Chapter Four
Natsu boarded the train that same day feeling awful, which wasn't anything new. This pain though… it wasn't motion sickness; it was for Lucy. He was looking miserably out the window, hoping that Lucy wouldn't be mad at him.
Happy was sitting down behind Natsu with his paws crossed, refusing to speak to him. The cat was furious that his best friend had convinced him to leave the blonde. No matter how hard he had tried to convince him otherwise, the dragon slayer kept saying that he had to do it to keep Lucy from getting hurt. Although Happy knew that the pink-haired boy's intentions were pure, he would still be hurting their friend anyway.
I should have stayed behind with Lucy. Happy thought to himself, because now she's all alone again.
"Hey, Happy?"
The feline just humphed and ignored the teenager.
"This is hard for me too."
He ignored his friend once again.
"I know it hurts, but this is for the best. She'll be safer this way."
And with that final sentence, Happy shot out of his seat and sprouted his wings, staring angrily down at Natsu with tears in his round eyes, "How could you say that?" He shouted, "Lucy's our best friends and this isn't right! Come on, we have to go back. She's probably crying her eyes out 'cause of you."
"Yeah, probably." He mumbled, "But that doesn't matter right now."
This angered the cat even more and he flew down and tugged at the collar of Natsu's jacket, "Why are you acting so heartless! Her feelings do matter, you remember how hurt she was before when we left to train."
"Yeah, but that was different. She knew what we were doing, so she had no reason to be sad. I don't see what the big deal was in the first place."
"That's it." Happy growled, "That's it! I never should have come with you on that mission, or with you on this stupid train!" Using his paws, he unlatched the window and pushed it up, letting a huge gust of wind inside the vehicle.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm going to find Lucy!" He shouted, "Because I don't want her to be alone."
"So what, you're seriously leavin' me right now?"
"Aye, sir."
And with that response, he flew out of the window and scoured the area for his blonde friend. The train hadn't made it that far away from their boarding station, so it was just his luck. He thought it would be best if he retracted his paw prints back to where he had last seen her- the Inn.
Happy sped up, circling around the area until he saw her running away with tears in her eyes. The blue cat dove down and flew into her chest, "Lucy!" He cried, looking up at the surprised young woman, "Lucy!"
The misty-eyed blonde smiled down at the cat and lifted him up, hugging him close to her heart, "Happy…" She mumbled, "I thought you left with Natsu."
"I did." He admitted, "But… But I got so angry at him for making us leave you behind… so I flew out the window to be with you."
The blonde just nodded and walked on, gently holding him in her arms. She wouldn't admit it, but she was glad Happy was here. He made her feel less lonely, though she couldn't help but worry that he would fly away soon and leave her as well. The cat was Natsu's best friend, after all.
"Is something wrong?" The feline asked, looking up at her. He facepalmed in his own mind, what a stupid question, of course something is wrong.
"It's nothing." She assured, ruffling his fuzzy head, "You don't need to worry about me."
He frowned, not buying it for one second. So, he snuggled further into her chest and the two walked on. They didn't talk much, but it was good to have somebody else's company. They roamed the streets of Crocus together all the way into the afternoon, which is when they started to get very hungry.
"Do you know if there's a place we could eat around here?"
"No. I haven't been here in ages, but wherever we go I'll make sure they have lots of fish for you."
"Aw Lucy, you're the best."
Back at the guild, Natsu was surrounded by a crowd of worried guildmates.
"Where is Lucy and Happy?" Cana shouted from the bar as she held tightly to her keg. The teenager backed away, while his eyes flickered around the room looking for Master Makarov.
"Natsu, where are they?" Erza Scarlet said with a great amount of concern in her voice, "Tell me!" She ordered, standing right above him and giving him a frightening glare.
"Back in Crocus."
"What?!"
"You just ditched them?" The alcoholic asked, "What the hell is your problem?"
"Don't crowd the boy." An elderly voice said from the back, "Let me talk to him, we'll sort this thing out."
"Very well." The knight answered, "Now, Wendy, Gray! Come along, we must head to Crocus to retrieve our comrade."
"No." The Master said, surprising everyone. He cleared his throat and started over, "I mean, we should not retrieve her until I have spoken to Natsu, then we could come up with a plan after that."
The scarlet-haired beauty seemed hesitant but nodded in agreement.
Back in Crocus, the two heroes were wondering around town trying to find a place to eat.
"Why can't there be a map around here?"
"Do you want me to look around? If I transform maybe I could find something from the sky."
Lucy's eyes widened for a second before she turned her head away. She didn't want to admit it, but she was afraid that if the blue cat flew away for even a fraction of a second than that would be the last she'd see of him.
Sensing this, Happy snuggled close to her chest and pawed at her hand, "It's okay, Lucy." He assured, "You know I'd never leave you."
"Oh, look." She said suddenly, pointing to a small easily priced restaurant ahead of them, "A place to eat, and it looks like they serve fish."
"What are we waiting for then, let's go!"
She nodded and picked up the pace, smiling happily when they entered the building. She picked up a menu for herself and looked over it as the line moved forward, then set it down once they reached the hosting booth.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." The hostess said, eyes flickering down towards the blue cat in her arms, "We don't allow pets inside the building."
"What? No, please, we only want something to eat."
"We?" She looked down at the cat, "Oh, we don't have any cat food either. Now, if you'll move asi—"
"I don't even like cat food, lady!" Happy announced, "I'm a raw fish kinda cat. Now will you please just let us through, we've been wondering around for an hour just trying to find somewhere to eat."
"It… talks?"
"Look Ma'am, I know it's an inconvenience, but we really need the food. Please, we're so hungry and I'll make sure we don't stay too long."
"No way. If I make an exception for you, I have to make an exception for everyone."
"Is there an outdoor seating area? We could sit there so we wouldn't be going against the rules."
"No, we don't." The Hostess replied bitterly, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you. If you are looking for a place that's pet friendly, try one of the coffee shops down the block. Maybe they have something for you and your cat."
Lucy ducked head in defeat, "I understand, I'm sorry." The blonde turned around and exited the building, walking away with Happy in her arms.
The cat sucked in a deep breath of air before finally speaking, "Uh… Mom?"
She looked down at him in shock, "Mom?" She repeated with a smile, "You really think of me as your Mom?"
"Is that weird?"
"No, I think it's kinda sweet." The girl admitted, releasing him and placing him on her shoulder instead, "Did you need something?"
"I just wanted to see if you were alright. That lady was really mean to us. You could have just left me outside and bring out some food to go."
"No." She answered sternly, "There's no way I could leave you out here by yourself. You c-could've gotten hurt, or kidnapped, or…" A tear slid down her face at the thought of leaving him out there alone. She wasn't like Natsu. She wouldn't just leave a friend behind.
Tears began to spill down her cheeks and she quickly sank down into a nearby bench, pawing away her own tears.
A key in her pouch suddenly glowed and she sighed, "Loke." She mumbled, "S- So you heard everything h-huh?" The blonde sighed, "P- Please don't do anything." She begged, "I promise I'm f- fine."
"But you're crying, Lucy." A male voice said in front of her. Lucy looked up, completley unfazed by the sudden appearance of the orange-haired man wearing a suit standing in front of her. He took a seat next to his Mage and handed the girl a tissue, "Here."
"You didn't need to come here."
"Someone did." He answered, "And I will never forgive Natsu for this. When you get back to the guild—"
"Please, you don't need to overreact Loke, I'm gonna be fine. I'm gonna go back to the guild and things are gonna go back to normal. Heading out to missions with me, Erza, Happy, Wendy, and…" She cleared her throat, "Never mind." She looked down at the cat, who was now sitting on her lap, "Well, let's go find that cafe."
"Lucy…" Happy said sadly. He hated that she couldn't seem to say Natsu's name anymore. The two of them, no, the three of them were supposed to be best friends. No, a family. It couldn't even be explained how sad he was right now for his family to be torn apart like this.
"What? Aren't you hungry?"
"Well, yeah but—"
"Then let's go." She ordered, fake smiling to Loke, who just nodded sadly and vanished before her eyes.
Happy stared up at his friend sadly, "I mean, if that's really what you want…" He raised his wings and floated just a bit ahead of Lucy, keeping an eye on her. He hated how quiet she was. She had never been this quiet before.
Back in the guild hall, Master Makarov was having to explain to everyone Natsu's situation. They had decided that if he was indeed going to turn into a dragon, then it would be best if he stayed as far from Fairy Tail, no, as far as Ishgar as possible. There would be no chains or anything (because we all know that none of those things could hold Natsu) but instead would place him in a cave to wait this out. Just one night, just one night and then everything could be over.
Erza couldn't admit it aloud but she thought that this plan was ridiculous. In hindsight, it sounded logical but in her own mind she knew that it would fail. Natsu already had a strong connection with Lucy and it was clear that he would do anything to get her. His senses were already more heightened then most of them so who knows how developed they would be during his transformation. If he left his cave (which was very likely) there would be a definite possibility that he would harm innocent civilians in order to find his mate.
I hope she doesn't come back here looking for him. The redhead thought to herself as she slowly isolated herself from the crowd, her armor clanking at each step, come to think of it, she's probably wondering around unprotected. That could place her in even more danger if she and Natsu were to cross paths. She sighed and left the building, please forgive me, Master but I must do this for Lucy.
And so, she left for Crocus, hoping that the outcome of the situation would work the way her guildmates thought it would.
A/N: Hi guys! I'm just here again with another chapter (Yay)! Wow, I can't believe how many follows this story has gotten. It makes me so happy that there are so many people enjoying my work!
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Quick update: The next chapter of 'Fire' is coming soon, so stay tuned for that!
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Sellybelly411
