Chapter Five: In the Infirmary

Laxus was breathing hard, on his knees, staring at everyone in the guildhall in bewilderment. He could have sworn that he had cast the Fairy Law spell perfectly, so he was startled when his guildmates were still on their feet, watching him and each other with mixed expressions on their faces.

"No," he whispered, slamming his fist on the floor. "How are you all still alive?"

His lightning magic was already at its limit after he had put everything into the Fairy Law spell. Even his dragon slayer magic had depleted. All that was left in him was his confusion on how his plan had failed him completely.

"You foolish brat." Makarov, in his gargantuan form, finally aimed a forceful blow at him with his enormous first. The impact immediately sent his body flying, but before he could even fall to the floor, Gajeel's iron rods had him pinned against a brick wall. Then, Gray stepped forward and fastened his arms and legs with adamantine-like ice.

Moments later, despite his head feeling dizzy from the assault, he saw Natsu and Loke jumping into the air, their faces determined, and directing their blazing fists in his direction.

It was the last thing that he remembered before everything went dark.


"Lucy-chan, do you still need to go outside the main hall? Otherwise, I'll be going there to lock the doors and switch off the lights."

Mirajane and Lucy had volunteered to stay in the guildhall's infirmary for the night to watch over the unconscious Laxus. The rest of their guildmates, including their guild master, had already gone to their respective homes to rest after they had received medical treatment.

Lucy sheepishly smiled at the other girl. "Well, I am a bit hungry, Mira-san," she told her apologetically, scratching her head. "Is there still food left outside?"

The take-over mage smiled back. "No, not really," she said, chuckling. "But don't worry. I'll go to the kitchen and see what I can cook for you. Are you going to be all right here by yourself for a while?"

Shooting a glance at their knocked out patient, the celestial mage nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll be all right."

"Okay. I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything. If you're cold, there are more blankets in the cabinet. And you know where the bathroom is." The older girl winked at her and then left the room.

Sighing, Lucy dragged a chair next to Laxus' bed and then sat on it. Seriously, she wanted nothing more than to be home in her apartment so she could soak in a hot bath and then sleep on her fluffy bed. But because she wanted to prove herself useful to the guild, she had to be here, watching over Makarov's grandson whom she despised.

For a moment, she studied his features, having nothing better to do. She realized that his hair was actually light blond, but then his thick eyelashes were dark. What a strange combination. He also had a long nose and soft-looking lips, which were parted slightly at the moment. If she didn't know better, she would say that he was a good-looking guy. He also kind of looked cute right now since he was asleep; it masked his overbearing personality.

Curious, her eyes skimmed over his god-like body, remembering those flesh-colored scales that had appeared in his arms, now wrapped in bandages, when he went on a rampage. Earlier, Gajeel had said that Laxus possessed the same magic ability as a dragon slayer. Did that mean that he was also trained by a dragon just like Natsu was? But according to what she had heard, he was raised by Makarov.

Laxus was indeed a mysterious guy. But he was a jerk. And a complete idiot.

"You're an idiot," she said out loud even though she knew that he couldn't hear her, judging by his current state. "You hear me? Baka!"

As if on cue, Laxus grunted and stirred in his bed, and Lucy found her breath caught in her chest. When he slowly opened his eyes, he looked at her directly with a puzzled expression on his face.

She cleared her throat in panic, wondering if he had heard her. Nervous as she was, she was unable to look away from those unnerving eyes. Maybe her curiosity got the better of her.

"Hey," she said cautiously, her voice shrill. "How are you feeling?"

"Why are you here?" he asked gruffly in his deep voice. He quickly scanned the familiar room that housed a few beds and light blue curtains. He realized that he was inside the guildhall's infirmary. When he looked down at himself, he saw bandages wrapped around his body.

I see, he thought, finding his situation almost funny. So, I got knocked out.

"Mira-san and I volunteered to watch over you for the night since everyone had gone home," came Lucy's reply as she leaned back against her chair. "So, here I am."

"Ugh, what a pain," he grunted, closing his eyes. "I don't need anyone to babysit me. You can just go. Don't waste your time on me."

"You know," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "You can stop trying to act cool and learn to be grateful for once."

"Whatever," he muttered. "I don't really care."

The celestial mage scoffed. "Obviously, you cared about me—us—your guildmates, since your spell didn't work on any of us." She cleared her throat again, mentally kicking herself at the slight error of her words.

His eyes shot up, and then he glared at her. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded. His head still hurt a little, so he couldn't think clearly. Who cared about whom?

"Mira-san just told me about Fairy Law. Sorry to disappoint you, but it can only be used against those whom the caster regarded as enemies," she explained, folding her arms over her chest. "But since none of us got hurt from it, then that means you never really considered us as such."

"Do you usually talk this much?" he asked lazily, massaging his head. "Jeez."

Lucy bit back a retort, willing herself not to get carried away by this arrogant prick. Instead of answering him, she pursed her lips. Shut up, shut up, shut up. Don't pick a fight!

Laxus was also silent for a moment, realizing that somehow there was a change in him; most of his pent-up anger was gone, and he felt much lighter inside. Did his Fairy Law spell do this to him? Was his only enemy all along—himself?

"By the way, Mira-san is in the kitchen fixing me something," said Lucy quietly, rising to her feet. "I'll go and tell her to prepare something for you, too." Yeah, finding Mirajane was a good excuse to get out of this stuffy room for a bit. She decided to use it.

She was about to walk over to the door when Laxus' hand shot up and seized hers. Startled, she faced him and gave him a questioning look. "What?"

But the lightning mage just lay there in silence, gazing into her eyes. She was fully aware of his callused thumb lightly brushing against the skin of her hand, and it somehow sent strange warmth throughout her body.

Finally, he spoke in a deep voice, "Do you hate me, Lucy?"

Lucy stared at him for a moment, hesitating. "Hate is such a strong word," she told him slowly. "I do know that I'm not crazy about you."

He chuckled. "Trust me. I'm not crazy about you either."

She rolled her eyes. "Baka. I already know that. But I'm willing to be friends if you won't hurt our comrades anymore. What you did was totally against what our guild stood for."

"Heh. I'll be out of this guild before you know it," he said with a faint smile on his face. The memory of what had transpired earlier flickered in his mind, and he felt a wave of shame wash over him. No, he didn't deserve her forgiveness or friendship.

"What are you saying?" she demanded, feeling awkward over the fact that her hand was still in his. His hold was warm and firm; it was like he was holding her like a friend. Somehow, it felt quite nice.

"I'm saying that Jiji is going to excommunicate me after this," he replied simply. There was no doubt about that.

But you're his grandson, Lucy was about to say but caught herself in the nick of time. She remembered the Makarov had excommunicated his own son, Ivan, although the reason behind it remained a mystery.

"You do want me out of this guild, right?" he prompted, raising an eyebrow at her.

"No… I…" She frowned, feeling flustered. In truth, she couldn't deny the fact that Laxus had given her a hard time, making her feel like a useless crap. He had also hurt her friends. Even his imposing presence in the guild and arrogant demeanor annoyed her. But still, he was part of the Fairy Tail family.

"It doesn't matter what I think," she finally told him firmly. "You're not going to get excommunicated." She realized that she didn't mind him being around after all. But she wasn't going to let him know that.

Then, before she knew what was happening, the lightning mage tugged her toward him. She yelped in surprise when her body fell on top of him like a weightless pillow. Their faces were now inches apart, and Lucy found herself staring into his astounding gray eyes. "N-Nani?"

"Listen," he said softly, his hand clamped on her shoulder. "I have something to tell you."

Lucy swallowed hard. "Do you really have to pull me this up close to tell me something?" she asked anxiously.

He turned his head to the side to look away, a blush creeping up his neck and face. "I-I had only meant to pull you a little closer," he admitted, realizing that she was indeed closer to him than he had wanted her to be. "I never thought you'd go flying on top of me. What an utterly weak person you are."

"Would you stop looking down on people already?" Lucy snapped, huffing impatiently. Then, she furiously pushed herself off him and straightened up, ignoring the nervous thumping of her heart inside her chest. "Telling people how weak they are is really not the way to establish a friendship bond," she added.

"But I'm not trying to be friends with you," he said quietly, running a hand through his hair.

She blinked. "You're… you're not?" she stuttered. She realized that she sounded disappointed, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to be friends with everyone in the guild.

Sighing, Laxus decided to tell her the truth. "Lucy, listen to me," he said, turning his attention back to her. "It's about your dad." There was no turning back now.

She froze. "What?" she whispered, even though she heard him. "What about my dad?"

"I met with him in your family mansion this morning," he began, watching her stunned expression. "He offered me something in exchange for making you leave the guild."

She stared down at him in utter disbelief. "You… You met with my dad this morning?" A flashback of Jude and her having a heated exchange earlier in the day crossed her mind, and it reminded her of the pain that she had felt during that reunion.

"I did."

"And?"

"I willingly accepted his offer."

Lucy inhaled sharply. "I see. And now?" she prompted, feeling a lump rising in her throat. She found herself afraid of his answer.

"I still intend to carry out the quest whether or not I'd get excommunicated," he finished in a murmur.

There was a disturbing silence between them. Both mages just stared at each other for a moment, trapped in their own thoughts.

"Do you hate me now?" he finally asked, even though he already knew what her answer was going to be.

Her eyes glistening with tears, she glared at him. "Yes," she hissed. "Yes, I hate you."

Laxus nodded at her, feeling sad yet relieved that he had told her the truth. He didn't want her to think that there could ever be a possible friendship between them because of the job that he needed to do so that he could reach his goal. He had to see his father.

It was for the best, he decided, maintaining this hate bond with her. In truth, he no longer held anything against her. She might not be much of a fighter, but her inner strength was much stronger than his. He realized that now.

He smiled to himself. Lucy was just this blonde chick who really cared about Fairy Tail and her friends.

"You," she said in a loathing tone, taking a few steps back. "You're just as selfish as my dad!" With that, she spun on her heel and ran out of the infirmary room, moving past Mirajane, who just arrived in the doorway, carrying a tray of food.

Sighing, Laxus stared at the ceiling, bracing himself to a tirade that was about to come. Mirajane walked over to his bed and then placed the tray that she had been carrying on the side table. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him.

"That was really smooth, Laxus," she said in a clipped tone, looking furious. "How could you make Lucy cry like that? She's a nice person."

"It's not like I didn't know that already," he retorted. "And I didn't mean for her to go boohooing like that either."

"Well, you should apologize to her when she gets back here," she told him. "Do you understand?"

"I thought she already left," he remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Mirajane shrugged her shoulders. "She's probably just somewhere in the guildhall, wishing for you to die already. We're under Master's orders to watch over you for the night."

"That… sounded so wrong, but okay." He didn't dare to picture himself being watched by two lovely girls and them crying over his wounded body. That would be absurd, yet a little appealing. Seriously, there was no saving a guy like him.

"Anyway," said the take-over mage, snapping him out of his musings. "Care to tell me how you obtained a dragon slayer's magic ability like Natsu's? I know that Master certainly didn't have any pet dragons."

Laxus nodded, realizing that this other S-Class mage already had him back into a corner. "Yeah, I'll tell you," he said in a subdued tone. "You better sit down first."