18: why you so obsessed with me?


Years ago, before humans decided to build tall skyscrapers that covered the sky, the stars were clearly visible in the night sky.

Lucy, in her past life, had a habit of sitting outside of her little cabin and counting the stars. She continued this habit even when Natsu started living with her.

One night, Natsu decided to join Lucy to see what was interesting about the task.

"How many stars have you counted so far?" Natsu asked, sitting down next to her.

"I lost count," Lucy answered without looking away from the sky.

"Did I make you lose count? My bad," Natsu answered. He laid down flat against the grass and put his arms behind his head like a pillow.

"No...I lost count a while ago," Lucy said with a sigh.

Natsu noticed the sadness in her voice. "Are you okay?"

"My mother once told me that stars are made of what humans are made of. So, when people die, they become stars in the night sky," Lucy responded, not exactly answering the question.

Ugg...what do I say...? It's so hard to know what to say when she gets like this! Natsu frantically thought.

"I'll never find out the exact number of stars that are in the sky. There have been millions of humans that have gone before me and millions more that will come after me," Lucy concluded.

So is she sad? Mad? Neutral? All three? Natsu wondered. He was sweating nervously. One wrong word means invoking the wrath of Lucy.

"Do they get lonely up there? Or do they have festivals with each other like how the kingdom is doing right now?" Lucy wondered out loud.

"Oh yeah. After the death of King Mink, they've crowned his only son Prince Glaucous. Or should I call him King Glaucous?" Natsu responded. "Now every corner of the kingdom is celebrating the coronation of the new king."

Lucy finally looked away from the stars and looked down at Natsu. "You said this is your first time in this kingdom, which means you've never been to a festival here before."

Natsu nodded. At this point in time, Natsu had been keeping the fact that he was the god of fire at the time. In fact, Lucy was never made aware of his status during their time together. He felt that it would make things complicated and awkward between them, especially since the people worshiped the dragon gods. He wanted a friend, not a worshipper. So, he had told her that he was a traveler from a kingdom far but close to their kingdom. It was hard, but Natsu didn't use his magic either.

"Okay. So it's decided. We're going to the festival," Lucy announced.

"Festival?" Natsu asked, sitting up.

"Every village and city in town has one. The festival in the village closest to this forest may not be as big and grand as the festival in the imperial city, but it's still lively," Lucy answered with a smile on her face. "You'll love it!"

And so, Natsu and Lucy made their way to the nearby village.

The citizens of the village were walking around the place and the whole place was lively. Lanterns lit up the whole entire village and the music could be heard from miles away. People dressed up in costumes danced energetically to the music and banners that read "Long Live The King!" were hung. Food stalls, games stalls, accessory stalls, and clothes stalls were lined up along the road and people stopped by the stalls.

"Why's everyone wearing red?" Natsu asked as he followed Lucy through the crowd.

"The color red brings good fortune and it's the color of the king," Lucy answered, twirling in her red dress. "There's nothing wrong with my dress though, right?"

"If there was something wrong with it, I wouldn't have even let you leave the house," Natsu answered.

Lucy smiled. "True." She grabbed Natsu's hand. "Look! There's a play being held over there! Let's check it out!"

"Whoa! Wait!" Natsu cried as he was dragged along.

From one area to the next, Natsu was dragged by Lucy all over the village. Along the way, they bought all sorts of items and won a bunch of games. Eventually, it got to the point to where they couldn't carry anything so they sat at a bench and watched the festival unfold around them.

"So, how was it?" Lucy asked Natsu as she played with the phoenix hairpin she bought.

"It wasn't all that bad! I still gotta beat up that kid who stole some money from me though!" Natsu cried through his demon mask.

Lucy laughed. "Imagine feeling threaten by some 8 year old! Couldn't be me!"

"Bruh! Leave me alone!" Natsu cried, laughing along with Lucy.

"Should we start making our way back home?" Lucy asked.

"We might need to make more than one trip," Natsu answered, gesturing to all of the things they bought.

"True. We used up so much of our money. Looks like I'll have to work extra hard to earn it back," Lucy said.

During this time period, only the nobility can read and write. Lucy, being a member of the prestigious Heartfilia family, could read and write. When she ran away, she was shocked to discover the illiteracy of the villagers so she started a school that teaches people how to read and write. In return, she gets money. She would spend time at the school for most of the day, then come back to the cabin in the woods. When there was no school, she'd tend to the house.

"Let's visit the temple so we can pray for good fortune for the king first," she said.

"Wait," Natsu said as he took off his demon mask.

Lucy faced Natsu. "What is it?"

"Can I see your hairpin very quick?" Natsu asked. Lucy nodded and handed him the hairpin.

Natsu moved close to Lucy and started to put some of her long blonde hair into a bun on top of her head. Then, he slid the hairpin through the bun. He smiled as he admired his work.

"What did you do to my hair?" Lucy asked.

Natsu smiled. "You know I wouldn't let you walk around the place looking like a hot mess. Relax."

"If you say so," Lucy answered, standing up.

Carrying the stuff they bought and won, Natsu and Lucy made their way to the village temple that was dedicated to the famed King of the Dragons Acnologia. It took every inch in Natsu's body not to talk trash about Acnologia.

Natsu stared up at the dragon statue of Acnologia. "They should make a whole temple dedicated to Igneel."

"They have. Small villages like this one only have one temple that that one temple is dedicated to Acnologia. But bigger villages have more temples dedicated to more dragon gods. There are some certain towns though that are absolutely dedicated to a certain dragon god like a cult," Lucy explained before flattening out her skirt. "We have anything to offer?"

"Get some grass or something," Natsu answered, sulking. He didn't like Acnologia so he didn't see why he should give a legitimate offering.

Lucy took off her golden bracelets. "These are the last things I have from home. These should be good enough."

"But why do you want to give them up?" Natsu asked.

"My family's going to look for me now that King Glaucous is on the throne. Once I marry the king, I'll be sacrificed. I want to pray for the king to take care of this kingdom and for nothing wrong to happen in my absence. These bracelets should be a good enough offering," Lucy explained.

"But you ran away from the whole sacrifice thing," Natsu said.

"I did...but recently I've learned that you can't escape from fate. Once Mavis writes down how your life will go, your life will go exactly according to that plan. So, I've decided that I will go home peacefully and follow my destiny," Lucy answered before entering the temple.

Natsu frowned. He didn't want Lucy to be sacrificed, especially when she didn't need to be sacrificed. He wanted to save her from the obligation, but how?

Soon, Lucy came out of the temple. "Ready to go home?"

"Fortunes! Have your fortunes read!" Someone announced.

Natsu lit up. "Sweet!"

Sitting on a carpet surrounded by all sorts of charms was a fortune teller with chestnut brown hair. A cloth was covering her nose and mouth, leaving her eyes exposed. She made eye contact with Lucy and gestured for her to come over.

"Let's go!" Natsu cried as me made his way to the fortune teller. Lucy followed.

"The more you pay, the more I can tell you about your fortune," the fortune teller said as Natsu and Lucy sat down in front of her.

"But...we're kind of broke..." Lucy said. Then she remembered the hairpin that was in her hair.

She glanced at Natsu who was looking at all of the charms in awe. Then, she took the hairpin that was holding her bun. She placed the hairpin in the little tray the fortune teller had out.

The fortune teller took the hairpin. "This was the most expensive item you've bought. And this is made from real gold."

"You're paying with that?" Natsu asked Lucy who nodded.

"Hmm...let's see what this little hairpin will tell you about your future," the fortune teller said, placing the hairpin back on the tray.

From a sack sitting near her, she pulled out a star-shaped container and opened it. Inside of it was a white, powdery substance. She poured the substance on top of the hairpin that was sitting on the tray. Then, she took a tiny, golden tube and with the tube, she snorted the white substance up her nose. She immediately looked up at the sky with her eyes wide.

Natsu tilted his head in confusion. "What's going on?"

"She's looking into the future," Lucy answered.

Dramatically, the fortune teller faced Lucy. "Child...poor...poor child. You are going to die."

Lucy smiled bitterly. "I'm from the Heartfilia Clan. My duty is to be sacrificed. I'm not surprised."

"But it's not in the way you're thinking of," the fortune teller said.

Natsu and Lucy frowned.

"I saw flames," the fortune teller said.

"Flames? Like, lighting up the temple where I am buried alive in? Because that's what's supposed to happen to me," Lucy asked.

"You're getting burnt alive and you're turning into ashes," the fortune teller answered.

"But...why am I getting burnt alive?" Lucy asked.

"I also saw a demon who eats both fire and pain," the fortune teller explained.

A demon who eats fire and pain? How does that work? Natsu wondered.

"To be fair, he currently isn't a demon yet, but he will become one," the fortune teller clarified.

Must be big brother Zeref's doing. He's the one creating all of the demons, Natsu thought.

"You're getting burnt alive because of a misunderstanding," the fortune teller said.

Lucy looked horrified. Enraged, Natsu glared at the fortune teller. "The fuck is wrong with you!?"

"I'm only telling her what I saw," the fortune teller said with sass.

"No! You're making all of this up! Clearly! This is how you make money! You make people give you expensive things, tell them a made up fortune, and run off!" Natsu yelled.

"She's not making it up. Look at the symbol on the cloth that covers her face," Lucy told Natsu, hoping to calm him down.

The symbol was a well known symbol that represents Mavis. it was known as Fairy Glitter. That means that she is a priestess of Mavis. What she says is a truth, for if she lies while possessing the symbol, she will be cursed by Mavis herself.

Natsu quickly grabbed Lucy's hand. "So we know how it happens. It's because of a misunderstanding. Fortune teller, how do we prevent it?"

"What Her Highness Mavis Vermillion has written will happen no matter how hard you try to prevent it," the fortune teller answered.

That was when Natsu had an idea. He will simply take Lucy to the heavenly realm. The fortune that was written for her when she was a human won't become a reality. Plus, she will be safe. I'll just need to fix all of the problems I've started in the heavenly realm first...

Later on into the night, Natsu and Lucy were back in their tiny cabin in the woods. To get her mind off of the fortune, she started to clean up the place. As she did, she noticed that Natsu was packing some of his things.

"You're leaving?" Lucy asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Yes," Natsu answered.

"Well, that makes sense. I'll be returning home soon," Lucy said.

"No you won't," Natsu said.

Lucy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I have to go back to where I'm from very quick, but when I come back, I'll take you there and we can live there together. You won't have to worry about getting sacrificed or burnt alive," Natsu answered.

"I thought you said you were exiled?" Lucy asked.

"I did?" Natsu asked, thinking back to all of the excuses he used whenever Lucy asked him about where he was from. "I mean, yes and no. I gotta solve some issues I have there but when I'm done, I'll be allowed back in. You will love it where I come from! Trust me!"

Lucy did not look happy and sat down at a chair. "I appreciate that you want to protect me bu-"

"Please let me do this for you!" Natsu cried.

Lucy studied Natsu's face. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not exactly sure..." Natsu confessed.

That only caused Lucy to frown even more.

Natsu carefully placed his hands on her cheeks. "Wait for me, okay?"

"You know, you don't owe me anything. Just go and live your life. I'll live mine. Let's not mess up the flow," Lucy said.

But Natsu didn't want that. "Wait for me."

Lucy stared at Natsu for a while. "Fine," she eventually said.

"I'll miss you," Natsu told her in a hushed voice. He proceeded to kiss her but when his lips were a few centimeters away from her lips, she turned her head to the side.

She's angry, Natsu realized, backing away from her.

He grabbed the bag he had just packed. "I'll be back."

He wasn't sure if Lucy was watching him walk out the door. He didn't even bother to look back. He knew that if he did, he'll end up staying. He had to leave. Saving Lucy from fate was his top priority.

Unfortunately, he didn't think about what would happen while he was gone.

The fortune came true. Lucy was burned alive and the fire and pain eating demon was Natsu.


Preset day Natsu slowly opened his eyes. Why'd I have to get that dream?

He looked around and found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Lucy's car. Lucy looked annoyed and she pushed down on the center of the steering wheel to honk her horn. Then, Natsu looked out the window. He immediately realized they were back in the city based on the skyscrapers and the many cars that were around them. They were stuck in a traffic jam.

Lucy out down her window and stuck her head out. "Can y'all fucking move!?"

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" Another person yelled back.

"Who was the idiot who caused an accident and died!?" A third person yelled.

"Ima 'bout to run all y'all over! I don't got time for this bullshit!" A fourth person yelled.

People were sticking their heads out the window to yell at each other. Nobody was happy with the fact that they've been stuck in traffic for 3 hours now.

Sighing in frustration, Lucy put her head back inside of the car and leaned back in her seat. She impatiently tapped her finger on the steering wheel.

Natsu reached out to turn on the radio. Thanks to his super hearing, he could vividly hear the honking and the yelling and it was making his head hurt.

"Oh. Natsu, you're awake," Lucy said.

"How'd we get here so fast?" Natsu asked as he flipped through the stations.

"Took us 8 hours, plus traffic, to get here. You slept through the whole ride," Lucy answered.

"I did?" Natsu asked.

"You seemed to be having a bad dream though," Lucy said.

Natsu turned off the radio and faced Lucy with a serious expression on his face. "Do you believe in destiny?"

"What?" Lucy asked, completely off guard.

"Just answer me," Natsu said.

"No. Why?" Lucy asked.

Okay, so in this life, she's different from how she was like in her past life. Good to know, Natsu thought.

"Oh yeah...so I feel like I should tell you this..." Lucy started.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"I'm going to need to get some protective charms for my friends," Lucy said.

"Okay, but why?" Natsu asked.

"I kinda...sorta...made a deal with a member of the Spriggan 12..." Lucy answered in a tiny voice.

"You what!?" Natsu yelled.

"But it's not so bad! We can get around the deal and if Jacob Lessio arrives, you can just kill him. See? It's so easy," Lucy said.

"You made a deal with Jacob Lessio!? When was this!?" Natsu asked.

"Last night when I went to my dad's study," Lucy answered.

"What was the deal?" Natsu asked.

"I want to live, right? But Jacob wants to kill me, right? So he gave me these options. Option A is me willingly going to the Underworld and letting my father live and tell me the truth about my mom's death. Option B is letting my father die, letting me live on, but have my friend's lives put in danger," Lucy explained.

"So you chose Option B, right?" Natsu asked.

"Not willingly, but yeah," Lucy answered.

"Why do we need to get some protective charms again?" Natsu asked.

Lucy blinked. "To protect my friends from Jacob, obviously."

"But that causes more work. I care more about you than I do with them, just saying. If they're killed by Jacob?" Natsu shrugged. "So be it."

Lucy clearly did not like his response. She glared daggers at him and Natsu felt her glare.

He cleared his throat. "Fine. We'll get some charms. Where do you go to buy them?"

"Fairy Tail. I was actually hoping that we can go straight there. The faster we get the charms, the better," Lucy answered before angrily honking her horn.

Suddenly, Lucy's phone started to ring. Since her phone was connected to the Bluetooth in her car, all she had to do was press a button on the steering wheel to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Lucy! Oh my gosh!" Levy cried.

"What!? Are you okay!?" Lucy cried.

"We knew your last name was Heartfilia, but we didn't even realize that you're the Lucky Lucy Heartfilia!" Levy cried.

Lucy froze. How did they find out!?

"Levy, give me the phone!" Erza could be heard in the background. "Lucy, how long were you going to keep this a secret from us!?"

"Forever?" Lucy answered.

"But why!? Yo, I would love to be from a rich family! But I just had to be born into a family of priests and priestesses!" Erza cried.

"Are you okay?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah, of course I am. I'm just stuck on traffic and it looks like it's not going anywhere," Lucy answered.

"You should have stayed home though! Your father has just committed suicide so you should stay and mourn for him. Jason will understand," Juvia said.

Lucy blinked. "...what?"

"Girl, it's all over the news! Jude Heartfilia commits suicide since he was upset that his only daughter, Lucy Heartfilia, has been away from home for so long. However, he had committed suicide minutes before Lucy returned home and when she did, she saw her father dead!" Cana cried.

That's not how the story went but I guess I'll just go with it, Lucy thought. "I had no idea it will get on the news."

"This is about one of the richest families in the county! Of course it's all over the news!" Lissanna cried.

"Wow...that's overwhelming..." Lucy responded.

"Mira! Why do you look like you just ran a marathon?" Lissanna asked. Since it was already nighttime, Mirajane must have been back from work at Fairy Tail.

"it's crazy outside! The paparazzi have found out that Lucy lives here and now they won't leave!" Mirajane cried.

"What!?" Lucy cried.

"Lucy. We love you but for the time being, we're kicking you out," Cana said.

"What!? Why!?" Lucy cried.

"The paparazzi is waiting for you! So if you don't show up here, they'll leave and you can come back," Cana answered.

Lucy sighed. "That's fair, but where will I go? I'm not close to anyone else other than you guys where I can just stay at their house."

"Gray's out of town so he won't be home. I'm not sure when he'll be back though. Anyway, just go to his place," Erza answered.

"What!? My beloved Gray's house!? No! I will not allow it!" Juvia cried.

"She's technically breaking into his house though," Lissanna said.

"No, Natsu lives there so it's fine," Levy said.

"And it won't be so awkward cuz they're in love!" Cana cried.

Lucy groaned. "But all of my stuff are at home! How will I get them now that the paparazzi are everywhere?"

"Don't worry. Just stay at Gray's house. We'll find a way to sneak out and give you the things you need," Erza said.

"I can't believe she's staying at Gray's house before I even got the chance to!" Juvia cried. Based on the way her voice sounded and her sniffles, she was balling her eyes out.

"Juvia! You're melting!" Levy cried.

"Let me know if Natsu does anything indecent. I'll beat him up," Erza said.

Natsu, who hasn't met Erza yet, shivered.

Lucy saw that she was receiving another call. "I'll call you guys back. I need to answer this."

She ended her current one and answered the new call. "Hello?"

"Lucy! You're so cool!" Jason yelled.

"What did I do?" Lucy asked.

"You never told us you're Lucky Lucy Heartfilia!" Jason cried.

Lucy cringed at the nickname. "Oh...yeah..."

"When you show up to work tomorrow, please tell us all about it! Make your own article! I'll even pay you more!" Jason cried.

Lucy was starting to get annoyed. "Actually, my father's death as traumatized me so I'm asking for time off work so I can mourn."

"That...that makes sense. How long?" Jason asked.

Until the craze is gone, Lucy thought before answered. "Maybe about 3 weeks?"

"3 weeks!?" Jason cried. Then he cleared his throat. "Makes sense. Okay. 3 weeks, then you're back to work! Stay cool!"

Lucy hung up and leaned her back against the chair. Her energy was completely drained out.

"You good?" Natsu asked.

"Just exhausted," Lucy answered.

"I know how to give massages so when we go to my place, I'll give you one," Natsu offered.

Lucy smiled. "That would be greatly appreciated."

To get her mind off things, Natsu turned on the radio.

"-the death of Jude Heartfilia has brought out the identity of his daughter Lucky Lucy Hear-"

Natsu turned off the radio.

"I'm guessing the news was released just now since the radio wasn't talking about that before and all of these people had just called me," Lucy said.

"You want me to hunt down and kill the guy who spread the news?" Natsu eagerly asked.

"Yes please d-" Lucy stopped herself once she realized what she was saying. "No. karma's a bitch. Karma's gonna come collect his debt."

Natsu snorted. "You're not slick. I know what you were about to say."

Lucy blushed. "Whatever!"

During their time stuck in a traffic jam, Natsu and Lucy kept each other entertained by sharing stories and opinions. They also laughed and made fun of each other.


"So looks like Lucy survived the shooting. She really is lucky," Sting said to himself as he scrolled through the news articles on his phone while sitting at his desk in his office.

Yukino, who was standing to the side as she sorted out his documents, started to feel nervous.

"I thought I told you to report to me when you hear she's alive? That's why I kept on sending you to the hospital. We could have put a poison in her IV that would kill her instantly with no bloodshed and no suspicions from Natsu," Sting told Yukino.

She bowed. "I apologize for my failure."

"That doesn't matter anymore. I have another solution," Sting said.

Orga and Rufus entered the room. "You called for us, boss?"

"Yes," Sting said, putting his phone down. "Kill Lucy Heartfilia immediately."

Yukino watched helplessly as Orga and Rufus saluted. "Yes sir!"


Random Fact: Two Christmases ago, I went to one of my uncle's houses. He lives in the mid-west so there's basically nothing there. One of my other uncles from DC was also visiting with his family and he got a telescope for Christmas. So during the Christmas party, he let me, my sister, and a bunch of my other cousins look through the telescope at the night sky and stargaze. He told us all about the planets and the stars and shit. I was having a really bad day cuz of some family drama so the stargazing dead ass cheered me up and it's one of my favorite Christmas memories

Wassup!? It's ya gurl sugarsugarrush!

Look! I'm sorta back to doing daily updates! (Actually, I'm slacking off on finishing my other stories but we ain't gonna talk about that...)

Reviews:

Amanny- Thank you so much!

Copperreign12- Thank you so much!

So, I made "back then" Fiore a mixture of ancient Greek, ancient China, ancient India, and ancient Egypt. Oh and a little bit of ancient Mesoamerica. I was originally going to make it ancient Japanese but I changed my mind for a number of reasons. I also wanted to put the flashback in this chapter as a compare and contrast of past life Lucy and current life Lucy

I gotta go and live my life so ima end this! Don't forget to PM me or leave me some reviews! Later, yo!