Chapter 11: Along with the Brush (Pt.1)

With all of the supplies laid out on the table, with also the clue, Erza felt overwhelmed by the feeling of danger. For days, she went along with her life like a clueless little bunny. The worry vanished from her head slowly until it was gone up until a few days ago. Then, like a wrecking ball, crashed back in once she saw the glistening tools he outlined in his clue Lucy needed. And now, as she waited for Erza to arrive, her anxiety was eating her up alive like a bug.

In a monotone ring, he heard the doorbell sound quietly. Lucy slipped away from her array and opened it, to see an excited Lucy happily waving hello. "Oh, hi Lucy! I'm honestly kind of excited for this; it'll be just like the adventure shows on TV! Ready?" She said, waving behind her to her car. Erza silently pointed to the house in front of her, and Lucy immediately understood. "Oh right, the tools he requested. Let me help you with that." Lucy said, moving politely past Erza to the living room.

There, all of them laid, perfectly straight and glistening maliciously. Erza looked at them within awe though, as she touched them with all the carefulness of one touching a newborn baby. "How'd you get them so sharp, Lucy?" Erza looked, impressed at the sparkling metal in front of her. Lucy smiled, "I just used a household product, that's all. Uh, Erza, about-" The scarlet-haired woman pricked herself with the end of a small knife, marveling at the sharpness. "Oh, did you call me Lucy?" Erza looked behind her shoulder.

Lucy was about to say no, but her apprehension kicked in and froze her cold. "No, no not all. If anything, I guess I'm excited. You know...?" The blonde te shrugged, pulling on the ends of her hair. "Hey, look, I appreciate you coming along. I know when you first called me I was scared, but I was watching some survival-based shows last night, and it honestly seemed fun. So, it's fine if you don't want to be here- you can go back home to Ju-" Erza said in a worried tone. "No, I promised him I would do this to calm his nerves... so I must!" Like an anime protagonist, she jumped in the air and fist-bumped the nothingness.

Meanwhile, Erza looked on with a wry smile. But amused nonetheless. But inwardly, she was blushing; 'Oh my goodness, he thought about me!' She swooned. A warm smile grew on her face, as she thought about his masked face- all mysterious and knowledgeable and stupid looking, like the men in her novels.

"Hey, Erza, you ok?" Lucy cut in, curiosity growing on her face. The woman was brought back to reality, looking at Lucy. Then, found her eyes wander to the pile of tools clutched in her hands. 'She already got them.' She realized. "Oh my- I'm sorry, Lucy. I forgot to help you." Erza said, reaching for the rest. Lucy stopped her short and with a concerned smile said, "Hey, it's fine. I could honestly use the extra practice."

Erza bit her lip; she knew Lucy was being extremely kind due to the circumstances they have found themselves in (and due to the fact her best friend left her in tears), but the strenuous effort she was putting forth to make Erza calm and cool honestly worried her. So, in a last-ditch effort to lift that weight, Erza picked up the very few tools that were left on the table and carried them out to Lucy's car, feeling a little better than before.

By the time Erza dumped her measly amount of tools in the trunk, Lucy had wobbled her way towards the red-haired woman. Concerned, Erza offered silently to take the pile but Lucy shook her head defiantly and set down her load with a loud thunk.

The classical music lover cringed on how deep the sound was, as Lucy wiped the tons of sweat off her face. She flashed a smile to Erza and started to unload her baggage, carefully placing each item.

Erza felt worried for both her and her friend's safety and sanity at this point.

"Come on, the meeting place is a good thirty minutes from here, we gotta hurry if we want to make it!" Lucy waved her up to the front seat, as she placed the last of the supplies down. Erza slipped into the passenger seat, apprehensive. Like when she first met Lucy at her doorstep; what a bubbling mess she was.

Lucy settled into her seat quickly, then turned to Erza. "What kind of music would you like to listen to?" She asked, her finger lingering over the car's screen. The scarlet-haired woman shuffled around in her seat before thinking up an answer, "Um, whatever you put on, it's ok." The blonde nodded and plugged in the aux cord, and a foreign-sounding language blasted through the speakers. Erza raised an eyebrow and Lucy smiled. "It's a J-pop song, from the artist LiSa. She's one of my favorites." Erza nodded.

The car started up, and with the foreign sound, they went off.


"Are you sure Lucy and Erza can handle this, Natsu?"

"Yeah, of course, Gray. Why else would I do this?"

Two shadows hid amongst the brush, both crouching down. One of the figures was nervously picking at his nail, the other jolting with energy.

"I'm slightly scared though for their safety. You're letting them go to an abandoned school," Gray said. Natsu laughed it off quietly. "No no, they'll be fine. I believe in them!" The salmon-haired man cheered- sending his warm smile to Gray, who blushed in return. "I just don't want you to lose another wonderful female because of your reckless decision. Remember when you had a crush on Lucy in high school?" Gray said, like a worrying mother.

Once again, though, Natsu laughed off this trivial matter- sifting through the brush to look far ahead of him. "Luce only broke up with me because I accidentally set her favorite jacket on fire. Besides, we were both teenagers; we didn't know a damn thing." Natsu explained, letting another fruitless laugh escape. Gray cocked his eyebrow high, but soon let the matter go when he heard a car pull up along with foreign-sounding music.

"Oo- they're here, they're here!" Natsu tried to sift through the brush, trying to catch a glimpse of his mysterious leading lady. Gray jerked him back though, "And you're not supposed to be. C'mon, let's take your car and head out." But the smaller male wouldn't budge.

"Natsu Dragneel, I swear to Mavis, get up or I'll do it for you," Gray whispered, hissing into his year. Natsu flinched but pulled him away a second time, leaving for the car.


Erza could've sworn she heard someone say something but since she had a mission to do, she wouldn't let herself linger. She gestured to Lucy behind her, who was grabbing the needed supplies to hike somewhere- Erza hopes it's not up to some giant cliff or something- and Lucy nodded, tossing the bag of tools over her shoulder.

The woman looked to her surroundings, finding copious amounts of poison ivy, vines, and a few large spiders crawling over the ground. She sucked in a breath as she went over the spiders- Lucy copying her movements as well, cringing when she stepped on one.

"Alright, so, what are we doing?" Erza tried to sound as excited as she could, but it came out as nervous laughing which Lucy picked up on. "We're going to go up that mountain right there, and MB sent out different types of puzzles there as well. Hey, Erza, if you need me I'll always be behind you, don't worry." Lucy reached out her hand to gently pat Erza's, offering a sweet smile. The recipient smiled- but the nervousness seeped into it, creating a half-smile, half grim.

She started up the mountain with Lucy in tow, not ready for the adventure this will bring.

And it's done! Thank goodness. I don't know what caused me to write today but yeah.

Anyway, happy spring and Happy April everyone! The weather's getting nicer and it's gorgeous outside. I hope you all are getting exercise and spending your days inside.

Also, this chapter will 100% be a multi-parter, stretching across a few chapters. I'm very excited to share the next because it's going to get chaotic.

Alright! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay positive, and have a good day/night! Bye~!