Sniffing out where Happy and Nashi were at , he dropped down carrying a writing in pain Lucy. "What happened!" Freaked Happy running over to them. "Lucy was shot protecting me" "What!" he said freezing. "Happy!, this isn't the time to freeze up. Get your ass over here and help me" Snapping out of his panic, went and grabbed Lucy's hand for comfort.
"Mommy!" "Nashi, grab your mom's hand for me" he told her. Not having to think twice about it, she grabbed Lucy's hand and squeezed. "This is going to hurt Lucy, Brace yourself" he warned . "Natsu, what are you" were the only words she could get out before a pain she could have never imagined erupted throughout her body as Natsu stuck his fingers into her leg digging out the bullet.
"AHHHHHHHHHH" Nashi covered her ears dropping Lucy's hand as her eyes filled with worry for her mom. "NATSU!" Happy screamed. "Shut up Happy!" Feeling the metal bit, he closed his fingers around it pulling the bullet out.
Bloody, he threw the bullet far into the woods. Clutching her leg, Lucy continued to shriek as blood gushed onto her hand. "I'm sorry Luce. It would've been worse if I had told you. That bullet needed to come out or it would have made things worse." He tried explaining knowing nothing, but pain was going through her head right now. "Natsu, are you sure they won't find us?" "Hmph, we're deep in the woods. Those bastards are going to take some time searching between here and there. Even as strong as they are. It gives us some time. Besides, I took some out, that will slow them down" The coldness in his voice spooked Happy.
"Wha..what do you mean Natsu?" "Exactly as I said it Happy. They won't be coming to find us anymore" Gulping, he didn't ask anymore questions but remained at Lucy's side. "You guys stay here; I'll be back shortly" he ordered sternly. Obeying, they watched Natsu disappear into the woods. "
Happy, is mommy going to be, okay?" she asked worried. "Don't worry Iggy, your dad will make sure she's okay, hey hand me your mom's bag" Quickly she went and grabbed it and brought it back. Lifting the top off, Happy rummaged through it until he found an old shirt. "You'll forgive me for this later Lucy" Happy said taking the shirt and wrapping it around her leg to stop some of the bleeding. Not having the strength to ask what he was doing; Lucy just wrenched her head back in pain keeping her bloody hand on her wound. It was only a few minutes later Natsu came back with logs of wood in his hands.
Dropping them in a pile, he went around collecting pine needles and dropping them around the fire. "Natsu, what are you doing?" "I'm getting stuff for a fire. We're going to need it" "But can't you just use your dragon fire?"
" I already told you Happy. Nashi and I can't use our dragon fire. It's too obvious and right now, it might just Injure Lucy more than help her. "Oh okay" he said not knowing what else to say or do. After a few more minutes of gathering materials, he lowered to the ground rubbing the sticks together until he saw embers coming off exciting Nashi and Happy.
Smirking, he got down to the base of the fire and blew small breathes until he saw bits of flame come out and put the dagger on top of it. "What now daddy?" "Unfortunately, we have to wait until the fire builds up and gets hot enough" "Hot enough for what?"
Dropping the smirk, he looked over at Lucy who had sweat running down her body and was clenching her jaw trying her hardest not to cry out. " To treat her bullet wound." After a while, he looked and saw the dagger as red as lava. Picking it up, he walked over to the others. Seeing the blade, Lucy shook her head panicking and tried to run but Natsu put a firm hand on her shoulder keeping her in place.
"Happy" "Yes sir?" "Grab one of those small sticks over there and bring it over here" "Aye" he obeyed going over but couldn't help thinking "Natsu is really freaking me out right now. I don't think I've ever seen him act this cold, Not since…Lucy disappeared to save us from that freak. But the circumstances are different now." Seeing a small stick, he grabbed it and ran back over handing it to Natsu. "Here you go Natsu" Taking it, he stuck down into Lucy's mouth.
"Bite down onto this Luce. Trust me" Angrily she bit down as Natsu told Happy and Nashi to hold her down. Taking the shirt off Lucy's wound, he pressed the dagger against it as her eyes gouged out shrieking through the stick thrashing as Happy and Nashi held her down. Holding it there for a few more seconds, he took it away stabbing it into the ground.
Continuing to scream, Lucy suddenly stopped as her head rolled to the side. "Lucy!" "Mommy!" "She'll be fine guys. She passed out from the pain" They both gave a sad whine looking at her. "Those jerks..they are the ones that did this to her. That caused her pain. We never even did anything to them!' Getting angry, he tried to think of something else as he took the bloody torn shirt and wiped the sweat off Lucy's face while Nashi laid her head on Lucy's stomach and laid Lucy's arm around her. "She'll be okay Nashi" he said with a kind smile.
"Get some rest you two. I'm keeping watch" "Sounded more like an order then a suggestion" sniped Happy. "Happy.." He sighed before saying something he might regret. " I'm sorry buddy. .please try to get some sleep" "That's better" he said with a wink motioning his head towards Nashi who closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Walking over, Happy plopped himself down next to Natsu on a log. "I thought." "Nahh, there's no way I can sleep now. Your injured and now Lucy is. There's no way I can rest knowing that. I'll stay and keep watch with you" "Thanks buddy" A moment of silence went by before Happy said "things are going to be different now, aren't they?" Natsu remained silent looking out into the water.
Taking the silence as his answer, Happy sighed and looked out with him. After a while, while Natsu was stoking the fire, Lucy stirred. Hearing her, he went over as she slowly opened her eyes. "Natsu?" "Hey Luce. How you feeling?" "Hmph..Like I was beat with a hot iron" she muttered giving him a small smile. "Well if you can make small jokes like that, I'm happy" he smiled sitting down next to her.
Honestly..I feel like shit" "Yeahh..it's going to for a bit and unfortunately probably scar" "It's alright..just add it to the ones I have" she muttered depressingly. "Hey Lucy" Happy greeted softly. "Hey Happy" she said with a little more upbeat then was surprised when she felt movement. Filling her heart with joy, she rubbed Nashi's cheek who stirred but stayed asleep. "My baby" she whispered. They watched and listened to the fire as it crackled and gave off a bright orange glow. "Natsu, for my leg. How the hell did you figure that out? Where did you learn that?" she asked after a while.
"Gildarts showed me some stuff as a kid Luce. I know I act like a dumbass most of the time but I know more than people think I do I just never had to use that stuff since fire doesn't hurt me. Or at least it didn't until now" She could tell in his voice that he meant every word.
"Natsu, you know I never once thought of you as a dumbass" "I know. I'm just glad I remembered…cause things could get a lot worse Lucy" he said gravely getting hers and Happy's attention. "We're on our own out here. No guild, no calling for help." They hung onto his every word for they both knew deep down he was right. Continuing he said "that means we're going to have make some decisions" "I was hoping it wouldn't ever come to that . Ever again" she said regretfully.
Taking her hand, he squeezed it. "I know baby. I was too but as you saw earlier, there aren't options. We will do what we have too to protect ourselves and our daughter" he told her firmly. "Yes" she replied her voice hardening surprising Happy.
"I'll be damned before anyone hurts us again" her hands turned into fists. "Tomorrow, we'll go into town, get new clothes for all of us, maybe some food while we are at it then get the hell out. We'll go where no one will know us. Cover our guild marks. As far as anyone is concerned, we are no longer part of Fairy Tail. That includes you too Happy. Don't look at me like that, we have no choice now but to do this understood?"
Afraid, he looked to Lucy for a better answer, but her face was just as firm as Natsu's. Completely in disbelief, he laid out his sleep sack and went to sleep. The next morning, limping slightly, Lucy got up and Natsu put out the fire. Nashi was up and about. Accepting that they were right, Happy woke with a ready attitude. "What next guys?"
"Going to town, get some more supplies then getting the hell out of there and to where nobody knows us" Lucy answered. "What's that funky smell?" "That would be the smell of my old clothes burned" "WHA! Lucy, you burned your clothes!" Shrugging her shoulders, she threw her pack over her shoulders while Natsu did the same. "They weren't helping me, and they were taking up space in my pack" Speechless, he remained silent.
"Nashi, you ready to go?" "Yep, let's go" she replied as they made their way to the nearest town they could find. Slipping in and out of the public eye avoiding what people they could. Finding a clothing store, they walked in. While searching around, Lucy found some hair dye "This will be useful. Better grab a box of this" she thought grabbing a couple boxes. "Nice jacket" admired Natsu spotting a red and black jacket.
Taking it off the hanger, he glanced at the price and held onto it. Finding a few other things, he hesitated for a moment before telling himself "I'm not who I used to be. Time for a change" Satisfied , they went and found a few more things then cashed themselves out.
"Natsu, we're going to have to spend at least one more night, I need a sink to be able to dye my hair in" "Fine, fine. Let's just get out of here. I don't like being around here. We're far too vulnerable." "Understood, let's go" Grabbing the bags, they went outside where Lucy dumped the bags and stuffed the clothes into her pack making Nashi and Happy cock their heads. "I can't be seen walking around with shopping bags guys. You can't either Nashi" she said taking the bags of clothes she bought for Nashi stuffing them into Nashi's pack.
"There you go baby" patting it lightly. "Thanks mommy" "Well let's find a cheap place to stay then I think I saw a place to eat"
Once they found a surprising familiar place, they checked in and then went to find something to eat. "Of course, it's a bar that's the only place to eat" "What's wrong daddy?" she asked seeing Natsu drag his hand down his face.
"Nothing, nothing sweetheart" he lied rolling his eyes behind her back. "I'm right there with you Natsu but let's make the best of it. This could be the last good meal we get for a while" she reminded him making him grumble. Laughing, she opened the door scooting Nashi and Happy forward walking in behind Natsu. It wasn't a lit up place but very dark with low lights but they could at least see where they were going.
They noticed the most lite place in the whole joint was the bar itself. "I'm going to sit down at the corner. You guys stay in the middle" Before the other could question it, Lucy had them sit in the stools lined up next to the bar. "Isn't she a little young to be sitting here?" said the bartender. "She's not drinking, and she's my kid anyway" Lucy answered sharply. "What can I get you?" she asked quickly trying to calm the situation.
"Give me one pint on the rocks, and two soda's for these two" "Coming right up". Lucy leaned back into her bar seat watching Natsu down at the other end. He wasn't looking at them but looking everywhere else specifically the front door watching for any suspicious figures. "Those freaks disguised themselves last time. There's no doubt that they could pull the same trick again. Only reason I found them last time was they exposed themselves" Hearing something behind him, he turned his head to see a large pint of beer in front of him.
"I didn't order this" he told the bartender confused as to why there was a drink in front of him. "It's a gift from those girls over there" said the bartender pointing to two girls who waved flirtatiously at Natsu. "Oh god" he muttered eyeing Lucy who paid no mind but instead held her pint up at him. "Interesting" he said. Intrigued, he decided to play along and accept the drink.
Taking a sip of it, he licked his lips and expressed his thanks to the girls with a nice refreshing ahh to them. Confused, Happy tugged at Lucy's shirt causing her to turn around and face him. "Lucy what's going on here? If this is some of sort of strategy, can you include me because otherwise I'm really confused. Not to mention, so is she" pointing to Nashi behind him who huddled into her chair.
Seeing the fear on her face, Lucy jumped down from her chair and went over in front of Nashi's chair. "I promise baby girl, everything is alright. We're far from Kunugi and those guys. This is also where a few people we've helped out live. We're safe here baby" "But mommy..what's daddy doing with those girls?" Puzzled she turned around to see the girls who had given him the drink were now all over Natsu who had a completely emotionless expression on his face.
Covering Nashi's eyes, she watched in silence. "Mommy, Happy, what's going on?" she asked demandingly. "Nothing" they answered in unison. "Then why are my eyes covered" she whined. "Because it's not for you to see young lady. Now that's enough" she said sternly instantly silencing Nashi.
"Come, come sir, don't you want to come home with us" asked one of the girls erotically as she placed her hands all over Natsu's face who remained like stone. "I think he's needs some persuasion" said the other taking Natsu's hand and placed it on her breast.
"Feels good doesn't it" "Flat" he responded causing the girls to squeal. "Well at least that's something." She said eyeing Natsu's emblem. "Isn't that a pretty tattoo?" "Yes, we should get one" Getting an idea, the girls lowered themselves to the floor as Natsu's eyes followed them. Placing their hands on his pants, his senses started to heighten up. "Wont his wife be jealous?" one of them teased spotting the ring on Natsu's finger.
"Oh please, she won't mind will she Natsu?" Snatching the tops of their heads, he yanked them up off the floor. "How the fuck did you know my name? , I haven't said a god damn thing!" his grip tightened making them whimper as they tried to get away. "You didn't answer me. NOW TELL ME!" he shouted. Looking into his eyes, they saw a wildness and a rage that unless they answered were afraid it would get worse.
"PPpeoplle cccame in hhhere earlier llloooking ffor you. Sssaid sssomething about fairytttail emblem. Pppleeasse ddon't hhurt uss" Infuriated, he dropped the girls who immediately ran out the door. "Wait, if they were told about us..they must have a messenger of some sort but the only way they could have known that …LUCY! WE'VE BEEN SOLD OUT. WE GOTTA GO. " Dropping her drink, she looked at the bartender who gave her an uncaringly look. "I need to survive. Simple as that."
"Damn it!" Lucy cried feeling hurt, throwing her arm back and punched the bartender surprising her in the face knocking her to the floor. Jumping to her feet, she looked around the bar at the panicked guests. "Happy, get Nashi out of here right now" she snapped. Racing out the door, Happy grabbed Nashi and flew out as Lucy ran and joined Natsu. Back-to-back , pissed off, they got into defensives stances.
"Natsu, these people aren't like the ones after us. They just wanted to survive" "I know Lucy, but they still have to be taken care of. We don't have to kill them"
. "Got it. Do you sense of them among these people?" "Nope, not a single one" "You ready Natsu" Unfeeling he answered "yes" In quick swift in synch motions, they knocked each of them and within minutes, all of them were at the floor. Feeling a second of relief, It went away as they heard "NAAAATSSUUU" Alerted they ran out the door to see Nashi and Happy scrambling to get away from four people but who were wearing street clothes.
"Who are the hell are you!" Natsu yelled. "We are followers of the fire cult" "The fire cult!? Are those the bastards after us? Does this mean your one of em?" "Not officially but we are loyal to them and passed along their message"
"MOMMY, DADDY!" "NATSU, LUCY!" "Hmph, then you are no different than them" he growled giving Lucy a knowing look. Accepting what needed to be done, they charged right for them making them release their captives. "Make for the outskirts Happy, now!" ordered Natsu. Fed up, he grabbed Nashi and blasted down the street leaving Natsu and Lucy to take care of the enemy. "You guys made a big mistake coming after mine"
"Please spare us your false threatening. We all here know you two aren't capable of murder. The cult has looked into you guys" Lowering his head down , he let out a cold , unsympathetic snicker confusing them. Lifting his head back up, the snicker disappeared. "Then hate it to break it to you but you have been misinformed." Running at them, he yelled "Lucy, now!" She ran and in the blink of an eye pulled out the dagger stabbing the girl threatening them directly in the heart.
The color disappeared from her eyes as she dropped to the ground. "Hmph, told you" said Natsu dropping another. The other two glanced at each other then them. Fear filling their faces as they tried to make a break for it but Lucy and Natsu were on either side of them.
"You backed us into a corner. And when it comes to animals, never! Threaten their young!" Kicking the legs out of one of the girls, Lucy stood over her. Glaring down at her, Lucy felt nothing for her as she said "stop sniveling, I know you don't mean a word of it, you stupid bitch" the girl's fear turned into a cold glare as the girl looked Lucy straight in the eyes.
"You wont stop them. They won't stop until every one of you is dead" ( Fairy Tail soundtrack Vol 3. Seigi no Chikara) Squatting down, Lucy placed her hands around the girls throat and whispered, "Well you won't be one of them" Snapping her neck clean in two, the girl dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Screams from the other girl were cut off as she let out her final breath .Releasing her throat, Natsu got to his feet shoving the girl's body off. "Lucy, you okay? He asked concerned as he saw her hands start to shake.
"I was hoping to never do that again Natsu" "I know, I'm sorry" "You don't have to apologize. We wanted to trust and this is what happened. We can't be who we are anymore…I'm finally realizing that now" "Oh Luce" he said sympathetic watching her wipe the few tears that fell from her face. "I'm done with crying. Let's go meet with Happy and Layla" "Right" Leaving the bodies, they walked towards the setting sun.