I'm back! (Finally)
So after two weeks of vacation, I came back with a lot of ideas and new motivation for this story.
Music inspiration: New Divide - Linkin Park
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the mentioned song.
"We brought the fish!" Happy announced happily while he hold a basket full of salmons Natsu and him caught in the near river.
"Great, meanwile we set up the camp." Erza said as she put down a log in front of the fireplace.
Once they had arrived on the shore of their homeland the four mages and Exceed were traveling on foot. The sun was right before vanishing in the horizon, and it was decided to take a break and camp in the wild to save money. Laxus, Lucy and Erza had set up the camp with the tents, as Natsu and Happy had got the task to find something edible. Of course they settled with fish.
Laxus laid down the wood for the fireplace. "Good. Natsu make some fire so we can grill the fishes." he instructed with a gruff. The Slayer was hungry and the longer he had to wait the more his mood would dampened.
Natsu spit without a word a tiny flame on the pile, which immediately light up the wood. Erza meanwhile prepared the fish while threatening Happy to put the stolen fish back.
When everyone was finished and eating on their fish, it was silent. Laxus enjoyed the silence. He was not the type who talks much, even with his team. Lucy didn't felt the silence as uncomfortable, so she kept still. Natsu had his full concentration on his meal and happily stuffed his face, not even noticing the others. Erza was the only one in the group who find the silence to be uncomfortable. The red head wanted to talk with her friends like the old times, but she didn't found any theme or question she could bring up. This made her feel hurt. Back in the old days she could talk to them easily, she said straight what was on her mind. She realized the gap between them the one and a half year created was even greater then she feared.
Erza and Lucy stopped eating after their second fish, while the males continued. The Slayers were known for their big appetite. Laxus turned to Lucy while holding up another grilled salmon. "Want another one?" he asked, but she shook her head.
"No, thanks." she politley denied, as she was taught by her mother.
"Better you don't eat it, you're already fat!" Happy snickered while he insulted her.
Laxus glared at the blue Exceed and even Natsu wasn't sure this was the right time to mock Lucy. Normally he did it, too, because he loved her reaction, and her angry red face, but with her condition he wasn't sure on how she would take the joke.
"I eat what I need to maintain my strength. Today I didn't exercised much, so more than two fishes would be unneccessary." Lucy explained with a expressionless face and a emotionless voice. Natsu and Happy looked at her startled. This was more than shocking. Her reaction was the exact opposite from what the two expected and knew. Happy was annoyed his joke didn't affected her, while Natsu was dissapointed. He felt like he didn't know his best friend anymore.
The next morning Natsu woke to the sounds of talking voices. Slowly opening his eyes he saw his partner and Exceed curled up beside him. The sun didn't reach the horizon yet, but would in the next hour. Registering to what he woke up, he rised his head and looked around.
Standing there was Lucy and Laxus, talking.
"You're going for a jog?" the Dragon Slayer asked the woman.
"Yes. Would you like to come along?" she asked him. He nodded, still somewhat tired. Apparently he must have woken up to Lucy getting up. The two started to steadily jog, leaving the camp and vanished between the trees of the forest.
Natsu grumbled, while he laid his head back down. He didn't like the closeness the two blondes had. While he tried to convince himself that it irked him only because he wanted to protect his blonde teammate, he couldn't shook the feeling of jealously. He wanted his best friend back. If he only brought her with her, back then. But immediately he felt guilty. What was he expecting? He left her alone, and was the reason she nearly died. Giving up on sleep Natsu laid there silently, while he thought about a scenario where he and Lucy would have trained together.
After an hour his thoughts were interrupted with the two blondes who came back. Slightly panting they reached the logs and set down while drinking some water.
"I have to say, Blondie, your stamina gotten a lot better." Laxus complimented her smirking.
"Thanks. But yours is still better." she argued, but still acknowledged the praise.
Natsu balled his fist, before he sprang up. He couldn't longer bear to hear them talk like they were friends.
"Laxus fight me!" he shouted while marching up to the two. Startled the two turned to him. Laxus was mad his conversation with Lucy was disturbed and glared at the pink haired man. He was angry enough to gave in to his wish and ground his head in the ground. He stood up and was about to bring his fist up, but Lucy stopped him by stepping in front of him.
"Natsu, instead of fighting Laxus, you should fight me." she declared. Natsu stopped his approach altogether, and like Laxus stared at her surprised.
"What?" he asked openly confused. She never fought for fun. Every time a brawl broke out in the guild she avoided it, and hid behind the bar to be out of the danger zone.
"You fought Laxus already. So in order to learn more you should find a new opponent. We never combated, so let's do it." she announced like she was talking about the weather.
Natsu thought about it. He didn't want to hurt Lucy, but he was still somewhat furious. Also this was the opportunity to get closer to her. So he nodded. "Ok."
The two went to a open area near the camp, where there was more space for them to move, without stumbling over a sleeping Erza.
"Ok, we fight without magic. Only hand to hand combat." Lucy set the rules. Natsu agreed, because like this he couldn't hurt her with his flames.
The faced each other and got into a battle stance. Laxus leaned against a tree a few meters away from them. He was curious on how the battle would end. Lucy got stronger, but Natsu fought with his fists all the time. Because he was still annoyed with the flame idiot, he hoped Lucy would leave a couple of bruises on him.
Natsu looked nervously at her. She was showing no emotion. Then she moved and prepared a punch with his face as the aim. He could dodge, but saw her already move her leg to kick him.
The next minutes Natsu only dodged or blocked Lucy's punches and kicks, without attempting to fight back. Her speed was good, but nothing he couldn't handle. He could easily land a hit, but it was like his entire being was restraining him from doing so. It wasn't because he don't like to hit girls, but he was averse to hurt his best friend. Gray and Erza were another thing. Gray was his frenemie and Erza, well he believed the red haired sometimes didn't even feel pain.
Distracted by his thoughts, he didn't notice Lucys leg. Instead he felt it, as it kicked him in his guts. Natsu stumbled a few steps back. Lucy waited for him to get his stance back.
"You're not fighting back." she stated. Natsu didn't know what she meant or wanted to say with that. But he figured she wanted him to actually take part in that combat. He gritted his theeth. Gulping he swalloed his issues, and lifted his fists. Relucantly he move forward and aimed to punch her.
This time it was Lucy who blocked or dodged. After a minute she got aware that Natsu wasn't moving with his normal force or speed. She knew he didn't want to hurt her, but in order to get better, they had to really give it all. So to take his angst away she stopped moving. Natsu saw it but it was too late. His fist landed on her belly.
Lucy just moved one foot back. The punch didn't really hurt and she encountered worse. Natsu was frozen in shock. He really hit his best friend.
"L-Lucy... I-I am so sorry!" he stuttered. When he apologized, Lucy knew she couldn't bring him to really fight her.
On the edge of the clearing, Laxus gritted his teeth. He knew the punch didn't hurt her too much, but it still felt absolutley wrong to see the blonde woman to get hurt.
"This is pointless. You don't take this seriously." Lucy said, while she started to walk back to the camp. As she reached Laxus, he too, walked back but not before he glared a last time at Natsu.
Natsu sank to the ground on his knees. Her words hurt him, but not for the words themselves but for the meaning they had for their friendship. He failed in getting their relationship back on track.
Frustrated he puched the ground. He would find a way to get closer to her. This he promised himself.
"You're alright, Natsu?" Erza asked her teammate. The group were back on the road, wandering in a steady pace through the wood. Lucy and Laxus walked in the front while Erza and Natsu followed them with a three meter gap. Happy was floating in the sky, checking out the area.
"Couldn't be better." the Fire Dragon Slayer answered sarcastically. Erza noticed how Natsu barely talked since they had breakfast and packed everything up. This was not normal for the hyperactive and cheerful boy, so she was curious where the sudden bad mood was coming from.
"Natsu, you know I can only help you if we talk about it." she reminded him in a stern, but also encouraging way. Natsu looked at the red haired woman while he thought about her offer. The two knew each other long enough to know when someone had problems. He tried to hide his sour mood, but Erza was always observant, if she was not distracted by a cake.
Would it help to talk about Lucy's and his strained friendship? Erza had not the best social skills, and sometimes a naive and ignorant view on things. But he noticed how she struggled the evening before. She also had problems to reconnect with Lucy. Maybe if they both talk about it, they would find a solution together. Or it would end up in a big mess like usual if a Fairy Tail mage was involved. This way or another he had to take a risk.
"I feel like Lucy and I are not friends anymore. Of course she behaves differently with her emotionless state, and I did left her for over a year, but it saddened me. I don't want to loose my best friend. I feel overly guilty for what my absences caused, but I think we can help her more if we are best friend like we were before." he spoke silently with a downcast expression, while watching the ground. He knew Laxus and maybe even Lucy could hear him, therefore he spoke as silent as possible, while slowing down to widen the distance between them.
Erza watched him. He saw the sadness and guilt clearly written on his face. She felt the same. While she blamed herself for Lucy's condition, she was also determined to try everything in her power to help her. Even if she would have to cancel her job at the council or being sentenced for perverting the course of justice, she would do it gladly for the sake of her best friend and littler sister.
"I feel the same. But I think together we can find an answer." she said to him with a small smile.
The Dragon Slayer felt encouraged by her words. In the end he could always count on Erza to solve the mess. Together they can bring their nakama and their friendship back.
Later at the evening they stopped for their second night in the wild. Everybody agreed on staying close to the forest, to avoid being spotted to easily. Tents and fireplace already set up, Erza prepared the deer she shot earlier that day. Natsu and Happy were gathering water at the nearby river, while Laxus and Lucy brought back the berries they found.
Lucy and Laxus sat down on a log. Erza was cutting the flesh and put it on sticks to place them over the fire while she thought about how she could break the silence.
Suddenly the mages heard the screech of a bird and flapping of wings. Laxus and Erza searched the sky, as a eagle, slightly larger than a normal one, broke through the branches of the trees. When the bird flew straight towards them, the two S-class mages prepared for a fight, but were stopped by Lucy.
"That's aquila. My spirit." she announced. And indeed the huge bird slowed down in front of her, flapped his wings a few times before gently landing on her shoulder. The eagle had shiny feathers, with a slight golden glow. He observed his surroundings before looking Lucy straight in the eye.
Laxus and Erza watched interested, but also slightly confused, as Lucy's eye color changed to yellow. It was absolute still for a moment, beside the typical sounds of the forest. Then the eagle vanished back to the spirit world with a golden light. Lucy's eyes returned to their brown.
"Aquila saw no demon entering our realm. But he saw a group of people heading towards us. They will be here in ten minutes." she repeated what her spirit showed her.
"A group of people? Could they be just travelers, or bandits?" Erza thought out loud.
"Doesn't matter. It's best if no one sees us." Laxus said. The females nodded before Erza hold her hand up.
"But what is with Natsu?" she asked. Laxus took a breath through his nose while closing his eyes.
"He is over a kilometer away. He won't hear it if I'd call him back. We just have to hope he doesn't come back till the people passed us." he grunted, unamused about the situation. Then he started packing his things, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Confused he looked up to find Lucy as the owner.
"Wait. Let everything the way it is. I have an idea." she said to him.
"Hurry up, Natsu! I'm hungry!" Happy urged his partner. He was already finished, and waited for the Fire Dragon Slayer to fill his last bottle up.
Natsu grumbled something, when he put the cap back on his bottle and turned to the blue Exceed.
"Alright, we can go back." he declared and shouldered the bag with the bottles.
The two wandered in silence through the forest. Because the two didn't needed any words to understand each other it was a comfortable silence.
Suddenly Natsu stopped and began sniffing the air.
"What's up, Natsu?" Happy asked, as he saw his partner didn't walk anymore.
"I smell strange people by our camp! Hurry! Lucy could be in danger!" With that Natsu burst forward in the direction of the camp, and left Happy back.
"Wait! Lucy got Laxus and Erza!" but the Exceed knew the words didn't reach his friend.
Meanwhile a group of people entered the camp. The five men were indeed bandits, who searched the forest for any valuables and victims. Once they saw the light of a camp, they thought they got another traveler they could rob.
When they saw a lonely woman sitting before the fireplace, they nearly had to laugh. What an easy prey! They thought. The woman was pretty with long brunette hair, and green eyes. She wore a blue blouse and brown pants, who were tucked in black boots. The woman looked startled at the intruder.
"Well, hello there gorgeous! I don't want to harm you, so just give us all your money and we don't hurt you." one of the man, probably their leader, instructed the woman.
"Those pathetic little wimps." Laxus growled quietly. "Shh." Erza warned him. The three mages were crouched up in a tree, which stood near the camp and was behind the group.
"They really think that woman is real. Good plan, Lucy." the read head praised the blonde woman beside her. She had to admit Lucy was really smart. To bring out Gemini and use him as a distraction was a great plan. Erza was getting ready to summon swords, who would knock the men unconscious, as suddenly Natsu burst out from the bushes and charged at the men. "Dammit." Laxus growled again, and Erza mentally agreed. That idiot.
"A mage!" the men screamed. They were about to turn around and flee, but Erza's sword did their jobs, and hit the bandits in their neck. Like flies they drop to the ground unmoving. Natsu stared confused at the swords, and turned to the woman he just noticed at the moment.
"Who are you?!" he growled threatening. The brunette in front of him smelled like Lucy, but not entirely. Laxus jumped from the tree and was in two steps behind Natsu. He hit him hard on the head.
"You total moron!" the blonde man shouted at him. Natsu turned around, understanding nothing. "What?!" he screamed right back. He saw that the brunette, puffed up in smoke and transformed into Gemini. Then the spirit vanished.
"Ohhh." Natsu mumbled. But he was still confused about what exactly was happening. He looked around and saw Erza tying up the five man, while Lucy emerged from the tree.
"Luce!" he exclaimed relived, the blonde was ok. Lucy looked at him indifferent.
"You overreacted, Natsu." she said to him. He felt a stab in his heart.
"That's a nice way to say he messed it up." Laxus barked, still mad at the pink head.
"Ok, can somebody please explain what I even messed up?" he shouted, now angry at Laxus's words.
"We planned on distracting the bandits with Gemini while knocking them out, so they don't see us." Erza explained, also not happy how the situation turned out. Natsu finally understood. "Ohhh." he said bashfully.
"Right. Oh. You don't just risked to get somebody hurt without reasons, you also showed them your face. If you just could use your brain for once before you act!" Laxus blustered him furiously. The Lightning Dragon Slayer was mad because of the consequences this could have for Lucy. Should the council find out she was the wanted person, they had another storm coming for them. He won't risk any chances.
Natsu meanwhile was ashamed of himself. How he always messed everything up? He just wanted to get his best friend back, and protect her of any harm. Looks like he did a crappy job. How he could ever redeem himself like that? He had to learn to think first, then attack.
"Natsu, just bring the man to the river and untie them there. They should be out for another hour. meanwhile we pack our things and get going. There is a town three hours from here, there we can rest." Erza said. Natsu gathered the bodies without a word, and did his task.
Erza pinched her nose. At this rate, they would never be a help for Lucy and find a way to save her.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!
I'm happy that I could type a new chapter while I'm still not over yesterdays episode. I read the manga but nothing prepared me for this tragic scene to be animated. Those feels!
As always I like to thank all the people who put up with my story and even left a review or hit the follow/favorite button! I still can't believe that my writing is read and liked by so many people!
Thank you so much!
Till next time,
Kitty
