"speaking"
"thinking"
On with the story
The next morning had come as it was Saturday and no school
Natsu was looking at Wendy who was resting on his bed with a compress on her forehead
The child had come with a fever as Natsu rushes to his home and gets her medical attention
Now, he needs to wait and see if his action did the trick
He heard a small whimper as it was Wendy and she was waking up
Her eyes flutter opens slowly before she wakes up and sees the room's ceiling
"you alright?" Natsu asked kneeling beside the bed
Wendy nodded before looking around
"where?" she asked
"my room, you had a fever and I had to cool it down" Natsu said standing up before giving her the white dragon doll but it was full repaired "here, I sewed it up for you"
Wendy hugs the doll as she hugs it tight
Happy meowed before the little feline jumps to the bed and meowed to Wendy
"kitty.." Wendy said looking at the feline who was walking to her on the bed
Happy nuzzles its head on Wendy's hand as Wendy cuddles it with loving scratches and got replied with Happy's purring
Natsu smiled before hearing the doorbell
"be right back" Natsu said before going to answer
Going to the door, he opened it and Lucy was there with some plastic bags
"sorry, I'm late." Lucy said before Natsu lets her in "it was kinda hard finding your place when you said white colored apartment"
Natsu had called Lucy this morning as he explained the situation to her
"eggshell colored apartment" Natsu said but he didn't' care "did you bring them?"
"yeah" Lucy said before reaching into the plastic bags and takes out some children clothes "I was lucky to find my old ones in my closet"
"thanks, I'll repay you back" Natsu said
"it's fine, where's the girl?" Lucy asked as Natsu motions her to follow him
Lucy looks around as she sees a normal looking apartment room before she finds Wendy on the bed, and was petting Happy
"so you must be Wendy" Lucy said greeting her "hi, I'm Lucy"
Wendy looks to her before hiding under the blanket with Happy
Lucy frowned a bit before looking to Natsu
"she's shy" Natsu said before pulling down the blanket to look at Wendy who was tearing up "it's ok, she's Lucy, and she's my friend"
Wendy looks to Natsu before she hugs his waist with her doll
Natsu patted her head as he caressed her back before looking to Lucy
"come on, say hi to her" Natsu said as he patted Wendy's back a few times and made her look at Lucy
"h-hi" she whispered softly before looking back and hugs Natsu's waist
"what happen to her? She looks so frightened" Lucy asked going to Wendy and caressing her hair
"I don't know, tried to find the two guys this morning, but they were gone" Natsu said before hearing growling coming from Wendy's stomach
"looks like someone's hungry" Lucy said before reaching into her plastic bag and takes out a kids' cereal box
Wendy sat on Natsu's lap as the man had a bowl of cereal and milk in hand
"aaah" Natsu said as he was spoon feeding Wendy
Wendy opened her mouth as Natsu feeds her the cereal and lets her drink the milk as well
Natsu continued the action as he repeated again and again
"you're really good with kids" Lucy said looking at how caring, Natsu was to Wendy
"used to be in an orphanage, the sister there nursed me" Natsu said as he grabbed a tissue and wipes some excess crumbs and milk off of Wendy's lips before giving her a glass of water "she taught me a lot back then"
He holds the glass as Wendy drinks the water before Natsu places it away
"all full?" Natsu asked as Wendy nodded before letting out a small burp
"come on" Natsu said carrying her up "time for a bath"
"let me help" Lucy said reaching for Wendy but the little girl just looks away and hugs Natsu
"no!" Wendy screamed while starting to tear up
"it's ok, it's ok" Natsu said patting her back "remember, Lucy is a friend, she's not going to hurt you"
"nooo…" Wendy cried as she sniffles and cries
"alright….alright…alright" Natsu said before reaching for Wendy's Dragon doll and gave it to her "see?"
Wendy grabs the doll and hugs it as she cried to it
"what did those men do to make such a little girl this terrified?" Lucy asked feeling worried of how terrified Wendy was to others
"don't know…contact the police while I give Wendy a bath" Natsu said as Lucy nodded before he went to the bathroom
After a bath, Wendy was now wearing the kid's clothes, Lucy had gotten for her and it was a perfect fit
An hour later, three door knocks were heard as Natsu answered and was given the sight of two police officers
"are you Natsu Dragneel?" the officer asked as Natsu nodded "Officer Macao Conbolt, and this is my partner, Wakaba Mine" the other officer nodded in greeting
"you called us for a found child?" Macao asked as Natsu nodded again before letting the officers in
The two officers entered in as they find Wendy playing with her doll and Happy while being looked after by Lucy
"is she it?" Macao asked as Natsu nodded before the two approached Wendy
Wendy saw them and instantly hides under the bed's blanket with her doll
"golly, she must've been through some bad things" Wakaba said seeing Wendy's reaction towards them "I never seen a kid this afraid before"
Natsu went to the bed as he opens the blanket and carries out Wendy
"it's alright…they're nice people" Natsu said as Wendy hugs him while not looking at the two officers
"where and when did you find her?" Macao asked taking out a notebook and a pen
"Kai Street, at midnight" Natsu said as he pats Wendy's back to calm her down while Macao writes down his notepad
"and you said that there were two men chasing after her? And you took them out?" Macao asked again as Natsu nodded
"brave kid" Wakaba said with a smile
"did you happen to remember the chasers face like any tattoos or scars on them?" Macao asked while motioning his face with his hand
"looks to be between in mid 30s, one wearing black suit while the other fat and yellow, fat one had green hair and the other black. No tattoos nor scars" Natsu said as Wakaba and Macao looks to each other before they take out two photos and showed it to the two
"did they look like these two here?" Macao asked as Natsu takes the photos and looks at them
Sure enough, they were exactly the two who were from yesterday night
"Wendy" Natsu called out as Wendy looks to him before to the picture as she instantly looks away
Wendy started whimpering as Lucy frowns and started caressing her back to calm her down
"guess that's a yes" Macao said taking the photos back "these two are child kidnappers, they kidnap kids who have very unique magic power that are very rare, we have 10 cases of kids disappearing in the age of 2-6. Looks like the little lass was lucky that you came in just in time"
"rare magic?" Lucy asked before looking to Wendy
"she has Healing Magic" Natsu said surprising Lucy and the others "I had a graze yesterday and she healed it"
"that I get but why kidnap such a young girl?" Lucy asked
"kids in these age gap, have more magic particles growing in them and they don't full control over it, that's why we think that these guys are going to use their magic power for something" Wakaba explained "or worse sell them as slaves"
"what of her parents?" Natsu asked
"most of the parents have contacted in and told us of their kids' appearance but we haven't got any report from parents looking for a blue haired girl" Wakaba said "sorry"
"it's fine" Natsu said before caressing Wendy's back
"well then, we'll try to find her parents, while in the meantime you two have to take care of her" Macao said as Natsu nodded
"we'll get into contact after we find her background" Wakaba said before the two officers leaves the room
"what should we do?" Lucy asked looking at Wendy who had fallen asleep in Natsu's arms
"we take care of her till they find her parents" Natsu said patting Wendy's back
At a dock's storage room
The two men who were chasing after Wendy the previous night were on their knees as they look to be afraid
"you two failed to get the girl? So disappointed!" a voice shouted before a scythe nearly sliced their neck off
"w-we're sorry, Erigor-san! There was this kid and.." one tried to speak up but the scythe got near his neck and shuts him up
"a kid? You're telling that you failed because of some lousy kid?" the voice asked as the man gulped and nodded "what this kid look like?"
"h-he looks like a high schooler, and he has pink hair!" the other one describes Natsu's characteristic as the scythe was pulled back
"so PATHETIC!" the voice shouted before a tornado blew the two men away and sends them flying to the wall "so FRICKING PATHETIC! A HIGHSCHOOLER BEAT YOU TWO!? HOW WEAK ARE YOU!?"
The man is Erigor, he is the ringleader in the child kidnapping as he leads a gang called Eisenwald
Behind him was a cage and it was filled with terrified little girls and boys, as they were the kidnapped children
"now now, Erigor-san" a voice spoke as a man appeared out of the shadow and looks to Erigor with a smile "please calm down, we still have an opportunity"
"Kageyama.." Erigor looks at the man before leaning his scythe to his shoulder "you go and get the kid while killing this pink haired brat"
"with pleasure" Kageyama said with an evil smile before disappearing into the shadows
Afternoon came as Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy were out on the street, trying to find any clues/lead on Wendy's parents
Right now, they were walking around alongside the street while asking nearby stores if they had ever met Wendy and her parents
"sorry" "haven't seen her before" "oh my, poor girl" "I'm sorry" "we haven't seen her around here"
Everyone gave the same response as not one has ever even met Wendy nor her parents except for one at a book store
Natsu and Lucy with Wendy entered a book store as they were greeted by the store clerk
"welcome" the store clerk said while doing some stamping behind the desk
"excuse me, can we ask for some help?" Lucy asked "we're looking for her parents"
The store clerk stopped her action before looking down and sees Wendy
"oh my! Wendy-chan!" the store clerk exclaimed while looking at Wendy with wide eyes
She went out of her desk and kneeled down before giving Wendy a hug "oh my god, Grandeeney-san was so worried when she lost you! Are you alright?"
Wendy nodded while tearing up but her tears were wiped away by the store clerks
"oh my god, you must've been really scared!" the store clerk said tearing up before hugging Wendy one more time and then look to Natsu and Lucy "thank you so much for finding Wendy-chan! She's the daughter of my friend Grandeeney-san, she's been looking for her this entire week! Thank you so much for finding her!"
"it's nothing" Lucy said before kneeling down towards Wendy "good for you, Wendy. Your going back to your parents"
Wendy nodded a bit before getting a pat to the head by Natsu who had a gentle smile
"remember to stay with your parents, ok?" Natsu said as Wendy nodded back with a smile
"we finally got to see you smile" Lucy said smiling as well
"bye bye" Wendy waved Natsu and Lucy goodbye as she held hands with the store clerk
"thank you very much for finding her! i'll get her back to Grandeeney-san" the store clerk said with a smile
"bye, Wendy! Take care!" Lucy waved goodbye as so did Natsu
Natsu smiled to Wendy before he turns around and walks away
Wendy waved them goodbye before a shadow lurks around behind her
Natsu and Lucy walks around the town as they were glad to have found someone who will take Wendy back to her parents
"looks like case solved" Lucy said smiling "Wendy gets to go back to her parents!"
"yeah" Natsu said with a small smile
"hey, wanna go and get something to eat? I know a new restaurant that serves the best meat in town!" Lucy said
"why not?" Natsu replied before hearing screaming
"what was that? Screaming?" Lucy asked as the two turns around and sees a woman screaming
The woman was chasing a white van as the back door was opened and they could see the same two men taking a child in their hands
"it's them!" Lucy exclaimed before Natsu dashed towards them
"Romeo! Romeo!" the woman screamed chasing after the van but it was speeding away
"Mama!" the child screamed before getting gagged with a small cloth
"zip it kid!" the man said before the other closed the door
"Romeo!" the woman screamed before Natsu dashed passed her and got in front of the van
He swings his leg up before slamming it down on the van as it instantly got stopped
"waaaaah!" the two men shouted in the van as the front part was destroyed and smoking
The driver knocked out from the sudden halt but the other two men were making a get away with the kidnapped child
Natsu saw them as he disappeared before reappeared in front of them
"you're that kid from last time!" one of them exclaimed before running away but Natsu appeared in front of them again "what the?!"
They tried running a different direction before Natsu appeared again as he appeared on four places at once
The four Natsus jumped as three of them attacked the two men while one other freed the child
In one minute, the two men were knocked out on the street with many bruises on their faces
"Romeo!" the woman rans towards Natsu and the child as the child runs towards her
"Mama!" the child hugs his mother as the two cried
The three other Natsus disappeared before Lucy came running in
"thank god….you saved him, Natsu" Lucy said looking to the crying mother and child
the police soon arrived to the scene as it was Officer Macao and Wakaba
"Merrow! Romeo!" Macao shouted as he runs towards the mother and child and hugs them
He started crying while hugging them as he cries with them
"thanks, kid" Wakaba said patting Natsu's shoulder "you saved my friend's wife and son. You got our gratitude"
"it's nothing" Natsu said before looking to the two men who were being taken away by the police "wait"
Natsu approached them as he grabs one of them and slammed him towards the police car
"who is your leader? Where are the kidnap kids?" Natsu demanded as he pushed the man's face at the car's window
"hey, hey, interrogating is supposed to be our job!" Wakaba said scratching the back of his head
"heh! Like I tell a brat like you!" the man said before Natsu slams the man's face through the car's window and then throwing him to the street
"that wasn't a question" Natsu said "tell me now or else"
"or else what?" the man scoffed at Natsu
"or this" Natsu said as he raised a hand towards the man and a small ball of fire charging in his hand
"hey" Wakaba came in as he pulls down Natsu's hand "don't do anything rash or you'll just be like them"
Natsu looks at the man before scoffing as he pulled his hand away
"and as for you" Macao looks to the man "you're going to get one dirty empty cell once we get the both of you to prison!"
He grabs the man's hand and pushed him into the car with his comrade
"you two!" someone shouted out as Natsu and Lucy turns around and sees the store clerk running towards them
"the store clerk" Lucy said as the store clerk runs and stops in front of them before trying to catch her breath "what's wrong?"
"it's…bad!...Wendy-chan!...they took Wendy-chan!" she exclaimed surprising Lucy and Natsu
"what? what do you mean?" Lucy asked
"a shadow!...a hand came out of the shadow and grabbed Wendy-chan!...i tried to save her but!" the store clerk said
"what's wrong?" Wakaba asked going towards them
"it's bad, Officer Wakaba! Wendy! The little girl that we were looking after, she's been kidnapped!" Lucy said
"what?!" Wakaba exclaimed in shock "Macao! We got trouble!"
Natsu looks at the two men before his eyes glowed red
He saw the two men's memories as he sees the harbor storage dock, and saw Erigor
"Eisenwald" Natsu muttered out before looking to Lucy "stay with them, I'll go and get Wendy"
"eh? A-alright" Lucy said as Natsu started walking away "but do you know where she is?!"
"harbor docks, abandoned red storage room" Natsu said before he suddenly disappeared
"where did he go?" Macao said looking to where Natsu had disappeared
The sun was setting as it was sinking down by the horizon
At the harbor storage room, Erigor was waiting at his seat before Kageyama appeared out of the shadows and was carrying a tied up Wendy with him
"took you long enough" Erigor said as Kageyama threw Wendy to the floor while ignoring her cries
"managed to get her but didn't see the kid with pink hair" Kageyama said
"it's fine" Erigor said as some of his underlings take Wendy and put her in the cage with the other kidnapped kids "now that we got the kid with the healing power, we can now sell every single one of them at a very high price"
"I do get my special share, right? Erigor-san?" Kageyama asked
"sure, you did well unlike the other two" Erigor said before looking to the door "now that you think about it, they're supposed to be coming back with the twelfth kid"
Soon, the door to the storage room exploded as it fell down with a loud band
"what the!? Kageyama! Did you get tailed?!" Erigor exclaimed
"that's not possible! I hid my trail perfectly!" Kageyama exclaimed
A dust explosion clouded the place before a glowing red dot appeared and then Natsu
"huh? Is this kid that pink haired kid?" Erigor said looking at Natsu
Natsu looks at Erigor and Kageyama before to Wendy and the kidnapped kids who were in the cage
"so, you guys are the one who been taking kids from their parents, huh?" Natsu said looking at Erigor and Kageyama "got to say, your base of operation is well hidden, to the police that is"
"heh! This kid is merely a brat!" Erigor said with a smirk "hey! You lot!"
Erigor's underlings soon surrounds Natsu as they all had their magic and magic weapon readied
Natsu looks at them before he cracks his necks a few times and then looks to Wendy
"Wendy, close your ears and eyes with everyone" Natsu said "things are going to get messy"
Wendy looks to him before nodding as she then closes her eyes and ears with the other kids doing the same action
"heh, what are you? Some sort of Hero? Once we're finished with you, you wish that you didn't cross path with us" Kageyama said
"go, I'll give anyone a double pay if they give me this kid's head! Triple for his heart!" Kageyama said as his underlings started to approach Natsu
"now then" Natsu rolling his shoulders while closing his eyes before opening them as they were dark as the night "let's begin the slaughter fest"
Lucy was riding on the police car with Macao and Wakaba as they had a whole squadron going to the docks
"there!" Lucy exclaimed pointing in front as they saw smoke coming from one of the harbor storage room
"looks like the kid had started the party before us!" Wakaba said "step on it!"
"I know!" Macao exclaimed before hitting the gas
The storage house was in flames as there were burned up goons on the ground everywhere
"gah…aah…..ow…" Erigor was crawling out of the storage room as he had bruises everywhere and he was bleeding "what…..what power….that kid…..ain't human"
A dragonic hand soon grabs Erigor's head and lifts him up
"where do you think you're going?" a dark voice spoke out as Natsu appeared in flames "you said that I can't beat you, right?"
"bas…tard!" Erigor tried to get his hands off of his head but could not as Natsu had a strong grip on him
"how does it feel? To feel so powerless and so weak" Natsu asked before slamming Erigor's face to the ground
"Gah!" Erigor grunted out before Natsu stomps his leg down on the man's head, pushing him further down to the ground
Natsu dusts off his hands as his dragonification disappears before snapping his fingers as the flames disappears
He walks away as he went to the cage outside and breaks it, freeing Wendy and the kidnapped kids
All of them cried towards Natsu as they hug his legs
"there there, everything is alright" Natsu told them before the police arrived
"Natsu!" Lucy got out of the car as so did Macao and Wakaba
"it's over" Natsu said before seeing many people coming out of a police van as they were the children's parents
"Mama!" "Papa!" the kids ran towards them as they hugged each other
One woman who had blue hair looks around before seeing Wendy with Natsu
"Wendy!" she shouted out as Wendy looks to her with a big smile
"go" Natsu said pushing her gently as Wendy nodded before running towards the woman
"Mama!" Wendy screamed out before hugging her mother who was in tears
"I'm so glad that you're alright!" Grandeeney said as she hugs Wendy tight and wasn't letting go
She gives her daughter many kisses as Wendy giggles in reply
Grandeeney smiles to Wendy before giving her another hug and then looks to Natsu who nodded
"looks like you beat them for us, kid" Wakaba said motioning to the beaten up Eisenwald gang
"yeah, we've been after these jerks for a year now" Macao said before reaching his right out to Natsu "you have our many thanks"
Natsu reached for Macao's hand and shake it before nodding
"Kyaaaa!" Lucy's scream was heard as Natsu and the others looks behind and sees Kageyama holding Lucy with a knife in hand
"don't move! Or she'll gets it!" Kageyama exclaimed pointing the knife to Lucy's neck "I want a car! Now!"
"give it up! even if you did get a car and made a getaway, we have this whole area surrounded! Just give up and we'll think of giving you an easy off punishment!" Macao exclaimed while motioning to the other police officers to stand down "surrender now!"
"never! Give me a car now or I'll fricking kill her!" Kageyama shouted out
Natsu looks at Kageyama before noticing a shadow appearing behind her and it made him smirk
"before that!" Natsu said before pointing at Kageyama "you might want to look who is behind you!"
"ha?!" Kageyama said before feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turns around only to get a punch to the face
Lucy got freed as the knife fell down
She looks to who had saved her as it was none other than the Majin Mirajane in her Satan Soul
"Mirajane-senpai!?" Lucy exclaimed in surprise
"yo" Mira greeted them before clapping her hands in satisfaction as her transformation came undone
"arrest him!" Macao exclaimed as an officer handcuffed Kageyama before taking him away
"what are you doing here?" Lucy asked Mira who helps her up
"I was doing some midnight training when I heard an explosion coming from here" Mira replied before looking to Kageyama "guess it was a good thing that I came to check it out"
"thanks for the help, missy. Kids these days sure are becoming great heroes" Wakaba said giving a short bow to Mira before going back "alright fellas! Let's bring them home!"
Soon the officers started to escort the kidnapped kids and their parents to their van but not Wendy and Grandeeney
"thank you so much for taking care of Wendy, you have my eternal gratitude!" Grandeeney said with a bow to Natsu and Lucy "if there is any way that I can repay you!"
"it's fine" Natsu replied before kneeling down in front of Wendy
"Wendy, don't stray away from your mother, alright? stick with her and be with her" Natsu told her as Wendy nodded with a smile
Natsu smiled back before caressing her head
"bye bye!" Wendy waved goodbye to Natsu and the others as she and Grandeeney were escorted away
Natsu and Lucy waved back in goodbye as they bid farewell for Wendy
"you two become some heroes, huh?" Mira said placing her hands on her hips "tomorrow's newspaper come out and you two become popular in an instant"
"w-what do I do!?" Lucy asked starting to feel embarrassed of the idea of her being in the newspaper
"don't care" Natsu said as he started walking away "let's go home, Lucy"
"Ah, yeah!" Lucy replied before following him
"wait!" Mira shouted as Natsu stops and turns to look at her "I have a different answer to your question this time"
"so? What is your answer?" Natsu replied "I'm waiting"
"Magic is love, that's my answer" Mira said
"and why do you say that?" Natsu asked
"my magic came from my parent's love for me and my siblings, that's why magic is love" Mira answered as Natsu looks to her before chuckling
"close enough" Natsu said before he started walking away with Lucy following "get some rest, I'll train you tomorrow"
Mira looks to Natsu before smiling happily as she fists pump
"hell yeah!" Mira grins
The next day came as Mira was at the library with Natsu and Lucy
"you said that we were training" Mira said as Natsu nodded
"we are" Natsu said before placing three books in front of Mira "we're training your head first before your brawns"
A tick mark appeared on Mira's forehead before she slammed her fists at the table
"YOU MOCKING ME, YOU JERK!?" she shouted at Natsu
"Shuuuuush!" the librarian and some other students in the library hushed her as Mira closed her mouth
"like the old saying 'brains before brawns'" Natsu said before sitting down and reads his small book
That's a wrap!
Bye bye
