Chapter Four: See Spot Kill
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"
Imagine you were in a hot air balloon flying around the Magnolia Crescent Mountains and was watching the violent (albeit funny) spectacle on the rocky terrain below. You would probably cringe, laugh and then feel guilty for finding amusement at Lucy's current predicament.
A resounding boom shook the earth followed by a small landslide sending a minute figure with a tuft of messy blonde hair rolling down the crumbling debris. Black and blue Lucy got back up on her feet after the tumble while unashamedly rubbing her sore bottom.
Even though she held her trusty black whip in her hand, wore sensible shoes for once, and had successfully avoided death so far with a mixture of determination and luck, the odds were still heavily stacked against her.
Lucy stood her ground against a gigantic beast that, despite it's monstrous size, was just a massively overgrown Dalmatian dog.
It seemed that "Honeybunchkins" had turned out to be one of the things Lucy had feared most: a three-story monster.
As Lucy craned her neck up to glare at the dog, she tried to figure out some way to make him calm down and take him back to his owner. The obvious choice was to summon her stellar spirits to beat the dog into submission but Lucy (foolishly or not), trying to prove a point, left her unused keys dangling around her waist.
"Hon-Honeybunchkins!!" Lucy shouted to the salivating Dalmatian before her. "SIT!!"
The dog bobbed its head around sniffing the air and then proceeded to scratch it's ear.
"I SAID SIT, HONEYBUNCHKINS!!!" Lucy yelled angrily and snapped her whip beside her with a loud crack. The dog's ears immediately perked up and eyed Lucy.
"Go-good, boy. Easy now..." Not daring to break eye contact with the humongous mutt lest it should result in her being ripped into pieces, Lucy tentatively reached out a hand as it lowered it's massive nose toward her. Being so absorbed in trying to calm Honeybunchkins down, Lucy didn't realize a drop of drool had slowly trickled from his mouth right over her head until it was too late.
Lucy was doused from head to toe in dog drool.
"AAAGGHHHH!! Oh, gross, groooss!!" The dog jumped back a bit at her flailing about but decided it liked her. She smelled good and that was enough for him.
And so, Honeybunchkins sat wagging his huge tail enthusiastically producing shockwaves. Poor Lucy immediately lost her balance in the puddle of slime.
"NO, NO WAIT!" Lucy cried as she struggled to back away from the dog as it prepared itself to come leaping into the arms of a new friend.
As Lucy waited for the inevitable moment of death by dog, the only thing she could think of was how she'd gone from such a normal morning to such a horrible afternoon...
---
"I saw him yesterday. Started bragging about a new technique called a heat shield."
"A heat shield? That sounds like it'd come in handy."
"I don't know why he'd even bother doing it." Gray shrugged as he took another beer from Mirajane. "Usually he'd just go on a rampage and shoot fire all over the place. The heat shield sounds like way too much trouble for that loudmouthed idi-" The ice mage paused mid-sentence and shot out a hand. Enclosed in his fist was a lumpy silvery piece of metal.
"What's the big idea, Lucy?" Gray asked his teammate as she came up to the bar smiling.
"Just wanted to test your reflexes."
Gray scoffed but looked quite smug. "My reflexes are always in fine working order. Save your testing for Natsu."
"So what is this, Lucy?" Mirajane asked as she picked up the scrap of metal Lucy had thrown. "Gift from Gazille?"
Lucy and Gray sweatdropped at Mirajane's constant interest in Fairy Tail pairings. "Uh, hardly. I found this in the classroom I was teaching in at the Magic Academy. I think it had been a pair of scissors."
To Lucy's surprise, Gray and Mirajane gave a quick knowing look to each other before acting nonchalant. Her surprise suddenly changed into suspicion.
"Where's Natsu by the way?"
"Dunno. Haven't seen him in a week." Gray said as he dropped a handful of flower shaped ice cubes into his empty beer keg.
"Didn't you just say you 'saw the loudmouthed idiot yesterday'?" Lucy probed making Gray sweat.
"Uhh...I meant...Leon." Gray said slowly as he started to unravel. Playing 20 questions with a girl really wasn't his forte.
"Leon can make heat shields, can he?"
That was it for Gray. He could take up a brawl with just about anybody but getting cornered by Lucy was just rather uncomfortable. "'Bye Lucy, Mira, catch you guys later." Then Gray zipped out of the guild before Lucy could even congratulate herself on making him prickle.
Lucy sighed and turned back to Mirajane. "You know, I appreciate Natsu's help but I really can do this all on my own."
"I know you can, Lucy." said Mirajane kindly. She knew Lucy was a tough cookie. It was just that Lucy was such a precious kid in the guild that no one really wanted to see her get hurt. "Natsu's just worried about you."
Lucy slightly blushed but crossed her arms indignantly. "But I don't need him to worry about me! I am not a porcelain doll and I hate people thinking of me that way."
"Well, besides you being cute as a button," Mirajane stooped down to Lucy's level and leaned her pretty face against her hands. "All of us at Fairy Tail worry about each other so naturally we'd worry about you."
Lucy could understand that. She's worried plenty of times for her family at the guild. It was just hard for Lucy to separate the lines between worrying for a capable teammate and babying the pretty blonde girl in the dress.
"Thanks." Lucy smiled at Mirajane before getting up. The ex S-class mage was like an older sister to her and always knew what to say to make her feel better. "Well, I'm off to pay my landlord. The sooner I get him some money, the better!" With that hopeful thought, Lucy was off, crossing her fingers that her landlord might even be generous enough to give her an extension before the eviction.
"Alright. Take care."
Mirajane shook her head fondly at the younger girl as she cleared the glasses off the bar. She remembered what it was like to be off on her first solo mission: naive, determined and completely clueless about love.
---
Wasn't there some kind of idea out there about the scenes of your life flashing before you the moment you die?
The thought raced through Lucy's mind as Honeybunchkins pounded toward her.
Apparently that idea didn't existed...at least not in the way Lucy had hoped. Instead of sentimental memories, Lucy could only recall the conversation that morning. It was infuriating to think that she couldn't even remember her childhood let alone yesterday. All she could think about was the day's relatively mundane morning.
How boring was that? No loving memories of her mother, no exciting adventures with her team where she demonstrated her skills, nothing.
Just an everyday conversation with Gray and Mirajane concerning Natsu.
Well, it could be worse. Lucy accepted her send off to the next life.
Lucy shut her eyes as her reflexes kicked in and was ready to welcome whatever sight greeted her when she opened them again. Whether they be flowery meadows or fire and brimstone, she was ready.
So it was a complete shock to see neither of these scenes but rather the grinning face of Natsu Dragonil.
"Natsu?!" Lucy gasped as they both sailed through the air missing the huge forepaw of the dog.
"Yo, Luce." Natsu held onto her tighter as he scaled a particularly steep rocky ledge. "Do you know you're slimy as hell?"
Unbelievable. The last thing Lucy wanted to say to him was why yes, she was incredibly slimy at the moment. Instead, Lucy just thanked her stars that her extremely stubborn, happy-go-lucky teammate had saved her life.
Hold everything. Natsu had saved her life. Again. He had also proved for the umpteenth time that she was a damsel in distress.
Well, she'd have to fix that pronto.
"No, no Natsu! This is all wrong, put me down! I've got to finish this myself!"
"Sure." Natsu willingly obliged as Lucy literally slid out of his arms like melted butter. "Is that dog drool?"
"Yes, Natsu. It is." Lucy stated grimly as she tried to find a good handle on her slippery whip and took a few steps forward. "Stand back and watch."
Natsu folded his arms and looked at the dog searching about for his missing prey...friend. "Watch you do what? Kill that thing with your whip?"
"No, I'm going to bring him back to his owner. Alive!" Lucy added quickly as Natsu created a fireball in his hand. "This is my job, you sit still."
Natsu extinguished his fire and slumped down onto the ground where he watched his teammate lazily. "Alright, but hurry up! I'm hungry."
Lucy wiped her hand on a nearby shrub and cringed before putting two fingers in her mouth. Then she blew as hard as she could emitting a loud, shrill whistle. Immediately, Honeybunchkins located her and ran towards the two mages up on the hill. As he neared, Lucy readied her whip and when the dog was in range- CRACK! Lucy's whip lashed out and smacked the slobbering dog right on the nose. He let out an echoing wail as the sting radiated through his wet nose.
"Honeybunchkins! I didn't want to have to do that but you left me no choice!" Lucy yelled feeling much more confident being on eye level with the dog. "You can't kill the people you like! Do you understand?"
The dog whimpered in shame and pawed it's nose. Natsu laughed watching the whole exchange and thought of what Igneel had told him about 'whipped men'. They must resemble this dog.
"Now, are you ready to go home?" Honeybunchkins nodded. "Good boy!" Lucy patted his head. Perhaps he was just like any other dog. Just a hundred times bigger.
"Good job, Lucy." Natsu gave her a thumbs up and stood up, dusting himself off.
"Thanks. I guess this fella isn't so bad after all." Lucy put her hands on her hips and looked at the great animal. "I'll ask your owner to give you a treat when we get home okay?" Hearing the word treat made Honeybunchkin's ears perk up and his tongue started wagging again. Without warning, his tongue shot out and lovingly licked the stellar spirit mage knocking her back into one surprised dragonslayer.
The impact sent them both sprawling on the ground with Lucy on top of Natsu. Both were drenched with the dog's slobber.
"Lucy?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't heat-dry slimy clothes."
"Ahhh..."
A/N: I'm pretty sure you can dry those clothes, Natsu. But hey, what fun would it be without shopping with Lucy, eh?
On a different note, seems like the Oracion Seis arc is ending! Can't wait for some new stuff and also the upcoming FT anime!!! :D
Next time, Lucy prepares herself for a little chat with Natsu. What will they talk about and will Natsu finally understand Lucy's situation? Find out in chapter five: It's a Mars and Venus Thing