Sorry for the late update, I honestly have no excuse for why this is so late other than I am the laziest ass in the galaxy.
Chapter 4
Natsu had yet again found another reason for enjoying Lucy in this new form. Even though they usually were in opposite positions when they were on the train, Natsu had to admit he kind of liked being the pillow for once. He was lying down on the seat, his face slightly discolored, but nothing to weird, and Lucy was asleep … on his stomach. They had boarded the train and got to their cabin, Natsu immediately falling onto the seat with a blue face, and after hearing him groan for a few minutes, Lucy had moved up to sit on his chest. She had curled into a ball, turning so her back was pressed up against his nose and pretty much fell asleep within a few seconds.
Usually having Lucy so close to his nose would have settled his stomach relatively, but now since she was coated with the smell of a variety of different flowers, grass and dirt, her scent was rather faint and unnoticeable. So, he scooted her down as softly as he could to sit on his stomach, the rumble of her quiet snores vibrating against his abs, somewhat soothing his discomfort. Happy had lied down beside her, but propping himself up against the wall instead of curling up like a normal cat.
While waiting for them to finally reach Magnolia, and trying to divert his attention away from the motion of transportation, he laid back completely to stare at the ceiling, resting his hand gently on top of Lucy. He was thinking through all of the stories they had come up with to keep the idea of Lucy being this Exceed from showing up, making sure there weren't any bugs in his plan since he actually had time to think it through. He had a feeling that a few of the Guild members would be able to find the resemblance pretty quickly if they looked hard enough, but maybe … her adorableness would distract them from seeing it? Kind of like when Happy hatched. For a few minutes, everyone had just been in awe of the adorable blue kitten, and then after the excitement wore down, people started to question why the hell a cat had hatched from an egg.
Levy would probably figure it out first, if Lucy didn't tell her within an hour. He could hear the two of them talking about everything from all the way across the Guild. It was like a girl pact thing he could never understand; that they needed to tell each other everything they knew. And then he knew that Erza and Gray would probably get suspicious, which would involve Erza threatening him to tell the truth—which of course he'd do, since y'know, it's Erza we're talking about. Maybe he could use Lucy's feline cuteness to momentarily distract the red haired warrior—knowing that she had a weak spot for adorable things—while he made his escape through a window, or possibly down the toilet if all the exits were blocked.
Basically, they had to keep her relatively hidden from the more cunning eyes until they can figure something out. Maybe they could dye her fur …? No, she'd murder them both, find a way to resurrect them, and then murder them again, but this time with a far slower process that would probably involve severe draining of blood and the usage of her dear whip.
Well, until they explain the situation to Gramps, they'd have to keep her at least a little concealed. And looking at her now, he really didn't want anyone else to see her. Sure, she was cute as a human, as cute as teenage girl her age could get, but as a cat … as cliché and cheesy as it sounded, coming from his thoughts, her adorableness was boosted by at least sixty percent. And he knew that every single person in the guild had a weak spot for cute things, especially Erza. He was a little less affected by it, usually not even taking note of adorableness, but when something hit a certain level … it hit him hard.
He shook his head slightly, not wanting his thoughts to be centered on something as girlie as … cuteness levels? Lucy was getting to him or something, 'cause he never used to have these thoughts. Sure, they would occasionally … stumble across his thoughts when he saw Wendy or when Erza would rarely say "Kya" or sometimes with Lucy … but they never lingered longer than for a fleeting second.
When the train hit a rather large bump, Natsu threw his free hand—the one that wasn't resting on top of Lucy's furry body—to his mouth, trying to resist the urge to roll over onto the ground and empty his stomach's contents. Mavis, he hated transportation. Stupid Lucy and her actually managing to use her looks to get what she wanted for once. Her sex appeal obviously wouldn't work with her new … condition, but acting adorable as always seemed to be more affective. Which will make defying her all the harder … dammit. Maybe stalling her transformation back to normal wasn't such a good idea.
"Natsu."
He opened one eye enough to look over at his long time partner, attempting to smile at the blue cat, but it came out more as a grimace. Happy merely stared at his foster father for a few moments before his devious grin, his paws coming up to cover his mouth.
"I've got a plan." He said, shifting his body so he could glance at the still sleeping Lucy. Natsu slightly tensed at the action, especially when they're accompanied by those words coming from Happy.
"Whaddya mean?" Natsu mumbled out nervously.
"Lucy can help me win over Carla!" Happy cried out, but slapped his paws over his mouth again, turning to see if the girl had awoken from his outburst. When the female merely grumbled and rolled over onto her back, her arms and legs splayed out like a starfish, he turned his attention back to Natsu.
While he had been drifting in and out of consciousness during the ride, Happy and formulated a plan that involved Carla getting madly jealous and agreeing to be with him. And Lucy was the key to that. They just had to make sure that no one knew that the kitten-like Exceed was Lucy, and everything would work out as planned.
Natsu watched nervously as his friend rub his paws together, giggling mischievously. He had a rough idea about what was running through Happy's head, and he wasn't entirely sure what he thought about it. But before he could really ponder over his feelings about Lucy being 'used', the train lurched again, making Natsu turn blue and gargle out about how being defeated by his stomach was something no one should ever really know about.
-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-
The trio was now slowly making their way back to the Guild, Lucy still mostly asleep, but was teetering on the verge of consciousness. She had her claws digging into the fabric of Natsu's one-sleeved jacket, keeping her from tumbling to the ground as she fought to stay awake. The closer they got to the Guild, the more tense Natsu got. They had to get to Master and explain everything before anyone really saw Lucy, and he was thinking of ways to keep Lucy hidden from the prying eyes of his friends. He could always put her back inside his scarf, but he didn't want to risk her popping her head up for fresh oxygen and showing everyone what he had been hiding. Putting her in his pocket was out of the question, cause she would probably start squirming around and hurt herself.
By the time they reached the doors to the Guild, Natsu had decided to remove his scarf from around his neck and bundle Lucy up inside it. She peeked an eye open to see what all the movement was about, but was soon engulfed in the comforting warmth of his scarf, pushing her back into slumber land. She was wrapped thoroughly like a burrito, the only thing visible was her face. Cradling her in one arm, he made sure that her face was turned into his chest, so no one would be able to peek at her. Sure, it wasn't as inconspicuous as he would have liked, but at least he wouldn't look too suspicious as he asked Gramps if they could talk privately.
They pushed the doors open, trying to be ask unobvious as possible as they made their way through the room. Most people were brawling in the center of the hall, but that was mostly Elfman, Gray, (somehow they had managed to get) Erza, and a few other male members. And they didn't really seem to pay him any mind for the time being, but he knew that it wouldn't last very long, since apparently Gray had a six sense for sensing when his rival was somewhere nearby.
As they made their way through the room, they got closer and closer to the master who was sitting cross-legged on the bar. But when they were just a short distance away, Natsu made a small mistake.
"Yo! Gramps!" he hollered boisterously before pausing mid-step, freezing up at the realization that he had just drawn nearly the entire room's attention to himself. The old man opened his eyes and turned to face the Dragon Slayer, raising his eyebrow in curiosity as he eyed the scarf that was bundle in Natsu's arms. "Can we talk? Uh, in private?" Natsu asked, feeling a little awkward saying something so completely out of character and in front of everyone in the guild, no less.
"I suppose." The old man said with a sigh, jumping down from the countertop and starting to make his way up the stairs, signaling to Natsu to follow. The Dragon Slayer and Happy didn't hesitate to get on the move, since quite a few people were trying to peek at what he was hiding in his beloved scarf. He could feel Lucy squirming around inside the fabric, having been awakened by all the talking and movement and was trying to pry her way out of the article of clothing. But Natsu had wrapped her tight and thoroughly, making it incredibly difficult to move her limbs whatsoever.
Natsu quickly entered into the Master's office, the door being shut behind them without anyone moving to do so (Magic, just so that's clear) and moved to stand in front of the desk. Makarov jumped on top of the desk, crossing his arms as he stared at Natsu.
"Well, what is it, lad?" the man was trying to appear patient, but he was rather curious about what it was that Natsu was holding, wanting to get this conversation moving.
Now that the time had come, Natsu started to feel a little uncomfortable actually sharing what happened, everything he had thought through about what to say pretty much disappearing from his thoughts.
"Natsuuuuu~ it's hot in here! Lemme out!" Lucy's muffled voice broke the silence, startling Makarov and making Natsu flinch slightly. The Dragon Slayer let out a huff of breath before placing his scarf on the table, un-tucking the end of the scarf to loosen the vice like wrapping. Lucy kicked her feet free, the clothe pooling around her waist as she wiggled her way out of the confines to try and stand on the desk, only to tumble back onto her rear again.
"L-Lucy?" Makarov asked in shock, looking at the female Exceed that had Lucy's sparkling brown eyes and the same voice.
"Uh, h-hi Master." Lucy said nervously, lifting a paw to wave awkwardly before averting her eyes and grabbing to her tail to toy with it.
"Natsu, please explain." The old man demanded, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.
"It was a mishap with the mission, that's all. The guy wanted his own cat, so he decided to transform Lucy into one." Natsu explained nonchalantly, earning a glare from Lucy at how he appeared to not be taking the situation seriously.
"And he couldn't transform her back?"
"Nah, I beat him up and knocked him out before I knew what had happened to her, so he was useless at the time."
"I see, and what is it you'd like me to do?"
"We wanna keep this a secret from everyone else!" Happy chimed in, landing behind Lucy and lifting her to her feet, helping to keep up.
"Why?" Makarov sounded genuinely surprised by this, shifting his gaze to Happy.
" … Reasons." Natsu said, crossing his arms and turning his head in hopes of hiding the miniscule blush that had grown across his face. "Plus, we wanna see if it's wear off on its own."
"B-but, if you have a potion or something that can change me back, I'd appreciate that, too!" Lucy said, chiming in, her eyes hopeful as she looked up at the Master.
"As a matter of fact, I did have a reversal potion, but I used it last week Alzack when they returned from a mission with Bisca. I can conjure up another, but it'll take at least a week, two at the most." The master explained, ducking his down to look at Lucy's level. "But if you don't want anyone to know about this, what do you want to tell them?"
"That we an egg and it hatched on the way back."
"And for Lucy's absence?"
Lucy answered the question herself with a slightly dejected sigh. "That I decided to stay behind at the city and help with the damages."
The Master looked a little reluctant to go along with the plan, but one look at the hopeful boys, he sighed and nodded.
"I'll go along with this, at least until I've got the potion made up. If you haven't transformed back by then, I expect you two to come up with an excuse when the new cat goes missing." Makarov said, pointing his finger at Natsu and Happy warningly. Lucy stared up at the Master with her jaw dropped open slightly. She had agreed with the two boys in hopes that the Master would deny their request and just change her back. But the fact that he had granted Natsu and Happy the permission to not share her identity, went against what she had planned.
"Yosh!" Natsu cheered, pumping a fist in the air while Happy did his own happy dance on the desk, forgetting that Lucy had been relying on his hold to keep standing. She let out a startled shriek as she fell back onto her rear again, only this time bouncing and tumbled over the edge of the desk. Happy had grabbed onto her tail at the same time that Natsu had ducked down and grabbed her with his hand, stopping her from splatting on the ground. "Seriously. Learn how to stand, Luce." Natsu chuckled as he brought her back up to sit on his scarf, beginning to wrap it around her body loosely.
"What're you wrapping me up again for?" she pouted, trying to tug her small arms out from under the fabric.
"Cause you're playing as a kitten, 'member? You just hatched." Natsu said, pushing the paw that she had managed to free back into the cocoon of his scarf. She tried to scowl up at him intimidatingly as he, yet again, stopped her attempt to free her arms, but he just let out a rather loud laugh at the expression. And there was that word again, coursing through his thoughts as he looked down at her; adorable.
"But …" Lucy was pouting, not liking the idea that she was about to be treated like a baby.
"C'mon, Luce, think of it as … a challenge—of acting! Yeah! You gotta try and convince everyone that you were just born." He said with a smile, finishing his burrito wrapping around her small body with a satisfied nod and picked her up again, cradling her like a baby. Lucy couldn't help fight off the blush that spread across her fur covered cheeks, her ears involuntarily drooping and folding back against her head.
"Let's just get this over with so I can go home." She mumbled, closing her eyes and trying to look like she was asleep. She could feel his silent laughter rumbling through his chest as he and Happy made their way back to the door, and could also here the slight chuckles coming from the old man they were leaving behind in the office.
Natsu opened the door and started to descend the stairs, feeling a little uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him, but he brushed the discomfort aside with a wide grin.
"What was that about, flame-for-brains?" Gray asked, the first to break the silence that had fallen over the guild. The ice mage began to strip off his shirt as he made his way towards the fire dragon.
"Oi! Don't do that! Are you trying to scar her for life?!" Natsu snapped, narrowing his eyes as he cupped the back of Lucy's head, as if to protect her from the sight of Gray's usual stripping habit—which was completely pointless since her eyes were still closed.
"What're you talking about, moron?" Gray asked, frowning and quirking an eyebrow as he looked at the scarf that was still bundled in his arms. "And who's 'her'?"
And before Natsu could really process it happening, Gray had snatched Lucy out of his grasp, holding her at arms' length to examine it. The ice mage had definitely not expected seeing the small furry face of a yellow kitten.
"Oi! Be careful with 'er!" Natsu snarled, snatching Lucy back, but in the process slightly unraveling his wrapping. Lucy had to hold back the smirk that threatened to spread across her face as she decided now would be a good time to throw the 'fussy-newborn' act into action. Twisting her face into discomfort, she squirmed violently in the now loosened scarf, managing to worm her arms out and flailed the limbs around as she whimpered and whined in a tone that even surprised her with how … babyish she managed to sound. "Nice job, ice princess, ya woke 'er up."
"W-wha …?" Gray was obviously confused and slightly stunned as he watched Natsu cradle the yellow kitten to his side, while simultaneously glaring at him with irritation.
"Natsu-san! Where did you get her?" Wendy asked, the next to confront the Dragon Slayer, but with a much more friendly and excited feeling. She skipped up the pink haired man and looked at the kitten, smiling widely with sparkling, curious eyes.
"We found an egg on the mission and it hatched on the train back here." Natsu explained, smiling at the 12 year old, getting excited himself even though he knew that it was Lucy he was holding and not an actual kitten Exceed.
"She's precious!" Mirajane cut in from behind the bar, leaning over the countertop to steal a look at Lucy.
"What?! You get two cats?" Gajeel snarled from his spot at one of the booths with Levy, who was hugging Lily to her chest as she stared at the 'new kitten' in curiosity.
"Yea, what of it, tin-face?" Natsu asked with a smirk, wrapping the still slightly fussing Lucy in both arms and hugging her to his chest, similar to the way Lucy would hug Happy to her own.
"Natsu, I think you're crushing her." Lisanna said, giggling as he looked down to see that Lucy, was in fact, squirming with genuine discomfort. Natsu loosened his grip, Lucy calming down and sagging against his arm slightly as the air was welcomed back into her lungs. She felt Natsu shifting her around again, turning her onto her back and holding her in his hands. Slowly, she peeked her eyes open, looking up at the eyes of all her Guild mates looking down at her. To cover up the blush that was, again, growing across her face, she stretched out her limbs and squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to yawn, an embarrassing little squeak accidentally slipping past her lips. When she opened her eyes again, she curled her legs and arms into her body a little, opening her mouth into a smile as she met Erza's sparkling eyes.
And quite literally, everyone in the room 'awww'ed, except for the obvious tough guys; Gajeel and Laxus, but even Elfman had been involved in the crowd.
"What's her name?" Wendy asked, her hands folded under her chin as she smiled down at Lucy. Carla was hovering over her shoulder, her eyes more open and curious than they usually were, but there was a hint of suspicion behind her dark brown orbs.
"We … haven't thought about it yet." Natsu said, his smile slightly falling from his face as he glanced up at Happy.
"Ooh! Can we help pick?!" someone from inside the crowd asked.
"Uh, sure?" Natsu sounded slightly unsure, the fact that they wouldn't be able to call Lucy 'Lucy' while she was like this hadn't crossed his mind.
"Princess!"
"Cutie-Pie!"
"Blood'n'gore!"
"Man!"
"She's a girl!"
"What about Nalu?"
"… Nalu?" Natsu question Mira's suggestion, cocking his eyebrow in confusion. He had heard some strange names, but that … was a new one.
"Yeah! It's a mixture of yours and Lucy's names! She could be like you two's little baby!" Mira squealed at the idea, staring up at the ceiling with a wide smile.
"But Natsuuuu, you said I was like the baby!" Happy whined, lowering himself onto Natsu shoulder to look at the Dragon Slayer tearfully. Lucy had to refrain from yelling out a loud 'WHAT' and keep her eyes from widening in shock, and instead tried to keep the innocent curiosity in her eyes. This was harder than she would have liked.
"Uh, y-you are! She can be … your … little sister?" Natsu offered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with one hand while shifting Lucy to cradle to his chest again.
"So? Can her name be Nalu?" Mira asked hopefully.
"Uh, I don't think so." He muttered with a small blush.
"Well, what about Hoshi(Star)?" Wendy offered.
"Hoshi?" Natsu blinked.
"I like it!" "Me too." "I think that should be it." "That name is man!" Everyone piped in, nodding their heads in approval. Natsu and Happy shared an uncertain look, worried that someone would end up overhearing them call her 'Lucy' when they thought they were alone. But then, a high pitched voice echoed up from Natsu's hands.
"Yosh!" she said, actually surprising Natsu with how much she sounded so … young. He looked down to meet her wide brown eyes that stared up at him with bubbly joy. The fact that she had actually spoke didn't surprise anyone, since the first word that Happy had said was 'Aye' and he had spoken the word a few seconds after he hatched.
And suddenly, she was swept out of his hands and was being crushed against the harsh surface of Erza's armor in a tight, painful looking hug. And just throughout the day, Natsu and Happy barely got a chance to even glance on her again because she was being passed from person to person before they even had a chance to look in their direction. Well, it wasn't so much 'passing' but more of 'snatching out of the person's grasp'. And even after everyone who wanted to hold her had gotten their chance, all the girls had pulled her to sit on the bar and crowded around the new kitten.
A few people had asked about Lucy's whereabouts and Natsu had grudgingly answered without ever looking up to meet their eyes, just keeping his position of being slouched over his booth's table. This is what he had been worried about. Natsu never really did like to share things with people, it always sent his nerves aflame. And that same reaction was occurring right now as he watched people pet and hold Lucy. He didn't find it fair that he had made it clear that she was going to his exceed—even though her knew it would only be for a short time, yet he barely had gotten to see her at all that afternoon.
And when Gray had went over to join the girls, pressing his hand roughly over her head, forcing her ears to droop down in front of her eyes; he snapped. He looked over at Happy, who was looking just as dejected since Carla's attention had been on Lucy the entire time, and whispered what he wanted into the cat's ear.
"Aye sir!" Happy said with a determined glint in his black eyes, happy to end this little 'cuddle-fest' as he took to the air and stealthily made his way towards the crowd of people at the bar.
Lucy had at first enjoyed all the attention she had been getting, but it was slowly getting annoying how people continuously kept fawning over her. Mira had even tried to bottle feed her a baby mixture that had tasted horrible. And she hadn't been put down a single time since she had been revealed to their friends, always being in someone's arms, and it was seriously pushing her personal limit of physical contact. She liked having personal space, something that was invaded on a regular bases thanks to Natsu, but this was just ridiculous.
Then, she was, yet again, yanked out of the arms of the person who had been holding her and into the air. She looked behind her in shock to see that Happy had pulled her out of the crowd and out of reach, holding her underneath her arms and letting her legs dangle.
"Happy!" someone in the crowd called out in irritation.
The he-cat merely chuckled and flew them over to where Natsu was standing, dropping Lucy onto his shoulder and perching himself on the other.
"Sorry! We out!" Natsu said as he turned tail and ran out the door, feeling both the cats on his shoulders gripping their claws into his shoulders. And once they stepped out of the guild, Happy sprouted his wings and lifted them all into the air, disappearing into the night sky.
Um, yeah, how the hell was I suppose to end this chapter?! I really need to think out how the guild is going to work with my plot :/
