Chapter 22
In the days following, Natsu intensified his workouts. His shoulders were firm and tone with muscle while his chest was strong and much to Lucy's approval. He liked it when she watched. He was doing pull up's at one point when Lucy walked in. "Oh .my" she thought very much approved. Looking, his back flexed as she could clearly see the muscles showing through. "Oh Natsu" she cooed. His ears perked up as he turned and smiled "Hey Luce" he greeted as she walked over. Not saying a word, she put her hands around his back and wrapped her legs around his waist. Natsu looked at her confused for a moment before she eyed the pull up bar and back at Natsu. "Really?" he said surprised getting the message. She nodded as he said "Okay" lightly as she grabbed hold of his back tight while Natsu reached up for the pull up bar lifting his feet off the floor. He grunted and focused on the bar in front of him while Lucy looked up proud. "Way to go Natsu" she thought as she lifted her head up on the other side to surprise him as she kissed him once he reached the top.
Deeply and passionately she kissed him and he felt every bit of it as he went back down. "Ddamn..does this mean your going to help me with my work out then?" he asked eager as she let go and got off him. Standing in a corner, she said seductively "for every set that you complete, a piece comes off" she pulled at her shirt as Natsu's jaw dropped. She giggled as she walked back over to him and softly closed his mouth putting a hand on his chin. She very lightly tapped his nose and said "you have to complete every set though..or nothing comes off" "Yes ma'am" he said eagerly and excited. Lucy went and sat down in the corner to watch him. Going to cardio, he went to his elliptical and was on it for forty-five minutes. He jumped down when he was done and looked at Lucy who was eyeing Natsu who removed her socks and smiled a sexy smile. "You have to keep going if you want more" she told him as he nodded his head. He moved to squatting next and doing two sets of thirty. She watched as the sweat dripped down his face. He finished them as he stared at Lucy who sexily slowly began taking her off her pants. He started quivering in desire as she revealed her bare legs. "Uh uh" she teased shaking a finger and her head.
"Not till your done" "Your evil you know that" "No, not evil, it's motivation remember?" she said amused. "Oh I'm motivated alright" he said raising his eyebrows. Next came a set of burpees. " I'm gonna be hurting after all this" he thought as he got down to the floor in a squat position then he put his legs back in a push up then returned to a squat position and finally stood up raising his arms and jumped. "Great, now just do ten more of those" teased Lucy as he looked down at her. Wiping his sweat he said " I better be getting a reward after this" She snickered as Natsu went and did ten more burpees then put his hands on his knees panting. "Jeeze, hell of a workout" He closed his eyes letting out breaths when he opened up to see a water bottle in front of his face. He looked up to see a caring smile on Lucy's face. "Here you go, you hard worker" she said as he gladly took the water and started sucking it down. He drank most of it as he put the lid back down. Stepping back from him, Lucy slowly and painfully to Natsu's mind slipped her underwear off and twirled it around her finger then gave him a teasing look. He shook his head "I am going to have every single strip of clothes removed off you by the time I'm done" he said determined.
Having worked his calves, core and back. "Alright, time for some weightlifting" he said as he picked up his fifty-pound weights and began to work his triceps lifting them up and down in his hands. He did 3 reps of fifteen then put them down and drank some water as Lucy lifted her shirt grabbing Natsu's attention. "You want it?" she asked as his mouth dropped as he nodded. "One more set" she said with a wink as he got a serious look on his face putting the bottle down. He went to his weight bench and set the weights to sixty-eight pounds and laid down the bench. He began lifting and counted quietly to himself. He got to forty as he set the weight down and rested for a couple moments letting out small breaths then picked it back up again counting to twenty. "One more" he thought as he picked up the weight one more time and counted to ten. Setting it down, he sat up with his face hanging down. Lucy saw the sweat pouring off all over his body as he looked up at her and wiggled a finger at her. Innocent like she walked over as he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her down to him.
Getting to her knees, she looked into his craving and longing eyes. "Natsu" she squeaked. Smirking, he silently removed her bra leaving her fully naked as he gently put a hand on her lower back bringing her to the floor. "Na" he put a finger to her lips stopping her. "No,no, it's my time my love slave" he said casually as he slipped his fingers into her and began going in and out making Lucy roll her eyes as she gave into the pleasure. Keeping his fingers there he bent down and began sucking her breast making her moan. She put her hands through his hair pulling at it " "she moaned. Taking his fingers out, he caressed the side of her face as he bit down on her neck making her cry out in ecstasy. He bit harder enjoying making her squeal and moan. Finally she climaxed as he let go" "You went a long time on that one my love" Panting she said "what can I say..i was enjoying myself" He grinned as he had her turn around and get on her knees. Removing his pants, he lowered his boxers. "Hee hee, you ready baby?" he asked gleefully as she nodded. Inserting his cock into her, she began yelling out. "Yes!, mmore!" "More baby?" "Yesss" "How do you ask, come on?" he teased hard. "Master!, please give me more" she cried as he gladly answered pounding into her hard. "Oh yeah, my warrior knows what she likes" Pulling her hair, he lifted her head back as she howled in bliss.
"Are you going to cum for me Luce?, hmm..?" he asked then increased his speed as she balled her hands and screamed. "There you go!" yelled Natsu gladly. She screamed as he let go of her hair where she put her head down and breathed heavily. "I'm ggonna..cc….ahhhhh.." he said satisfied and relieved pulling himself out of her. He grabbed a towel to clean her butt and wipe himself off then went to lay next to her. "So, did I deliver? " she asked "Yes that and more" he happily replied. "Good" "So are you going to do this every week?" he asked optimistically. Soon it was days before Natsu's first official fight, Natsu was training was crazy while still spending quality time with the girls. Lucy was trying out her different therapy options. The day came when it was finally the night before his fight. They had already tucked Layla in and were sitting in bed snuggling with each other. " Are you ready Natsu?" she asked "Luce, If I'm not ready now after two months then I don't know when I will be" "Just be careful Natsu..please" Putting his arm around her, he squeezed gently and said "no worries Luce"
Waking up the next morning, Lucy and Natsu kissed Layla goodbye as she got on the bus for school. "Your not doing anything heavy before your fight tonight are you?" she asked worried "Nahh, just some light stuff" he answered calm and laid back. The day passed as Natsu got ready for his fight until it was time for Lucy and Natsu to bring Layla to Levy's. "Alright, Levy, be good for your aunt..and don't make her get up too much okay?" she said with some seriousness. "Yes mommy" she replied as Levy and Gajeel went to stand up next to her. "You okay Levy, you look like you can pop any day now?" said Natsu blunt as Lucy smacked him lightly on the chest. "Hey, I was just asking a question Luce, sheesh" he said defensively . "It wasn't the question , it was how you asked it" said Lucy. Chuckling Levy said "it's fine Lu. Yes Natsu, this baby is about ready to come out" she smiled as she rubbed her belly. "Good luck Natsu" said Levy. "Thanks" he replied. "Yeah good luck pyro try not to get your butt kicked this time" Gajeel said in good humor. "I'll try to remember that" Natsu said as they headed towards the door.
"Good luck daddy!" Layla yelled. "Thanks baby girl" he said lovingly as they headed out. "Erza going to meet us there?" asked Natsu. "Yup, so we gotta get going now" answered Lucy. Getting into the car, they drove to the arena. Erza was standing there waiting for them leaning on her car. "Hey Erza" greeted Natsu as he waved to her. "Are you ready?" she asked serious as she stood up away from her car. "Yup" "Let's go inside then" she said walking towards the front door not waiting for an response. They quickly followed after her. "Okay Natsu, there's the changing room over there, Lucy and I will go join the audience and watch you from there" said Erza walking away and giving them a moment. Lucy put her arms around Natsu's waist hugging him tight. "I'll be alright Luce. I promise" he said assuring her. "Go on now, cheer for me in the crowd" she let go as she gave him a loving smile and quick kiss on the lips before he went to change. Lucy went and found Erza and sat down. " You alright?" Erza asked seeing the nervousness on her face. "I'm good Erza. Thanks." "I know the manager of this place so if anything happens, I can signal him to stop a match" Erza explained. "I appreciate it" Lucy said thoughtfully. Taking his shirt off, Natsu slipped on his black pants with red flames running down the sides. Letting out a breath he said "okay Natsu, let's go do this" He slipped his shoes and socks off and walked out the door.
Walking into the arena, lights were everywhere, and the crowd was huge. The arena itself was an octagon cage. He knew from the last time he wasn't supposed to walk down until the announcer said something, so he waited by the doorway. A Few minutes later, the main lights started to dim as the lights around the cage turned on when he heard "Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Tonight. I'm sure there's going to be some fun entertainment tonight" "Well looks like its time" Natsu thought standing himself up. "I'll finally get to make up for leaving her that night" The announcer spoke again through the microphone "let's get our contestants down to the cage!" Natsu began to make his way slowly down to the cage as women in the crowd ooed at him and his muscled upper body much to Lucy's displeasure. They kept getting worse the further Natsu went down as Lucy's face turned red. "Easy there lady dragon. He's yours and you know it" said Erza trying to calm her. "Doesn't make it any less irritating to have them wowing him"
Getting down to the arena, he turned and held up his hand and pointed to his wedding band smiling. Lucy and Erza heard all the women whining as Lucy had a victorious little smirk on her face. "Ha, yup he's mine ladies" she thought proudly to herself. "Feel better now?" Erza asked. "Yup. Now I'm ready to watch his match." Lucy replied eager and happy. "What do you want to be called young man?" the announcer asked him quietly taking his voice away from the mic. "Wait till after the match.. then I'll tell you" replied Natsu surprising the man but he shrugged it off and said "okay" They watched as his opponent came down. A large heavily muscled man came down and stood in front of Natsu. His face not showing any sign of joking or amusement. The announcer looked at them and said "are you two ready?" they both nodded as he motioned with his hand to step inside the cage. As they did, he stepped in with them and stood between them. "Alright gentlemen, there will be five rounds. Each lasting five minutes except for the opening match. That will be ten minutes long. No head stomps allowed , kicking and using your knees can be an option but no stomps to the head. Should either of you feel at any point that you can't continue, raise your arm or say forfeit. Are you both ready?" They both nodded as he said "very well , get your protection on and put your mouthguard in" Both Natsu and his opponent did as instructed then stood there. The song Headstrong by Trapt began to play as they stood in front of each other.
The announcer stood back to the side as he said "okay gentlemen, you have ten minutes..FIGHT" The gong went off as everyone cheered in the crowd. Lucy and Erza watched as they saw the seriousness on Natsu's face. "Come on baby, you got this" she thought encouraging as Natsu started immediately surprising everyone. He didn't hesitate as he wrenched his arm back and punched the man hard in the face knocking him off his balance. He grinned as he closed his eyes for a moment then reopened them as he charged forward. Using one of the moves he learned, he grabbed the man's waist hard and kicked out his feet. Grabbing him, Natsu threw him over his shoulder clear across the room. Turning, Lucy caught something in his eyes, something familiar. "What is this that I'm sensing?" she thought to herself curious as she watched intensely. Suddenly he did moves that Lucy did not recognize. "Holy crap, when did Natsu learn those?" asked Erza. "He didn't" Lucy answered immediately, she squinted her eyes at Natsu who had a wicked smile on his face as he beat his opponent. " Natsu!" Lucy yelled out but he didn't respond.
Coming to an realization , she shuttered as he turned to look at her with a serious face. "Oh no" Lucy thought worried. "What is it Lucy?" asked Erza seeing her face. Lucy shook her head slowly. "That isn't Natsu" she muttered. "Huh?, what do you mean?" "That's END" "What!, are you-" but Erza cut herself off seeing the firm look on Lucy's face. She turned and looked at Natsu in the cage "You fool Natsu, what have you done?" The guy was almost beat to hell and she could see the enjoyment on his face. Standing up, Lucy put her hands to her mouth and yelled "Eitherous!" She knew though nobody else could hear , he would with his good hearing as he saw Lucy and Erza come running down the stairs. She glared at him while he put up a finger up and hard punched the guy knocking him out as he fell to the floor. "What are you planning on doing?" Erza asked. "I need to talk to him..if I don't , the next opponent is screwed" Lucy warned as Erza understanding gave a cut off signal to the manager. The gong went off as END took out his mouthguard. Not wasting another second, Lucy grabbed him by the ear and pulled dragging him with her. "Ow, ow, ow, ow,ow" he whined as she wouldn't let go pulling him right into the next room with Erza right behind her.
Erza shut the door behind them as Lucy let go of his ear. Rubbing it, he yelled "that hurt, what the hell Luce!" "Why are you out?!" she demanded annoyed. Still rubbing his ear, he looked at her. "Well?" she snapped waiting for an answer. "You have no idea" "What are you talking about?" she said confused. "It's nothing" he mumbled turning away from her. "Hey" she said concerned grabbing his arm, she looked into his face. She could see regret all over his face. "Eitherous, talk to me..what are you hiding. That Natsu won't tell me" "Forget it Lucy" he said hard. "You need to stop this Natsu, I'm talking to you. Your going too far" she warned. "Do you understand" she asked with some hope. "Yeah, I hear you Lucy" Natsu said uncaringly. "His next match is about to start, he needs to go back out Lucy" Erza notified. "Better get back out there" said Lucy more upbeat. He grinned as he opened the door where the crowd cheered for him. Lucy and Erza went to sit back down as Natsu stepped back into the cage. His next opponent was another big muscled man. "Prepare to get your ass kicked boy" he told Natsu cocky. "You have no idea" End whispered to himself. The song monster by skillet started playing. "Perfect" he thought putting the mouth guard in. Closing his eyes , he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Come on Natsu, is it you this time?" Lucy thought watching him. Soon as the gong went off, his eyes flashed open as he jumped into the air and spun in a circle before anyone could blink kicking the guy hard multiple times in the chest with both his feel slamming him against the wall. The crowd oo'ed in pain for his opponent. Getting up, the guy attempted to pull on over on Natsu dodging his kick. Turning towards him, End punched him hard in the stomach, the sensitive parts of his arm and then his knee caps bringing him to the floor grasping in pain. The guy held his hand up in surrender.
The gong went off as the referee signaled the match was over. "Three minutes, not bad" he thought to himself.. "What should we call you?" the announcer asked him. "Hmm, call me. E.N.D..the monster is out." He chuckled to himself Raising Natsu's arm, the announce yelled "E.N.D! is the winner" Natsu raised his other arm in victory. Eyeing him, Lucy shivered when Natsu smiled a malicious smile at her "Lucy?" said Erza worried "He heard me but Natsu didn't listen." "What do you want to do?" Erza asked immediately serious. "There's nothing we can do…you trained him too well Erza. You trained him to suppress and control so now he can come out at will" said Lucy point blank. "Sorry about that, I didn't know training him to keep his anger under control would mean he could come free. We could stop right now and pull him all out together." "No, that wouldn't accomplish a thing except piss him off. Natsu has trained hard for this and well ..now we just need to find a way to put END back in..which won't be easy now that he's out" "Let me try, I'll get through to him" said Erza serious. "NO, the last thing we need is for you two to go head to head. No Erza, you have no idea what he is capable of" said Lucy trying to reason with her. "Lucy, I'm slightly offended , I've fought guys five times stronger then him" said Erza irritated. Lucy gave her a skeptical look as she shook her head. "No Erza" she said quietly shaking her head opening her eyes watching END.
"You haven't, END is stronger than Natsu and as you just saw ,knows more MMA moves then Natsu because Natsu never trained using any of those but END knew them. You haven't faced anyone like him. He doesn't have a conscious ..not for anyone…but for me. Which is why he only used to come out when I was threatened. He not only has the full physical capability of beating you, he's another side of Natsu so he knows everything. He can push whatever buttons he needs too with the right words" "I had no idea.. I know I felt something back when Gray explained it after you were taken by Zeref." Said Erza. "Zeref had no idea what he unleashed when he grabbed me" Lucy said darkly. "If you don't have a hint of fear Erza, then your dumb" "I do Lucy.. he almost killed me for letting Zeref take you." Lucy's eyes widened. "I had no idea" "Yeah..that was the first time Natsu has truly frightened me. He would have killed me if anything had happened to you, I'm sure of it. So trust me, I do have a fear of him.. but I wont let that stop me if I have to face him" Erza said bluntly honest. "Understood" said Lucy. "Don't ask for that Erza…you don't want it to go that way" she thought. "Animal I've become by three days grace began playing over the speakers as End put his mouthpiece back in.
Lucy and Erza watched in horror that they couldn't do anything as they watched the referee wave his hands when his opponent grabbed a flag and threw it stopping the match. Lucy shook her head. "four minutes. End..why are you doing this, Natsu.." she thought wanting to know. Taking a minute, End sat down and drank down some water then wiped the remnants off his mouth. " It's finally starting to disappear ..the guilt" he thought with some relief. He stood back up with his break being up. The song I will not bow by Breaking Benjamin began to play. "Damn, must be someone reading my mind tonight cause these songs are all about me" he said amused to himself. He got back into the cage. "Your gonna be begging for me to stop by the time I'm done with you punk" said his opponent who towered him. "Heh, I don't think so you cocky bastard" said End. "Nobody commands me. Not one" he thought putting the mouthpiece by in his mouth. The gong went off as the man circled End who stood there not moving an inch as the guy moved very warily around him. End stood there with a relaxed expression setting Lucy and Erza on edge.
"What is he doing?" Erza asked Lucy. "He's waiting. If he wanted too , Im pretty sure Eitherous could finish him in two minutes but since they are five minutes," "He's playing you mean" Erza interrupted "Yes" she answered firm. Finally End moved, it was swift and he moved so fast they barely caught him as he dodged around the man as he tried to catch him but End moved too fast for him to lay a finger on him. Laughing, End stopped in a corner and motioned for the man to come at him. Without hesitation, he launched at End who jumped and landed on his back as the man flung his arms back trying to get him off but to no avail. With his body weight, he brough the man to the floor and wrapped his legs around his waist and arms in a chokehold around his throat. The man began to flail his arms around as End squeezed his throat making his opponent start to cough. "Just surrender, you've only got a minute left" he whispered into the man's ear without remorse. He held his grip as the guy refused to give up then the minute passed as the gong went off and he held on for a minute longer. "Sir" "Yeah, yeah" sniped End letting go of the man as his head fell weakly to the floor. "Mm..monster" he mumbled. Hearing him, End smiled a fang showing smile and said "yes I am. Thanks" "One more match" thought End and Lucy. He sat down and took some more of his water.
"When is Natsu going to come back out?" Erza said through gritted teeth as she balled her hands. Seeing her hands, Lucy gently put a hand over them. "Calm down , if he sees that, it will just add to his amusement" Lucy said plainly. "You aren't worried?" asked Erza stunned at looking at how calm her face was. " No because that is just another side of the man I love. Natsu is still very much aware of everything. It's why he hasn't come back. There's something he doesn't want me to know" " I know what it is..but still don't understand why end is out" she thought. "What?" said Lucy seeing the confliction on Erza's face. " " Erza said quickly calming her face. "Does she know what Natsu is hiding?" Lucy thought as the song are you ready by Creed started playing and the crowd got all excited. End stood up as he put his mouth guard back in , making sure the groin protector was secure then stood up and walked to the middle of the cage where his opponent, a young man about his size with firm muscle walked out and stood on the other side of him. "Hmph, this kid doesn't know what he's in for" thought End mercilessly as Natsu's voice popped into his head "Don't hurt the kid too bad" "Yeah, yeah psh" he muttered. End looked at the young man and tried not to laugh at his attempt at a serious looking face.
"This kid is gonna kick my ass, don't make me laugh" he thought amused. Seeing the referee, he put his jokes aside and got serious as he said "this is the final match, whoever wins is the winner of the night" They nodded understanding as the referee moved aside and the gong went off. The young man went straight for End who didn't hesitate but landed a hard punch to the kids face knocking him to the floor. Grabbing his nose, the young man looked up End who smiled a wicked cocky smile. "Give up now kid and you won't be humiliated" he said as the kid determined got to his feet. "Never, I'm going to beat you" Sighing, End said " Don't say I didn't warn you. Tried to give you a chance" Slipping his mouth guard back in, End didn't wait as he went to the floor and elbowed the kid hard making the kid cry out. Showing no mercy or restraint, he soccer kicked him in the head and slammed his leg down on his knees. The kid grabbed at his knees as End picked him up off the floor and threw him against the cage.
Running over ,End aggressively body slammed into him as his elbow landed into his stomach as the kid curled up in pain. The gong went off as End spit out the mouth guard into his hand. Looking down at the wounded kid, he had a mildly serious look on his face as he said "I warned you kid. Look for something else" Everyone cheered for End as he looked towards the crowd and smiled a victory smile. The referee came and took his arm and motioned towards him signaling he was the winner. "YESSS!" he shouted happily. Looking at him, Lucy couldn't help but smile "Way to go my dragon " she thought as she clapped for her husband. Erza not happy with him clapped none the less. The crowd roared for him as he exited the cage. "See you next competition everyone!" Grabbing a towel, he wiped the sweat off his face and walked back towards the changing room when the manager stopped him. "So you are looking to go competitive?" he asked curious. "Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have done this. It's all or nothing for me" "Great to hear, there's another match in a couple weeks." "Hold up, are you trying to hire me?" End asked. "Is that a problem?" "Not at all" "Great, I'll see you in a couple weeks then we can talk about a schedule" "Sounds good" End said holding out his hand as the manager shook it. The manager walked away looking happy as End walked into the changing room.
"What was that?" asked Lucy who came just as the men split up and Natsu went to change. "I'll go find out, you go wait for Natsu" said Erza as she went to catch up with the manager. Lucy only had to wait for a few minutes as Natsu came out fully clothed and shoes on. "Hey Luce" he said with a smile. She walked over to him as he planted a deep kiss inserting his tongue into hers. She felt deep longing and desire along with passion unlike she had felt before. Pushing him away, she saw the glint in his eyes. "End" she said annoyed. "Hey" "Where's Natsu, why hasn't he come back out yet?" she asked demanding. "He will, I promise. He's letting me enjoy my time and the fact that I just got us a deal" said End. "Huh?," "That manager?, he just gave me a deal Lucy. He wants me to compete in real MMA fighting" "That's..that's great. But you can't keep coming every time Eitherious. Natsu needs to do this himself" "Lucy, I know why the manager wanted Natsu" said Erza as she stopped suddenly in front of them. "Did I miss something?" Natsu growled at Erza giving her an angry wild look. "End" Erza said darkly as she glared at him. "Haven't seen you since the last time you almost let my wife die" "Eitherous, don't" Lucy said quickly but he wouldn't listen. "You went too far End, you nearly beat your opponents to death" "I was within the rules" he shot back at her.
"Erza, stop!" Lucy yelled. "No Lucy, I told you I would face him if I have too" "Ughh, damn it Erza, this isn't about your damn pride, stop now before you get fucking hurt" Lucy snapped at her. "I'd listen to her" End said coldly. "Why haven't you let it go yet Natsu!" Erza yelled leaving Lucy confused. She looked at End's face who seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. "Shut your damn mouth Fernandez" End said hostile. "NO, why haven't you let it go, I know you can hear me, your hiding behind your biggest defense, I never picked you for a coward" "Watch your damn tongue Erza, whether I'm me or not , I am still your fucking boss and your going to show me respect" said End "Eitherous..what is she talking about!" Lucy yelled. "You have no idea what he/I have been feeling these last couple months" he said with some guilt and regret getting Lucy's attention. " . what have you felt?" asked Lucy calmly with concern. "Tell her and stop being a damn coward about it" snapped Erza. "Erza!" yelled Lucy as End's temper snapped as he shoved past Lucy and ran straight for Erza who stood in a defensive position.
She held her ground as End shoved her. "I'm not trying to hurt you Natsu! Just want you to clear your head" " I was working on it" he growled. "Natsu?" Catching her off guard, he tripped her making her lose footing as she fell to the ground. End grabbing her wrists slammed them into the ground gripping them tight. "Your pride is going to get you killed" With a wild angry face, he towered over her as he took an arm and got ready to punch her hard when they heard "NATSU! End looked over and saw something shaking him to his core. Lucy stood there with an arm to her heart crying. " " End said pained as he closed his eyes and reopened them. Natsu ran over as he held Lucy in his arms as she cried onto his chest. "Baby , I'm sorry" he said heartfelt "Natsu" she cried. "It's me, I swear" he replied as he began to rub her back. Looking up at him she said "please tell me what's been killing you" "Hmph, me and my big mouth" he said snidely, "End was just trying to help you..but please tell me yourself" Looking down, Lucy lowered her head so she could see his face. "Guilt" he mumbled. "Guilt?. Guilt for what Natsu?" He closed his eyes tight as Lucy grabbed and squeezed his hand assuring. "Ffor not being there for you..when you relapsed" Her eyes widened not expecting the answer that came out of mouth. "Natsu..Natsu, you were there babe..you got there as fast as you could" she said honestly. "Yeah.. but if I hadn't gone to that stupid meeting, I would have been there and helped you from getting those scars on your arms" "Natsu" she said softly putting a hand to his cheek. He put his face back up and had Lucy stand as he put a hand on her lower waist.
"Lucy" he said quietly and loving. "Natsu, throw that guilt away. You and your Eitherous side don't need to feel that anymore. I'm getting better. So you don't need to shoulder that burden anymore okay?" she raised her eyebrows softly seeing if he understood. "Yeah baby, I hear you" he said with a warm smile. "Don't give up MMA fighting though.. I know you like it…and I know your other side does too" they both chuckled as she said "you don't have to use it to get through guild anymore" She placed her head on his shoulder and hugged him.
Having been silent the whole time, Erza piped in quietly "Lucy" Lucy's face went from calm and loving to anger as she let up from the hug and walked over and slapped Erza on her left cheek. Erza put a hand to it stunned as she looked at the anger in Lucy's face. "I warned you! I fucking warned you not to piss off or engage End" Lucy yelled. "Lucy" "NO, YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND…HE WAS GOING EASY ON YOU ERZA" Lucy screamed. Her eyes got big as Lucy said "If I hadn't of stopped him, he would have really hurt you" "Lucy, baby, calm down" said Natsu putting his arms on her shoulders from behind as she was fuming with anger. "The only one he listens too is me! But you let your fucking pride get in the way" "Lucy, stop" Natsu said sternly forcing her to turn around and face him. Putting his face into hers, he said in a hushed voice " Baby..relax" "Natsu, she..End" "I know Lucy, believe me..i was there remember..but there is no need to lash out like this" he said reasonably.
Rubbing her shoulder, he said " that's our family and been through enough with us, we aren't going to lose her over a stupid stunt like this are we?" "No" she said sullenly "Come on then Luce, come on" he urged nicely as she turned and walked forward with his arms around her. "Erza" Natsu said coldly. Bowing her head in shame, she said "yes Natsu" "What you did was really stupid and you were a damn idiot to do so" "Yes sir, I'll take any punishment you see fit" Sighing he rubbed his nose between two fingers and said "End was right, your pride is going to get you killed. I've warned you about that before" "Yes sir" she said lowly, her head still down. "Erza, raise your head up" he said in a tired voice, but the seriousness was there. She obeyed as she raised her head to look at Natsu and Lucy who was leaning against him. "What's my punishment?" she asked in a clear voice. "I'm stripping you of your position as second in command" Natsu declared plain and clear.