A/N: Hello there lovelies! Long time no see! I'm afraid updates will be sporadic for all of my stories for a bit, since I don't particularly want to abandon my schoolwork and my GPA…oh college, how I love you so. I appreciate your patience with me, and trust me, I'm impatient too since I just want to write this whole story in one day and share it with you guys, but that's obviously not possible. Anyway, onward with the chapter that begins Fairy Tail's special game!
Charmed
o-o-o
Chapter 4: Stolen Kisses, Seeing Red
o-o-o
Everything was too hot…everything was on fire.
His veins burned and seared with the power of the torturous heat that dominated every tangible limb in his body, his brain telling him to roll on the ground and stop the raging flames that penetrated his skin from the inside. His lungs were shrinking, unable to take in the necessary oxygen to revive him back to homeostasis, his life trapped and halted as he screamed out in pain with what little breath he had left.
The lush green grass was crushed beneath his knees, his weight pushing down on him as his body betrayed him so suddenly and so forcefully. Everything was dark, and yet his eyes were wide open, rolling into the back of his head as the pain increased by a tenfold, causing him to emit a bloodcurdling scream that he never knew he could ever produce.
"Onii-chan!" a young female voice cried out to him, sending a jolt of intense fear through his heart as his little sister shed agonizing tears. "Stop hurting Onii-chan!"
"Now now, child." that horrid female voice spoke aloud with such false and sharp sweetness. "If you don't stay quiet I'll have to silence you myself."
No, he had to move damn it! He couldn't let whoever was after him kill his sister, he wouldn't allow it!
"Yui!" he screamed as he rode out another wave of agonizing pain. "Run! I want you to run away from here! Don't worry about me!"
Struggling against the force of his body, he forced his eyes to focus on his sister a few feet away, his blurred vision slowly correcting itself as his sight returned.
Yui was kneeling on the ground like he was, her blue eyes stained a bloodshot red as tears poured from her eyes like waterfalls. Her cocoa brown hair spilled all down her shoulders in a tangled mess, the up-do that their mother had done on the girl that morning having been destroyed. A large cut spread across her porcelain pale skin, smearing blood on her cheek.
"Onii-chan!" she sobbed once more.
"I told you to run! Yui, ru-"
His command was cut off as his sister emitted a cry that resembled a wounded animal, a noise that shook him to the bone with an angered fury.
He watched as the woman kicked his sister with her purple stiletto heel, grabbing her by the collar of her dress and pulling her up off of the ground in a flourish, bringing the child's tear streaked eyes up to meet her blazing green ones.
"I never really liked children." she hissed with venom, and without warning, slammed the girl into the ground with a loud and deafening thud.
The loud cracking of her skull upon impact was enough to drive him utterly insane.
"YUI!" he screeched at the woman. "YOU BITCH! I'LL-"
He froze when she placed a perfectly manicured finger right in between his eyes, halting his tongue as he looked up into her cold eyes, her face shrouded in a black and blurred shadow underneath her curly blonde hair. When she narrowed her eyes in what seemed to be disappointment, he'd lost his entire ability to speak.
Her rose perfume was nearly intoxicating.
"Tch. Lackluster." she said rolling her eyes. "A complete waste of my time."
His tears made an appearance for the last time, spilling from his eyes and falling onto the ground with the rhythm of his blood from the deep gash in his arm.
"You can go to your pathetic sister now." she told him, speaking as if it were the simplest solution to the world's problems.
The shimmering silver she held between her middle and index fingers was enough for him to realize his fate.
"Please-"
A quick swipe… a bright flash of red…
And everything went dark.
A loud and frantic scream escaped Lucy's lips as she shot up in her bed, her chocolate eyes widening in fear as she struggled to catch her breath. Sweat dripping down her temples and her arms, Lucy's entire body began to shake as her eyes darted nervously around the sugary pink walls of her apartment, slowly realizing that she was in her bed and in Magnolia, and not in some grass field witnessing the death of a small girl with bright blue eyes.
Those eyes…she couldn't get those frightened eyes out of her head…
Slowly, Lucy brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, burying her face into them as she inhaled and exhaled deeply.
What in the hell had she dreamed?
Lucy'd had her fair share of strange dreams in her lifetime, but nightmares? Almost slim to none. The last time that she had a really strange nightmare was when she was five years old, where she'd dreamt that she was being chased by a flock of pink flamingos. It didn't seem all that terrifying looking back on it, but at the time it was the worst possible thing that could've ever happened to her. Though, her fear of flamingos was quickly extinguished when her father bought her a flamingo stuffed animal that she'd named Hugo. Needless to say, Hugo had been present for every tea party that Lucy ever hosted.
But this dream? This was on a whole other level.
Dreams weren't supposed to shake you to your core and take away your breath so forcibly. Not even the worst nightmare should make a person's lungs ache and their hearts drumming with pain.
Dreams weren't supposed to feel so…real.
She could still feel the excruciating fire that ate away at her limbs, she could feel the pain echoing and throbbing throughout her body as she was immobile on the ground, helpless and blind. Or was it even her body? She heard a male voice speaking, and yet it was her who felt the all the pain…all the suffering.
And that woman…
She could still see her blazing green eyes and platinum blonde hair. She could vividly see those purple stiletto heels.
And that rose scented perfume…it was suffocating.
Sighing into her sheets, Lucy's eyes travelled over to her bedside table, her eyes immediately landing on the aqua mug that sat innocently atop a crocheted coaster. Inside was the remainder of the peppermint hot cocoa she'd brewed up the night before, making sure to add mountains of whipped cream to the hot drink.
Lucy glared at the mug. "This is all your fault." she spoke to the liquid in the cup, vowing silently to never drink that much sugar before bedtime ever again. Whoever said that sugar brought on nightmares had proved his or her point completely.
Giving herself another minute to get a hold of her breathing, Lucy stretched out her arms and sighed in content, her frown soon turning into a smile once she realized what day it was.
The day of the games, the day that the girls would become victorious with their perfect plan.
Glancing at the clock, Lucy realized that she only had two hours before she was supposed to meet up with everyone at the guild. Perfect, that gave her enough time to shower and put on some makeup so that she'd look a little more alive. All she needed was some foundation and a bit of concealer, and her look would be complete.
Just as Lucy was about to push back her blankets and hop out of her bed, a small bump at the end of her bed suddenly caught Lucy's attention, and she frowned when it began to move around, almost as if it were struggling.
When low pitched muffling sounds could be heard from beneath her blankets, Lucy slowly lifted up her sheets and quilt. She felt a pair of small paws touch her right leg, and instead of flipping out and kicking whatever had touched her, she just watched in confusion as a familiar white head poked out from under her sheets.
"Plue?" Lucy frowned, staring at the little dog as his entire body shook lightly. "What are you doing here?"
"Pun Pun!"
The crisp early air stung Lucy's cheeks as she made her way towards the guild hall, tugging at the red cloth hair tie wrapped above her ponytail to make sure that it was secure. As she did so, she glanced to her left to spy on her reflection in the water, and for such an early start to her day, she had to admit that she looked pretty good.
Her red t-shirt hung loose on her torso, yet it fit her enough so that it wouldn't get in her way if she needed to run or fight. Her gray spandex shorts, however, fit her perfectly, as they were extremely comfortable and one of Lucy's favorites. Ditching her usual flats or sandals for combat boots, the blonde found it much easier to balance along the edge of the river wearing the boots.
Although she had been pumped about the game when she left her home, her smile slowly turned into a thoughtful frown as she thought back to a few hours earlier.
Just how had Plue ended up in her bed? Had she summoned him in her sleep? It seemed very unlikely, but it was the most logical solution. After all, it wasn't like she'd summoned him before she went to bed, she would've remembered that. It just seemed so strange, though she was lucky that it didn't take too much magic energy to summon the little dog.
"Lu-chan!"
Lucy broke out of her private thoughts immediately as her name was called, and she glanced away from her reflection in the water towards the direction of the voice she'd heard. She smiled when she saw Levy a few feet away from her, waving at Lucy while Wendy stood next to the solid script mage looking chipper, Charle standing calmly next to her partner on the ground. They were all wearing similar outfits: a red t-shirt, shorts, and shoes that would be easy to move in.
Lucy would have to think about Plue another time.
"Levy-chan! Wendy!" Lucy greeted her friends cheerfully, jogging up to them. "How are you guys? Are you ready?!"
"You bet!" Wendy said happily, holding up her small fist. "We're gonna win this thing!"
"I agree." another voice joined in, and Lucy had recognized it immediately.
"Morning, Erza!" Levy greeted the red head, nodding at Erza's red t-shirt. "Loving the outfit."
Erza nodded in approval at Levy's comment, pinching the fabric of her shirt in-between her fingers. "These outfits will work out nicely for our plan, don't you think?"
"Juvia agrees!" the water mage's voice suddenly rang out cheerfully as she trotted up to Lucy and lightly bumped hips with her. "Juvia thinks that red is most definitely her color!"
Lucy giggled at Juvia's excitement, nudging her friend right back. "We all look great." she said, her eyes sweeping over the girls present. "I'm glad we decided to wear matching outfits, especially going with red."
"Are you guys sure that the red isn't too flashy?" Wendy asked them, looking down at her own shirt. "Dragon slayers' eyes are very sensitive to bright colors like red."
"It's a chance we'll have to take." Erza told Wendy. "Besides, the flag has to be visible, but the rules never said anything about wearing red." she winked. "It's just a small loophole."
"Our entire strategy involves loopholes." Lucy said wryly.
"But that's what makes it so brilliant!" Levy cheered, receiving approving looks from the rest of the girls.
Lucy nodded in agreement. "It sure does. Oh, and by the way, are you sure that Laki and Kinana are okay with their part of the plan?"
Erza nodded. "They are, and they're completely on board with it. Kinana shouldn't do much running with her bad ankle anyway, and Laki is more than happy to partake in this strategy. After all, Kinana was the one who suggested it in the first place. She told me that she wants to see the boys' faces in person when they realize what's happened."
"To be honest, I want to see it too." Charle smirked. "Especially that Tomcat…"
Lucy nodded in agreement. She couldn't wait for the game to get started, and when it begun, she'd hide so well that not even the best of noses could track her down. This was where all of the training that she'd done over the past year would come in handy. And she'd be damned if she let her team down.
Just before turning to leave with the other girls to enter the guild, Lucy turned to her left and glanced at her confident reflection in the rippling water, her chocolate eyes blazing with confidence.
She tipped her head up towards the sky, and inhaled deeply.
Bring it on, Natsu.
"Ne, Natsu?" Happy's voice asked the dragon slayer, tapping his right shoulder with his paws as he flew alongside Natsu while making their way towards the guild.
"What is it, Happy?" Natsu asked the exceed, turning his attention towards his blue furry friend as Happy perched himself on Natsu's shoulder, allowing his wings to disappear with a sparkling whoosh.
Autumn was definitely on its way in Magnolia, as if it weren't evident from the air that felt more crisp than usual, not that it bothered Natsu in the least bit since he never got cold. He could smell the budding fruits on the apple trees and pumpkin patches as the wind blew into his face and pink hair.
But, he enjoyed autumn, regardless that the sun wouldn't beat down upon his tanned skin like it did in the summer. The best fires ignited in the fireplaces were made in autumn and winter, and the fire from Lucy's fireplace always tasted especially good, almost like marshmallows.
"Are you sure that our strategy will work?" Happy asked him, frowning. "We don't know what the girls have planned, and we don't even know who has the flag."
"Well, we'll just have to hunt her down and find her!" Natsu exclaimed, pumping his fist up in the air, confidence permeating the area around him like fog. "Piece of cake!"
The blue exceed chuckled. "Cake?Is that our tactic to lure Erza out?" Happy asked him excitedly as he leapt off of Natsu's shoulder, activating his wings once more.
"You bet, little buddy!" Natsu exclaimed, closing his eyes in glee as he imagined capturing Erza by himself, watching her gleeful face turn into a disappointed one as she was captured, the promise of strawberry cake falling short.
Then again, just how badly would he be beaten by the requip mage? Natsu didn't even want to think about it.
The guild was just up ahead, standing tall and proud in the early morning sunlight, the pale autumn sun casting its light upon Fairy Tail's glistening insignia. Not to Natsu's surprise, the front doors were wide open, and if Natsu focused enough he could see the silhouettes of his teammates for the day, not that they weren't always his nakama. He began to grin as he pictured his team reaching their victory, giggling to himself as he imagined the cheers and echoes of victory to the males.
Yes, victory would be amazing.
But then…
"Natsu?" Happy asked him again, lightly tapping his shoulder once more as his big eyes examined Natsu's.
Natsu bit down on the inside of his cheek. The exceed always seemed to know when something was bugging him, not that he'd ever bother Happy with such a trivial thought.
Natsu turned his attention towards Happy and quickly ruffled the fur on his head, grinning at the cat like he always had before a big mission or game.
He'd have to think about it later.
"It's nothing, now come on!" Natsu exclaimed as he took off running towards the guild entrance, the sounds of laughter and chatter flooding his ears. "Let's win this!"
"Aye!"
"You better be focused today, Flame Brain." Gray nudged Natsu with his elbow as he took a bite of turkey bacon. "If we lose today I'm blaming you."
Scoffing, Natsu finished swallowing his piece of bacon before scowling at the ice mage. "Oh please, I'm always on top of my game. Besides,what makes you think that we're gonna lose today? Or maybe, you're just scared that you'll lose the game for us?" Natsu snickered, triggering a glaring reaction from Gray.
"Like hell I'll lose this game for us." he scoffed, swallowing his breakfast. "If anything, you'll just fuck something up and we'll get disqualified for stupidity." Gray rolled his eyes as Loke took a seat next to him, exchanging his usual black and white suit for shorts and a t-shirt. "Honestly, I don't know how Lucy tolerates you."
Natsu smirked before taking a swig of his root beer. "I could say the same to you. I'm surprised that Juvia hasn't gotten sick of your perverted stripping habits."
Natsu felt a wave of satisfaction spread across his body when a small blush creeped up onto Gray's pale skin as he turned away from Natsu and immediately put his cup of frosty root beer to his lips. "Shut up."
"It looks like you two could use some advice-"
"No!" Gray and Natsu exclaimed in unison as they busied themselves with more of Mira's breakfast food, regardless of the fact that the takeover mage was currently out concealing herself from the boys with the rest of the girls. They were twelve minutes into the grace period of hiding, and in just a few minutes, it would be time to go out and look for them.
Loke raised his palms in surrender. "Alright, alright. I won't say a word. Then again, I don't think that Gray here is having any trouble."
Gray frowned at the celestial spirit behind his cup as more of the guys began to sit down at the table and stack up their finished breakfast plates. "What in the hell's that supposed to mean?" he asked, raising the cup to his lips for the final time.
"Word in the guild is that you and Juvia have been getting a little…cozy."
The root beer that once travelled smoothly down his throat suddenly stopped its smooth track as Gray began to cough violently, trying desperately to swallow down the burning carbonated drink. He swiped his fist along his lips, dragging away the foamy soda that leaked out in the corners of his mouth. He turned to a smug Loke with narrowed eyes.
"What are you-"
Loke shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm spending too much time reading Lucy's dating magazines, but I can tell just by looking at you two. Something's changed, hasn't it?"
Gray opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out.
Natsu's undivided attention was on the scene before him, laughing to himself with glee as Gray sat in the bright spotlight. He certainly was enjoying this way too much, and he nodded in approval as he finished the last bite of his bacon. After all of the comments Gray had made about him and Lucy over the past few months, Natsu was ready to watch the guy fall to the power of mentioning Juvia. Oh, karma was sweet indeed.
Then again, Natsu wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly what was going on.
He noticed their strange behavior before anyone else had, then again it had been Lucy who pointed it out in the first place, so she had most of the credit. It started very quietly, mostly with slight hand touches and lingering eyes, but there was always something more that seemed to bug him.
"What, you can't see it?" Lucy had asked him one day, her voice haughty and drenched in mockery. "Boys really are blind."
She may have mocked his pristine sense of vision, but there was no way that she could mock his sense of smell.
Each time the water mage would launch herself into him, or even brush up against Gray, Natsu's nose instantly picked up the strange transition. Gray's scent changed dramatically in the past few months, and it was always when Juvia was around. Why? He couldn't figure it out, but it was enough to take note of.
And by Mavis, his nose was top notch.
"Alright, everybody!" Makarov's voice boomed out in the guild hall. "One more minute till the game starts!"
A chorus of shouts and cheers echoed throughout the halls as the boys rose out of their seats and abandoned their mugs of root beer, pumping their fists up into the air as they headed towards the main entrance of the guild.
"Natsu-nii!"
Natsu's ears immediately picked up on the familiar male voice, and he grinned as he glanced to his right to see Romeo standing next to him, the small fire mage holding something in his hand.
"'Sup, Romeo!' Natsu said, grinning as he playfully ruffled up the young teen's black hair. Romeo grinned back at him, though quickly exchanged his expression for a confused one as he held out his hand to Natsu.
"Natsu-nii, look what I found." Romeo said, opening his hand to reveal a small purple perfume bottle that glistened under the guild's artificial lightbulbs. It came with something big and puffy attached to it, and after being in Lucy's apartment for so long—she called it snooping around in her stuff, but whatever—Natsu recognized it as that "weird thing that you squeeze so perfume sprays out", or at least that's what he called it.
"I found a whole bunch of them in the garbage. Pretty weird huh?" Romeo frowned, shaking his head.
"Lemme see that." Gray suddenly said, peering over Natsu's shoulder and grabbing it without asking, bringing the bottle close to his face to examine it.
Natsu glared over his shoulder. "Did I say you could take it?"
"No. But you never said I couldn't." Gray said pointedly, never taking his eyes off of the bottle. "So? It's a perfume bottle. Girls wear perfume don't they?"
Romeo frowned. "Well…yeah but-"
"But do ya really think they'd be that stupid as to wear the stuff when they're tryin' to stay hidden?" Gajeel joined in, swiping the bottle from Gray's grasp and examining it, though he quickly lost interest as he tossed the bottle back to Natsu. "They know we have noses, right?"
"That's strange, since my wife isn't a huge fan of perfume." Alzack piped up, frowning at the bottle.
Natsu focused his eyes on the bottle in his palm, allowing his thoughts to register.
Lucy owned probably about thousands of perfume and lotion bottles, as they were displayed out on her bathroom sink for anyone to see. In fact, Natsu had even been guilty of examining the bottles one by one, reading the labels and trying to figure out exactly what aloe and shea butter were. She used these lotions and sprays religiously, and he could even smell her lotion before she walked into the guild. In basic terms, Lucy was a girl in every sense.
But, when it came to dangerous jobs or hunting down a criminal, Lucy didn't play around. Natsu would never smell a single drop of perfume or lotion on her skin, and she'd even tie up her hair tightly to avoid the blonde strands from flowing into her eyes or having a gust of wind making the air smell like her strawberry shampoo.
Natsu highly doubted that this little game would be any different than hiding from an assassin. If Lucy didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. She'd make it almost impossible to be found. In other words, Natsu wouldn't find Lucy without the needed effort.
But then, that's what he liked about her.
"But that's the thing." Romeo continued, unscrewing the top of a second perfume bottle and bringing it up to his nose. "I can't smell anything in here. Even an empty perfume bottle should leave some scent behind, right? It's like these were filled with water or something."
"But why would they spray themselves with water?" Gray asked as Natsu brought his bottle up to his nose to find that he couldn't smell anything either, which bugged him immensely. "Girls are strange."
"Alright, everybody. You all remember the rules you've received, correct?" Makarov's voice boomed brightly throughout the halls, finally securing the attentions of the guys who were pondering over empty perfume bottles. "I don't want any rule breaking, you hear me?"
A chorus of agreement flowed through the crowd as Makarov nodded.
"By now, your female guild mates have dispersed themselves all throughout Magnolia, and with most of the townspeople gone, you should have a good chance of finding them easily. Though, you all know that your objective is to capture the flag from the girl who's keeping it, so if you happen to find a girl but don't see the flag, I recommend you move on, but that's just me. Remember, the flag will be visible on the girl who has the flag, so be on the lookout! Even I don't know who has it.
"Oh, and I almost forgot." Makarov continued, smirking slyly to himself as the males shot him confused and suspicious stares. "There's a new rule that I've put into play."
Natsu frowned at the guild master, watching as the other males began to mutter and whisper things to one another with questioning looks on their faces. A new rule? What kind of rule could the mater have put into play? Or had it been the girls to suggest it?
"Well?" Laxus asked his grandfather rather loudly. "What's this new rule of yours?"
The Master grinned haughtily. "You'll have to figure it out for yourselves."
"Tsk. Typical." Gray grunted to himself, quickly exchanging his annoyed expression to that of a smug one. "Should be easy to figure out. It won't matter anyway, cause we're gonna win!"
A chorus of shouts accompanied Gray's proclamation, and Natsu found himself easily joining in on the excitement, grinning brightly at the thought of claiming victory for the males. At the moment, nothing sounded better.
A few seconds later, the boys burst through the front doors of the guild, whooping and cheering with such enthusiasm that it had the power to rally the dead. Testosterone fuming and fire rushing through their veins, they were ready for anything.
Anything, except for what they ran into when they first rushed through the doors.
The excited crowd of boys instantly halted their movements as all pairs of their eyes landed on the two figures standing calmly before them, almost as if they didn't have a single care in the world, and Natsu supposed that they didn't.
His emerald eyes blinked in confusion as the two girls glanced at the boys with innocent eyes, batting their eyelashes and smiling brightly. They were both wearing red t-shirts and shorts, and Natsu was slightly surprised that with the amount of skin the girls were exposing, they weren't in the least bit chilled.
"Kinana?" Gray asked aloud as he frowned at the purple haired girl.
"And Laki?" Alzack asked as said female shot him a bright smile.
"Hey boys!" Laki said brightly, waving at them with enthusiasm as she tilted her head to the side, her long lilac ponytail falling over her right shoulder. "How's it going?"
A wave of confused silence swept over the crowd of males as the two girls heightened their smiles and stepped closer to the males.
Only a few more seconds passed before the testosterone kicked in.
"You guys…you're…supposed to be hiding…from us…" Gray said slowly to them, as if they were small children who didn't understand the concept of a simple task.
Kinana nodded. "Yup, that's correct."
Kinana's response seemed to deepen the confusion as she stepped closer to Jet, who was eyeing her suspiciously.
"Well you see," Kinana began plainly. "I hurt my ankle on a job last week, and I thought that it would have been healed by now, but it's still giving me some trouble." she said, looking down at her right ankle, to which Natsu's eyes immediately landed on the cream colored bandages wrapped around her creamy skin. "I thought that it would be better by now." she sighed aloud.
"And I haven't eaten anything in the past sixteen hours—a new diet I'm trying!" Laki said suddenly as she received a pair of horrified eyes from Droy, raising her hands up in defense. "I skipped dinner and breakfast, but now I'm feeling too dizzy to participate."
Natsu looked at each of the girls with confusion swimming in his eyes, and scratched the back of his head. He certainly didn't expect to find any of the girls this early on in the game, but to find two of them? And to find out that they were giving up that early on? Something felt strange…too out of place.
"W-Well if your ankle is bothering you, then let's get you inside." Jet said nervously, gesturing for Kinana to follow him back inside of the guild. Kinana saw this, and without skipping a beat, she flaunted right over to Jet and looked him straight in the eye.
"Thank you, you're too sweet!"
And she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
The reaction was instantaneous; red fire spreading all across Jet's face as his eyes widened to the size of his head, much like the eyes of the guys in the crowd as they spectated the scene. To say that Kinana's act was surprising would be a huge understatement. Kinana and Jet? And all so suddenly? Natsu was beyond confused. What in the hell was going on?
"Droy, thanks a bunch for understanding!"
Natsu's ears picked up Laki's voice, causing him to direct his attention away from a blushing Jet to a startled Droy, watching as Laki placed her pink lips atop of Droy's doughy face. A similar reaction of Jet's suddenly hit Droy as he spluttered out incoherently.
Natsu glanced over at Gray and Loke, who glanced right back at him with equally as confused faces. Girls really were confusing.
"Oi!" Laxus' voice boomed out suddenly. "We're wasting time! Tag 'em and let's go and find the others!"
It was as if the lighting user's words triggered a huge reaction, since suddenly the boys spread out and began to run outwards from the guild entrance, though not far enough to lose sight of all their members.
"A-Alrighty then." Jet said uncertainly as he tapped Kinana's shoulder. "I guess I have to search you-"
"Don't bother." Gray sighed as he glanced at Droy just as he tapped Laki's shoulder. "If these two are throwing in the towel this early, none of them would have the flag."
When Jet and Droy both blinked at Gray slowly, the ice mage sighed in annoyance as he waved them off. "Fine. Search 'em."
"Salamander." Gajeel's voice inquired, drawing away Natsu's attention yet again as the fire dragon slayer turned towards his cousin with questioning eyes. "We got a problem."
"Huh?" Natsu frowned. "What do ya mean?"
Gajeel stretched out his arm towards the town, his eyes narrowed in frustration as Natsu wondered what he could possibly be inquiring with that look.
"The girls are gone." he said.
Natsu raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms. "Yes, Gajeel. They are gone. You know, like they're supposed to be."
"That's not what I meant ya idiot!" Gajeel exclaimed, punching Natsu's arm with brute force.
"Oi! What in the hell was that for?!" Natsu exclaimed, grabbing a fistful of Gajeel's shirt in anger. "Ya don't have to punch me!"
"Well how else is anyone gonna knock some sense into ya?!" Gajeel exclaimed, grabbing Natsu's wrist and making him let go of his shirt. "I mean their scents! I can't smell 'em!"
Natsu narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, it's not like their scents could disappear just like that. You know that."
"Then see for yourself." Gajeel grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.
Scoffing, Natsu raised his head up slightly and inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and analyzing what the air was telling him, opening his mouth slightly and letting the air settle on the tip of his tongue.
The scents of the evergreen trees and the dirt filled his nose, followed by the artificial chemicals placed in the fountains around town that turned the water its signature aquamarine color. The leftover wisps of old baked bread from the bakeries mixed in with the faintest scent of firewood. To top it all off, the fair scent of the rotting autumn leaves flourished through the air.
A deep pit began to form in his stomach as he opened his eyes suddenly, words stuck on his tongue as he failed to catch the scent that he'd spent months and months memorizing…
He couldn't smell them…he couldn't smell her…
"What the hell…" Natsu whispered.
"Believe me now?" Gajeel grunted. "I dunno how in the hell they pulled this off, but it worked. I can't smell Shorty or Bunny Girl anywhere."
"And now we know why."
Natsu and Gajeel turned around as Loke and Gray walked up to their teammates, their faces drenched with seriousness as Loke held out a familiar object in his palm. Gray glared out towards the town, clenching his own fists.
The infamous empty perfume bottle rested pristinely in the spirit's hand.
Natsu's eyes widened in shock and understanding. "The perfume bottles…"
"These bottles must have been filled with an odorless and an odor-masking perfume of some sort. I've never seen anything like it before, but it explains why you can't smell the girls. It was a smart move on their part." Loke said, frowning down at the glass orb in his palm. "They took your sense of smell into account.
"Juvia's body could absorb this with no problem." Gray stated, shaking his head. "I gotta hand it to them, it was a good plan."
The males all glanced at each other, and while they didn't show it, they knew that each of them were…in a word…pissed off.
And yet…scarily impressed.
Though, their small group discussion was soon disrupted by two voices shouting excitedly, whooping and cheering with victorious joy as the cheers became louder and louder.
"Hey guys! Look what I-"
"You'll never guess what I-"
And when the cheering stopped suddenly, everything was too quiet.
Natsu and the others turned towards the sources of the once so jolly cheers to see Jet and Droy staring at each other with widened eyes, shock permeating throughout the crisp air.
"Jet? Droy? What are you-" Natsu began, though halting his speech once his eyes landed on the color red.
Two sets of the color red.
Jet and Droy both had their arms stretched out towards each other, and in each of their hands was a red cloth, blowing with the breeze of the early morning.
Red cloths that matched the descriptions of the flags they were to acquire from one of the girls.
"Found…" the two males finished at the same time, looking at each other in a pathetic manner.
The commotion had attracted the attention of the others, and they had all made their way towards the scene, and when they noticed the two red pieces of cloth, nothing was spoken.
Nobody moved an inch, that is, until Natsu and Gray made their way over to Jet and Droy and took the pieces of red cloth from each of them, examining it in their hands.
"Why are there two of them?" Gray asked nobody in particular, frowning into the fabric harshly.
"W-Weren't we supposed to only look for one flag?" Romeo asked aloud, peering over at the cloth that Natsu held in his hand. "But there's two now?"
A small fit of giggles broke Natsu out of his concentration, and he and the rest of his team instantly looked towards Kinana and Laki, who had their hands over their mouths trying to mask their amused laughter.
"What in the hell are you two laughing about?" Gajeel asked the girls, frowning like he was the most densest person on Earthland.
The laughter from the girls increased, provoking confused stares and bubbling frustration at the fact that the guys weren't in on their inside joke.
"Well, come on. I like to laugh. Tell us." Freed urged them, stepping closer to the two laughing females.
A small rhythm of clapping allowed the girls to finally cease their laughter, and the population turned towards the source of the clapping.
"Master?" Natsu asked aloud once Makarov revealed himself to the crowd, walking over to the girls with a gleeful smile on his face. This only deepened the pit of confusion in Natsu's stomach. What in the hell could they be laughing about?
"Bravo, my dears, bravo." Makarov congratulated Kinana and Laki, nodding at them with respect as he turned to face the entire crowd that began to circle around the short elderly man.
"As of this moment, both teams have lost two members. Though, the teams are still fairly numbered, so get out there and start searching!"
Crickets chirped through the crowd as everyone shot the master confused faces.
That is, everyone except for Kinana and Laki.
Natsu examined their faces with suspicion. The girls looked too proud of themselves for some reason…
"I'm sorry master, but did you say that both teams have lost two members?" Freed inquired, putting his hand on his hip and looking to Bixslow with a quizzical eye, only to receive a frown in response.
"Yes Freed, that is correct." Makarov confirmed. "Not only have Laki and Kinana been disqualified, but Jet and Droy have as well, for falling victim to these ladies and the new rule in place."
"What?!" Jet and Droy both exclaimed in horror, rushing over to Makarov and falling onto their knees. "Why are we disqualified?!"
"Because we're smarter than you, that's why!" Laki stated, nodding her head and exchanging a gleeful look with Kinana, who giggled in response. "If I were you, I'd take a closer look at those flags."
"Wha?" Jet asked slowly, as Natsu and Gray exchanged a quick glance, nodding to each other before the two of them held up their red cloth and spread it out with both of their hands.
Their eyes widened when the cloth's blank space blinded them, the white guild mark that they'd been told about wasn't anywhere to be seen on the fabric.
"They're blank!" Gray said, his eyes widened as the others hurried behind Gray and Natsu to see the mishap for themselves.
"What in the hell gramps?!" Laxus exclaimed, looking to his grandfather for an answer. "What's the meaning of this?!"
The girls' laughter rang out once more, only louder and more open, as they neglected to cover their mouths and instead decided to hold onto their stomachs as they rode out their glee in the open.
"Would somebody please tell me why they won't stop laughing? It's giving me a headache." Loke said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
"Well, I must say that you girls have thought of everything. Color me impressed." Makarov told Kinana and Laki, who smiled down at their master gleefully. "Who knew that a kiss on the cheek could be used for sport, eh?"
Natsu's eyes flew towards the master. "What? A kiss on the…"
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Natsu's eyes grew wide when he finally realized the new rules of the game, the rules that would now come in between them, and the victory that they craved. And it was soon evident that Natsu wasn't the only one to decipher the code.
"Jet and Droy are disqualified because Kinana and Laki kissed them?" Loke asked aloud, receiving a smirk from Laki.
"We thought that it wouldn't be fair if one girl was left facing fourteen guys. So, we just made the game a little more even…and interesting, if I might add." Laki told him, winking at the boys.
"So…you're not on a diet?" Droy asked Laki, who raised her eyebrows in response, pulling out a granola bar from her pocket and unwrapping it.
"Not in a million years." Laki told him, biting into her granola.
"But…we tagged them." Jet said, pointing towards Kinana.
"But we kissed you first, so it doesn't count!" Kinana said gleefully.
"And might I remind you that you're wasting precious sunlight?" Laki said, smiling mischievously. "Not that you'll find the flag before sundown. You might as well just give up now."
"Oh really?" Gray scoffed. "And what makes you say that?"
A loud whooshing melody suddenly erupted in the air, creating the need for Natsu's ears to tune into the strange noise immediately, seeing that he'd been the first to register the presence of the noise. It grew in a fluid crescendo, and before he could open his mouth to mention its presence, it was too late.
The final form of the strange noise came as a loud splashing boom, and everyone immediately turned towards the source of the new disturbance.
And its target? The back of Gray's head.
Everyone watched as a stunned Gray stood before them suddenly dripping wet from head to toe, his hair matted and shining with dripping liquid. Mini streams of the water spilled down the sides of his face, pooling into the space between his lips and gathering in large droplets on his eyebrows. His once dry shirt now stuck to his chest, revealing the toned muscles that he'd concealed underneath.
The silence was soon broken by Natsu's mocking laughter, pointing a tanned finger towards Gray while he held his stomach with his free arm. Two strikes on Gray in a row? On the same day? He'd have to enter the lottery with the luck he was having.
"AHAHAHAHA! You totally deserved that one! Oh, Mavis! This is the best day ever!" Natsu cackled, throwing his head back and releasing his loud proclamation of joy at the embarrassment of Gray Fullbuster.
"Shut the fuck up, Flame-Douche." Gray growled, turning his head around rapidly with an icy expression. "Who in the hell-"
The light laughter of a female cut Gray's question off, ringing in the air as Gray's body spun around to attempt to find the source of the laughter.
Natsu watched as his eyes landed on something in the distance, and his angered look melted into one of astonishment. Natsu followed his gaze, and once he saw who Gray had seen, his lips spread into a smile.
He should've known.
The elegant fountain stood a few feet away from the guild entrance; a gift from Blue Pegasus for assisting them in a difficult job a few months back. A fairy carved from marble stood in the middle of the fountain, the water sprouting from her cupped hands and spilling down across her ankles and knees, her face forever bright and smiling.
Juvia stood alongside the fairy, resting her right hip against the sculpture with her ankles submerged in the water, her arms crossed beneath her chest. Her hair spilled down her shoulders in blue waterfalls, even as her locks were tied up in a loose ponytail. Her blue eyes shimmered in mischief, her pink glossed lips curled up into a coy smile as small droplets of water swirled in the air around her, doing their dance of guilty mockery.
"Juvia agrees with Laki-san." Juvia spoke aloud, her eyes sweeping across Natsu's team as she uncrossed her arms and placed her hand on her jutted hip. "The boys must…open their eyes."
Natsu's eyes travelled down to Juvia's hip out of directed instinct, and suddenly, Natsu's amused eyes were replaced with mistrusting ones.
"Oi, Juvi!" Gajeel exclaimed, throwing out his arm suddenly and pointing at Juvia's hip. "What in the hell is this?!"
Gajeel's remark drew everyone's eyes to Juvia's hip, or rather, what was tucked neatly into her black spandex shorts.
A red piece of cloth, rolled up and waiting to be grabbed.
Natsu looked down at the red cloth he held in his hands, then looked back at the cloth that Juvia possessed. Both fabrics were the same shade, and they looked to be the same size as well. Both matched the description of the flag they were to track down.
Natsu narrowed his eyes at the water mage, and once she picked up his irked expression, she shot him a satisfied smile as she took her hand off of her hip.
With another quick smile and a flirtatious wink, Juvia's eyes flitted to Gray's.
"You'll have to catch us to find out. All of us."
In just a flash, they watched as Juvia's body turned to liquid, flowing down into the fountain with the water that pooled around the fairy statue's feet. Her giggling could be heard after she'd disappeared, which was enough to trigger a reaction.
"Damn it, Juvia!" Gray suddenly exclaimed, tugging onto his shirt and pulling it over his head in a hurried manner, throwing the sopping garment down to the ground in a sloppy flourish and sprinting away from the rest of the group, running past the fountain that Juvia disappeared into. "Get back here!"
"Oi, Fullbuster!" Laxus shouted. "Are you blind?! She's in the damn fountain!"
"No she isn't!" Gray exclaimed, turning his head to answer Laxus as he continued to sprint forwards. "I'll explain later! We're wasting time! Just start looking for the girls!"
Natsu's eyes refused to move from the spot in which Juvia had been just seconds ago, the pieces slowly fitting together in his mind, and once they clicked together, their strategy was as clear as day.
"Huh, not bad." Natsu said aloud, catching the attention of his remaining teammates as he crossed his muscular arms atop his chest. "Not that I expected any less from them."
"Natsu-nii?" Romeo asked Natsu, frowning up at the dragon slayer. "What is it?"
Natsu looked down at Romeo, frowning. "You mean you didn't see it?"
A few seconds after Gray disappeared, another voice added to the mockery of the boys' team, only this time, it came from a rooftop.
"He's right you know!" Mira's voice chimed out brightly.
Everyone's eyes shot upwards to see Mira and Lisanna standing up on a tiered roof of the guildhall, pressing their backs up against each other with their arms crossed, looking pretty pleased with themselves.
And what a surprise to see that each of them had red flags attached to their hips.
"Come and get us!" Lisanna mocked as her body began to glow. Small cat ears sprouted from her head, as did a tail from her back, her hands morphing into giant paws. Mira, on the other hand, took on her infamous satan soul appearance, her wings growing out from her back and her curves becoming more accentuated and revealing.
"Lisanna! Ne-chan! You're gonna fall! Get down!" Elfman yelled, his eyes wide, scared for his sisters.
Lisanna winked in response. "Sorry Elf-nii! You'll have to make me!" She exclaimed as she suddenly hopped off of the guild roof and landed safely on the ground, thanks to her acquired cat reflexes. She took off running, laughing freely as she did so.
"Come back, Lisanna!" Elfman yelled, taking off after his sister in a flash. "Real men don't let their sisters outrun them!"
"We'll assist you!" Freed called out, looking to Bixslow, who nodded in approval. "Let's go!"
"Guys!" Romeo exclaimed, looking to Natsu for help. "What about our plan?! We were gonna stay close, not divide and conquer!"
"Mira!" Laxus boomed, taking off after the white-haired mage. "Get down here so I can tag you, damn it!"
The thunder dragon slayer vanished quickly, chasing after the others as Mira spread her wings and flew off in the same direction that Lisanna took.
Their team was shrinking quickly, which was undoubtedly part of the girls' plan. It seemed that they'd thought of everything, which was frustrating to no end. Even Alzack had run off, seeming to have spotted his wife through the chaos.
A quick rustling of leaves brought Natsu's ears to life, and he immediately saw a flash of familiar long blue hair streak by, the wind carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all.
"Oh no you don't! Natsu exclaimed, taking off and rushing towards the flash of blue, his eyes immediately zooming into the red flag tied onto her hip. Her big brown eyes met his briefly, and he smirked when they widened.
"Gajeel! The flag!" Natsu exclaimed, never taking his eyes off of the swift girl, watching as her surprised expression sharpened into a confident one, fire burning in her irises as she accepted the challenge her cousins bestowed upon her. It wasn't like Natsu hadn't expected her to take on the challenge, he knew she would.
That's just how dragon slayers rolled.
"I gotcha!" Gajeel exclaimed, lunging towards Wendy, stretching out his hands to grab the flag. Natsu's eyes lit up as Gajeel's fingers were inches from touching Wendy's arm, but it seemed that she had another idea. At the last second, Wendy spun on her toes, bending her body out of the way from Gajeel's grasp and leaping into the air, briefly landing atop of Gajeel's shoulder, earning a grunt from the muscular mage before pushing off of him to launch herself in the sky to be caught by Charle, who had taken on her human appearance. She smirked down at the boys as she wrapped her arms around Wendy's torso.
"Oi! Get back here!" Gajeel exclaimed, raising his fist up towards Wendy, who just smiled sheepishly at him.
"Sorry Gajeel-san! Maybe next time!" Wendy yelled brightly, flying away towards town and away from their grasp.
Natsu shook his head with a frown on his face. He knew Wendy's agility and speed was at a high level, but to even dodge Gajeel? He was impressed, to say the least. He placed his hand on Romeo's head, who looked up at him with expectant eyes.
"Go get her. We need all the help we can get." Natsu told him.
Romeo looked uncertain at first, but that uncertainty soon changed into confidence, nodding as he took off after the female dragon slayer.
The remaining males were hesitant, waiting to see if any more of the girls would show their faces and taunt them, but after a few seconds of silence, it seemed that the rest of the girls had already hidden themselves enough to remain out of sight. For now.
"So, now we know part of their plan." Loke noted, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "If I was impressed before, consider me shocked now."
The others nodded in agreement, each of them speaking up.
"So lemme get this straight." Gajeel said, crossing his arms. "From what we've seen, each of 'em are wearing red to make the flag's visibility harder for us, and they each have a red flag on 'em, but they'll all be blank except for one."
"And we have to find the flag with the Fairy Tail stamp on it." Loke added.
"But Natsu and Gajeel can't smell them." Happy chirped worriedly, frowning up at his pink haired partner. "It's gonna be a whole lot tougher to track everyone down, don't you think?"
"Have a little faith, buddy." Natsu grinned down at the feline, pointing to his ears. "I still got these. As long as they make noise, I'll find 'em! And knowing how clumsy Lucy is, this should be easy!"
"Aye!"
A nod of approval was heard from Makarov as he turned his back to the boys, meaning to make his way back into the guild. He glanced back at Natsu and the others, and shot them a grin.
"Good luck, gentleman! You've got some tough competition today!"
Gajeel grunted before turning in the opposite direction, Lily right on his heels. "You should remember who yer talkin' to, gramps."
"Oi! Where are you going?" Natsu asked his cousin, who turned back around to look at him like he were crazy for asking such a question.
"I'm goin' to look for them, where else would I be going?" He asked Natsu, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I got a pretty good idea of where Shorty could be, and Bunny Girl shouldn't be too much farther than that. Hurry up and haul ass, we're wasting daylight."
Natsu watched as Gajeel disappeared, cursing his cousin for being right. He had to get moving before the sun was gone, and he'd be damned if he couldn't win the game for his team. And the additional bragging rights couldn't hurt his ego either, not that he'd only brag because of a victory. He chose to do that on the daily.
"I suppose you'll be going after Lucy then?"
"Hm?" Natsu asked, turning towards the lion spirit, who was pretending to adjust the collar on his shirt.
"Oh, you know, since everyone else chased after their preferred targets, I'd assume that you'd go for Lucy. After all, she is your partner."
Natsu frowned at Loke, taking a second to point his finger towards Loke's chest. "You're her partner too, aren't ya?"
Loke raised his eyes to meet Natsu's, and his always charming and playful eyes were shimmering with something that Natsu couldn't identify.
"You know what I'm talking about."
Natsu continued to stare at the spirit until Loke sighed, walking over to Natsu and placing a steady hand on his warm shoulder. He stayed like that for a few more seconds before turning on his heels and steadily walking towards the fountain where Juvia once stood. "I'll leave Lucy to you."
Loke disappeared, and suddenly Natsu and Happy were left standing alone.
He ran over the events of a few seconds ago, Loke's words ringing through his ears as he pondered over them.
"I'll leave Lucy to you."
Natsu bit down on his lip as her smiling face swam into his thoughts, her chocolate eyes shining and her features bright, just how he liked her. He imagined her dressed similarly to the others, her apparel red and her hair tied up into a long pony tail, and he knew that she would have a red tie in her hair to match her shirt. She always had to match.
It was funny how well he knew her, and how much they've grown together…and now…
He knew that he was right, earlier back in the guild. And it seemed that the others were taking on the tactics that Natsu knew stemmed from his partner entirely.
Lucy and the others weren't going to be found if they didn't want to be found.
Like he'd let that stop him.
"Let's go, Happy." Natsu said, taking off with a flash as he felt Happy in the air right next to him, keeping up without complaint.
Natsu smiled to himself, the natural rush of the competition flowing through his veins like a drug, fueling every inch of his body as he ran towards town.
Bring it on, Lucy.
"Aye, Sir!"
A/N: Go get her, Natsu.
Cookies to all who reviewed! (I love you)- thesirenserenity (I see you kylie), Snavej, papaya-cha, OgaxHilda, Becomes one with the story, Adrillian1497, PrincessMophia, Guest, Narwhalnel, Blueberry10, Melodymusical8910, fanficlove2014, Guest, DarkEnvy97, xBakaChan, and GoldenPiggy!
The next chapter will not only end the game, but it'll show you just how much of a piece of shipping trash I am, featuring the wonderful couples who fuel my writing: Nalu, Gruvia, and Gajevy. Oh, how excited I am for the next chapter…
It'll be a long chapter, so be ready!
What could Lucy's dream be about? Hmm….you'll have to wait and see for yourself!
As always, I'll see you all next time!
Love you to Fiore and Back! xx