Lucy hadn't eaten for a few days now. Sting and Rogue refused to leave her side, much to Natsu's dismay. The three of them had been trying to cheer her up for days but with no success. It was beginning to seem impossible to make the blonde smile again.

"C'mon, Luce…" Natsu mumbled softly.

"I know it hurts now, but c'mon, it gets better," Sting added.

"You need to eat…" Rogue mentioned, concerned.

"I know you all mean well, but… could you stop?"

"No," Natsu snapped.

"Excuse me?" Lucy snapped back.

"You're not in a good place, so I refuse to leave you on your own!" He declared roughly,

"Nats-!"

"Lucy!" Both fell silent, glaring at one another. Lucy gave up, dropping her arms with a sigh. Natsu smiled, hugging her to his chest. Rogue bit his cheek at this, trying his best not to show that he was jealous. Wait what?

Natsu softly pet Lucy's golden locks, letting her relax and collect herself when a voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Oi, love birds, there's other people here," It was Sting.

"S-Sorry…" Lucy stuttered, a soft blush dusting her cheeks.

Rogue bit down harder on his cheek, struggling, now, to keep his emotions at bay. Sting was starting to notice now, as well.

(LATER)

Lucy and her trio of dragons found themselves on a mission, per Lucy's request. Sting and Natsu bickered for most of the trip, whereas Lucy and Rogue talked about the little things and reminisced on their adventures with Nira.

All the dragon slayers were asleep now, their motion sickness having gotten the better of them. Lucy stared blankly out the window, Natsu resting on her lap. A woman, cloaked in a worn tan cloak, walked up to her. Her voice was shaky and tired as she spoke softly,

"I'm so sorry…"

"Akira?" Lucy asked softly, blood starting to boil. The cloaked woman nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I am so, so sorry, Lucy… I never meant for… for any of this to happen… it wasn't… Can we talk in the morning? It's exhausting to think right now…"

Lucy nodded silently, noting how different and sad her voice sounded now, compared to their first meeting.

(IN THE MORNING)

Natsu, Sting and Rogue all glared down at the sitting Akira. They were at a park, Akira was sat upon the bench while the trio stared at her; Lucy was perched next to her, an unhappy look painted onto her face.

"Talk," She spat venomously. Akira bit her lip and nodded.

"I'm sorry. You may not believe me, but… it's your choice," she began, "There was magic, in my head. When we made the servitude bond, that's when it started. He called himself Jonas and constantly took over my thoughts and made me do things against my will. He had a grudge against Nira and I, we were ruffians back then, us, and he decided that by hurting me mentally it would get to Nira and by hurting Nira physically, it would get to me.

"It worked, for the most part. I mean… you saw Nira. She constantly looked for a way to get him out because I couldn't. Along the way, she met you and new she could keep Draco safe while she continued looking. I never knew she would risk her life to get him out. I honestly had no idea. I was as shocked as yo—"

"How did you find out?" Lucy interrupted quickly.

"I heard Draco's voice… and… and hers…" Akira told her quietly. Lucy nodded. The five of them were silent. Akira began to cry silently. Those silent cries grew into loud, pained sobs as she hid her face in her hands. She was shaking and struggling to breathe. Lucy stood up and gestured for the boys to follow her.

They stood by a nearby tree, watching as Akira slowly calmed herself. Lucy looked at them.

"You don't believe her, do you?" Sting asked, bewildered. She looked at him with a sad look.

"After all of that, you believe her?!" Lucy's sad look turned into one of anger.

"Those tears weren't fake. She felt real pain and real sorrow and real regret, Sting. You can't pretend to sob like that!" Sting flinched at Lucy's outburst, but nodded none the less. Natsu and Rogue agreed and they returned to Akira.

"We believe you, Akira." Her eyes watered as a sorrowful, yet still somehow happy and beautiful, smile graced her lips.

"Thank you… thank you so much…" She laughed softly, then began to cry again. Lucy smiled at her, pulling her into a gentle hug. Softly, she heard Akira whisper:

"I can see why she liked you so much…"

(…)

Holy shit, an update?! WHAT IS THIS CONSPIRACY?! WAS THERE ENOUGH PLOT?! DO YOU STILL HATE AKIRA?! I hope not… LET'S GO FUCK UP JONAS, WHO'S WITH ME?!

I'm going to stop now.

~Yume