Hello Minnaaaaa! This chapter will be in third person!
Everyone: Ow, OK, That hurt.
Natsu: I don't even think Gajeel is that bad.
Me: Natsu, what did you say?
Natsu: Oh, Nothing! Everyone have a nice time reading this chapter. Bye!
Chapter 8
I will save her
'Wearing our vintage misery, No, I think it looked a little better on me!' ~The Phoenix- Fall Out Boy~
Lucy stood in the hallway with Levy, occasionally hearing the words of an argument from inside the room they had previously just been in, not even forty minutes ago.
'I wonder what they're talking about...' Lucy thought, letting her mind wander. She let out a sigh as her back hit the wall, her eyelids slowly drifting to a close. 'Maybe I'll just take a snooze here..' Lucy thought, already her consciousness slipping. Her knees weakened, and she slowly slipped to the floor. Just after she left reality, Levy sat next to her.
Levy smiled sweetly at Lucy's sleeping form. "I have a feeling we're going to become great friends." She said quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping beauty.
The aura of calmness that had enveloped the hallway was soon interrupted by loud voices and the sudden opening of the large wooden doors.
"I refuse to talk about going there!" Natsu yelled at Erza as he exited.
"Whether you like it or not, you'll eventually have to go there." Erza replied calmly, following after Natsu. It wasn't uncommon in this world for royals to act casually with one another. If Natsu hadn't been of a royal descent, it would have been considered rude for him to talk to Erza the way he had. Let alone exit a room before she did... Though the almighty Titania had made exceptions to a few people not part of a royal bloodline.
"No, the northern territories can wait. I told you I was heading West. The others are probably still waiting there." Natsu finished, feeling satisfied with his statement.
"You can't ignore it. Going there is extremely important to your quest." Erza replied, her voice filled with the authority she had. But of course Natsu was used to it, so it didn't intimidate him as much as other people. Almost...
"Shhhh!" Levy shushed the two bickering adults, and gestured towards Lucy's sleeping form. Erza and Natsu immediately let go of the tension between them.
"Tomorrow you will head for the west." Erza stated quietly. The statement had been directed at Natsu, for only he could hear her voice when she talked in a quiet whisper. Erza's eyes still lingered on the sleeping blonde. "But you will take her with you." She said, once again. Natsu, being the only one able to hear her, felt a moment of shock.
Natsu leaned towards Erza, and lowered his voice. "Are you crazy, Erza? Do you know how dangero-"
"That's an order." Erza replied loudly, cutting off Natsu. She turned to face him as she spoke. He knew there was no denying her then. Her eyes held an intensity in them, that even he could not stand up to. Had he refused, Erza would probably have a sword to his neck, threatening to slit his throat. Of course she wouldn't, for she knew the situation, and for them to defeat the akuma, he had to be alive. Natsu backed away from her slightly.
"You will leave first thing in the morning. If I see or hear you are here after, I swear I'll..." She tried to think of something. Natsu let out a small chuckle.
"I get it. We'll be gone before the old man wakes up." Natsu said.
"Good." Erza said, feeling relieved. She was worried about what Makarov would do if he found out that Natsu had stayed over-night. After what happened last time, Makarov was reluctant to let it happen again.
"I'll take her to my place." Natsu said, leaving Erza's side. He stroke over to Lucy and Levy, and carefully picked up the elf. With her sound asleep, and safe in his warm grasp, he left the tree.
"Are you sure they'll be OK?" Levy asked Erza. They stood on the wooden platform, watching Natsu carry Lucy away.
"I'm sure of it. He wouldn't let anything happen to her." Erza replied, smiling sweetly at the retreating figure.
Further into the village, in the very back was a cottage. The only cottage in fact, since all the other houses were practically built into trees. And that didn't exclude Natsu's humble abode. There was clearly a tree coming of the front of the yellow house. But other than that, it looked like a normal home. Complete with a simple wooden door, stone chimney, and a window positioned on the second floor.
Natsu walked in, and placed the sleeping girl in his hammock. As he set her down, he couldn't help but notice her peaceful face once again. But she stirred as sunlight hit her face. Natsu turned around, and quickly closed the door, being careful not to disturb Lucy in her sleeping state. She seemed to calm down, and he sighed with relief.
'What am I thinking?' Natsu thought, curious as to why he was acting so out of character.
'Snap out of it! Snap out of it!' He hit his head on the wall, trying to correct his mind of whatever he thought he was doing wrong. In this case, it was thinking about Lucy. He had always thought about her, even before they'd met. What would she looked like? Was she nice? Why was she so important to his father? Those questions plagued him regularly. Nearly everyone who knew him knew about Lucy. Natsu would talk about her to his comrades. When Erza had no orders for him to complete, he would try to look for her. For a hundred years he did. He still couldn't believe that a single lead from an akuma's conversation could have caused him to find her. That's when his head banging led him to remember about that one fateful night. When they were both strangers.
Flashback
Natsu watched from his perch on an astronomy building, one of the highest points in the city, besides the castle.
He watched as akuma invaded the city, killing and demolishing everyone and anything that stood in their way. Strangely, it seemed that they were oddly divided, uneven groups sent around the city. His red eyes trained on a group that headed strait to the castle.
But his ears suddenly picked up the screams of the people. With pained eyes he watched their life get taken right before him. He knew he couldn't save them. He was in this city alone, with no back-up and no direct plan. If he were to try and save the people, he would surely have died. What gain in freedom would that be? He felt his heart sink at how pitiful he could be. They were people. Innocent people with families. They were mothers and fathers; sisters and brothers. People who had lives, and were innocent.
And he...
He just let the akuma throw that away, standing there as he watched an akuma kill a small boy by dragging it's claws across the boy's neck. He clenched his fists in anger.
'How many times must I see the blood of innocent people shed?' He thought.
Quickly he recovered. 'That's right,' He thought. 'If I find her, this will all stop. I know it will!' He would find Lucy if it took him till the end of his days...
Not literally, of course, considering he was immortal and the only way he could die is if he were killed. But that was besides the point. His eyes became filled with determination, and with that determination, he spread his wings. He jumped off of the building, flying below the ashes of the newly burning city, searching to find Lucy.
In every moment of his life, he somehow managed to think of his father, and his last wish. It was to find Lucy. Whenever he tried to search for her, he would always think back on that moment. After he got over his anger, he came to a conclusion. His father must have left some plan. Something to stop the evil that lurked in his kingdom. That plan must have involved Lucy. He wondered why. Was she some kind of goddess with almighty power? No, that's illogical. The question remained a mystery for the time being. A plague that would haunt his mind, and twist it even further, trying to solve the mystery.
Coming out of his mental debate, he was suddenly hit with a force that made him fall off balance, and he started falling towards the ground. He quickly caught himself, the object that had fallen on him, now on his back. Still in mid-air, he reached for whatever had fallen on him. What he had found on his back was a girl.
'What's a girl doing in the sky?' He thought. She certainly wasn't an akuma, so who was she?
As he adjusted so he could carry her in his arms, the sight of her wound caught his eye. A dagger with a black handle was sticking right at the division of her chest and abdomen. Her red blood soaked the surrounding pink clothing, and she was still bleeding.
'This is bad.' He thought. 'This girl needs my help. At least I can try to save somebody.' He didn't know what he was thinking besides that. He had made it a priority to find Lucy, yet here he was helping some strange girl who had fallen out of the sky.
He took off, going higher into the sky, and leaving the city that was sure to burn to the ground. He looked at the girl in his arms. Her face was covered in soot from the smoke, and her facial expression was that of someone in extreme pain. He could feel her muscles tensing every time they moved. Even though she was unconscious, she was in pain. He knew that if he didn't find a way to help her, she would surely die. The amount of blood she lost seemed far too great. He was worried if she would live if he even tried to help her. She'd probably be lucky if the dagger spared her lung. But luck probably couldn't save everyone's lives.
'Whoever, whatever did this to her wanted her to suffer.' He thought. He frantically searched the ground, looking for a safe place to land. Hopefully secluded, so no one would find them.
He spotted a small clearing, and decided to land there, surrounding by the woods. He descended towards the meadow grass, and gently placed the girl on the ground. He tried to ignore her groans and hisses of pain.
'I'll save her.' He started a chant in his head. His heart heaved with emotion; the determination to help her.
He gently grabbed the end of the dagger, the girl hissing in pain as a response.
"Don't worry, I'm here to help you." He quietly said to her. His words seemed to do nothing, he just prayed that she would somehow hear him. He quickly pulled the dagger from her, and was met with a blood-curdling scream.
In response to her screams of agony, Natsu ripped a piece of her dress, and used it as a gag to suppress her screams. He threw the dagger on the ground, and watched as it turned into black mist.
A demon blade. It was a specific weapon made by the demons.
With the dagger gone, he focused his magic into his hands, and placed it over her wound. The fire quickly ignited, but he was shocked to find that her dress was burning off as well.
'Shit...' He had forgotten to expose her wound from the clothing.
The clothing burned quickly, but left her skin unharmed. Nevertheless, he continued. He put pressure on her injury as the flames cauterized the wound. When he was finished, he watched as the magic dissipated from his hands, and looked at his work. He had successfully cauterized her wound. With that problem solved, he was prepared to face the next one.
Or not.
The girl was completely naked. Natsu immediately blushed, and turned away. Privacy is what he knew the girl would want. Isn't it usual for a girl to want privacy while she was naked?
Natsu hadn't really ever payed attention to the woman anatomy. What if he seriously hurt her!? He was suddenly filled with worry, but then remembered the one person who could help the poor girl. Wendy. She was a girl, and a medic as well. Wendy would know what to do.
Keeping mind of the girl behind him, Natsu reached in his bag, searching for bandages. He found the ones he used for his knuckles, and figured that that would work.
He swallowed his anxiety, and turned towards the girl. He tried to avert his eyes from her obscene parts, and focused on wrapping the bandage around her wound.
He soon finished, wrapping the bandage around her tightly. Smiling slightly to himself for the good work he did, he tried to think of a way to cover her.
Once again, he rummaged through his bag, and found a black blanket he had used for sleep many times. He took it, and brought it over the girl, covering her body.
He sighed. Now he could take her back to the cave.
He carefully picked her up, careful to tuck the blanket around her so it wouldn't blow off. He took towards the sky, and had managed to get one more look at her home. Only black smoke was what he could see in the sky. Natsu quickly turned away, and flew to the cave. He wasn't sure what to expect next. Or what they would think, because he had never brought a girl home.
When he did get back, Cobra was the first to greet him.
'She's injured, back off.' Natsu thought. Cobra immediately stepped out of the way, knowing it was probably not the best time to question Natsu.
Natsu walked into the cavern, occasionally jumping down, or turning left and right. He instinctively made it to his room, which was deep inside the cave. He entered his room, and laid the girl on his bed. He then exited, promising himself to check on her later.
Gajeel was standing right outside.
"You're gonna have to explain this." Gajeel said, crossing his arms, and leaning against the cave wall.
"Cobra told you?" Natsu suspected. Gajeel nodded. Natsu tried to walk past Gajeel, but he wouldn't let Natsu pass.
"Now." Gajeel demanded. Natsu sighed.
"Fine. She's just some girl who fell on me." Natsu said in a bland voice.
Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you help her?" Gajeel asked.
"She fell on me while I was in flight! What else was I supposed to do!?" Natsu asked, and tried to get away, but Gajeel stopped him with his gruff voice.
"If it makes ya feel any better, me and Cobra will keep an ear out for her. Ya know, while you're out on your shift." Gajeel said. With that, Natsu left.
He was to be extremely surprised when he got back to find that the girl he had saved turned out to be Lucy.
Natsu smiled at his memory. Of how it was of coincidence and fate that led him to find her.
Suddenly Levy burst through the door. "Natsu!" She said, yelling the last bit of breath she had.
"Levy?" Why was she here? Levy stood up. She was the size of a regular person. (Perhaps a bit shorter, but that was just Levy.)
"You didn't tell us the other's were coming!?" Levy finally said.
'Wait, they're here? Cobra, Laxus, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue! They're here?' Natsu thought. He quickly followed Levy outside. All of the people of the village were gathered near the large, central tree, which had been better known as Tenrou. Natsu could hear the people cheering. All of the dragon slayers were there with Erza and Makarov.
"Let us celebrate the end of the dark era!" Makarov cheered. Everyone else followed.
There plan was soon to be set.
Yayyy! Another long chapter. That was rather filling, I must say. Be prepared, Natsu and Lucy are about to got on their quest!
For what, I cannot say.
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XOXO
~locoanime
