Chapter 19 Lucy's Realization
Natsu woke and found Wendy asleep in his arms. He smiled down at his sister, they hadn't slept like this in a long time, since she'd been ten. He remembered her birthday a couple months ago when she'd turned twelve. The guild had thrown a party like this but had a cake for Wendy's birthday. She blew out the candles after making a wish, and Natsu knew what it was. To be an S-class Wizard and see Grandeena again.
He stroked Wendy's long blue hair gently. "Wake up, Wendy."
"Not yet dad, just a few more," she said.
She was still very much asleep! She'd never had a dad! Igneel didn't really count as a father for her yet since they'd never met each other.
"Wakey wakey sis!" Natsu said as he tickled her.
She burst out laughing and opened her eyes.
"Ah ha ha! Cut it out Natsu! Ha ha ha ha!" she screamed through her giggles.
He released her from the tickle torture and got up. "Time to get up Wendy. And I think it's about time for a bath. Been over a week for me!"
"Ugh! Yeah me too after that time in Edolas… I bet I smell terrible!" she said as she got to her feet.
They, along with Happy and Carla. went back home and used their private baths and cleaned themselves. Wendy put on a fresh outfit, her favorite yellow and blue one with the feather styled straps. Natsu put on a fresh pair of pants, though he kept his usual vest and of course his scaly scarf he'd gotten from Igneel.
After cleaning themselves up for the day, or in Natsu's case it was his usual once a week, they headed back to Fairy Tail where the other members were also coming back to begin jobs. Natsu looked around and didn't see Lisanna or her siblings. Lucy wasn't there either.
"Well, guess we might as well have breakfast huh?" Natsu suggested.
Wendy nodded. They got a table and were served food by Kinana, a newer member of Fairy Tail that had joined after the Oracion Seis Incident. Though unable to perform magic right now, she didn't have an recollection of her life even after Makarov had turned her back from the form they had first seen her as. Cubellios, the pet snake of Cobra, the poison dragon slayer that had been with the Seis. She served them hot plates of eggs, toast, and fruits, as well as a large plate of fish for Happy. By the time they were done, the Strauss siblings as well as Lucy walked through the door.
…
"Natsu! Wendy!" Lucy called as she ran over to them. "Let's go on a job!"
"Sorry Lucy, but I got a different plan today," Natsu told her. "I was planning on going with Lisanna on a job."
"You were?" the petite white-haired girl said as she walked near him.
"Yeah! That is… if you don't have any other plans," Natsu said.
She smiled at him. "No, I don't!"
"Now hold on there, pinkie!" Elfman said. "You better not take her on anything too dangerous!"
"I'm sure she'll be fine!" Mirajane said with her pleasant smile before a dark aura surrounded her. "Because if she gets so much as a scratch, Natsu will have to deal with me!"
Natsu shivered.
Lucy looked disappointed. But she knew that Natsu deserved a chance to spend time with his old friend that had just come back after two years of everyone thinking her dead.
"Alright, guess its you and me then Wendy?" she asked.
The younger dragon slayer shook her head. "Me and Carla are going out on our own. Its solo mission season."
"Solo mission season?" Lucy repeated. "If that's the case, how come Natsu's not going alone?"
"I already got what solo mission season brings," Natsu grinned. "Well, let's go Lisanna!"
He offered his hand to her. She smiled, blushing as she reached out and took it. Lucy's mouth fell open, a feeling in her stomach. As if she'd just had something stolen from her. She watched as Natsu, her Natsu lead Lisanna toward the request board followed by Wendy, Carla and Elfman.
Wait, my Natsu? Lucy thought. Why would I think that? She spotted Gray going out on his own, along with several other members that were usually in teams like Levy or the Thunder Legion Trio. Many teams appeared to be disbanding out of nowhere with the members going off to do jobs by themselves. The only exceptions were the pairs of Natsu and Lisanna as well as Wendy and Carla. Of course, Carla probably wouldn't really count as she wasn't a fighter.
"It's time to show I'm a real man!" Elfman said. "This year I'm gonna win the big time!"
Lucy went to the bar, she looked at Mirajane who was now helping Kinana.
"What's going on? What's this big time thing that's got most people here worked up?" she asked.
"Oh, this time of year is usually when the S-class trials are about to take place," Mirajane explained.
"Wow, the S-class Trials?" Lucy said. "So that's why Natsu isn't going alone. He's already S-class."
"Yeah, a lot of members take jobs by themselves during the week before the trials in a final effort to show they're worthy of participating," Mirajane said. "Are you gonna go on one?"
Lucy hesitated. "Well, I don't know if I'm ready to become an S-class wizard right now. But I do need rent, I'd just feel safer with Natsu. I know he'll always be there to protect me or Wendy."
She looked over at Natsu who held a piece of paper up to Lisanna. She said something that looked like an agreement and the two began walking to the door with smiles on their faces.
"Looks like someone's jealous of my little sister!" Mirajane said.
"Jealous?" Lucy repeated. "I'm not jealous… I just…okay maybe I am. But why would I be?"
"Maybe its cause you're in love!" Happy said as he flew over.
"Don't do that stuff again Happy! And why aren't you going with Natsu and Lisanna?" Lucy asked.
"They took a job that had this weird warning, DO NOT BRING ANIMALS! Maybe they'll make some kissies while I'm gone!" Happy teased.
"Cut that out!" Lucy snapped.
But the thought of Natsu and Lisanna kissing went through her head. The two of them wrapped in each other's arms, their lips locked, the image seemed to send a chill down Lucy's spine.
"Why am I worried about this?" Lucy wondered aloud. "It's not like he was my boyfriend or anything!"
"Well, maybe deep down you actually have feelings for him?" Mirajane asked.
"Ah! I said that out loud!" Lucy exclaimed, going red and covering her face. "Me have feelings for Natsu? It can't be! No way!"
"It's written all over your face!" Happy said.
"Shut it cat! Or I'll skin you alive! Did you just come here to make fun of me?" Lucy screamed.
She was glad the guild was mostly empty, and no one heard their discussion. Did she have feelings for him? Lucy sat at the bar, reminiscing about all the times she'd spent with Natsu. How she'd met him and Wendy in Hargeon. How he often protected the two of them on missions, that time when she thought he'd had a crush on her especially flew in her brain. Mirajane had also suggested at the time that Natsu might have feelings for Lucy deep down. She recalled her fantasies about them actually being together and getting married with children that looked like Happy. What was with her imagination!
And Natsu was… well… Natsu. Dumb, destructive, and always breaking into her apartment with a complete disregard for her privacy. But he was also a reliable friend in danger and stuck by her no matter what. And that spiky pink hair was just so… handsome sometimes.
Lucy's mouth fell open as she realized it, her eyes shining.
"I like Natsu!" she said.
"I knew it!" Happy said as he spoke through a mouthful of fish. He was hungry again even though he'd just had breakfast!
"I think you two would be adorable together!" Mirajane said. "The only problem now is… my sister!"
Lucy sighed. "What am I gonna do Mirajane? I have feelings for a destructive maniac and there's another girl in his life now!"
Happy grinned. "Love triangle! Natsu has two girls with a crush on him!"
"Happy will you can it already!" Lucy said.
"Hmm… I'm not sure," Mirajane said. "Two girls for one guy. That's a tough one. I guess it would depend on whoever Natsu chooses to be with. But knowing him, he's totally clueless about things like that. He probably wouldn't know love if it slapped him in the face."
Lucy sighed. "Yeah he's pretty dumb alright."
"But maybe you could…" Mirajane shut her mouth. "Wait why am I giving advice to my sister's new love rival?"
"Love rival! I didn't say I was her love rival!" Lucy said putting her hands up.
"You're in love with the same guy as her, that makes you her love rival," Mirajane said in a casual voice before turning demonic. "So let me warn you now, if you hurt my little sister in your pursuit of Natsu, you'll have to deal with me."
Lucy shivered as she was scared on a level close to Erza's mean glare or Natsu's Berserk brother mode.
"I won't hurt Lisanna! Don't worry. I mean… she's nice and all!" Lucy waved her hands in front of herself. "But don't think I'm gonna just let her have Natsu!"
"Good," Mirajane said with a smile. "As long as you don't hurt her, we'll be good! This is so dramatic!"
"What are you gonna do though?" Happy asked.
Lucy hesitated. "I guess I'll know when he gets back."
…
Natsu and Lisanna walked through the forest of Magnolia on their way to do their job. They had to catch an a criminal known as the Beast Master Wizard. Natsu pulled out the job request and read over it again. The picture showed a man with a fencing saber in his hand. Looking closely, the saber guard was shown to resemble a tiger. Large letters on front of the request lead, DO NOT BRING ANIMALS.
"Okay, it says that the guy is called Beast Fencer Ben. He's committed a lot of robberies using animals then retreats into the forest," Natsu said.
"He sounds dangerous," Lisanna said. "Does it say anything about his abilities?"
"Well, he's got a sword like Erza, and its that sword that can control beasts. Says its called the Beast Tammer's Saber?" Natsu said, having a little trouble reading the word t-a-m-e-r-s.
"That's tamer's, Beast Tamer's saber," Lisanna said.
"Whoa, so this guy can control animals with his sword! That is so cool! This will be fun!" Natsu said with a grin before looking at her. "Just do me a favor, you can still turn into a bird right?"
Lisanna nodded. She spread her arms out, "Take Over: Animal Soul Bird!"
Light enveloped the youngest of the Strauss siblings as her arms transformed into a pair of feathered wings. She flapped them, rising slightly into the air.
"Still got it. Though I'd probably be even stronger if I hadn't been in Edolas for two years," she said. "Missed out on two years of training."
"Yeah, speaking of that, I want you to be careful out there," Natsu said. "If you find yourself facing an enemy that's too strong, just fly away and call for me. I'll come running."
"So, you're worried about me then?" Lisanna asked as she returned her arms to normal.
Natsu sighed. "I lost you once. I don't wanna lose you again."
"That's sweet of you Natsu," Lisanna said as she approached him and wrapped her arms around him. "But don't forget, I'm a Fairy Tail Wizard too… and this isn't an S-class quest."
"I know. I went through something similar with Wendy a while back," Natsu told her as he returned the hug. "She was mad at me for not letting her do any fighting, so she went on an S-class quest on her own with Lucy!"
"Seriously!?" Lisanna asked looking at him.
He nodded. "Yeah. I came to rescue her when she got captured but she managed to defeat the boss bad guy and I realized I was a bit overprotective. She's gotten stronger since you've been gone."
Lisanna smiled. "Well I'm glad for her. I remember she always relied on you to protect her before."
"Yeah," Natsu said with a chuckle. "Don't worry though. Carla will fly her away if she's in too much danger or something."
"Well, lets go," Lisanna said. "Come on, I'll fly!"
She transformed her arms into wings again, but this time also did her feet. They turned into a pair of bird talons. She took Natsu by the shoulders and flapped her wings, flying them off in the direction they had to go for their mission.
"Yeah! This sure beats taking the train!" Natsu shouted.
Well, Lucy's realized she has feelings for Natsu and he and Lisanna are off on a job too catch the guy with the sword that can control beasts. As some of you have probably guessed, that sword will become Lisanna's as I mentioned that I would give her a sword like she had in Edolas. I was kinda torn on what sort of abilities to give her sword for a while, I thought about one that increases speed, drains magic, or turns its victims into mice. But I think one that can control animals would really fit for Lisanna. We'll see how she decides to take it.