"Come on mommy!" Nashi yelled running to the backyard of their house. "I'm coming I'm coming" she replied coming around the back with Natsu and Happy. "Do some fire exercises Iggy. Get you warmed up" "Okay daddy" she gathered air and immediately shot fire out as Natsu went to check on Lucy.
"Hey, Luce..you alright baby?" he asked seeing her with her arms crossed. "I'm alright Natsu" she answered quietly. "Come on Luce…what's up" he said not believing a word.
"We just found a few days ago, literally just a few days ago that she has celestial magic..not to mention you two were in a hell dimension and she almost got scarred for that. I have no idea how to train her for this" she said in a voice low enough that wouldn't attract Nashi's attention.
"Ahh, Lucy, I told you already , Nashi is well protected and secure. She's got us and she's got the guild. Along with them, there's no better teacher for her then you Luce." he praised
"Well thank you for that bit of encouragement." "Oh yeah!" agreed Happy flying over and landing on Lucy's shoulder. "You can do it Lucy, I know it" "Thanks Happy" she said with a beaming smile.
"Daddy, watch, watch!" Nashi yelled getting their attention. "Fire..Dragon..ROAR!" a blast shot straight out at the tree she was aiming at knocking it straight down. "Ha, nice job Iggy!" he yelled giving her a proud grin.
"Thank you daddy" "Alright, now mom's turn!" he called giving her a gentle push towards Nashi. "Natsu.." "Oh just go Lucy, you'll be fine baby" Giving him and Happy a side eye, she walked over to Nashi.
"Alright baby girl,. This will be interesting" Jumping in place, she threw her hands in the air "come on mommy, show me!" "I'll do my best. I can't give you any keys until your older sweetheart but we can work on you opening gates"
"That's fine. Let's do it!" she said eagerly. "Okay, first stop jumping" she instructed making Natsu grin. "Love it when she gets in that mood" he thought raising his eyebrows at her causing her cheeks to blush.
"Heehee, daddy making you blush" "Yes, ye, get back in position young lady" "yes mommy" "Okay, so explain to me if you can, how did the gate open a few days ago?"
"Umm…I'..I'm not really sure mommy" she said uncertain scratching her head nervously. "I can answer that Luce." piped in Natsu who watched from the sidelines. "She was scared and reacted instinctively. Why it showed up specifically after I jump scared her, I have no idea and probably doesn't matter but that's when It showed up."
"Hmm, still odd so does this mean she has to be scared in order for her to open gates?" she thought out loud putting a hand to her lip. "No, I refuse to do that" she said after a moment of silence.
"Huh?" went Natsu and Happy. "I'm not putting our child through a damn fear tactic just to test how far her magic goes" "Lucy" said Natsu walking over to her where they both looked at Nashi. "Baby, we don't know if that's the key to opening the gate, that's just how it happened the first time" he said reasonably.
Shaking her head, " Natsu," "Lucy…just try baby. Nothing will happen and I'm right here if something does" he urged looking at Nashi out of the corner of his eye at how eager she was to train. "Okay" she said yielding to it. "That's my girl, now go, show her why her mom is the most powerful celestial wizard here" Blushing at Natsu's compliment, she cleared her throat.
"Okay baby let's do this" "Yes!" said Nashi immediately. " Close your eyes and hold your hands out like this" Lucy instructed making sure Nashi followed her every move.
Spreading her feet apart and placing her hands in front of her, she closed her eyes. "Alright Nashi, here comes the hard part, focus every part of your mind on opening a portal" she instructed. Everything went silent as Lucy unbeknownst to Nashi walked up and crouched down behind her.
"You can do this baby girl" she whispered into her ear. Concentrating with all her might, Nashi muttered "come on, come on. please!" But nothing happened. "I was afraid this would happen..sadly we don't know the extent of her powers yet" Lucy thought as she hugged Nashi comforting her.
"It's alright baby dragon" assured Natsu who walked over and squatted down in front of her. Putting a finger under her chin, he looked at her disappointed face. "Its okay Iggy, I know we will figure out your power and how it works" Running his hand through her hair, she smiled making Lucy's heart leap when Loke showed up making them jump.
"Oops, sorry guys" he apologized. "Loke! Why don't you just use your key? Your getting to be as bad as Virgo and popping up" she scolded as Nashi ran over and hugged him. "Hey Nashi, you doing alright kid?" " I cant open gates like mommy" she muttered with a downcast face. "Baby girl" Lucy lamented.
"Don't worry Nashi, I have a solution for that" he said optimistic pushing his glasses back up. "Huh?" went Natsu, Lucy and Happy in unison. "How?" "We just tried to get her to open a gate and it wouldn't work"
"It's because there was no gate to open, Lucy, Natsu, she doesn't need keys to open our gates but she doesn't need one to open other gates" he explained watching their jaws drop. "Then why did a gate open in our house with me and Iggy inside?" Natsu asked.
"Probably because it was the start of her powers and because of the demons, I can't fully understand why but in terms of other gates, because of who she is guys, while you do Lucy, she doesn't need a key to open celestial gates. Even if you can't physically see it, as long as Nashi can sense it, she can open it" He looked down to see Nashi in complete shock.
"You alright Nashi?" "Nashi?" said Natsu and Lucy concerned. "So I do have magic like mommy?" a grin showed on her face like she had just gotten a lollipop of the greatest flavor. "Yes Nashi, you do kiddo. As you grow into your powers in time, you will become a strong wizard"
"She takes after her father more then she does me Loke, which I'm alright with" Lucy complimented with a beaming smile. Waving his hands in a relaxed manner, he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.
"I rest my case. But she will be a powerful wizard none the less. She's got Dragneel and Heartfilia blood in her." "That's for damn sure!" Natsu yelled enthusiastically running over and putting Nashi on his shoulders.
"Come on Happy!" "Aye Iggy" he replied flying after them. "Daddy!, daddy!. Can we do some fire magic?" "Let's ask your mother? He said teasingly as they looked at her with pleading faces.
"Pleeeeeease?" She couldn't help but laugh replying "go, go you two dragons" With a loud yell of delight, they all ran off into the woods towards their training area where Lucy knew they couldn't cause any damage to anyone's houses or in Natsu's case leaving Magnolia in one piece.
"You doing alright Lucy? I know a few days was a probably a bit of a shock for you making that key and everything?" "Oh yeah I'm good Loke" she answered lightly.
"I appreciate it though. I'm glad even if she does become a dragon slayer like Natsu that she has a piece of me, its all I could ask for."
"Ha, she'll be like Natsu in no time, Hell she could even wind up being stronger then both of you. Your already the strongest couple here in Magnolia with that unison raid you guys can do, With Nashi, I have no doubt. Well I'll get going Lucy, say goodbye to the others for me" "Will do" she said giving a nod and a wave as he disappeared back to the celestial world.
"Hmm, what to do now…I'll go back to the guild, maybe the other two have a job in mind we can go on. We need money anyway, Nashi's growing fast and eating more food now. Yep. It's decided" she told herself encouraging raising her hands in the air as she turned on her heels and walked back towards FairyTail.
"Hey guys" she greeted once she got there and saw them sitting at a table.
"Heya Lucy, where's the munchkin and pyro?" "Having some fun one on one time with fire" "Oh boy, let's hope they don't wreck the forest" teased Gray.
Giving him a light smack on his arm, Lucy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "they aren't that bad Gray and Natsu is cautious when it comes to Nashi. Maybe not for the rest of us, but for our kid, he is very aware of his actions" she informed him with a prideful smile making him laugh.
"Touché Lucy ." "Anyway, what's up Lucy?" asked Erza as Gray stopped laughing. "Was wondering if there were any jobs that we could go on. Nashi is going through another growth spurt and eating almost more than Natsu is" she answered with a groan "and it's eating our finances right up. Wah"
"Don't worry Lucy, we'll find a job that pays a good amount" Erza said with a graceful smile getting up and going over to request board. "Do you see anything for our group Erza?" "Nope , there's no specific request"
"What a relief" muttered Lucy and Gray who instantly started chuckling. "You tired out too Lucy?" "Tired is an understatement Gray. Those jobs require a lot so not having a request for our team for a few days is a relief" "I feel you on that .We both know though it won't be long before another one pops up"
Laying her head on the table she half grumbled "I am aware Gray..believe me" "Guys, I think I found a job" Lucy and Gray lifted their heads up off the table as Erza came back over with a flier.
"looks like this job is going to take a couple days. You good with that Lucy?." "Yeah, what's the job? That will be the deciding factor to whether we can bring Nashi with us or not" Taking the flier from Erza, Lucy looked over as Gray came over to look with her. " A job out in Oshibana? , what the heck do they want us to go out there for? It's a train town"
"Gray, it doesn't matter who the request is from, if they need help, we help them." Erza stated factually. "I know Erza, I was just wondering what they could possibly need our help with" "Well read further and enlighten yourselves" Erza sniped.
"Yes Erza" they replied keeping their heads low like children. " We need help building our train track for a train that's coming in a few day. Please if you can help us. Well if you were looking for a break, I don't think you'll be getting it Lucy." Gray looked at her apologetically.
"It's alright Gray, the reward is 2000 jewel which will help" "HEY" they heard as they turned to see an over enthusiastic Natsu with Nashi and Happy. "Oh well, perfect timing Natsu, saves Lucy from having to track you guys down" said Erza.
"Huh, what do you mean? What were you looking for me for?" "We have a job to go too and it's safe enough Nashi can come with us. She might even be helpful" Intrigued, he walked over with the other two following behind him.
"Hey Natsu" Lucy greeted slipping her fingers between him. "Hey Luce" he said warmly giving her a kiss on the cheek and wrapping his arms around her stomach. "So what's the job?"
"We have go to Oshibana and help them with a train track"
"Why, why me" Natsu groaned dreadfully. "A train station!" "We aren't riding the train idiot; we are fixing the track for it.. dumbass" "We still have to get in a vehicle to get there and don't call me an idiot you damn moron"
"Oh want to start something do you?" Gray antagonized starting to form an ice ball before he felt his head connecting with Natsu's hard. "OWWW!" they both cried holding their heads in pain.
"You two idiots, I swear you would've grown out of this habit after this many years but Mavis forbid!" yelled Lucy.
They crumbled in fear looking at her while Erza stood in corner with Nashi and Happy. " Let's face it, those two are kids for life. I don't know if a day will ever come where they wont pick a fight with each other whenever they meet eyes".
"You know Happy….I think your right" Erza admitted gritting her teeth some. "But go Lucy! For showing them" cheered Happy. " I agree Happy" replied the requip wizard. "Jeeze Lucy, when did you learn to hit that hard, or is just that you have an extremely hard head cause your brain isn't there" "Grrray…"
"I was just..kidding Lucy, I swear, haha. Come on let's get going on getting ready for the job" he said quickly trying to get her to drop the cold angry expression she had on her face.
"Mommy, are you done trying to beat up daddy and uncle Gray yet?" she asked blunt holding her hands on her hips. "Ha, what do you know? Girl has inherited her mother's no shit attitude" teased Macow as Lucy turned her head eerily towards him.
"You want me to use it on you?" "No ma'am" he said quickly causing the guild and Makarov to laugh. "Yeah..just say no man. Trust me, you don't want to feel her wrath." Insisted Natsu.
"Come on you" said Lucy pulling Natsu by the ear and dragging him out the guild. "Hey, oww, where we going?" he whined. "To pack our stuff, Nashi, Happy, now!" "Coming!" they answered obediently following them out.
She finally let go of his ear when they got to their house .Rubbing it, he complained. "Jeeze Luce, can you pull any harder" "Don't tempt me…now come on" she insisted as blew air and walked inside.
Taking only a few minutes to put a bag together for them and Nashi and Happy only needing to get a couple fish to put in his pack, they were back at the guild where Erza and Gray were waiting with a horse carriage.
"You ready guys?" "Oh yeah!" cheered Lucy and Nashi with their hands raised. "A carriage…goodbye stomach" Natsu whined but nobody was paying attention. "You two are sure gun ho today" "You bet!. Food money here we come!" "Going on a job with my family, why wouldn't I be excited"
"Well let's get going, the train track isn't going to wait" Erza interrupted. Waving to the guild, they all piled into the carriage where Natsu immediately put his head out the window. "Hey, make sure you try to aim outside the carriage" Gray joked with a mischievous grin on his face.
"Ssshhutt upp..oh god" he started to say a come back when his face turned green and threw up out the window. " Eww man" " Gray..you know he can't control it."
"I know and I feel for him, you know that Lucy..but can't help if blabber mouth can't say anything for once since it's the only time he can't talk" With a light smile, she shook her head and rubbed Natsu's back.
"Just hang on till we get there Natsu..it won't be long" "Mommy, will daddy always have a bad stomach?"
"Yes, baby girl, it's a side effect of being a dragon slayer like he is. I think the only reason you don't is because of me which you are very lucky for" "Yyyeah..wwhat she sssaiid" Natsu stuttered between groans and gasps of air. Nashi laid her head down on Lucy and took a little nap until they arrived at Oshibana.
Feeling the carriage stop, Natsu leapt out of it before anyone could move.
"GROUND! YESS. THANK YOU!" he shouted kissing the ground. "Feel all better Natsu?" Happy asked perching on his shoulder. "You bet little buddy, let's go and make a me"
"NATSU, I swear to god and on our first master's grave, if you screw us up out of our food money, you will be scrubbing every inch of the damn house till it shines."
Her face showed no signs of amusement. "I hear you Lucy and understood" he said quickly with a head shake. "Come on you two slowpokes" they looked to see Erza, Gray and Nashi ahead of them.
"Coming!" yelled Natsu and the other two. "Fairytail! Thank goodness you have come; we have a very limited time and just not enough hands to complete this railway" expressed the headman as he approached them.
"Might I ask what happened to your workers?, this is a train-based town so I would have expected there to be a lot more workers?" Erza asked intrigued.
"Well…you guys are from Magnolia right?, well there's been a word a village not far from there is the target of an bandit attack" he explained to them. "This man has a troubled look on his face..just what bandit's are supposed to attack? Lucy thought as his answer got their attention.
"Do you know what bandits?" Natsu asked putting a hand on Nashi's shoulder to keep her calm.
"No sir, but the workers got nervous hearing that other villages got attacked by them and fled Oshibana until they have been caught." "Has anyone put out a request for it cause I'm sure we would have gotten one" said Gray.
With a pained look on his face, the headman replied "I'm not sure. I'm sorry" "Well don't worry, once we finish your track, we will head on over there" Erza said encouragingly.
"Thank you FairyTail. The sooner this threat is gone, hopefully our people will come back." "Can you show us the track?" "Oh yes, right this way if you may" he said courteously turning around and lead them to the half-built track that stopped outside of Oshibana and left sand. " Alright sir, we can take it from here. You can go"
"Thank you, thank you" the headman bowed his head with a thankful smile on his face and walked away leaving them to start working. "Erza, I understand there's a threat after this and I'm all for going but I have to think about Nashi first" T
he seriousness in his voice caught everyone off guard especially since they knew he didn't say Nashi often unless it was serious.
"Daddy?" "No Nashi, obviously your staying with us while we do this job but afterwards, we are sending you home .I'm not taking the risk of you getting hurt. Do you agree Lucy?" "Yes" there was no wavering or hesitation in her voice.
"Nashi, your father is right. We don't know anything about these bandits, and it could get bad. We aren't risking you getting hurt, can you see where we are coming from?" she explained mildly as Nashi nodded her head.
"Yes mommy and daddy. I understand. But how am I going to get home?" "Well.." "Lucy, if we finish this job early enough, you can take the carriage back to Fairytail to drop her off" offered Erza. "That would be appreciative" she said as Nashi came over to Natsu and Lucy hugging them. "You'll be okay baby girl" Lucy cooed. "Aye" agreed Happy. "Alright It's settled. Let's get to work" "Right" they all answered