as everyone else, scrubbing the floors until they were spotless, doing anything that was asked of her and more. She didn't need to stay up to midnight to help Levy or Wendy clean. She didn't have to travel with Erza or Juvia for groceries or to set the table even though she was assigned a different task. She didn't have to do any of these things yet she found herself doing more. And with more meant she was growing closer with the others. It started with Levy first. Lucy had been sitting on the floor in the kitchen —a place where she thought she could read peacefully (she hadn't read in quite some time), leaning against the cupboard.

"Ne, Lu-chan, what are you reading?"

Lucy glanced at the bluenette dully. Lu-chan? The blonde snapped the book closed and closed her eyes. "None of your business."

Levy smiled prettily. "Ne, come on." She nudged her with her shoulder. "You might try to hide it but I can see it."

Lucy's eyes snapped opened and she glared. "See what exactly."

Levy winked. "That despite that tough emotionless bad ass bitch pretense you're actually pretty nice."

Lucy scowled.

"And you're like me — a book worm."

Honestly, Lucy was speechless.

"Us book worms gotta stick together you know. And this is an outdated copy you're reading." Levy's face lighted. "Did you know that this inn actually has an underground library." Levy stood from her stooping position and patted her chest. "And I'm proud to say I've worked hard collecting over one thousand books."

Lucy blinked and blurted in amazement. "You have over one thousand books!"

Levy grinned excitedly in return. "Auhu. Wanna see?"

They talked about books and though Lucy still maintained her cold angry indifferent demeanor it didn't mean she couldn't relax about one of her favorite things. Gray didn't seem as guarded as before. In fact some times he would tease her here and there, give her pointers about the inn and even help her out much to Juvia's chagrin. Gajeel and her had also started to speak too; however short. The man mostly referred to her as bunny girl. Life here seemed normal but even Lucy knew peace with her couldn't last forever.

And how right she was when she had spotted a few of her bretheren from the organization lingering around these parts. Lucy ensured she became most scarce when it came to handling the club. It wasn't until one of the customers had attempted to hit Wendy after she made a slight error in food arrangements that Lucy realized staying here with unknown people was obviously a huge mistake.

During the times they spared, Lucy was aware this Natsu was an aggressive rough person whose eyes would change upon blood lust. What she didn't expect was for the man to end up dead the next night along with the rest of his bretheren or so she thought. At that night, while Lucy was heading for the kitchen for a late night snack she saw it.

Natsu walking casually through the hallways, red eyed glinted and sheathed blade resting on his shoulders. Blood was on him and that bandaged hand and his eyes were so dark and she gasped softly. He regarded her coldly and for some reason Lucy found that those eyes appeared quite familiar as if she had seen those already.

She hadn't commented. The next day whilst she was sparring, Natsu joined her. However, this time something was different. The man normally entered this red eyed state during a fight but when he came to her his eyes were red and he was aggressive when he threw the blade for her to practice with.

"Defend yourself."

"What the hell—" Even then she hadn't gotten a chance to finish for he was on her. Never had he attacked her so viciously — as if he wanted to kill her. And his eyes… Lucy maneuvered to her right just in time to avoid a strike. They continued like this with Lucy mostly dodging and deflecting his attacks. A few times. with such a forceful sword skill, he threw her to the floor, gazing down at her angrily.

"Get up," he stated coldly.

For a moment even she felt the cold clasp of fear as his movements were reminding her of a trained killer and not to mention they were starting to mirror the man whom had killed her parents.

This was ridiculous. Lucy was becoming more agitated. The blonde knew she needed to end things now. Her feelings were starting to become too uncontrolled.

Rolling to her side, Lucy quickly sheathed her blade. "I'm done," she made haste to turn but Natsu was faster; he roughly grabbed hold of her arm. "We're not finished yet."

The blonde peeked over her shoulder and glared at him dully. "We are."

Natsu narrowed his eyes at her and Lucy smirked. "Seems like we know who the real assassin is."

"I didn't kill them," he breathed darkly. "Merely taught them a lesson."

"Good for you. Now, let go of my arm, bastard before I rip out your tongue!"

Natsu glanced at her in amusement before spinning her around. "You truly are amusing, Lucy." And then just like that his eyes closed and he gave her one of the biggest grins she had ever seen. Lucy only had a moment to wonder if she could ever smile like that again. Instead she shook his grip from of off her and elbowed him in the stomach before throwing him over her.

Nastsu landed on his left knee, placing his hand on the floor to lessen impact as he skidded backwards, chin lowered, hair hiding his eyes.

"Don't touch me or smile at me like than when you're in this blood lust, Natsu."

Natsu raised his chin. His eyes were still red but didn't seem as thirsty for blood as before. "So the samurai for hire knows my name. That's a turn on Lucy." He stood and started towards her then vanished. There was no time but to react when her back suddenly hit against the wall. "A real fucking turn on." Drawing closer to her lips, he inhaled her scent and Lucy kneed him in the guts. "I told you not to touch me, bastard." But that didn't stop Natsu from giving her a wicked smirk. "And you smell really good too."

"Natsu!" Suddenly the doors burst opened and Gray rushed in. He paused upon noticing the intimate position his dear friend had their newest hire in and sighed when he noticed the red eyes. "Hey, flame brain, get away from Lucy. We've got some angry company. Gajeel and Erza's holding them off but seems like the bastards you fucked up brought some friends."

Natsu grinned. "Just in time too."

Gray grinned, confusing the living hell out of Lucy. "Yeah been a while since we got into a brawl. Come on before the fun's gone. Lucy the girls are in the inn! It's safe there."

Lucy blinked a couple of times. What just happened there?

….

….

….

Flashback #4

"Why are you imprisoned Natsu?"

A chuckle.

"Papa says prison is for bad guys. Did you do something wrong?"

Another chuckle. "Curious as always."

A pout. "You're…you're being mean."

Another chuckle. Then slowly child like lips pulled upwards. A small blonde was lying belly flat on the hard ground of the dungeon. There was a small bottle of ink besides her along with paper and a brush. "I don't like calligraphy very much but papa insists as heir I should know it."

A head tilted as he watched her lazily.

"You should smile more you know, Natsu. I'm sure you have a pretty smile!" An innocent grin. Red eyes lowered darkly.

It had been two weeks now since they had taken him down from the walls. His wounds had healed nicely. He now sat propped against the wall, one foot standing the other lying flat on the floor dressed in a black kimono, arms wrapped around his standing foot, knuckles resting against his face. He continued to watch the stroke of the brush. The girl was actually pretty good. "You're not bad at this," he muttered, face still cold but eyes softening as he watched her blush madly in embarrassment.

She pouted again. Cute.

"I hate calligraphy," she blurted but clasped her mouth shortly afterwards. She then shook her head a couple of times before slapping her cheeks. "Bad Lucy."

Natsu chuckled again. "Nothing wrong if you hate it."

"Yes, there is! If papa heard me he'd…he'd…" Natsu grew slightly alarmed as he noticed her stress, the increase of her heart beat, the smell of fear and before he could say anything she was covering everything up with a smile that for some reason made his heart pull painfully.

A sad smile. His eyes dropped lower and Lucy grinned. "What I really want to do is become a ninja!"

He blinked rather dumbly. "Huh?"

Lucy nodded excitedly before jumping to her feet and starting to do a few strikes and zipping up and down the corridor quickly, yelling 'Kya'. "I'm pretty good huh!" She grinned again and Natsu blinked again. She was horrible. No talent at all but he supposed there was spirit. His lips tugged upwards only slightly and Lucy stared awe.

"You," a deep breath, "You should smile more often, Natsu!"

Shock.

"You'd have a really pretty smile." And with that she grinned wildly.

His eyes grew larger.