12: The Darkness
Something was touching his face.
Touching… So very softly. It felt more like a hand ghosting over his face rather than an actual physical touch on his body… Was it the wind? Was he still on the flatbed of the horse cart? Couldn't be, there was no pain in his gut, none of that God awful clenching that always came with any form of transport. Not the wind then…
Rain? Was it ra-
No wait, there was more pressure now.
Touching… who was touching him? It was such an odd thing, this touch. The pressure was spread almost evenly across his entire face, as though someone was gently, very gently, pressing a thin material over his skin, and it was slowly molding itself to the shape and crevices of his facial planes. But how could he breathe then, if there was a cloth about to suffocate him?
He ignored the curious twisting in his gut, his sixth sense for danger. Damn it, he had to know.
Natsu Dragneel opened his eyes slowly to a world of black, and he momentarily tensed in fear. His first thought was about the darkness. It was so dark. Unnaturally dark, even if they did happen to be under a moonless sky that night. Something tickled the skin of his cheeks and he gasped, his entire body freezing like a deer in headlights.
All of a sudden, an odd chill breezed across his face, starting from his forehead and reaching its cool fingers down his chin and neck before sweeping over his bare chest.
"It must really be a cold night," he thought distractedly as he blinked in the darkness. "I am feeling the chill under my clothes. Like I am completely naked."
His body stilled again when the pressure on his face increased, now it felt more like someone was trying to press something over his skin. The pressure slid his eyes close, as though it didn't want him to see who was doing this to him.
He tried to open his eyes to see which idiot was pranking him but couldn't. Weird. Lucy... Was Lucy doing this? The last he remembered was booking into a room with her after they had reached the inn in Racqueghotika.
Hakimusa ojii – san leaving with his cart.
Levy and Jet and Droy going down for supper. And Happy… Curling up in a corner of the room and dozing immediately.
… Let me in.
A soft whisper echoed in the back of his mind. A little girl's voice… Lucy?
Natsu gasped again and this time his eyes opened fine. The male shot up on from where he had been lying down, breathing hard as though he'd just run a marathon.
There was a startled cry from above him and he saw Lucy jerk backwards from where she had been hovering over him on all fours. She looked at him through surprised eyes.
"H-huh?"
The blonde winced. "Sorry… Did I bite too hard?"
Natsu shook his head. "N-no… I was just… Wait, you bit me?" His onyx eyes widened and he leaned forward to scan his body. His pants were still perfectly intact, if just a little wrinkled, so obviously she wasn't doing anything too rated.
"Your hand, dummy. What are you thinking?" She frowned, a tiny blush on her face, and for the first time, Natsu noticed that she was holding one of his wrists. How had he not noticed that?
Lucy was glaring now. "Did you fall asleep?"
He shivered again, but not from the cold this time. Natsu raised his palms in defense. "I didn't. Luce, I swear I didn't. It's just… there was this odd pressure on my face. Were you kissing me?"
She looked as though she wanted nothing better than to hit him. "No, I wasn't."
"Then wh-" There was a sudden stinging in his eyes and the dragon slayer tensed before a bringing a hand up to his face. His fingers came away a little wet. Fuck, was he crying now?
Lucy gave a tiny hmph. "Crying won't help you, mister. You obviously fell asleep and- Natsu? What's wrong?" Lucy unhitched her leg from over his hips and scooted closer to his head. She caressed his cheek, her voice anxious now.
"I don't know, bloody hell." He groaned as she lifted up the long sleeve of her blue vest and wiped away the tears that were flowing freely down his face.
"You don't have to cry so much just to apologize y'now…" She joked weakly.
"I'm not crying because of that, I…" His voice trailed off when there was a tiny prick in his throat, as though someone was poking him with a blunt needle. Natsu blinked. The hell was that?
"Natsu, you ok?"
The dragon slayer shook his head. "Yeah, I-I'm fine… Oh good, the tears stopped." He muttered, as he wiped the back of his hand roughly against his eyes. Lucy reached up to clutch his hand.
"Stop that, you'll make the irritation worse."
"There's nothing in my eye, Luce."
"Really? So you just decided to cry for no reason at all?"
He shrugged. "Shit happens. Now where were we? Oh right." The male grinned and held his hand up to her mouth again, but Lucy smacked it away in annoyance.
"Don't be ridiculous, Natsu. I've never seen you shed a tear before in my life. Don't expect me to accept that pathetic excuse. Why were you crying?"
"Jeez. Enough with the crying, there's nothing wrong w- oww!" Natsu clutched his throat with a hand. "The hell…? Hey, ow!"
The blunt poking had started again, although now it persisted, stubbornly refusing to stop.
"What's wrong now?" She crossed her arms.
"Luce, I think there's som- Gahhh!"
Natsu gripped his throat as the blunt poking suddenly escalated exponentially to a pain that seized the entire length of his throat. The male fell back onto the bed, his hands coming up to claw at his skin, but no matter how much he scratched and grasped, his fingers touched only his own skin. There was nothing there and his eyes widened from the realization.
The pain was radiating outwards from inside his throat.
"Fu- agggghhh!" He yelled again and thrashed about on the bed as the pain steadily burned across the inside of his throat, making its way steadily down towards his torso.
"Natsu, stop! You're bleeding!"
Lucy wailed as she fumbled to grab at his wrists in an attempt to still them. The male was digging his nails so hard, so desperately, into the skin that even his blunt nails were starting to leave tiny cuts across the tanned surface. He didn't seem to notice though, and every time he raked his fingers across the same spots, the cuts widened and deepened till tiny trickles of red fluid were starting to seep, trailing macabre tendrils across the curve of his neck.
"Just tell me what's wrong!"
"I- I don't-! Fuck… It hurts!"
Her own eyes started to burn and blur and Lucy hurriedly blinked away her tears as she finally managed to grip his wrists. She leaned forward over him, trying to use her body weight to hold him down but the male was too strong, and Lucy gasped when her knees slipped on the smooth bedcovers and she tumbled atop of him.
"Natsu… Please stop…"
She whimpered as she crawled off his body. His chest was shaking and arching off the bed and his legs kept twisting about as his body spasmed. But it was his face that worried her most.
The dragon slayer was no longer yelling, or making any sort of sound at all. Instead, his mouth was gaping wide open, as though in a silent scream. The male's eyes were wide open, bulging even, and his skin glistened with sweat from the effort of fighting whatever invisible demon was plaguing him, tormenting him from the inside out.
His hands were still clutching his throat but he was no longer scratching at the skin. The digits were wrapped tightly around the curved surface and Lucy reached upwards, desperately trying to wedge her fingers underneath his own to stop him from accidentally strangling himself.
And then all of a sudden, as quick as the pain had come, it vanished.
Natsu's body immediately slumped back against the bed, exhausted and mentally drained from the experience. His breathing was harsh and deep as tiny after-shivers continued to run through his entire length. The guy looked half dead.
The blonde hurriedly wiped at his face with her sleeve. Tears stained her face and still more were coming. Lucy sniffled softly as she caressed his face, leaning over so that her long blonde hair, now an utter mess from the tussle, brushed lightly across his damp skin. Tracing the creases that were starting to ease in his forehead, she softly whispered his name.
"Natsu, Natsu… Can you hear me?"
No reply.
"Natsu, please tell me you can hear me…" She whimpered, slightly begging now. Oh Gods above, please don't let me go like that, I-
"Leave."
"Ahhh!"
Lucy nearly jumped when his onyx eyes flew open and he suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrists firmly with strength that belied his current appearance. "Natsu, you're ok?" Her eyes widened with excitement, only to crease in worry again.
He was staring right at her through gleaming eyes brimming with an emotion that, honestly? Scared the hell out of her. His brows were furrowed again, but not in pain this time.
"I said leave. You really don't need to be here." He growled again.
"What the hell are you- OH MY GOD!"
"Yeah… Damn, I seriously hate this part." He groaned as he clutched his head and fell back onto the bed.
Lucy couldn't stumble off the bed fast enough but by the time she did, the male had disappeared. Or perhaps the more accurate term would be that his features had disappeared. The blonde now found herself staring at a figure, still fully clothed in Natsu's garb, which appeared to be a shadow. It was like she staring at a completely black mannequin out of a clothing display window. There were no lines, or shadows to define the planes or features of his body, it was just… one shadow.
"Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my boyfriend?!" Wow, that sounded weird.
The figure lay recumbent and unmoving.
"Hey! I asked you a question!" Lucy scrambled for her whip and keys on the chair but yelped in pain instead when her body hit a wall. "What the hell?!" She smacked the air in front of her again but instead of having her hand pass through it easily, the air rippled and undulated.
Her first thought was that they had been ambushed in rune magic but no words were reflecting in the air.
Lucy whirled towards the dozing cat (how the heck was he still sleeping anyway?!) and yelled. "Happy, wake up! We need help here!" The feline didn't budge, so Lucy moved to stomp towards him…
Only to find herself smacking against another wall.
"Ow!" Turning about on the spot, the blonde paled when she realized that she was completely boxed in, and sound was obviously not leaving the confinement area.
She hammered the wall again. "NATSU!"
Dark.
It was so dark everywhere.
Natsu leaped up and slashed the area in front of him again with blazing claws of fire, groaning when he once again ripped through emptiness.
"Gahhh! Come out here and fight me, you coward!" He yelled, small jets of flame bursting from his mouth.
"I'm not in the mood for hide and seek, so get your ass out here so that I can fucking kick it!"
Are you sure it has to be him?
He's powerful. Why not?
For one, he's so… barbaric. Look at the way he's dressed. No shirt! And those pants... God! I can't be seen in those pants!
Aww, c'mon sweetheart. After all I went through to possess him? If you think it's so easy, you do it!
I hear you father, but…
Below them, the pink haired dragon slayer dashed about in the 'space,' yelling and cursing out strings of colourful invectives.
"Fine, if you're not coming out, I'll just blast this entire area apart!" He sucked in a gutful of air and blasted out a steady stream of blazing flames in a Fire Dragon's Roar attack. The male pivoted on the spot, sending jets of fire in all directions. But the flames hit air and merely dissipated in licks.
"ASSHOLES! Get out here!"
He's so rude, burning up someone's 'space' like that? And stupid too, there's nothing down there for him to burn. He's just wasting energy.
Oh jeezus… Fine. I'll look for someone else. Happy?!
Much. Now hurry along.
You- Don't you dare disappear on me, young lady!
Ta-ta now!
I seriously hate you sometimes… Release!
"-ur asses out here and… The hell?"
"Natsu!"
"Luce? Wh- The fuck happened to me?!"
He was ok. Oh Gods above… He was ok!
"Idiot!" Lucy dashed forward and slapped the stunned male, relieved that she hadn't another invisible wall.
"The hell you do that f- Luce…?"
"I was so worried about you!" She cried out, and flung her arms around him, toppling them both backwards onto the bed. She clasped her palms onto his cheeks, tears staining her face. "What happened?"
He shook his head, a confused look coming into his eyes. "I… I don't know. There was just this pain, this crazy shit pain in my throat then suddenly it vanished… and there was just the darkness."
"… Darkness?" She rubbed her swollen nose.
"Like a big empty area. It was pitch black… and the only light in there was from my fire."
"You could still use magic then?"
"Yeah, but there was nothing there to burn, so it was still kinda useless." He groaned.
Natsu leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, his hand wrapping around the back of her head. "I'm fine now, Lucy. Please stop crying."
"I can't just stop them, you idiot…" She clutched his scarf to her face and sobbed into the cloth.
"Oh jeezus." He sighed, stroking his fingers along her tangled locks. "I'm the one who was in pain and yet you're crying more than me."
"Sh-shut up…"
The blue feline that was curling on the armchair now stirred, and rubbed a paw tiredly over his face. "Natshu…? Why is Rushi crying?"
The dragon slayer gave his feline partner an assuring wave. "It's fine, Happy. She just had a little… nightmare. Go back to sleep."
"Oh ok, goodnight N-"
"Happy, wait!"
"Hmm?"
"You… didn't hear anything before this? Like uh… shouting or whatnot?"
The cat yawned and curled back up, his furry blue tail wrapping around his body. "No…"
"… I see. Goodnight, Happy."
Lucy had quietened down now and was sniffing into the cloth of his black vest. Natsu sighed and adjusted them both on the counterpane of the bed, resting his head on the pillow with Lucy tucked safely into the crook of his arm. He winced a little when an ache shot through his lower back. He must have sprained something just now. Damn.
The male turned onto his side and wrapped his other arm tightly around her small waist, pulling the blonde firmly against his own body. The sweet scent of peaches coupled with the salty tang of her tears lifted from her skin. The dragon slayer's heart clenched when he realized that she was still quivering slightly and he tightened his embrace.
Natsu leaned in and pressed a hard kiss to the crown of her head, his brows furrowing.
God damn it. Hurting him was one thing. Scaring the hell out of his woman was another.
Whoever had been responsible had better be prepared to pay.
"Well, that was better. Your second try."
"Oh hush. I still managed to do it in the end."
"Yes, after the girl had caterwauled loud enough to wake the entire inn. You're lucky I advised you to set up a small one around the cat first."
"Geez. How did I get stuck with a sucky trainer like you? All you do is criticize, criticize and oh... Criticize."
"Silence. Vasuta's back."
A small puddle of inky black fluid seeped from between the coarse folds of the tree bark of the branch the pair was crouching on.
"How'd it go, Vas?"
There was a tiny ripple in the middle of the puddle as a delicate, feminine voice rang out.
"I didn't like the first guy father chose. So I made him look for a second." There was a small "Hmph," like a sound a young child would make when she didn't get her way.
The black haired female leaned against the rough body of the trunk and rolled her eyes.
"And yet you put up with her eccentricities."
The redheaded boy ignored her. "But you managed to get someone then?"
"Yes. The guy with the midget girl. He's in the coma now."
"There are two guys with the midget girl. Which one?"
"The one Lora – san liked."
The teen girl sprang forward, swinging her fist at the black puddle.
"Wh- I do not like him! I just… think he's cute… Take that back before I kick you out of my sphere."
"Enough, Lora. Continue tailing them, Vasuta. We'll reconvene at the decided spot."
"Sure. Laters." The puddle seeped back into the bark with a barely audible splashing sound. The black haired teen turned towards the boy next to her, grinning evilly.
"Race you back."
The precocious boy gave her a deadpanned stare. "Don't be childish." A tint of amusement flashed in his silver eyes and he vanished immediately, leaving the female staring into space.
"Wh-? Cheater!"
Short and… I dunno. Mixed feelings? I think I scared myself imagining the scene of the shadow being. But I changed the original script because the words I wanted didn't fit in well.
I know you guys were expecting some Nalu loving but writing a lemon (Secret job) is exhausting. Gosh. Nearly drove me the wall.
Have fun.
Faie.
