Well folks after a whopping 4,000 words, the next chapter of The New Dragon Slayer is up. I'm not too sure how everyone will feel about the chapter, but I hope it's not too bad.
I feel the need to address some of the reviews I got because I don't know. I got three and I want to respond I guess.
Alyn: Thank you for the kind words! I try to update as frequently as I can, but writing these doesn't always come easily, even though I wish they did :)
CelesteZodiac: Thank you! I believe you're referring to chapter 7 about the ending and I know. Endings aren't my strong suit it seems. Also, I appreciate the continued reviews, they make me feel all warm inside :)
I love to read reviews for the story, but I'm not gonna force you guys to do anything. I'm not big on the whole 'self-advertising' thing. Look what happened on Youtube.
In any case, enjoy the chapter.
Lucy's POV
Lucy never thought that a span of 5 minutes could be so absolutely confusing and slightly terrifying. She was wrong.
At first, Lucy didn't quite understand what was going on. Everyone was gathered around and talking about Ivy's predicament, then all of the sudden the doors were kicked open and that guy Damien walked in and had Natsu pinned down in seconds, something she thought only Erza and the Master could do. Then Ivy looked like she had teleported to Damien's side and was challenged to a sparring match. Usually Lucy was good at keeping up with things; it's a necessity when you're around such interesting and spontaneous people.
But this was just crazy.
The weirdest part though, was that no one dared to move or talk the entire time Damien was here. Team Natsu stood up to take action only after Damien had him pinned down with a blade to his throat. Lucy found that she couldn't even stand she was so stunned. She had no opportunity to reflect on this because suddenly Ivy and Damien were walking toward the back entrance of the guild that led to the small training ground outside. As if in a trance, the rest of the guild followed.
Lucy and Wendy walked over to Natsu who looked like he was starting to regain his breath but was still flat on the floor, looking stunned. She crouched down next to him and helped him sit up along with Wendy.
"Are you okay Natsu?" Wendy asked tentatively. He looked unharmed, just discombobulated. He was slowly looking back to normal as his brain was registering what had happened.
"How," he gasped slightly. "How did he…?"
Lucy shook her head feeling just as stumped as he did. "I don't know," she almost whispered. "But it was scary. His speed is incredible, almost… inhuman."
"Ivy's going to fight him, willingly?" Wendy asked looking quite afraid. Lucy knew that Wendy's empathy was pretty strong, so this must be torture to the little Dragon Slayer.
"She is?" Natsu asked, shocked. Lucy blinked at him.
"Didn't you hear their conversation?" she asked slowly. Natsu promptly shook his head. Lucy bit her lip and sighed. She stood and held her hand out to the pinkette on the floor, who accepted it. "It's going on right now. Let's watch, okay?"
Natsu nodded. He still looked a bit wild but he grimaced slightly. "I hope Ivy knows what she's doing," he muttered to himself but loudly enough for Lucy and Wendy to hear him.
"So do I," Lucy whispered.
Ivy's POV
I felt kind of stupid. I mean, the first thing I thought was that Damien would just show up to take me back and I would have to convince him I wasn't leaving somehow. I didn't expect to fight him, much less expect him to instigate it.
But there we were, in the grassy courtyard behind Fairy Tail, distanced from each other to get ready for the fight ahead.
I knew for a fact that I couldn't beat Damien, he was too powerful and too quick for me to land any good hits. But he wouldn't go all out on me, so I still had a chance. He wouldn't go all out on me, right?
Damien set his cloak down on a small wooden table that was near the back door of Fairy Tail. Members were filing steadily through the door into the courtyard to watch the fight. The only ones I found missing were Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy, who appeared slightly after everyone who was watching the fight came outside. Natsu looked like he had recovered from shock and now looked like a mix between worried and annoyed.
The courtyard was square shaped and was fairly large, big enough for Damien and I to have plenty of room to fight as well as enough room for the spectators. As he distanced himself from a reasonable length, I got into a defensive position.
"So would you like to tell me what sort of drug you used on me before you left?" Damien called as he unsheathed his sword.
"It was just a simple sleep potion I had the apothecary woman whip up," I answered with a smug grin. "Galaxy Blade," I whispered quietly, summoning my own sword. It materialized in my right hand, weightless at first until I gripped it. It wasn't heavy, but it had good balance.
"She just gave you a potion, no problem?"
I grinned at him mischievously. "She was reluctant at first, but I told her I was having trouble sleeping and that I was getting nightmares. She seemed to cooperate quite nicely after that."
"You're so quick to lie to people," he remarked bitterly. "Like when you told me you were no longer interested in all of the Dragon Slayer nonsense, and yet here you are."
"I never said I was wasn't interested anymore, I just said I would stop talking about it, which I did."
"You're missing the point."
"No, you're missing the point!" I charged. He charged as well, parrying my swing. "I shouldn't be kept up in some cottage in the middle of nowhere just because you don't want me out of your sight. That's just fucking creepy!" I swung again and he met my blow with a parry. He wasn't applying too much pressure against my blade, which I was slightly thankful for. It enabled me the ability to talk and fight at the same time without worrying about him throwing me off.
"Well what would you want me to do?" he asked as pressured me more, getting aggravated. "You can't just trapse around the country without a care in the world, calling out for Galaxus like he's some lost dog!" Angered flared up in me, making me fight back with more strength. I tried my best not to use all of my power to avoid premature exhaustion.
"You know that's not what it would be like you jerk!" I started overpowering him, until he broke away and jumped back. I did the same when I noticed the tension in his blade change. "I don't know why you'd assume I'd act like an idiot and get myself in trouble without you. If anything, I'd be better off! You never give me the chance to do anything for you to notice that I'm not a little girl anymore!"
He jumped into action so suddenly, I barely had enough time to guard. When I did, it was sloppy and nearly knocked me off balance. "I don't need you to do anything," he shouted. "except to stop acting like a brat and going off on your own. You always do things without thinking of the consequences and its hurting others."
"I'm not hurting anyone by living my life! I was hurting myself the longer I stayed with you in that fucking forest in the middle of goddamn nowhere!" I was getting too aggravated, and it was showing in my swordsmanship. "Enough, we can talk after we're done."
We 'sparred' like that for a while. Constantly clashing and bashing and parrying blows. He was obviously the winner after about 10 minutes of this, being that his stamina was pretty incredible. My own endurance wasn't bad but it was nowhere near his. It had always been annoying when I sparred with Damien in the past. We had done it constantly and he seemed to never run out of energy, so it would always end up being me lying on the floor feeling like death while he just stood there like he had a quick walk through the park.
And sure enough, within a few more minutes of fighting, he knocked me off my feet and I landed on my back. I closed my eyes for several seconds, feeling the fatigue sink into my bones. This always happened. I would overestimate my own abilities, in hopes that my confidence would help me win. But it wasn't confidence, it was just plain cockiness.
I tried to stand, but just as I propped myself onto my elbows, Damien's sword was pointed straight down to my neck. I slowly raised my head to look at him in the eye, loathing the fact that he was able to look down on me in more ways than one. I glared at him with much hatred, hoping to soothe the inferiority stirring in my heart.
"That's enough," he said with finality. "I'm tired of dancing around our problems like this."
My glare softened just a bit. "Are you trying to say you want to talk about this?" I asked, slightly hopeful but careful not to let my voice show it. It wasn't often Damien wanted to have a civilized discussion about things. Hell, it wasn't often Damien wasted to talk about anything in general. He wasn't one to express his feelings much.
"What?" he slightly raised an eyebrow. "No, it's clear that I've won. I'm going to take you back home."
I growled, all of the hope draining from me like rain down the gutter. In one swift movement, I propped myself to a more sturdy position and knocked his feet out from under him with my right leg. I grabbed my sword, which had been laying on the ground next to me prior, and pounced on top of his chest. It was childish, I knew but it was the only way to take advantage of the situation. I leveled my brilliant blade to his throat as it glowed a powerful blue, matching the heat of my anger. It was almost hard to look at it was so bright, but if it was that way to Damien, he did not show it. He just blinked at me.
"Damien," I whispered, my voice shaking with anger. "I don't want to go home. That's why I left to begin with. Now I know it's hard for you to understand that there are some people in the world who dislike being locked up in isolation like some sort of bird in a cage and I know it's even harder for you to understand that I am one of those people. So why don't you do me a favor and hear me when I say this:"
My sword broke and faded into stardust and I quickly to grab his shoulders. I raised him up slightly before crashing my skull into his, causing me probably as much pain as it did to him, but more damage to me more than anyone.
"I'M NOT GOING HOME!" I shouted as loud as my lungs would let me.
Everything was still for a moment. Damien brought his hands to his now bleeding forehead and I sat there, still on top of him so he wouldn't move, panting after all the exertion. My head was screaming in pain and I felt dizzy as I used every ounce of willpower I had to stay composed.
I punched him in the chest, not hard, but not too soft either. I looked down at my hands, feeling blood trickle down from my own forehead. I continued to softly punch him the chest, hoping the futile efforts to soothe my heart would be successful.
"I'm not going home." I said it softer now, almost like a whisper. "I'm not going back there; back to that place. It's a prison, Damien. And I don't know how much longer I can take being it's prisoner." I felt tears prick my eyes and my throat hurt from trying to ignore them. I wasn't in the mood to start bawling in front of everyone in Fairy Tail, but I was close. "And you," I said, pausing to take a shaky deep breath. "You are the warden, hell-bent on bringing me back. And you know what? This prisoner is tired running from the warden all the time. But there is no way in hell that you could take me back there, no matter how much you think you're doing me a favor."
I felt the tears trail down my face without my consent, but I was thankful that I wasn't making any sniffling sounds. "So please," my voice shook and sounded higher than normal. "Please… just stop. I can't take much more of this."
Damien stared at me in shock. I didn't cry much in my time, besides when Galaxus disappeared and when I fell of a tree that one time and broke my leg. He seemed to be at a loss for words, as was the rest of the guild. I tightened my fists and lightly slammed them down on his chest. "Please."
And with that, my vision blurred and shifted. I felt dizzier than ever and for the second time, I felt myself fall, slowly becoming unconscious.
I did, however, feel Damien catch me, like I knew he would.
Lucy's POV
It wasn't that uncommon to watch fights, especially in a guild of people who love to do just that.
It was uncommon to see a fight without any magic though, but that didn't mean it was any less entertaining. Well, entertaining wasn't the best word for it. Perhaps something more along the lines of entrancing.
When Lucy arrived outside with Natsu and Wendy, the fight hadn't begun yet. Both parties had their swords at the ready, and seemed to be taunting each other.
"..., and yet here you are." Lucy was only able to catch the last part of whatever Damien was saying before she got there.
"I never said I was wasn't interested anymore," Ivy retorted. "I just said I would stop talking about it, which I did."
"You're missing the point."
"No, you're missing the point!" And with that, Ivy charged at Damien while he did the same to her. They slashed at each other again and again, Ivy mainly being on the offensive while Damien defended himself from every blow she dealt to him. It almost looked as if he was letting her attack him, but Lucy hoped she was just imagining it.
The two yelled at each other some more until Ivy said something like "enough talk" and the pair wildly clashed blades, the sharp clang resounded clearly throughout the training yard.
"They're fast," Lucy commented as she watched them in astonishment. "They're speed is incredible."
Erza who stood nearby nodded in agreement. "But," she said as she analyzed the fight herself. "It seems as though he is faster than Ivy. It looks as if he is not fighting to his full extent.
Lucy's eyes widened. 'I don't want to know what he's like when he's using his full power, this guy is already too strong!' Lucy shivered as she thought about it. On her left, she felt Natsu stiffen. She turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Natsu?" Lucy asked, worry lining her words. "What's wrong?" Natsu shook his head.
"It's not a big deal," he said, almost as if to reassure himself. "But that guy smells,... weird…"
"Weird?" Lucy asked confused. She didn't understand how Dragon Slayer noses worked, and didn't know what could be classified as smelling 'weird'. "How do you mean?"
"I'm not sure," he said frowning a bit. "It's almost… dark or even kind of…"
"Dangerous," Wendy concluded. "It's not normal, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, almost as if to say 'Danger, danger!'"
"I know what you mean," Natsu agreed. Lucy's brow furrowed further.
Suddenly, Ivy was on the ground and had a sword pointed toward her throat. Everyone stiffened, and Lucy even felt her hand reaching toward her keys on her left hip. Natsu grabbed her hand before she could, making her jump slightly.
"Wha-?"
"I know how you feel, but you shouldn't interfere," he said in a low voice. "This is something they need to work out."
Lucy blinked at him in surprise. It wasn't often that Natsu would tell her not to interfere in something. More accurately, it never happened. All Lucy could do was make her hand go slack and return it to her side.
And then Ivy had Damien pinned to the ground, with her sitting on his chest aiming her blade to his neck.
"Damien," Ivy said so quietly, Lucy almost couldn't hear her. "I don't want to go home. That's why I left to begin with. Now I know it's hard for you to understand that there are some people in the world who dislike being locked up in isolation like some sort of bird in a cage and I know it's even harder for you to understand that I am one of those people. So why don't you do me a favor and hear me when I say this:"
Ivy's now blue blade shattered into stardust (had it always been blue?), startling the onlookers. Why would someone throw away their weapon in the middle of a duel?
The answer to that question followed immediately after, and the answer was:
A headbutt. A freaking headbutt into the skull of her opponent.
"I'M NOT GOING HOME!" Her shout resounded throughout the clearing, sending a chill down Lucy's spine. Wendy shivered next to her. Ivy then started punching Damien softly in the chest, speaking to soft for Lucy to hear now. But Ivy was crying and Damien was staring at her in shock.
It broke Lucy's heart.
And then Ivy passed out. Again.
The guild stirred at this, murmurs of alarm flared up all around Lucy. Everyone hesitated though, mainly due to the fact that the one who caught the girl was the same person who beat Natsu in about 2 seconds. Damien stood up and held Ivy in her unconscious state, looking down at her before he surveyed the rest of the guild.
And suddenly, someone was tapping Lucy's leg for her to move out of the way.
She looked down in surprise at Master Makarov who had apparently returned and had been watching the fight for a while now. Guild members parted and the Master walked toward Damien, who was watching him expressionlessly.
"Who are you?" the boy asked quietly. Makarov looked up at him and Ivy and sighed
"I'm Fairy Tail's third guild master, Makarov," the old man said gruffly. "It seems as though the poor girl has gone and passed out again."
Damien's interest looked as though it perked up. "This has happened before?"
Makarov nodded slightly. "Here, I'll tell you about it on the way to out infirmary. She can rest there and you can patch yourself up."
Lucy was worried that Damien would refuse. She didn't want Ivy to leave, and she most certainly didn't want Damien leaving with her. He even looked like he would refuse. But in the end, the boy closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again and asking, "If you would."
As they walked into the guild, The master turned around. "Well," he asked. "What are you all standing around for? Scatter!"
And with that, the guild dispersed. Many went home after the long day they had went through, while some stayed. As it happened, Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy, and Charle wound up following the Master and the new teen up to the infirmary, along with Mirajane who attended to Damien's head injury. Wendy however, focused on Ivy's injury, healing any damage that occurred to her skull. After a few moments of silence, Ivy was sleeping peacefully on the bed she had been sleeping on for the past few days, her long black hair splayed across the pillow she rested on. Mirajane remedied this immediately, saying that if she went to sleep like that, she would wake up with knots in the morning.
Damien had also been taken care of, a small bandage lay on his forehead as he sat on a chair that Wendy had brought over to heal Ivy. He looked at Ivy almost sadly before he spoke to Master Makarov.
"From what I gather, you have done a lot for her," he said quietly. "Thank you for looking after her."
"It's nothing," the Guild Master said with a shrug. "We always help those in need of it."
Damien was silent for a moment before he turned to Natsu. "I also would like to apologize for attacking you," he said, not sounding very apologetic. "It was rather… rude of me."
"Don't sweat it," Natsu mumbled, for once quiet about losing. After a moment of awkward silence, Natsu spoke suddenly."She really cares about you, you know? She wouldn't join Fairy Tail because she didn't want to betray you. You could try being a little more considerate towards her."
"Oi, Natsu," Lucy warned, her tone scolding. Damien didn't respond to his words.
"Master," Erza said in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "What are we going to do?"
The master was sitting on a bed to the right of Ivy's, crosslegged and observing quietly. "Well," he said, "I suggest that you stay here for the night. I'm sure you have much to talk about in the morning."
"Thank you very much," Damien said with no emotion. He didn't seem to have much of that.
"Alright then," Makarov got up and hopped down from the bed and slowly marched toward the door. "Mira will bring you up some dinner soon. Get some rest while you can. There's a lot to do in the morning. I wonder if I might be able to chat with the both of you tomorrow?"
Damien was silent, but didn't protest.
"Alright brats, get out," Master Makarov said as he opened the door. "It's not good to crowd people who are recovering."
As everyone filed out of the room, Lucy closed the door behind them.
"What a day," Gray mumbled as they walked down the steps.
"I'll say," Lucy agreed. "I feel worn out and I didn't even fight."
"Well there was certainly a lot of tension between those two," Erza offered. "I don't think that their little sparring match was enough to work out their issues."
"There's a lot going on that we don't know about," Wendy said mild-manneredly. "It's best to give them some time."
"And some dinner!" Mirajane said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "I'll start making dinner for them. I wonder if Ivy will wake up by then…" She quietly mumbled to herself as she walked to the bar.
"You're being awfully quiet," Lucy pointed out while nudging Natsu with her elbow lightly. "Something the matter?"
The pink haired teen shook his head. "It's just been a weird day," he replied. Happy was on his shoulder nodding in agreement.
"Aye," he said. "I feel like all my energy is gooooone. Natsu, can we go home?"
"Sure," he agreed while stretching out his arms.
"I think I'll be heading home, too," Lucy said, suddenly feeling tiredness affect her own body."I'm exhausted."
"Everyone should go home," Wendy advised, looking at Charle who looked like she might fall asleep right then and there. "Its been a long day, and I don't think it will be any easier tomorrow."
While everyone went their own ways, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, who was falling asleep on Natsu's shoulder, walked together alongside the river. It was quiet all the way to her door.
"Goodnight you two," Lucy said quietly. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, night," Natsu muttered absentmindedly. He looked preoccupied, thinking about today probably. Lucy couldn't blame him. She could barely wrap her head around what happened herself. Oh well, nothing that a nice hot bath and a good night's sleep could fix.
…
Lucy crawled into bed and snuggled under the covers, feeling rather cozy. She wasn't too thrilled for the next day, knowing it probably wouldn't be any less hectic, but it didn't bother her too much. She liked Ivy quite a bit, and maybe Damien wasn't that bad of a guy. After all, she barely knew him!
I barely know about Ivy either, she thought as she closed her eyes and nestled into the pillow. But I do know that something big is going to happen, and I'm not quite sure what will happen to those two when it does.
Look at all those words. It kind of seems that the members of Team Natsu are kind of assholes, seeing as how they just left Natsu on the floor. Rest assured that the only asshole here is me. I guess I'm not too comfortable yet with using characters that already exist because with an OC, you know what they would say and how they would feel. With characters like this, it's kind of guessing how they would react to stuff or what the would say at least. I'm sorry, but I will try to get better as I go along.
Also, I go on school break next week! PARTYYYYYY. Nah, it'll probably just be me at home watching anime and Youtube. And Tumblr. Lots and lots of Tumblr. In any case, I will try to write as much as possible over the next 2 and 1/2 weeks so have faith, young one.
Have a good weekend all. Stay safe.
