Thank you all so much for supporting my fic! It really means a lot, your beautiful reviews and having new followers and people favoring this every day makes the time put into writing it all worth while! Again, I do appreciate criticism - but only if it's constructive! details will slowly come in chapter by chapter (I feel like a broken record now) if you don't want to wait I don't hold it against you! And if you don't like my style of writing that's fine too! Please be nice :)
I had an EXCELLENT question: Where is Bleach at within this fic. I purposely left that out, I wanted it to reveal itself but I'll tell ya! I want all the Espada available so it will currently take place before/during the Winter War - otherwise I wouldn't have had Wonderweiss. I'm not going to go into too much detail about that because I want to experiment a little and see how things turn out. But yes, Aizen is currently alive.
Will Vizards make an appearance? It's possible ;) Nobody's immune to my crack summonings!
Kurotsuchi was a good guess! But the spirit iiiiiiiis..
A very voluptuous form was standing before the 6 mages.
She had strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark sitting delicately on the right side of her mouth. She wore a black robe that hung very loosely on her chest area, allowing her cleavage to almost completely spill out. She had a golden necklace tucked between her cleavage and a long pink scarf over her shoulders, she was so beautiful even Levy and Lucy had to blush.
"The Trimen's jaws all hit the floor and an uncharacteristically deep blush took over their bodies as their true nature took over.
"Miss, I don't know your name, but know I would go to hell and back just to be in your presence." Eve was back to his one-knee pose, possessively stroking the spirits right hand. Has he ever cursed before..?
"No my sweet rose, it is I, Hibiki, who would do anything for a one of a kind beauty such as yourself. Please, have dinner with me." Hibiki was clasping her other hand, tears in his eyes.
"If it is true love you're looking for, then you must choose me.. Even if it's indirectly." Ren was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking to the ground and blushing with a semi-scowl in place. Tsundere..?
"My, this perfume! I've never smelled anything like it! My dear, my love, my soul mate!" Ichiya was sniffing her hair as he lightly brushed his fingers over it. So creepy..
"Oh god.. My poor spirit.. She must hate me now.."
"Please my queen, is there anything I can get you?" Ren was now standing with a hand towel delicately folded over his arm. Where do they keep pulling all this stuff out from?!
Lucy had had enough, she was about to intervene, this was way too embarrassing.
"Got any saké?" The spirit now had her eyebrows raised. Lucy stumbled, and Levy sweat dropped. That definitely wasn't the answer they were expecting.."Omg this new spirit is a lush.."
"On second thought, hold the saké. You, blondie." The spirit was now pointing at Lucy, giving her an authoritative look demanding compliance.
"Y-yes ma'am!" Lucy was standing to attention.
"Are you Lucy?" She now had her arms crossed, pushing up her cleavage and causing the Trimens to nose bleed, one eye brow cocked.
"Yes, that's me!" Lucy gave a hesitant smile; this spirit seemed rather serious – minus the saké request a minute ago. Then in a matter of seconds she was being completely smothered.
"Yaaaaaaaaaay~ you summoned me! Ukitake told me all about it! All us Gotei 13 soldiers have been making bets on who would be called to fight next and I wiiiiiin~ I'm Rangiku! Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the 10th Division! What can I do for you?" She was still holding Lucy in an over-the-top embrace. Levy was waving her arms seeing her friend beginning to turn blue; man this woman has a grip.
"Umm, Matsumoto-san.. I don't think Lucy can breathe.." Levy hesitantly spoke up, a little taken aback by this spirit's antics, she was rather eccentric.
"Oh! Oops! Sorry about that!" Matsumoto finally released the Celestial Mage, scratching the back of her head. "So, who do I have to destroy?!" Perky gaze turned to the Trimens as the three younger mages ran behind Ichiya.
"That's the thing, uhh, Matsumoto-san, we can't detect a solid presence. He seems to be in the air itself; we don't know how to defeat him." Lucy was worried; she wasn't sure how they were going to handle this fight.
"No, no, no, you call me Rangiku!" Matsumoto was giving Lucy a playful-stern look and wagging her finger. "So! Master! You want me to get rid of an enemy you can't see is that right?
"Oh, please, don't call me Master.. I'd like to think of us as friends! Call me Lucy!" She was beginning to like this new spirit; she was so quirky and fun. She kind of reminded her of Cana mixed with a little bit of Mira.
"I've had enough." A gush of wind began to form a tornado around the group, the oxygen becoming thinner and debris aimed at the mages.
"Aerial Phose!" Ren was now standing on the outside of the group swinging his arms around, two small cyclones were now forming; they were beginning to destroy the ground and lifting the shattered stones and rocks. He was trying to counter-attack the demon, blocking the incoming debris with his own; but he couldn't block all of it. The team was slowly getting beaten down, from superficial cuts to being impaled by small objects. This was bad, it was only a matter of time before a piece of debris would impale straight into an organ.
Then it suddenly stopped. "My I am impressed Air Mage, that attack surely would have ended your little team if you weren't so quick on your feet. " He began to laugh again – this was just a game to him.
"Well that was rude!" Rangiku was pushing her hair out of her face and fixing her robes when she felt a dull throbbing pain in her heart. She looked to Lucy, she was bleeding - profusely.
"Lu-chan! Are you okay?!" Levy was practically in tears, Lucy was bleeding pretty badly from her torso; a piece of stone sticking out.
"So this is what Ukitake was talking about, not only am I unable to cause the girl any harm I'm absolutely compelled to keep her safe. Why?" Rangiku could feel the anger in her rising, she was there to protect the girl and she had been injured on her watch. Her pride as a Shinigami and the Lieutenant of the 10th division was on the line. She'd make him pay.
Lucy suddenly felt something being wrapped around her, Rangiku had taken her pink scarf off and was using it to splint her wound, and she looked angry.
"I apologize Lucy, I should have been more vigilant." She gave Lucy a quick glance, she was beyond angry, she was absolutely pissed.
"An air creature huh? It's obvious you don't have a solid form at the moment - which I'm sure is part of your technique. But since you are a living being, you must have a body, shall I assume you've simply made it thin out to take the anatomy of the surrounding air?" Rangiku was now standing, katana unsheathed.
"My you are perceptive spirit. Yes, I do have a body, and it's almost as thin as the air itself; that sword of yours is far too bulky to harm me. Poor girl, you're completely useless." He began laughing again. He really liked laughing.
Rangiku smirked, oh this guy was gonna get it. "Is that right? We'll just have to see about that. Growl Haineko."
Her blade suddenly turned into ash, barely visible to everyone.
"What.. Did you just do?" The demon was confused, where did her sword go?
"My Zanpakuto is very unique; you see the blade turns to ash and spreads, allowing it to temporarily thin out. Sound familiar?" She was smirking.
He instantly formed his own cyclone, in an attempt to blow the ash away. They only encircled his miniature typhoon and stayed within the immediate area, any particles that were blown simply regathered and reemerged where Matsumoto had originally sent them.
"Why aren't her ashes going anywhere? My wind should easily blow them away."
"I know what you're thinking. My sword has a mind of its own you see, and it only listens to me; well, sometimes. You can shoot your wind around as much as you like, but the ashes will still bend to my will and with power as pathetic as yours you can't do much." She began tilting her sword's hilt, allowing the ashes to slice aimlessly through the air. She couldn't see his body, but she didn't need to. The demon shrieked and cursed, random blood splatters could be seen on the floor. He had somehow manipulated his body to almost be the air itself, completely invisible and almost impossible to attack - unless you were using Haineko.
"I can do this all day demon, it's only a matter of time before my blade's ashes slice you through and through." She had a merciless look, she would be showing no mercy.
The demon began pulling himself back together, a more physical form than the first one he showed the group, he was becoming completely whole and bleeding. "This is the first time anyone's been able to use a physical attack on me. I am impressed but now that I'm whole again my power is also whole. Your lucks run out spirit." He began laughing again, the battle had now turned to his favor, small knicks like these couldn't kill him, her sword' attacks were barely more than paper cuts.
"Well I didn't finish explaining how my blade works. Haineko's ash is my blade, all it takes is a simple hand gesture and the ashes move as you've seen; however, Haineko's ability is rather limited. When the ash is so widely spread the attacks are rather small with only minimal damage." She was looking over his superficial cuts,"but if I can focus all the ash into a specific area, well, you might as well be getting cut with my blade fully intact. I'm surprised, I didn't even need to trick you to reform yourself, you did that all on your own." The demon quickly realized his mistake and attempted to blow her ashes away again, but before he could summon any air she'd already flicked her wrist, "Cat Round Dance." All her ash was now twisting around the demon, completely enveloping him and ripping him apart. He howled and shrieked as he was ruthlessly being torn to shreds from every direction.
"Next time you should think twice before attacking my Lucy. But then again, I guess there won't be a next time for you." She was calling her ash back to her hilt, reforming her sword. The demon was now fully solid and lying on the ground, bleeding on every square inch of his body with deep painful wounds.
The Trimens were watching in fascination as they were all hovering over Lucy, ready to protect her in case of another attack.
"W-wow miss Matsumoto.. You're so amazing.." Eve had stars in his eyes.
"This.. This perfume.." Ichiya was in tears.
"If only we had you around a few days ago.." Hibiki had a slightly amused expression on his face, it was so easy for her; and here they were fighting and running around for 3 full days running on empty. Their Lacrima was in pieces thanks to one of Eve's ice attacks and they didn't want to run to town, afraid the demon would follow and pull all those innocent people into their battle. Having the right technique was all they needed.
Ren and Levy were completely focused on Lucy, she was bleeding badly. They needed to pull the fragment out of her and close her up – but nobody had the right equipment.
"This.. This isn't over yet.." The demon was attempting to stand. "I.. I can still fight.. I.. Will get those keys.." He was now looking at Lucy. "Heh.. Heh.. Heh.. I aimed that quite well, though I was hoping it would pierce her heart. No matter, I still hit an artery; she'll bleed out and be dead within the hour."
Slash
The demon's head was completely severed from its body. Eve and Ichiya blanched slightly at the horribly bloody sight. Matsumoto had disappeared and instantly reappeared next to the demon. This woman got serious when she wanted to, and the demon paid the ultimate price for pissing her off.
"Is there a town near?" Matsumoto was addressing the mages without even turning around. Yes, she was angry. But angry at herself, she was summoned to protect Lucy and did a terrible job. If anything happened to the girl, she'd never forgive herself – all her questions would have to wait.
"Yes, there's a town maybe 15 minutes back that way." Levy was pointing behind them, in the direction her and Lucy wandered from.
Matsumoto was now looking in the direction Levy was pointing at. "I'm going to take her. The rest of you can meet us when you get there."
"Wait! I want to come with you!" Levy was pleading with the spirit, she didn't want to leave her friend, what if the worst happened and she wasn't there?!
"No. Carrying you will only slow me down. Lucy is my priority; you can meet us when you arrive in the city. I'll be taking her to whatever hospital they have to offer." All her previous happy-go-lucky mood was nowhere to be found. She was pissed. She wasn't going to argue with anyone and she was taking Lucy. They all knew she only wanted to do what was best for the girl; Ren and Levy allowed the spirit to slowly pick the Celestial Mage up. "See you guys in town." Before they could register a reply she was gone. "Man.. That spirit's fast.."
"Natsu, do you really think Lucy and Levy are okay?" Happy was flying in front of his friend; they'd been searching the mountain for hours with only small signs and hints to the Trimen's whereabouts.
"Of course she is Happy! They're safe in town!" Natsu was walking with his hands leisurely placed behind his head, looking towards the sky. They really didn't find anything useful, maybe the others had better luck.
"That's not what I mean Natsu.. Gajeel was pretty rough back there with what he said.. I'm sure Lucy and Levy are really sad right now.." Happy landed on Natsu's shoulder, sadness was written all over his face. He knew Gajeel's words had hurt the girls, especially Lucy.
"Yeah I know.. I didn't agree with it either. Lucy's a mage, if she wants to come out and help, she should be able to." Natsu had a slight scowl, he didn't like the way the situation was handled, but he was still too affected by his motion sickness on top of his wounds to vouch for his friend. But deep down inside, he was a little relieved to know Lucy was in a safe place.
"Natsu!" Gray and Erza came crashing through the bushes, panic stricken. "We just got a call from Levy on the Communication Lacrima, Lucy's hurt! Bad! She's in town!"
"Let's go Happy!" "Aye sir!" Happy had pulled his wings out once again and was flying Natsu towards the town. It was only a few minutes with Happy going full speed and to the point where his wings disappeared, just on the outskirts. Natsu grabbed his friend and took a full sprint towards the town, looking for a medical building. He spotted the Trimens.
"Hey! Where's Lucy?!" Natsu barely stopped before slamming into Hibiki.
"Natsu! Lucy's inside! She's okay now, they removed whatever impaled her and have her stitched up. They're going to discharge her any minute." Hibiki had his hands up trying to calm the Dragon Slayer down, he was really fired up.
"Who did this?!" He was actually on fire now..
"It's okay Natsu, Lucy's spirit already killed the demon. Made him suffer a little before too." Ren was taking the same stance as Hibiki now trying to calm the boy down.
"He's lucky, I woulda done a lot worse." Natsu was still seething. Hibiki and Ren flinched a little.
"Natsu!" Levy and Lucy came walking out – Lucy in a wheel chair.
"Lucy! What happened?! Oh God you can't walk anymore?! So cruel!" Happy was bawling in Lucy's lap – What a drama queen..
"No Happy I'm fine, just a nasty little cut. I have to leave in a wheel chair, it's hospital protocol.." Lucy was now petting his head trying to get him to stop crying, it really wasn't necessary.
"Lucy. What happened?" Natsu now had both hands on either side of the wheel chair's arm rests. His nose was almost touching Lucy's.
"Natsu.. It's okay really, I'm fine.. My spirit got me here before anything serious happened." She had never seen Natsu like this, sure he's protective over his friends and gets really worked up, but this was almost.. Dark.. So uncharacteristic of him..
"You're not leaving my sight from here on out." He stood erect, practically boring holes into Lucy's eyes. She couldn't find the words to say, neither could Levy.
"Lucy!" Erza and Gray were now huffing having ran the whole way; Gray was able to use some of his Ice Magic as a slip-n-slide on all the downhill portions, easily cutting 45 minutes into their journey. Gray was now grasping her wheel chair's arm rests in the same manner Natsu was just moments ago. He was intently scanning her for injury.
"Guys it's okay, I'm fine really! My only concern is whether or not I'm going to have a scar!" She tried to be as cheery as possible; her team looked as though they'd been through battle, were they that worried?
"Erza you didn't let me finish on the Lacrima.. Lucy was bleeding pretty bad but she was brought to the hospital so fast that it was practically nothing.." Levy had her hands up, trying to calm her team down.
"You said she was bleeding a lot!" Erza was still a little frazzled and still getting over the initial shock of thinking her closest girlfriend was about to die.
"I know, I know I did and she was! The doctor said one of her arteries was opened, but they stopped the bleeding before anything critical happened. She's good to go! She can even walk! The wheelchair is just a little rule the hospital has when releasing patients.."
Erza and Gray both visibly sighed, all the tension they had built up slowly faded away.
"Where's Gajeel and Lily?" Levy was looking left and right.
"We didn't see him, we just so happened to run into Natsu on our way down." Gray was now standing next to Natsu, noticing his expression. He was still pissed.
"So what happened to the demon?" Gray was casting a glance to where the Trimens were. But they weren't there anymore. "Where did they-"
"Erza, truly, your perfume is the best." Ichiya was now floating next to Erza, attempting to hold her hand.
"Miss Heartfilia, please, don't hesitate to ask for anything. A beautiful woman should never have to go through such pain, please consider me as your slave until you're fully healed." Eve was in his typical one-knee pose holding Lucy's hand.
"Please, if there's a scar allow me to take responsibility, I will forever be yours." Hibiki now had tears streaming down his face; bowing in front of Lucy
"You sacrificed everything for our sakes, I shall give you my life as gratitude." Ren was now standing with his right hand over his heart.
Levy, Natsu, and Gray sweat dropped. Ichiya went flying into the building. Nice Erza.
Lucy had a look of disgust mixed with irritation. What's with these guys..
"Uhh, no thank you, that really won't be necessary, I'm fine.." Lucy was slowly pulling her hand away from Eve. Then he was suddenly gone – smashed into the building wall next to Ichiya.
"Gajeel!" Levy shouted in surprise at his sudden entrance – and rough handling of one of the mages they were supposed to be saving.
"You alright Bunny Girl? What the fuck happened?" He was looking at Levy, making sure she wasn't hurt. Lily was now perched on her shoulder, nodding to Gajeel that she had hardly any injuries. "Do we really need to repeat the same story again.." Levy and Lucy sweat dropped and sighed dejectedly.
"We take full responsibility. We should have protected the girls. Though, if they hadn't shown up we don't know what we would have done." Hibiki was now standing and speaking directly to Gajeel, passing glances at the rest of the team as well. "It was an Air demon, if Ren wasn't here to counter-attack, we probably wouldn't have lasted another day. That new spirit of yours was very impressive Lucy." He was now looking to her with a smile. It seemed like every time he ran into the girl she surprised him time and time again.
"Well we guess the demon was S-class for a reason. Good job Lucy." Erza was now hugging Lucy. A little too tight. "Erza.. Her wounds.." Levy face palmed, she was becoming exhausted – what a day.
"S-class?" Hibiki was looking at Erza, eye brow raised. "That wasn't the S-class demon." Hibiki was standing with his hands in his pockets, face as serious as could be.
"What do you mean?" Gray was giving Hibiki an incredulous look.
"That wasn't the S-class demon. The S-class demon took off from here the day we arrived, we don't know why though. His little Air friend decided to stay behind and toy with us." Hibiki had a light scowl on his face, bordering pain. It was a rough few days for their team, and in the end they couldn't even defeat a demon that wasn't even considered S-class; how humiliating.
"No Hibiki, I know what you're thinking because it's written all over your face. That demon may not have been S-Class in terms of strength, but his powers were formidable to say the least. Any one of us wouldn't have been able to last a day let alone 3 against his attacks. You did Blue Pegasus proud, don't ever think otherwise." Levy was now wagging her finger in place, only lightly scolding the Archive Mage and adding a smile at the end. Hibiki couldn't help the blush, she actually cheered him up a little bit.
Gajeel definitely didn't like that as he unceremoniously dropped his hand on Hibiki's shoulder fully taking his attention away from the Script Mage, "Don't sweat it." His tone was meant to be reassuring, but the look in his eye was saying, don't even think about it boy.
"Ahah.. Hah.. Yeah.. Uhh, thank you.. Levy.. Gajeel.. I think I'll go pull my teammates from the building now.." He was sweating bullets under Gajeel's heavy gaze as he quickly made his way to the rest of his team.
"By the way Lucy, we never told your spirit thank you for saving all of us." Levy was completely oblivious to the position she was in only seconds ago, now helping Lucy out from her wheel chair.
"Oh yeah, I still have her pink scarf too.. I really wish I knew how to call spirits out individually, I'd like to give this back to her." Lucy was pulling the scarf out of her bag of items the hospital kept together for her. Putting her key belt back on and carefully folding the scarf and putting it away in one of their bags.
"I think we should stay the night, head out in the morning. We've all had a busy day, sleeps the best option right now." Erza was on Lucy's other side just in case she needed any help walking. The Celestial Mage was waving her hand trying to let her team know she was alright, it was nothing to be so worried about. Gray and Gajeel were close behind with Lily still perched on Levy's shoulder. Natsu still hadn't moved from his spot.
"Natsu.. Are you okay? Everybody's leaving.." Happy was flying in front of Natsu, trying to get a good look at his face, and didn't like what he was seeing. Natsu was still angry. Very angry.
"Happy.. What if she died? We weren't here to protect her." His anger soon melted into sadness and deep concern. Now there's the Natsu we all know and love.
"Natsu, do you believe in Lucy?" Happy had his head tilted to the side, like a curious child.
"Well.. Yeah, why do you ask that Happy?" Natsu was confused. What did that have to do with this?
"Well, everybody seems to think that they need to protect Lucy. Like, that Lucy couldn't take care of bad guys on her own. I don't know.. Every time we go on missions I see Lucy get roughed up pretty badly.. But she always stands back up and gives it her all!" Happy had his fist in the air and a look screaming "fighting spirit" across his face. "She always manages to come back twice as hard and come up on top." He was looking back to Natsu now, who's eyes had gone wide. "Lucy's strong Natsu. A lot stronger than any of you give her credit for and it's not fair to Lucy.. She always helps out, and is somehow there when you need her the most. She's even saved us Natsu.. And now Blue Pegasus." Happy was now staring straight into Natsu's eyes, looking to see if the Dragon Slayer understood the point he was trying to get across.
Natsu's surprised expression turned to a smile. "Wow Happy, you're right. I was so wrapped up in wanting to protect Lucy and keep her safe from everything that I completely forgot she is pretty capable of doing it herself. But I still worry about her, I guess I just can't help it." Natsu was now patting his head, "thanks Happy.. Now let's go catch up to the rest of the team!" Natsu was now running to catch up to his team, who had stopped and waited after noticing their Fire Dragon Slayer and blue exceed weren't with them. "Come on Happy!" Lucy was now waving and smiling, and Happy couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks Luce.. I'm really glad we brought you into the guild." Happy was flying full speed, passing Natsu up and landing on Lucy's shoulder.
The next morning the team was already on the first train back to Magnolia. The Trimens were able to speak to their Guild Master the night before and had decided to take the first train back that night, everyone just assumed they must've been pretty home sick.
Everything was as it should be, Natsu half-conscious on Lucy and Gajeel in the same state on Levy. Gray and Erza at the window seats as Gray was fidgeting with his shirt.
"Don't even think about it.." One cold glare from Erza instantly stopped all his fidgeting.
"By the way, has anyone spoken with Master yet? I'm sure he wants to know how our mission went and our train ride is pretty long.." Lucy was sympathetically patting Natsu's head. Poor guy..
"Mmm, no I thought to call him last night but I figured we'd see him soon enough. Besides, the Trimens contacted Blue Pegasus directly and the Master only wanted us to call if we had word on their whereabouts so he could let their Guild Master know." Erza was also afraid that if she called, Makarov might send them out for another errand or mission, and she wanted to get Lucy home and safe. She had a lot to discuss with the Master about Lucy and her keys.
Lucy was absentmindedly playing with the scarf Rangiku had used to stop her bleeding. "I'll have to wash the blood out when I get home.." And then she realized that calling Rangiku out didn't obliterate her magic. In fact, she hardly noticed her magic deplete, maybe because she was so focused on not bleeding out, but still.. She felt as though she could easily do another summoning. "It feels as though every time I summon a spirit I can hold the next one out for longer.. Granted their power is the biggest factor but I could only hold Kenpachi for 2 minutes.. I held Wonderweiss and Rangiku for 10x that." She then started thinking about Rangiku again, the look on her face when Lucy was placed in her gurney at the hospital. She didn't head back into her world until after Levy and the Trimens arrived and she knew Lucy was stable. It was really sweet, what a wonderful spirit..
It was nightfall by the time the team arrived in Magnolia. Everyone decided to make a quick stop at their houses to clean up and change before heading to the guild; which was as boisterous as ever.
"LUCY!" A drunken Cana pounced on the blonde right as she walked through the door, the rest of her team was already there. "H-hey Cana!" Lucy winced a little, she still had a healing incision site, she'd have to see Wendy to speed up her recovery process – was she even back from her mission yet?
"We just got back today too!" Cana was gesturing to Bacchus and Macao, who were both already drunk at the bar. "Oh! Has anybody else made it back yet?" Lucy was now looking around, the mission they were all given could have taken anywhere from a few days to maybe even a few weeks. Minus Laxus', his should have taken 10 years..
"Oh yeah, Laxus and his team are back too, guess they came in yesterday!" Cana was looking around now too, trying to point said team out.
"Yesterday?! What?! What about the 10 year mission?!" Lucy was beyond shocked, a 10 year mission accomplished in 3 days?! That was just insane!
"Yep! Though we don't know anything about their mission, they won't talk about it.." Cana was scratching her head, not wanting to think too much, it might kill her buzz.
"Lucy!" Levy was now waving and approaching the girls. "Hey Levy, so how was your mission with Gajeeeeeeeel~" Cana was draping her arm around Levy and poking her side, eye brow raised suggestively.
"Stop it Canaaaaaa, that's so embarrassing.. You know he can here you.." All three girls were now looking to Gajeel, whose face was covered with his hands as Lily was stifling his laughter.
Oops.. He heard..
Levy was now bright red and both girls began poking and laughing at her.
"S-s-so anyways, Lucy! How's your wound?" Levy was trying to change the topic and direction of the conversation onto someone else, it worked.
"You're injured?!" Cana's smile dropped, she was now eyeing Lucy up and down.
"It's no big deal.. Just a few stitches.." Lucy was really getting tired of everybody making a big deal out of nothing.
"She punctured an artery, she almost bled to death!" Levy was giving Lucy the, don't act like it was nothing look while simultaneously lifting her shirt and showing Cana the cut and sutures, it was still fresh and red, with some severe bruising traveling all the way up to her ribs and under her breast and then down towards her hip. There was some minor tissue damage as well, she was lucky her spirit got her help as quickly as she did.
"Holy shit Lucy! That's definitely a big deal!" Cana's outburst was attracting unnecessary attention to their direction, Lucy was trying to pull her shirt back down but Cana and Levy were both holding it up and slightly pulling her shorts down to see just how far the bruising went. Ouch..
"What happened Lucy?" Freed was now approaching the girls, then he caught site of her wound. "Oh my.. Lucy, have you been to a doctor?!" Freed was now in the midst of it with Cana and Levy, lifting and pulling at her clothing trying to get a better view of the damage.
"Freed I'm fine really, I already saw a doctor an-"
"Chick! What the fuck happened?! You a magnet for trouble or what?" Laxus was now next to Levy, assessing her bruising and making sure it was blanchable by pressing into it.
"Woah.. That looks painful Cosplay Queen.. Are you injured anywhere else?" Bixlow was now fully lifting her shirt from the other side, checking for bruising on her right.
"What's going on, woah.." Bacchus and Macao were now staring at Lucy's bruising.
"Lucy, Master wants to-" Erza, Gray and Natsu had just walked out of Makarov's office giving him some details about their last mission. Only to walk out to Cana and Levy holding Lucy's limbs in place as Cana, Laxus, and Bixlow were lifting her shirt and partly exposing her bra and Freed and Levy pulling her shorts down, slightly exposing the frills of her lacy underwear. Bacchus and Macao were just standing by and watching the show. Lucy was blushing so furiously her temples were pulsating.
"…"
"…"
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING TO LUCY?!"
In a matter of seconds the guild was in a full blown brawl with Lucy sitting atop a table; tears streaming down her eyes. Happy was patting her thigh, "it's okay Lucy, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.." Sympathy and unshed tears were in his eyes. "NOTHING HAPPENED HAPPY!" Lucy was pulling her hair.. Oh how everyone loved jumping to conclusions..
"Lucy, I need to speak with you, it's urgent." Makarov was standing outside his office on top of the stairs. The fact that he didn't even bother breaking up the fight had everybody so curious they simply stopped fighting on their own.
"Oh, okay, should I have my team with me?" Lucy was nervously glancing to Natsu, Erza, and Gray, hoping she could have them in there for support. "No Lucy, just you. This is a private matter. Actually, Laxus, would you mind joining us? This actually concerns you too." Lucy and Laxus shared a quick glance before both giving the Master a firm nod and heading up the stairs. The guild grew quiet.
"Please, Laxus, shut the door behind you." Laxus did as he was told and took the seat next to Lucy, both mages were intently focused on their Master.
"It's about all these high class missions that have been coming in lately." Makarov gave both blondes a glance to ensure he had their undivided attention. "Lucy, the demon on Laxus' mission suddenly disappeared soon after he and the Raijinshuu arrived. It was as though it lost interest once realizing who came after it. I also spoke to Bob from Blue Pegasus, the S-class demon from their request did the exact same thing. In fact, every team that has been dispatched on their missions hasn't been able to complete their assignments because their demons keep disappearing."
Lucy was now looking to Laxus, he briefly made eye contact then was looking back to Makarov, Lucy did the same.
"Lucy, not only have all their demons disappeared, but your team says they were able to fight the demon once he realized you had the keys. And that on your walk to Dawn City you were ambushed; and the S-class demon of that group was after you." Makarov was giving Lucy a very intent gaze. She began sweating, almost panicking a little.. Her team's suspicions were right, the demons were after her and her keys.
"Your team believes the same thing I do Lucy. Those demons are after you, and you alone. They want those keys back Lucy."
"Then what should I do master? I don't want everybody getting hurt because of me.." Lucy had tears in her eyes, she really hated feeling like this.
A heavy hand found itself on top of Lucy's head; when she followed it's owner her eyes landed on Laxus.
"Don't be upset chick. It's our duty as mages to keep the people safe, and if those demons want those keys back this badly then they plan on doing something a hell of a lot worse than what they're doing right now. Besides, we might protect the people as mages, but we protect each other because we're Fairy Tail. You're one of use chick, we stick to our own." Laxus gave Lucy the same cocky grin he always threw out when he knew he was right.
"Thanks Laxus.. But that doesn't make me feel any better about you guys getting hurt.." Lucy was twisting her fingers and looking to her lap, she was playing with the scarf Rangiku had given her again.
"Laxus is right Lucy, whether it's from any other guild or Zeref himself, we protect our family. Besides, if they get those keys back then something terrible might happen – we can't allow that. I've been in contact with the gentleman from Seven who sent the request for us to destroy the demon and get the keys; I asked him to look into his books and scrolls for anything useful pertaining to the keys. He has a whole team looking into it and has yet to find much of anything; just jibberish.. There's no real knowledge in this world about either of them. We must keep them safe, no matter what. So Lucy, my dear, my child, I must ask this of you." Makarov had jumped from his place on the desk and was on his knees in front of Lucy, head bowed.
"Please, will you please guard those keys. Protect them with your life and I swear to do everything within my power to protect you as well. You're the only one who can answer this riddle Lucy, there's so much more to those keys than any of us realized, and we put all our faith and hope into you." Lucy was speechless; she looked to Laxus who was intently staring at her as well, waiting for an answer.
"Yes Master, I will guard these keys for as long as I live." Lucy's tears completely disappeared. Not only was she putting Fairy Tail in a dangerous position, but they were putting her in one as well; and she would gladly accept it.
"Thank you Lucy, we're counting on you, as I hope you can count on us to help you through this journey. I've personally asked Laxus to keep an eye on you, just know if there's ever anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask." Makarov was now standing as Lucy and Laxus both stood to leave, passing glances at each other one more time before heading back to the guild.
"Thank you master, I'll keep that in mind." Lucy gave Makarov one last smile before she and Laxus walked out his office. And boy was the guild as loud as ever.
Bixlow and Bacchus could be heard at the bar gushing over something as Cana was laughing hysterically. Levy was also by the bar with Gajeel, Natsu, Gray, and Erza. In fact, everybody was around the bar, and all the men were blushing. Laxus and Lucy shared a sideways glance before making their way towards all the commotion, and then she spotted it. Strawberry blonde hair.
"MAAAAAAASTEEEEEEEER~" Rangiku flew through the crowd and tackled Lucy onto the floor, skillfully maneuvering a 180 degree aerial move so Lucy landed on top of her – she was still injured after all; then she flipped her over, straddling her from on top. "Lucy! My Master! I've come to check on you!" She was now on all fours directly above Lucy, their breasts smashing together and noses practically touching.
Noses started bleeding. Bacchus and Bixlow started howling. Even Laxus couldn't stop staring.
She could smell the alcohol coming off her spirit, oh yeah, she was wasted.
"Rangiku! How did you get here?!" Lucy was too stunned over the fact that she was here to even be bothered with their position.
"Awwwww, didn't you misssss meeeeee~" She was now smashing Lucy's face into her cleavage.
"Lucy! Your spirit sure can drink!" Cana came wobbling up, apparently she'd been keeping her spirit company while she was in with the Master. "I could sense you were in an important meeting, so I didn't want to interrupt!" Rangiku was now sitting up, proud of not interrupting Lucy's briefing.
"Rangiku, I'm happy that you're here, but how are you here?" Lucy was now sitting up and looking at Rangiku curiously.
"Hmmmm, well, I was back at my barracks and kept thinking 'I hope Lucy's okay, I wish I could visit her, if only I could get back to her world' and then I felt it. It was like the door between our worlds wasn't fully shut, so I pushed through with a little reiatsu and here I am! And on my own reiatsu at that!" She had her hands in the air and a smile on her face; her chest bouncing a little with the movements.
"WIIIIILD!"
"The door didn't close.. I don't get it.. We both agreed it was time for her to go back and she did.. I don't understand.." And then it clicked. Lucy looked to her right hand and a light bulb went on in her head.
.
.
The scarf..?
What does Matsumoto's scarf have to do with her gateway?! All those S-class, SS-class, and 10-year missions have yet to be completed, their only goal is Lucy!? Looks like she's gonna need some powerful summonings coming up! XD
And if any of you felt her battle was really short, it's because the demon wasn't even S-class; which is also why a captain wasn't summoned. Another summoning in the next chapter!