Hello there~! Chapter 8 it is! Time for Lucy to get some answers!
I'm personally on vacation right now (woot woot) however I had this all typed up on my computer so I decided to post it anyway. Not sure why I shared that... but I did. Haha. XD
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D
Chapter 8: The Questions
This cat was going to be the death of her. She couldn't understand how his unrivaled gusto to get her down to Natsu had changed literally overnight. She'd tried again, multiple times, to leave and go to the greenhouses at night, but each time Happy had freaked, hissing and spitting and smacking at her until she retreated into her room.
This cat had to have lost his marbles.
She tried to understand his reasoning. Talking to a cat seemed crazy, and after she'd asked him for nearly the one hundredth time why he didn't want her going down there, she finally stared into space and realized she was talking to a cat. Yes, a cat that seemingly understood her perfectly, but also a cat that couldn't speak and answer her questions. She wasn't getting anywhere.
On the third night of Happy turning into the doorkeeper from hell, she tried to reason with him. She told him she'd get him treats, fish, toys, whatever he wanted. And while the mention of fish did make him pause for a moment, he kept it up.
She wasn't entirely sure what to do. She didn't know why he was stopping her, and she couldn't convince him to calm down. What else did she have? She guessed she could go past him anyway, ignoring his warnings. He didn't have his claws out so she figured he wouldn't actually hurt her. Maybe he was just advising.
And so on the sixth night, she decided to try it. It'd been nearly an entire week since she'd seen Natsu for the first time, and as the days wore on, the more she wanted to see him again. Not necessarily him but to ask some questions. She felt a little more confident now, a little more in-control and not so lost. She was ready to see him again… but Happy wasn't getting the message.
She dawned tennis shoes, throwing on a jacket and doing a few quick stretches as Happy looked on with a bored expression. Yes, she would overcome this tiny menace of a cat. Her hands had nearly healed from the scratches from the bath she'd administered upon him, so she could do this.
She clapped her hands to her cheeks. "Alright!" And she stalked toward the door.
When she opened it, once again as if on cue, Happy turned into a whirlwind of fur, flying at a record speed into the hallway and puffing up to the size of a balloon. His tail and back arched and he spat angrily at her feet, smacking her shoes.
Hah. She'd won. She could hardly feel his swats through her sneakers.
For a moment they engaged one another in what she could only describe as a very heated dance. She'd step to one side, he'd mimic her, hissing louder and whacking at her feet. She'd step to the other, he'd follow, growling loudly and hitting her harder. She tried to step over him, he reared up on his hind legs, throwing his paws out like a seasoned boxer as she tried to pass.
"Dammit cat just let me through, will you?" she hissed.
Happy growled angrily at her for a second more before sitting back, his fur settling down as he watched her carefully. They stared at one another, completely still as they tried to size the other up.
Lucy was positive she'd won when Happy let out a huff, shaking his small head once before trotting back into her bedroom, but upon walking into the hallway, realized that in fact she'd most definitely lost.
Maybe she'd won the battle for the hallway, but the instant she began actually going through with her plan, she froze. She didn't want to go down there alone. Hell, it was scary enough with Happy accompanying her but alone? No way.
She slowly backed up to her doorway, looking inside to find Happy stretched out on her bed. "I'm going," she said, stepping in place and waiting for a reaction. Nothing. "Alright, I'm off to see Natsu," she hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet enough so that no one else would overhear. The cat didn't budge. "Dammit!" She sent a death glare towards the cat as she walked back into her room, frustratedly closing the door. Happy had called her bluff, and she'd be dipped if she didn't feel absolutely inadequate. A cat had outsmarted her. She was really losing her touch.
She flopped down on her bed, kicking off her shoes and angrily throwing her jacket across the room. "What's your deal, huh? Are you just gonna lead me down there one day and then never again? Just give me that much so that I'm so confused and curious I can hardly sleep and then that's it? That's mean, you know," she grumbled, throwing back the covers of the bed and sending Happy flying.
She climbed in, pulling them up to her nose and glaring at the feline across the room. Stupid cat. Maybe she should put him back outside if he was going to refuse to help her. Natsu was his real owner anyway… although she couldn't help the fact that she'd somehow become accustomed to the creature, even if he was a pain in the butt.
Happy stared at her, shaking out his fur and offendedly looking her way as if he was truly appalled that she would kick him off of her bed. He blinked once, his eyes glowing in the nearly dark room before he coughed, trotting back over to her bed and hopping up beside her.
He sat, half on one of her arms and leaned down, his face so close to hers that their noses were nearly touching. Her eyes widened in surprise and she was stunned silent.
The cat blinked again, looking back and forth to both of her eyes before sending out one last cough, and hopping back down off of the bed to crawl underneath it.
She stared at the ceiling, bewildered. As much as she wanted to ask what the hell that'd been, she knew. Once again he simply wanted her to trust him. Although now, after nearly a week, trust was becoming incredibly frustrating.
She'd gotten a fitful night's sleep that night, just as she had the past five. Rushing dreams of corridors and jail cells plagued her mind. She knew her lack of sleep was noticeable. Maybe she was a little quieter, or maybe she grumbled to herself more often, but she knew the others in the household could notice the difference. She hadn't been confronted about it yet, but she knew they noticed.
Virgo still seemed as ever-knowing as ever, giving her tea among other things to help her relax when she looked stressed. She was positive her maid wouldn't ask further about the keys, and she was still grateful… although part of her wanted Virgo to break down and beg to know. It felt sort of wrong pretending like nothing had happened when she was around other people.
And so it was a ray of hope, very nervous hope, when she dawned her jacket and tennis shoes again the next night, only to have Happy trot after her calmly into the hallway.
Lucy's mouth dropped agape as she stared at the cat slowly sauntering past her and making it down the hallway without hesitation.
"What is your deal?" she whispered to herself, staring after him. The past night he'd still been as adamant as ever, but tonight he acted like there wasn't a problem in the world. Why now? This cat had to be bipolar.
However, as much as she wanted to wring the cat's neck for being so finicky, she couldn't help the excited nervousness boiling in her stomach as she quietly shut her door and shuffled after him. This was what she'd been wanting to do for an entire week. Her hand rested on the journal in her pocket as she hurried down the staircase after the cat. Tonight would be the night she'd finally get some answers. She just knew it.
She'd gone over her first trek down to Natsu hundreds, if not thousands of times in her head the past week. However, the actual journey down seemed a little quicker this time.
Maybe it was because she felt more like she knew what she was doing, or maybe it'd simply felt like it'd taken forever the first time because of her nerves –which were still there, just a little more subdued- but either way, it seemed much faster.
She opened the door in the greenhouse's floor without hesitation, jogging down the steps -even as it turned pitch black- unlike before when it'd taken all the courage she had to even creep down at a snail's pace.
Around halfway down she grabbed the key from around her neck, holding it tight both for reassurance and also because she knew she'd be needing it soon.
She took long strides once she'd reached the torch-lit corridor, making her way to the steel doors in what she considered a decent amount of time. Maybe the venture down to see Natsu wouldn't be that big of a deal after all. She'd thought it would take her forever just to get down there again, and that going to talk with him was way out of her way, but if she made the trip at the same quick pace she had this time… It was totally doable.
She didn't want to think about the times in the future when she'd meet him, though… It seemed wrong to assume she would just come down here and talk with him during multiple visits. She wanted to assume she would only see him tonight and that was it, but a different part of her wanted to make it a regular thing…
What was wrong with her?
She tried to pass it off as her own curiosity over the situation, although she knew it was a different curiosity. He was a fascinating person. Maybe what he'd said was a little weird, but his voice and his laugh felt so comfortable that she found it interesting. Not to mention his appearance, which was so fantastical and wild-looking that it made her heart beat fast in her chest.
The little green light blinked when she'd unlocked the twelfth door and once again, all of the metal doors hoisted themselves up into the ceiling. Happy led the way again, trotting gracefully through the passage as she followed.
She made it through in good time, flinching as the doors all came down with a deafening bang. The cannon-like shot of air once again burst through, however this time one torch survived. And while it was much dimmer than with all of them, she could still make out the bars of the cage he was within, as well as the metal wall behind them and the steel door with the small opening she'd looked through to see him the past visit.
She took in a sharp breath as she spotted two eyes peering out through the opening. She could see only from his hairline down to just below his nose but she felt the grin on his face.
His eyes seemed to glow, the firelight dancing in his pupils as he looked her up and down. "Yo."
All of the questions she vowed to ask him right away suddenly vanished from her mind, instead her lips forming a very quiet. "H-Hey."
He let out a laugh, looking truly beyond elated. "Nice to see ya again. Glad you came." His eyes flickered to the snuffed torches on the walls and he sighed. Once again that warm breeze she'd felt before, the one when it'd been completely pitch black the first time, brushed past her skin, and like clockwork the dead torches came to life, fire growing and creating dancing shadows on the walls.
She stared at the fire, swallowing nervously. So this was his doing? Had he made that wind? It seemed so… but surely not. They were probably on a sensor or something that emitted a spark when it sensed they were out. At least she hoped so.
He cleared his throat, apparently eager to attract her attention again. "Hey, lookie we can talk eye-to-eye this time."
Reluctantly she tore her gaze from the torches, staring back at him through the slot in the door. The small metal bars in the eye-level opening obstructed some of her view of him, but not too much. She nodded. "You said you couldn't stand before because you were full?" It sounded silly.
He let out a chuckle. "Yup, delicious meal if I do say so myself." He licked his lips as if to accentuate his point. His teeth were white, blindingly so, and she swore she saw an elongated fang when he'd opened his mouth. Surely not. Really, by now with all the weird things she'd seen and heard regarding him, she was probably just imagining things.
That's right… she wanted some answers from him. Her features steeled and an eyebrow of his raised as he noticed the difference in her. "Enough chit-chat. I have some questions for you." She took the journal from her pocket, shouldering off her jacket and tossing it to the side. It was cold when she'd first entered the corridor, although standing close to his cell it suddenly became uncomfortably warm.
Her eyes trailed to the left, the small archway leading down into a dark hallway catching her attention. She'd noticed it the first time -although it looked incredibly uninviting- but she hadn't paid it much attention once she'd met Natsu. Her full attention had been on him. Maybe that's where the heat was coming from… She shook her head to clear it. That wasn't what she needed to be thinking about now.
Natsu tilted his head. "Woah, someone means business, eh?" It was a teasing statement, but she paid it no mind.
"You will… answer some questions, right?" Maybe she should've been a little more kind about it. She had no idea whether he'd cooperate or not. Surely he would though… if she was personable about it.
She didn't know him, and yet somehow she felt like she did. She felt like she knew he would cooperate if she was kind, as if she'd known that forever. She felt like she knew he didn't take things too seriously, even in the situation he was in, and she felt like she knew he didn't like things too serious, either. She didn't know him at all, and yet she felt like she knew at least those things about him, for some reason.
Maybe she was a good judge of character? She didn't know. Or maybe he was transparent. Whatever it was, it felt weird and wrong to feel like she knew him, and yet so undeniably right.
Natsu's head bobbed and she knew he'd shrugged. "Yeah, sure. You'll answer my questions too though, right?"
"Your questions?" she coughed, staring at him in disbelief. What on earth kinds of questions would he have? She was the one who should be curious, not him.
"Don't worry; they're not hard," he grinned. And once again that childish smile made her feel a little more at ease. What was wrong with her? Or what was wrong with him? She really wanted to have her guard up but with that smile she just… couldn't. It was so innocent.
She huffed. "Fine, yeah whatever I will."
"Alrighty, hit me with all ya got then," he said, nodding.
She was a little unnerved but quickly snapped open the lock on the journal nonetheless, turning to the first page and staring down at some of the first questions she'd written. She cleared her throat. "Alright… answer me honestly… What did you do to get put down here?"
She carefully looked up to him to find his entire expression and aura had changed. He looked pained, in a way, his eyebrows curving upward in the middle as he stared at her like a puppy who'd been scolded. He looked to the side. "I-I can't tell ya that."
He couldn't tell her that? "But you said you'd answer my questions," she said, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. So much for this. The very first question and he didn't answer her. She'd never know what was going on at this rate.
"I'm sorry but… I just can't."
"Why?"
He looked back to her, somehow his already pained expression turning even more aggrieved. "Because…," he bit his lip, looking a tad frustrated. "Because I just can't!" He sounded unsatisfied, as if he wanted to tell her but something big was holding him back.
Her jaw clenched and unclenched. She wanted to be upset, but his face… she sensed there really was something holding him back from saying. She somehow couldn't get up the energy to be angry with him. Instead, she shifted her question. "Look, whatever you did do… is it… something bad?"
He leaned his forehead against the door, his eyes still locked on her. "I don't know?"
"What?" she groaned. "You don't know?"
"You gotta be a little more specific," he sighed, rocking his forehead from side to side on the door. "I think you've already guessed but I- we're in sort of a unique situation here."
She stepped backward at the notion that they were in something together. Yes, she had already inferred that this wasn't just your everyday situation. It wasn't run of the mill to have a boy locked underground, let alone one like… him. However, he insinuated they were in it together? Something about that unnerved her further.
"Y-You didn't kill someone did you?" she gulped. There. She could get specific if he needed her to.
She jumped, startled as he burst out into loud peals of laughter, shoving off of the door and out of the small window's sight. "You're funny, Lucy."
She blinked, curiosity overtaking her as she jogged to the door, standing on her tip-toes to look inside. There he was, hunched over and laughing. "B-But you didn't, did you?"
He looked up to her, gasping for air from the "joke" she'd apparently just told. She didn't see how that could be considered funny… maybe he was insane or something. Insane people laughed for no reason, and that would also be a reason for being held in solitary…
"No. No I didn't kill anyone. Don't be silly."
She heaved a sigh of relief, her expression soon turning sour as she stared down at him, still laughing. It hadn't been that funny. Maybe he knew he wouldn't kill anyone but she didn't. How would she? Only then did she notice that his garments had changed since the past week. He still wore the tattered clothing he'd had then, but beyond that, there was now a white scarf wrapped around his neck. At least she assumed it was originally white -it was really rather grubby-looking now. It looked interesting… as if it wasn't made of fabric at all but some sort of… hide, or leather or scales or something.
He looked up at her, his laughter finally ceasing. She decided to press further. "You didn't hurt anyone, did you?"
"Nope," he piped, walking back over towards the door. He was fast, his face approaching her own, much quicker than she'd expected. She backed away immediately, stepping backward a few paces as he again peered through the opening. Apparently there was some sort of shelf on his side, because she could just barely see as he lifted his arms, resting them near the opening and leaning to look through.
She was surprised, her heart beating a little faster. She'd only been a few inches away from the slot, and yet he'd not been hesitant in the least to come right up to it. If she wouldn't have moved they would've been close enough they could've touched noses. He could've touched her. While she did feel a little at ease with him, the thought of him actually having some sort of access to her, whether it was just enough to touch, or perhaps if he could grab her, sent her into a panic. He was nice, at least from afar, but who knew what his intentions would be when they were up close. Maybe he was luring her in so he could harm her in some way. It was scary.
She tried to work through her pounding heart, swallowing thickly as she clutched her hands to keep them from shaking. She didn't want him to notice she'd been scared, even if only for a brief second. "S-So you didn't do anything to anyone else to get put in here?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Not at all." And she believed him. He watched her for a second, his eyes trailing down to her clutched hands before he sighed. Had he noticed her fear? "Why I'm down here…," He swallowed, sounding as if he were picking his words very carefully. "It isn't anything I could've helped. It isn't because I did anything to anyone else… or because of something I did really… in general. It's more of a…," he huffed irritatedly, as if he couldn't find the words. "It's just something special… But to answer your first question, no… I don't think it's anything bad, or anything… you'd consider to be bad," he said carefully.
Although his words should've put her at ease, his tone didn't match what he was saying. He sounded unsure, as if he truly didn't know if what he'd done, or whatever had happened to put him down here, was something she'd consider as negative or not. She swallowed.
"So… it's not your fault you're down here?" she peeped.
His eyes snapped to hers, holding the same intensity they had when she'd first looked at him. She squeaked lightly, her throat clenching as she once again inched backward on instinct.
"My fault?" he asked. She nodded. "Be more clear."
"U-Um, well," she stuttered, clutching the journal in her hands and fiddling with the pages. "You know. In order for you to have been… sealed up here in this… jail thing," she said awkwardly, "either you must've done something wrong, or…" She hated to say it. She really didn't want to say it. "Or my father is the one in the wrong. He's the one who put you down here, right?"
Natsu nodded once. "Yeah, he is." His gaze softened as did the sharpness in his voice. "I don't know how much of an imagination ya have, Lucy but… really in this instance there ain't clear lines." He looked up to her, apparently noticing the confusion on her face and continuing. "I don't think I did anythin' wrong. However, as much as I hate ta admit it… I don't think your father did either."
"Eh?" she peeped, uncomprehending.
Natsu sighed impatiently. "I mean yeah, he's a total jerk and I really do hate him, but those are for my own reasons. Not this. I don't think either of us did anything wrong, whether it was me doing something to get myself put down here, or him locking me up. Neither of us are in the wrong in that respect, but in other situations I guess we both are…" He looked to the side, his own thoughts taking over and his voice going silent.
How was it that the more he said, the more confused she was? He was answering her question, in a way, which put some things to rest, but at the same time was raising more inquiries. "What other situations?" she asked.
She saw his jaw clench. "Nothing I could've helped," he said quietly. "Definitely something he shouldn't have done," he hissed. Malice laced through his voice, his words dangerously cold as they sent a shiver down her spine. There were a few moments of silence, complete and utter silence that seemed a little painful before suddenly his face changed, a smile once again engulfing his features as he grinned out at her. "But that's not important right now. You asked if I did anything wrong to get put down here and I guess the answer is no." He seemed pleased that he had somehow come up with a response to her question.
"S-So Father didn't do anything wrong either?"
Natsu shrugged. "No, not in putting me down here, no."
It felt like a gigantic weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Sure he'd definitely said some things that not only worried her but piqued her curiosity as well, but he had answered one thing. And that one thing had been the question that'd been keeping her up at night since she'd first visited the odd boy.
Natsu hadn't done anything wrong… and neither had her father. Both of them were not in the wrong. From what Natsu said it sounded like with whatever situation he was in, there wasn't a black and white, more of a large grey area which was why he didn't know how to answer her question.
And while black and white things made things easier, grey made it so perhaps both parties, both sides of the story, weren't all to blame. Which was honestly all she'd hoped for since she somehow cared for both sides. Her father in a familial standpoint and Natsu in a… For curiosity's sake. Yes, she'd leave it at that. He was curious.
"'Kay now I get to ask a question, right?"
She was immediately snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes growing wide as she mechanically nodded. That'd been their agreement. Oh she hoped he wouldn't ask anything… weird, or personal, or just… anything she didn't want to answer.
His eyes trailed down her figure. "Alrighty then. How are your hands doing?"
"Huh?" She slowly brought her hands up to look at them. "Oh, you mean where Happy scratched me?" That's right, the last time she'd been down here she'd had them all bandaged up. They were better now. Maybe a little sore and she was positive some of the scratches would scar, but they were better.
Natsu nodded. "They're healing, right?" He sounded genuine, as if he was truly worried about her wounds.
"U-Uh, y-yeah," she said, taken off-guard. "Yeah, they're doing much better. He got me good but… they're gonna be fine."
"Do they still hurt?" he asked.
Why on earth would he care? "Yeah, they ache a little but they'll be fine. Really." She gave him a smile and an awkward laugh. It felt odd to have someone this concerned.
He glanced over to the side. "Hey, you ever apologize?" he snapped. Lucy looked over to find Happy, laying down next to the wall seemingly without a care in the world. His head raised to look at Natsu as he sensed he was being addressed, staring at his master before looking back over to Lucy and sending another little cough her way, although this one seemed weak and maybe a little… sarcastic, even if that sounded insane.
"Um…," she mumbled, looking to Natsu. Was she supposed to respond to that little cough?
His eyes were still on Happy. "Oy, no need to get snippy," he huffed. "You're gonna be a fur rug if you shred her hands again." His tone was harsh but Lucy could tell he was kidding.
Happy seemingly rolled his eyes before settling his head back down onto his paws.
"Did he…?"
"Yeah, he apologized in his own way," Natsu said, letting out a chuckle. "He really is an awesome cat, I swear."
A smile twitched at her lips. "Yeah, I know. We've had our qualms but I can sense he's a sweetie." She watched Happy for a bit, trying to ignore Natsu's gaze which she could feel boring into her. Apparently it wasn't only in looking at him that his eyes seemed intense. If she didn't know better she would've sworn her skin would burst into flames where he was staring at her. Those eyes of his could probably be felt miles away. It was freaky. "So that was your question?" she asked. "You can have another one if you want since that one was kinda…" She trailed off, unsure of how to put it. It didn't seem like he really gained anything from that.
"Ooh really?" He sounded excited. "Alright, hmm… Oh here we go. What's your favorite color?"
"What?!" she screeched, her voice a little louder than she'd meant it to be. What the hell kind of question was that? She hadn't considered their meeting as a "getting to know you" session –granted she didn't know what she would call it- which was what this was starting to feel like.
He appeared shocked. "I-I was just curious. Is it a secret?"
"No! It's not a secret; that's just a weird question."
He stared blankly at her, apparently uncomprehending. "I thought that's what people asked other people when they met…"
"I-It is, it's just… I thought you'd have something more serious to ask." She watched as his face stayed completely still, his eyes holding nothing but confusion. She shook her head, waving a hand to dismiss him. "Never mind, it's fine. My favorite color is yellow."
"Yellow?" Natsu asked, cocking his head. "Why's that?"
"I dunno," she said, shrugging. "I always liked looking up at the moon and the stars… and they all seemed yellow. Maybe kinda white but I always associated the color yellow with them, so it became my favorite."
"Huh." He sounded genuinely fascinated by her answer.
"Why, what's your favorite color?" She was a little hesitant to hear the answer, but she felt like she needed to reciprocate the question. Whenever people asked simple things like that… it was polite to ask the same of them.
His eyebrows raised. "Ooh, I dunno," he grinned. "Never really thought about it. I guess probably either orange or red. Naw, definitely red."
"And why's that?" she asked, unable to keep the smug smirk off of her face as his eyebrows scrunched, trying to find the answer. If he could spring weird questions like why she liked the color yellow onto her, she could do the same.
"Hmm, cuz that's the color o' fire, right?" He nodded adamantly. "Yup, really hot fire."
She couldn't help but smile, even though she felt like she should probably ask him if he was a pyromaniac or something first. He liked fire enough for it to be his favorite color… "You like fire then?"
"You bet. Beautiful, ain't it?"
Her gaze traveled back to the torches on the wall, watching the flames flicker against the wall before nodding. "Yeah, I guess it's sort of pretty." She heard him sigh, somehow sounding as if he was relieved she thought so too, or perhaps he was just admiring the flames. She wasn't sure.
Lucy opened her journal again, her eyes scanning the first question she'd asked Natsu and moving onto the next. Right, she needed to get to it. But before she could start, she was interrupted.
"Lucy." Just as when the first time she'd visited, his voice had suddenly lost all life and luster, turning cold and serious as she looked up to him. "Once again I would really love to continue this conversation but it'd be best if you leave."
She blinked. "Is it..?"
He nodded. "Your father will notice you're missing in around ten minutes again."
"But how do you-"
"I'll tell you some other time," he said, his eyes turning merry for a moment. "And there will be other times, right?"
"Yeah." The word had come out without her even thinking it over. Without even pondering over the question of whether or not she'd come back down to see him, she'd somehow made up her mind. She would definitely come back. Whether it was her questions or his weird charisma, she didn't know, but she would be back.
He nodded. "Good. Then you best be on your way."
With a bit of hesitation she grabbed her jacket from the floor, shoving her arms through the holes, all the while keeping her eyes locked with his. The first time she'd been down she'd felt an overwhelming sense of panic when he'd told her to leave. And while yes, she did feel incredibly rushed and afraid this time, it wasn't as strong. If Jude hadn't done anything wrong in keeping Natsu down here, then why would he be afraid for her to find out?
However, the look in Natsu's eyes suggested that there was a very real danger in having her father find out she was down, socializing with their captive. And so while her heart told her to stay, to question further, she took his warning and turned to leave.
"Oh," she sighed, turning back to him, his eyes holding frustration as to why she wasn't hurrying to leave. "One more thing…" She held up her key, the firelight reflecting beautifully off of its glowing surface. "Did you give this to me?"
Natsu faltered for only a moment before nodding, his eyes still just as intense and worried as before. "Yes. Yes I did." It appeared he sensed her hesitance and curiosity towards more questions. "Listen I'll tell you that next time, okay?"
She gritted her teeth. She wanted to know now. How had he gotten up there to give it to her? Where had he gotten it from? What was it and what did it mean? But the intensity in his eyes made her shove all those questions back down inside, instead giving him a stiff and reluctant nod. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Oh boy Natsu, way to give super confusing/vague answers, dude. XD At least Lucy got some things to put her mind at ease. However, more questions have arisen. She'll definitely have to interrogate him. Go all Erza on him, Lucy. XD
Words cannot express how much I love the amazing reviews and whatnot you guys are giving! There were some awesome questions posed in reviews as well, all of which I'm sure Lucy'll be getting answers to sooner or later. Especially loved Pyrinsomniac and AnimexFreakz 0.o's questions/curiosities! And a super big shout-out to rebma726 and iamthewerepire for their reviews that pretty much made me squeal like a crazy four-year-old. In a good way, of course. XD
Writing these Natsu and Lucy interactions are so much fun! We'll see some more of it in the next chapter, most likely. :D
~Foxtail-chan
