Chapter 4
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs to my apartment. Ahh what do I do? I tried to shove Natsu off the bed but when he was falling he clung onto me and so we both fell. I landed on top of Natsu.
"What the hell was that for?" He asked loudly.
The door swung open and Erza and Wendy walked in. I scrambled to get off Natsu before they saw that I was on top of him and get the wrong idea.
"Lucy...Uhh." Erza started to talk but she saw.
Her face started to turn red.
"Oh sorry if we were interrupting anything." She said while starting to head back to the door dragging Wendy along behind her. Wendy looked confused probably because she didn't see me get off Natsu.
"Erza it's not what it looks like! Wait don't leave!" I said.
She stopped and looked back at me her face still red. But I mean my face was probably even redder then hers.
"I was just wondering if we could steal Natsu for a job." She asked.
Why is she asking me permission to take Natsu on a job?
"Well that's up to him." I replied.
"Okay Lucy you coming with?" Natsu looked at me and asked.
I was about to reply when Erza said "Master wants Lucy to rest for a little bit longer before she goes on a job again."
Huh? Why didn't he tell me that? Oh well.
"Well then I'm not going." Natsu pouted.
"Natsu you need the money. I'll be fine, so don't worry about me ok?" I smiled.
He is probably worried about me, because ever since we saw each other again he hasn't really left my side. That's probably why Erza asked me for permission.
"But..." He tried to get out of it but Erza looked him dead in the eyes and said "We are leaving tomorrow early morning and we will be gone for about two day, maybe one and half if we get the job done fast. So make sure to get rested up tonight Natsu, and we are taking the train."
"Ugh why do we have to ride the train, I mean let's walk." He said.
"Fine if you want to be gone for a month without Lucy then by all means let's walk." She retorted.
"Fine we will ride the train." He pouted again.
I giggled to myself. Man Erza knows how to push his buttons.
"Well I and Wendy are going to get supplies we need for the job. So we will see you later. Bye Lucy. "Erza said while she and Wendy headed for the door.
"Bye you two. I will see you guys off tomorrow if I don't see you again today." I said while waving goodbye.
Natsu was still pouting on the floor "Why does she always have to be so demanding. I mean if I don't want to go she shouldn't force me."
"Well then I will go tell her what you said." I headed towards the door to catch up with Erza.
Then I was tackled to the ground. Natsu was on top of me. His hands were on each side of my head and his legs were on each side of my hip.
"Stop I don't want her to kill me." He bagged.
I looked into his onyx eyes I could see he didn't want me to tell Erza what he said and he was just complaining. Wait with him like this...
My face started to get red and I looked to my right "OK umm I won't tell... her... can you please get up..."
He looked down at the position we were in and quickly got up and held his hand out to me, to help me up. I grabbed on and he pulled me up to quickly that I stumbled into him.
"Oh sorry." I could feel my face getting hotter.
He rubbed his face with his index finger and said "it's OK, um you should get ready so we can go do something."
He looked away from me. Huh wait is he trying to hide he is blushing. Haha cute.
We went all around magnolia and ran into more people from the guild that I didn't remember. I hate seeing their faces turn from happy to see me and then depressed that I don't remember them. That's when we ended up by the book store. Prefect I want to look into something.
"Hey Natsu can we go in here for a second?" I asked.
"Huh where?" He asked looking around.
"The book store can we go in there quickly?" I asked again.
"Fine" He groaned.
I smiled and walked into the store. Hmm now where to look. I went to the sections marked charms. I slide my finger over the books until I found the book I wanted 'how to make charms'. Perfect! But wait. I don't have any money... I put the book back. I guess I'll have to get it later.
Natsu must of saw the disappointment in my face as I head out of the book store "Okay I'm ready to go."
"I'll meet you outside." Natsu said. Huh I guess Natsu found a book he wanted. I walked out the door and waited for Natsu.
"Hey cheerleader!" A voice called out.
Huh? I looked around to see a guy running up to me. He wore a knight like helmet and a black shirt with silver stripes, and black baggy pants but tight around the ankles.
"It's good to see you. I'm glad you're not dead." He stated.
"Um. Yeah I'm glad too." I replied.
How do I know this guy? All of a sudden some wooden dolls flew around us saying "So glad so glad."
Huh what is going on here? Why are they repeating what he says? I heard the door open.
"Hey Luce... Oh hey Bickslow." Natsu said.
The wooden dolls started say "Natsu."
"Hey man. I and my babies were just telling Lucy here it was good to see her." The man Natsu called Bickslow said.
I looked down I still haven't been able to tell him that I don't remember him.
"Yeah we all happy she is back. But I'm guessing you haven't heard she lost her memory so she probably doesn't recognize you. I mean the first time she saw me she ran right into Erza's arms. It seems like she is remembering bits slowly." Natsu explained.
That's when Bickslow and the dolls started to laugh "at least she didn't run away from me. Haha I'm sorry to hear that Lucy. I hope you get your memory back soon. Well I better get going I need to meet up with the rest of the Thunder Legion. I'll talk to you guess later." He said while running off and his wooden dolls followed.
We started to walk back to my apartment when he handed me the book he bought "here this is for you."
I looked down to see it was the book I wanted. I must have got to excited because after I looked at the title I embraced Natsu. At first he jumped at the sudden body contact and then he hugged me back.
"Thanks Natsu. You didn't have to, but I'll treasure it." I smiled slowly removing us from our embrace.
I looked at his face I could see he was blushing little.
"It's was no problem." He started to walk again.
I don't know why but the dream I had kept returning. For some reason I feel like I might have feeling for Natsu and maybe he has feelings for me as well. He was walking a little ahead of me. Hmm... Maybe I should just take a chance I mean there are a lot of signs also the market is getting busy. I caught up with him and grabbed his hand. I saw the shock in his expression but he didn't pull his hand away. I smiled the whole way home. The book in my left hand held to my chest, and my right hand holding Natsu's hand. I was so happy that he would let me hold his hand. I may have lost my memories but I know this feeling I keep having when I am around Natsu. When we made it back.
"Well you should get ready for bed Natsu. You have to wake up early and you have been staying up late." I walked over to my bed and set an alarm for him.
"But I'm not tired." He pouted.
"Fine. If your late tomorrow it will be your fault." I replied.
I walked into the bathroom to clean my wound.
I lifted my shirt to inspect the wound. Hmm looks like it's going to heal fine, but it will probably take a few more days before that happens. I cleaned the wound and then walked into the living room to see Natsu passed out on the bed. I guess I'll read the book he bought me. I stayed up the whole night reading the book and making a list of what I all needed. I heard my alarm go off. I let out a big yawn and stretched.
"Did you stay up all night?" I turned to see Natsu right behind me.
I covered the papers I was writing on.
"Uh yeah. I got to into the book you got me." I said rubbing the back of my head.
"Well I got to meet Erza and Wendy at the train station." He headed towards the door.
"Wait I'll see you guys off." I said while I put my shoes on and ran up to him "let's go" I smiled.
After I saw Natsu, Wendy, and Erza depart on the train I started to walk home so I could start making the charms. I felt a chill run down my spine. This usually only happens when he is close by. I looked around to see if I could see him. All I saw was a woman talking to what looked like her husband outside of their house and a child in the upstairs window. Then it happened. The whole house was engulfed in fire within an instant. No! The man held the woman back and was about to charge in but I ran into the building yelling "stay back I will get the kid."
I ran through the fire. I found the stairs and ran up them. I could hear the child screaming in fear. I could feel my clothes burning along with the ends of my hair. I made it into the room where I saw the little boy in the corner crying. I found a blanket that wasn't on fire yet and wrapped it around him. That's when the only way out collapsed. I looked at the window. I kicked it out and jumped out of the window with the child in my arms. I ran up to the man and woman who were crying and hugging their son tightly.
"Is there anyone else in the building?" I asked.
They both shook their heads no. That's when I noticed a black figure running out of the alley way behind the house that just caught on fire.
"Go to the guild hall and tell them what happened." I commanded and ran after the suspicious person.
I caught up to the person on the outskirts of town.
"Star dress Leo form!" My clothes changed into the cocktail dress and my hair was up in a messy bun.
"You bastard! Why did you try and kill that poor kid?" I yelled.
That's when the man turned around and took his hood off. No not him again. His soul less eye looking into mine. No I can't be afraid.
"Answer me why did you do that?!" I commanded.
He laughed "I was testing you."
"Then why didn't you just come after me?" I yelled.
"Because I wanted to see if you still have a pure heart." He replied.
I couldn't help but be confused.
"Why is that?" I asked.
He walked up to me slowly "you know those lacrama I placed inside your body. Well each one of those I fused some of my magic into them. So I wanted to see if you were tainted by my hatred."
It felt my knees about to give and my hands formed a fist.
He kept walking closer and said "you are getting close... but maybe a few more would help."
He reached for something in his cloak. He pulled out three more Lacrama.
"I shouldn't be placing them all in at once but I kind of want to see what happens." He had his devilish smile on his face. "I guess I'll even be nice and seal the wounds so you don't bleed out. It will only hurt for an hour. I can't wait to watch. Remember I'll kill everyone if you try to run."
I was completely frozen in fear. He pushed me to the grounded.
"Try not to move too much." He laughed.
The icy touch of his skin on mine made my body freeze. The first cut was my upper right thigh. I let out a high pitch scream. Then he placed the Lacrama and sealed the wound within minutes but the pain was still burning inside of me. The next spot he cut was my lower left calf. I let out another scream even louder than before again he placed the Lacrama and sealed the wound. Finally he grabbed my right hand. No not there please I tried to form these words but I couldn't speak.
He waited a minute and moved up my right arm close to my shoulder and cut me there. I let out another blood curdling scream. He placed the Lacrama into my arm and sealed it once again. Then he stood up and watched me. I could feel my body heating up. The sweat running down my whole body. That when he grabbed my keys and put them just a foot out of reach.
After about a half an hour I heard a voice call in the distance "Lucy!"
No its Gray and Juvia.
"Please don't hurt them!" I groaned.
He started to laugh "I think it would be better if they watch you in pain too."
I couldn't move my body at all anymore.
"Demon slayer magic ice sword" I looked towards the direction Gray and Juvia was coming from. My body started to twist and turn in pain. It felt like my bones were on fire. When Gray got about 5 feet away he was knocked down by a barrier of some kind. It must be an enchantment. But that didn't stop Gray from trying to get to me.
"Juvia go back to the guild and see if Levy or Freed is there or anyone who knows how to change an enchantment!" Gray ordered.
She nodded and ran as fast as she could back to town. That's when his smile got even bigger. He held is foot over my stomach and watched Gray's expression.
Grays face turned white and bagged "no don't hurt her anymore!"
No please, I don't want him to watch this. I could feel my body sensitivity get more and more sensitive. That's when he stomped on my stomach. I let a scream louder than all the ones before. It felt like my whole stomach was being stabbed with a thousand knives at once. I don't know if I will survive this…That made Gray go ballistic. He kept hitting the wall of the barrier.
He kept doing it for another ten minutes, he repeatedly stomped on parts of my body until more arrived. Juvia, a girl with wavy blue hair, and a guy with long green hair. No please stop. Something warm started to flow down my cheek.
He bent over to my ear and whispered "Why don't you just give up?"
I gathered as much strength I could and yelled "I will never give up! Ahh... I will not give up... because I... can't... do that to aagh... to them... I will get... through this... pain... I won't leave them again..."
"Only 20 more minutes." He smiled.
He liked the pain I was in. I looked over towards everyone. Gray and Juvia were using their magic trying to break the barrier. The girl and the green haired were working on changing the enchantment so they could get in. My body started to spasm again. I could help but scream each time I moved. I could see tears in their eyes. No I won't just lay here! I forced my body to roll over on to my stomach.
Every movement felt like I was being stabbed but it started to become numb. I got to my knees when he noticed I was moving he started to laugh. My breathing was labored. I got to move! I stood on my feet stumbled towards my keys. Only 5 more minutes. I got a hold of my keys. He came up to me and grabbed my shoulders.
He leaned in close and whispered "you might want to make sure that no one touches you for about 24 no maybe make it 48 hours or else it might kill them.. Since I just added three more Lacrama infused with my magic into your body. That goes for your spirts also."
Then he stated to walk away from me.
"Aries, Taurus, Scorpio, Loki." A light appears along with all the spirts I just called.
"Lucy!" They all said and ran to help me.
"Don't touch me!" I yelled as I fell to the ground. They stopped in front of me.
"No one can touch me right now not even you guys. Please make it so that Juvia, Gray, Levy and the green haired guy don't touch me either." I commanded.
The barrier went down and the other all ran towards me. Taurus, Aries, Scorpio and Loki stopped them from getting to close.
"What the hell you guys let us help her!" Gray yelled furiously.
"I'm sorry but we can't let that happen." Aries apologized.
I slowly stood up.
"You guys can't touch me for 48 hour..." I groaned as I stood up.
"Why not?!" Juvia cried.
"Because of what he did to me before you guys got here…" I replied while I slowly started to move forward. Every muscle movement sent a sharp burning sensation.
"Then why can't your spirits help you?" the green haired man asked.
"Because he said I shouldn't let anyone touch me for 48 hours even my spirits or else it could kill them or whoever touches me..." I groaned and kept moving without touching anyone.
"How do we know he is telling the truth?" asked the other girl.
"I'm not going to risk it! If something did happen to you because of me then I wouldn't be able to live with myself anymore." I yelled.
They were all shocked about how I reacted to everything.
"I need you guys to help me get to my apartment and make sure I don't touch anyone. I'm sorry that you had to see that, but please help me..."
"No do not apologize to us after what just happened we are sorry that we couldn't help you." Gray said and every else seemed to agree with him.
The tears started to flow down my cheek again.
"Thanks you guys." I said staggering back to my apartment.
We made it to my apartment without someone touching me. I went to my bed and laid down. Once I laid on the bed I felt some relief.
"Thank you guys for helping me home but now you can go back." I said to my spirts.
Aries, Scorpio, and Taurus all disappeared in a bright light.
"I'm going to use my power to stay here and make sure your safe and that no one will touch you. You never know for sure when Natsu and the others get back." Loki said.
"If that would make you and the other spirits happy then I will not argue." I replied.
"We will stop by later to see how you are doing. I'm going to tell master what happened." Gray said as he headed towards the door.
"Gray wait... I'm sorry you had to watch. It was probably hard to see a friend getting hurt like that... but thanks for everything and it meant a lot to know how much I mean to you and the rest of the guild care about me." I stated.
"Yeah... Well rest up Lucy, I'll see you later." He said while walking out the door. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.