PART I - Resolution
Chapter II – Natural Selection
"It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business."
― Mahatma Gandhi
"Redfox, either you shut up or I make you shut up, but if you choose the second option, I doubt that you'll be in any state to leave the academy for the weekend."
The lieutenant colonel Clive was warning Gajeel for the second time and the lesson had only started about twenty minutes earlier. The young man groaned and Lucy smirked. Along with her teammate, Loke, she had been fighting against Gajeel and Gray in a ruthless paper ball throwing battle and the young woman turned out to be a very good shooter. Her last throw reached Gajeel's head and elicited an irritated growl from the young man.
"Damn, Gajeel..." Gray whispered furiously to his comrade, "can't you at least try to dodge? He got you with each shot!"
"Shut up! He's two seats behind me, of course he can hit me!"
The whole class turned toward him at his outburst and stared with amused or jaded eyes while the lieutenant colonel Clive threw his chalk at the boy's head. Lucy and Loke won 32-7. Over the past week, Lucy became really close to her roommate and had to admit that even if he didn't know her secret, his presence was still a great support for her in the academy. The boy himself was pretty secretive when it came to his private life, aside from his multiple experiences with women, and Lucy couldn't help but feel that they were so similar that they surely were meant to meet. He even gave her one of his bedding sets with cute little lions and she felt comfortable enough to sleep with her Plue plush around him.
"I'm definitely paying you back in combat," Gajeel growled at her when they left the class.
The young woman snickered.
"What a sore loser," she mocked. "Fine, I'll kick your ass this afternoon too, then."
As surprising as it may sound, Gajeel didn't look scary at all anymore to Lucy. She knew he was really a big softie with his friends, he'd never hurt her on purpose.
"Can't wait," he smirked.
Loke laughed and slid his arm around her shoulders to lean on her like the lazy ass he was. Lucy didn't bother shrugging him off, it never worked anyway.
"He's so enjoying himself," he smiled, "it's cute. Maybe you should try shooting at him with a real gun since he likes it so much."
Lucy laughed and Loke waited for a second to get her attention back on him.
"Joke aside," he went on, "you should choose this speciality. Recruits that manage to get a speciality are always noticed and rewarded with bonus points. I think snipers get three hundred points each year."
Lucy lifted an eyebrow. Loke knew that she wanted to join the Elite Squad, though he didn't know her real intentions, and often gave her advices and valuable information to help her achieve her goal. And three hundred? That was a lot... Enough to aim for the Elite Squad. She nodded.
"Thanks, Loke," she said. "How do you choose a speciality?"
He smirked and patted her shoulder.
"You have to ask our dear commander," he snickered.
Shit...
Lucy didn't exactly know why, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from constantly annoying her instructor. Over the past week she got him to send her at least a hundred icy glares and was still working to get more. It was just stronger than her. And of course, the commander never missed a chance to make her pay for being a pain in the ass. For example, just the previous day she commented on his bed hair giving him a childish look and he made her do forty pushups in one go... Her arms still ached.
"No problem," she ironized, "I'm sure he'll be glad to help me."
Loke snickered and bent to whisper in her ear.
"If you're a really good boy," he drawled, "I can give you an info that would be of a great help in your current situation."
"If being a good boy means becoming your living sex toy then you can go and hang yourself," she retorted.
The young man guffawed at the harsh reply.
"Don't listen to what Gray says," he laughed, "it's all a lie! No, seriously, listen closely. You know that there are five classes in first year and three classes in second year, right? Well, at the end of the month, the first years' instructors will defy the second years' in a game of Capture the Flag. In short, the second years will have to protect their flags from us, first years. From what I've heard second years almost never lose."
"Almost?"
Loke smirked, pleased to have his friend's attention.
"There were only five first years in the Academy's history that managed to Capture the Flag," he declared. "And guess what? Our commander is one of them!"
"Seriously? That's not even surprising."
Lucy was thrilled. This was a perfect chance! If she could bring victory to her Brigade and her commander, she was sure to be accepted into the snipers' course.
"That's just great," she smiled, "I owe you, Loke."
The young man's hand fell from her shoulders to her lower back.
"Really?" he cheered. "Good. Then sleep with me tonight."
Lucy slapped his hand away and rolled her eyes, already used to her pervert friend's antics.
"No way," she said, "and I already told you I wouldn't."
"But I won't treat you as a toy!" he retorted. "I'll be so loving you'll grow wings."
Lucy sighed.
"What's wrong with you? One week away from girls and you turn to boys?"
Loke smiled brightly.
"I don't turn to boys, I turn to you. And gender doesn't mean a thing when there's love."
"Still no."
"Oh, come on," he whined, "be nice! You're my bestest friend!"
Lucy almost laughed at this, but managed to keep an annoyed look on her face.
"Don't talk like a five year old kid," she scolded, "it's gross."
Loke grinned and slid his arm around her shoulders once again.
"Why?" he asked. "You're realizing you have lolicon tendencies? Don't worry, I love both you and your perverted fantasies."
"Get lost."
During lunch time, Gajeel kept accusing Lucy of being a cheater and assured that he wouldn't have lost if he had been the one sitting behind. A few second years sitting away from the new recruits were talking with a bit more agitation than usual, but no one really paid them any attention as something much more interesting happened. The colonel Strauss entered the refectory and waved at some students before letting her eyes run through the crowd and land on Lucy. A bright smile lit up her face and she practically ran to her. She hugged the younger girl and pushed Loke to sit next to her.
"I thought this morning's lessons would never end," she sighed, "I missed you so much!"
"We saw each other yesterday..." Lucy answered.
"I know," the colonel smiled.
Mirajane Strauss was a complex character to say the least. She joined the teachers the day following Erza's visit and met Lucy in the evening that same day. Erza had called her and explained absolutely everything about herself, her mission and her father. After her conversation with Lucy, Mira had cried, hugged her and swore to protect her with all her power. The following morning, the other recruits met Mira as well. Of course, a lot would try to show off, catcall at her, some even had the balls to openly suggest she let them do her. She took it all with a sweet smile until someone actually had the guts to try and touch her butt. Natsu had been there too, and had grabbed the guy by the collar but Mira interfered. With her eternal sweet smile, she put a gentle hand on the commander's arm and asked him to let her take care of it. Natsu had paled slightly, but obeyed nonetheless. The smug smirk that the recruit had been sporting disappeared the moment Mira turned to look at him. She was terrifying. No one knows what was it exactly that she told him when she whispered in his ear, but the guy spent the day in the infirmary and left the academy in the evening. The following morning, she gathered all the new recruits in the courtyard and told them to form a circle around her.
"I've been here for three days," she said. "Every day, a few of you would find it amusing to insult or belittle me because I don't yell or glare at everyone. It seems to me that you didn't have enough lessons about morals, that or you weren't listening. You think officers don't need to show respect to their underlings? To women? You have such a high esteem of yourselves that you think you're superior to anyone who's not a male officer?"
No one dared to answer. She crossed her arms and stared at the men surrounding her.
"One at a time," she declared. "In front of everyone. All of you who think they stand a chance against me, all of you who think they can disrespect women and get away with it, come at me."
A guy with light blonde hair and a scar on the eyebrow went to stand in front of her and bent his head. He said he was one of the guys that had been fooling around and apologized. He swore he would never do it again and regretted acting like a brat. In the end, no one dared to fight her and she went back to her smiling self, everyone knowing that she could easily kill them all if she wanted to. Elfman still broke a few noses when he found the main troublemakers, to assert his position as the protective brother. Only Sting was left alone since he apologized to his sister directly. With the problem fixed, Mira focused on her lessons and Lucy. Both women became close friends and even though they made sure to protect Lucy's secret their relationship still generated a rumor about them being secret lovers. Which totally was Mira's fault.
"Loke, sleep somewhere else tonight," she told him. "I'll need the room with Luc."
Loke snickered.
"Sure," he trailed, "just make sure to clean up before I come back."
"Don't go imagining stupid things," Lucy groaned, "she's going to help me revise Physics."
"I'm sure she will."
Mira was called by one of their teachers, Bob, and she got up.
"I'll see you tonight then," she smiled at Lucy.
When she was out of the room with their eccentric teacher, Loke smiled.
"So, you and her?"
"No."
"Oh, come on, tell me at lea..."
"No."
"But I want to know!"
"No."
Needless to say lunch time that day was way noisier than usual with her friends harassing her with stupid questions. She was almost relieved when the first lesson of the afternoon came. Almost. They would spend two hours fighting with Natsu and the commander enjoyed using her as his personal punching bag... The warm-up session was as hellish as usual, but with the weather being so freaking hot that day, Natsu allowed the recruits to take their shirts off while he was already half naked, only wearing sport shorts. Luckily, three of her comrades, including Loke, kept their shirts on so it was less strange that she kept her own. Lucy then found herself surrounded by half naked men showing off their nicely defined muscles and appetizing abs. Gajeel, Elfman and Gray were the most impressive guys of the group. The young woman didn't refrain from feasting her eyes on the goods – though discreetly – but had to admit that none of her comrades held a candle to Natsu. The commander's toned muscles moved enticingly with every movement and a thin layer of sweat sparkled under the sun on his tanned skin. His shorts hung loosely on his hips and let the V shaped cut in his lower abdominal region show to the world. He bent to pick up a large black bag filled with colourful ribbons and Lucy had to bite her cheek to restrain herself from smiling at the sight.
"You're drooling," Loke whispered, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.
Lucy instinctively lifted her hand to wipe her chin, but managed to halt the movement.
"What in the world do you want me to be drooling over?" she denied in a furious whisper.
Loke snickered.
"Oh, come on, just because I often behave like an idiot doesn't mean that I actually am one."
"You definitely are," Lucy countered, "and be quiet, I'm trying to focus."
"I can see that," Loke laughed.
She punched his arm as the commander was standing back up with ribbons of three different colours.
"Don't fight," he scolded, "at least not yet."
He observed his recruits for a few seconds before starting to throw ribbons at them. Lucy got a red ribbon, Loke got a blue one, Gajeel received a red one as well, Gray got white, Elfman got blue, Alzack and Jet got red, Warren and Droy got white. When their instructor was done distributing ribbons, he counted them to make sure each team was composed of fifteen recruits wearing red, blue and white ribbons around their left arm. Whereupon he took out three black ribbons and went to stand in front of his students.
"Since it's your first week at the academy and tomorrow is the weekend," he announced, "the instructors decided to let you have some fun to finish the week."
He tied one of the black ribbons around his left arm.
"I've heard a rumor about a game of Capture the Flag," he went on. "The rumor is true, first years will have to steal a flag from one of the second years' teams. But your participation in the game isn't certain. Since the leader of the losing team will get a penalty I have to make sure you guys are good enough to take part."
From behind the group of recruits, two persons walked forward to go stand by the commander's side. Lucy immediately recognized the lieutenant Dreyar and the lieutenant colonel Clive. The pink haired tyrant handed them a black ribbon each and they tied it around their left arm.
"Lieutenant Dreyar and lieutenant colonel Clive both agreed to help me evaluate you. Your objective is simple: steal as many ribbons from enemies as you can. Each ribbon equals a point, the team that gets the most points wins the game. Those of you who show useful skills during the game will integrate the team that will represent me during the Capture of the Flag. Any question?"
Loke lifted his hand and his sweet smile seemed to annoy the commander.
"Yes?"
"I assume you three are wearing ribbons because you will participate, so why are you wearing black ribbons?"
The commander distractedly played with the hanging strips of his ribbon and Lucy couldn't help but find the motion adorable. She internally flinched. Adorable? The tyrannical commander? She'll have to ask Erza to examine her head.
"The three of us will be team leaders," Natsu explained. "If one of you manage to steal and keep a black ribbon by the end of the game, the person automatically qualifies for the Capture of the Flag."
Lucy perked up. Steal a black ribbon and qualify for the Capture? Perfect, this was her chance to earn points with Natsu and get him to accept her nomination for the sniper speciality. Her path to the Elite Squad wasn't as excruciating as she thought it would be.
"No more questions?" Natsu asked. "Ok, team blue with me, team red with lieutenant Dreyar and team white with lieutenant colonel Clive. Follow your captain to your base, end of the game in two hours."
Loke lifted his hand once again, this time not smiling.
"Yes?"
"I want to change teams," Loke declared very seriously.
Natsu stared at him blankly.
"… What?"
"I want to join the red team," he repeated.
Lucy facepalmed. That idiot... For some reason, though, the commander didn't get angry at him.
"Why?" he asked.
Loke smiled brightly.
"I want to be in Luc's team!"
Natsu turned to look at her and she froze. How was she supposed to react? She wasn't responsible for her idiotic friend's behavior.
"Do you want your friend to join your team?" the commander asked her.
If she was surprised that he was asking, she was even more surprised to hear her own answer.
"No," she said, "I want to steal his ribbon. And I want to steal yours, too."
A stunned silence followed her declaration and Lucy completely ignored Loke, Clive and Lieutenant Dreyar's smiles as she was too busy staring at the amused commander in front of her. He wasn't exactly smiling, but his eyes shone with a playfulness Lucy didn't know he had.
"Good luck with that," he answered.
He turned back and went to talk with his colleagues.
"Man," Gray whistled, "you've got balls of iron."
"Doesn't he?" Loke intervened. "I think I'm falling hard."
"Hang in there, buddy," Gray laughed, "tomorrow you'll get to see your girls."
Natsu clapped his hands to impose silence. The recruits stopped talking and listened quietly despite their growing excitation.
"A few rules before we part," he said, "you're allowed to fight but you're disqualified if you hurt others. You're more than welcome to use stratagems or personal skills during the game if it can help you in any way. Finally, there are three huts in the center of the field. They're filled with Training Hunting equipment and you're allowed to use them on anybody since it's impossible to really hurt someone with those. The bullets have been replaced with paint balls and the sticks have been covered with rubber. If you manage to hit someone with a paintball you win a point for your team. That's all."
The academy was surrounded by a thick forest that would be used as the game field and Lucy was burning up when her team finally reached their base. She was very excited by this situation and couldn't wait to run for the huts and get a precision rifle. After that she would search for the blue team's base and hide until she saw Loke and the commander. Her plan was perfect!
"I know what you guys are thinking about," the lieutenant sighed, "and it's a stupid plan. The worst thing you could do right now is run to the huts, they'll be filled with enemies and some of them might be there already and setting traps around them."
Lucy's mood slightly deflated, but the malicious glint in her leader's eyes told her he had a plan and she was curiously as excited to hear it as she was thinking about shooting Natsu.
"I observed you guys during the previous combat sessions and I have a pretty clear idea of who's good at what," the lieutenant went on. "So listen closely..."
oOo
Lucy was lying on the dried earth under thick green bushes with Jet by her side. They were positioned a few meters behind the three huts and observing, waiting for the signal. Their leader was a genius, but the plan he had come up with was risky and Lucy couldn't help but feel thrilled, even knowing that both she and Jet would be the easiest targets of the field in just a moment. She heard fights near the shacks and smirked. Let the morons fight between themselves, team red will be taking the advantage very soon. A flash of light caught her eyes from somewhere in the bushes opposite to where she was hiding with Jet and she glanced at the young man. He had seen it too, and nodded at her. They crawled under the bushes as fast as they could and ran to hide behind fallen tree trunks. They stopped there and checked the surroundings to make sure no one had seen them. This really was exciting! They were so close now that they could see the members of the other teams run around and fight to try and take weapons. They were lying under really thick trunks and Lucy searched for the commander and her idiot friend but couldn't see them anywhere. She started to worry when she realized Elfman and Gray were nowhere to be seen either. "Each team only sent common foot soldiers to the huts, Lucy thought, don't tell me they're actually following the same plan as us?" She frowned and felt Jet tense beside her. The second signal was given and the young man jumped out of his hiding spot and ran to the window of one of the huts. Two enemies tried to shoot him, but he dodged and jumped through the window. A second later, a large cloud of fog engulfed the little shack and Lucy jumped out of her hiding spot as well. The effect of surprise allowed her to run safely for the window and jump through it as well. As expected, their reckless actions stunned their enemies and they took as much weapons as possible before escaping from the same broken window. Before leaving though, Lucy took a moment to search for a precision rifle and did find one as well as smoke grenades and a red simple cloth. Gajeel and Sting appeared when she got out to cover them as they ran to the meeting spot where their comrades were waiting. The strongest members of the team were the ones to get the guns and Lucy was pleased to be allowed to keep her rifle.
"We're moving right away," the lieutenant declared, "you two did very well, but your actions attracted attention, our enemies are probably closing in on us as we speak. Everyone stick to the plan and the next time we meet, we'll be the winners of the game."
Lucy had to admit that their leader really was charismatic, he managed to boost all of his recruits even more than they already were and made them believe in victory. Heck, they felt like they weren't even in a game anymore. Lucy moved quickly with Gajeel following close behind. Those two would be in charge of the really difficult part of the plan, but it was exactly what Lucy had been hoping for: she was the one that would take the black ribbon. From Natsu Dragneel. Earlier in the game, Eve, their scout, was sent in search of the blue base and he found it. Lucy, Gajeel and the rest of the red team was heading there, stealing as many ribbons as possible on the way. They came really close to the blue base and Lucy finally found Loke, patrolling in the area. Unfortunately and despite what she said before the start of the game, her mission didn't allow her to be the one to take his ribbon so she continued to progress toward the enemy base. Where was Natsu?
"Ok, here is good," Gajeel whispered, "hide behind those bushes."
Lucy did, it was part of their plan and the spot was perfect.
"Don't forget to keep calm," Gajeel reminded her, "he will come at you right away, but we won't let him beat you up so keep calm and stay where you are, got it?"
Lucy took a deep breath in and nodded. She knew what she had to do. Gajeel used a pocket mirror to send the signal when Lucy was ready and nodded at her before leaving. He ran down the small slope and crouched down behind broken dry branches and bushes to make it look like he was trying to be discreet. Lucy almost stopped breathing when he disappeared among the trees. The lieutenant had told her that Natsu would lurk around the base to trap enemies, so they knew he was near. And they needed to know where to act. She could hear her own heartbeat, the ruffling of the wind in the leaves, someone padding quietly through the trees... Wait, what? She slowly turned her head, careful of her movements, making sure her breathing couldn't be heard. Crouching near her, looking at the spot where Gajeel had been standing a few moments ago, was the commander. He hadn't seen her. The lieutenant had given orders, but the eventuality that one of them might take Natsu by surprise hadn't been spoken about, because no one thought it was possible. Lucy hesitated, she could shoot to confuse him and take the chance to steal his ribbon. It would be way faster than what they were about to do. She bit the inside of her cheek, she had to be patient and obey orders. She observed him from her hidden spot beneath a heap of large torn branches and layers of vegetation. He looked mighty, just like a lion observing his prey before pouncing on it. His eyes were so focused on Gajeel that he didn't see her at all, all his muscles tense in apprehension. So the lieutenant was right, he really was aiming for one thing only. Then, the lieutenant appeared and everything happened so quickly that Lucy couldn't believe she actually managed to do her part. The second the lieutenant's hair appeared near Gajeel among the trees, Natsu jumped up and ran down the slope with alluring speed toward the men. And when he was right behind them, Lucy used the scope of her rifle to shoot and reached him in the back, leaving a large red paint stain there. The commander immediately dropped to the floor and rolled to the side to hide himself from the sniper as well as the men he had been about to attack. As expected, he located her in one glance and ran toward her. God, if her comrades weren't fast enough, she was in deep sh...
"Ouf!"
She coughed when he jumped on her and roughly pinned her to the ground, pushing the rifle away. He wasn't mad at her, but his eyes shone with a primal desire for predation that stunned her. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable lying underneath him and tried to wiggle her way out of his grip. He snickered.
"Still not aggressive enough," he breathed.
Lucy's stomach contracted and she couldn't understand why. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, it was one of the rules he had given them at the start of the game, but a very loud alarm was ringing inside her head and he was making her uncomfortably nervous and hot. The commander's eyes completely lost this predatory glint when he heard the scream though.
"Nice, Luc!"
Lucy smirked and wrapped her legs around her commander's waist to restrain him. Jet was so fast no one saw him, he ran toward Natsu from behind and tore the commander's black ribbon off his arm. The lieutenant then appeared from behind the bushes and pulled on the enemy captain's shoulder to make him fall off the slope. Gajeel helped her back up and pulled on her arm in the direction Jet had taken.
"We did it!" he screamed in delight. "The game's about to end, we have to keep this ribbon!"
Two minutes later, they found themselves standing dumbfounded in the center of a clearing, surrounded by the members of the white team. The lieutenant colonel Clive took both the commander's and the lieutenant's black ribbons and Team White won the game.
Back in the academy, all the recruits laughed while telling their friends how awesome they had been during the game. A lot of them were covered with paint, but Natsu was the only leader that had been touched, which didn't go unnoticed among the recruits.
"I heard it was the small blondie of Team Red," someone said.
"I heard it too," someone else agreed. "He apparently shot him with a precision rifle."
"I was there," someone assured, "I saw everything, I was the one that distracted the commander to help the sniper shoot."
"I saw it too," another one seconded, "the sniper was standing up, completely uncovered while the commander was running away from him!"
"I heard he was alone against the commander and still snatched his ribbon!"
Lucy sighed. She didn't even know those guys, but they all assured that they were her companions... Not to mention none of what they were saying was true. Among her real friends, a lot of them had done a pretty good job during the game and Loke, Gray, Alzack, Gajeel, Jet and Elfman had managed to keep their ribbons.
"Ok everyone," Natsu called, "your leaders told me that all of you did a pretty good job so I'll be able to form a team to participate in the Capture of the Flag."
All the recruits cheered and applauded loudly.
"Don't celebrate just yet," Natsu interrupted, "not all of you will be part of the team. The names of the chosen ones will be written on the secretary board on Monday morning. You can leave, good job everyone."
Blessings to the guy who created the shower. Lucy sighed as the hot water ran down her skin and enjoyed the feeling of freedom that came with wearing no Pressurizing Hemostatic Elasticity Bandage on her chest. Steam soon filled the bathroom and she sighed, she needed to get out so Loke could wash as well. The hematoma on her side had been replaced with a slightly bluish mark that didn't even hurt anymore and she was satisfied to note the development of some muscles. She cursed the bandage when she had to put it back on and got out soon after, dressed in the white indoor uniform of the recruits.
"Took you long enough," Loke snickered, "next time let me shower with you, it will be faster."
"You wish."
They were ready to go a few minutes later and walked toward the refectory where they found their friends bragging about Lucy's exploits.
"He was hiding with his sniper rifle," Jet explained, "and shot the commander right in the middle of the back. It was impressive. I was hiding behind him and I saw the commander pounce on him. It was part of the plan and all but it was still pretty freaking impressive I tell you."
Loke smirked and grabbed her wrist to lift it above their heads.
"And here comes the hero!" he declaimed.
"Nice job, Hawkeye," Gray laughed, "even though you still lost to our team."
"Luc's a man!" Elfman yelled.
"We should have a showdown," Alzack proposed.
"Hell yeah!" Sting agreed energetically, "a battle of snipers!"
"Shut up, brats," Loke groaned, "you're annoying the love of my life."
Needless to say dinner was even noisier than usual. The young woman spent most of her time searching for her commander and was surprised to find him already staring at her. She held his gaze for a moment, finding no hostility in his eyes. That evening, Lucy got her own fan club as well as her soldier's code name: Hawkeye.
About an hour before curfew, while Loke and Lucy were packing to go back home for the weekend and talking about what they would do during those two days, someone knocked on the door. Loke got up first and went to open. Outside were five or six young men Lucy didn't know. They were wearing indoor uniforms, but the red edging on their left sleeve identified them as second years.
"My name's Bora," the taller one said. "My friends and I would like to invite you to a traditional welcome party tonight."
Loke didn't even ask Lucy for her opinion.
"Thanks," he said, "but we're busy."
He was about to close the door, but the guy stopped it with his foot and gripped the wood.
"That's not very polite," he said, "you'll never integrate yourselves if you refuse this kind of nice invitations."
"I said..."
"Guys," Bora interrupted Loke, "get them."
Both Loke and Lucy fought hard and probably broke a few noses and ribs, but couldn't win against seven opponents – one of them had been waiting at the end of the corridor – and were dragged to an underground cellar. Bora and his friends put dark red robes on and went back to stand in front of them. Loke and Lucy weren't the only ones here, Jet and Droy were present as well as Gray – who looked bored as hell – and some other recruits. The taller guys of the group hadn't been invited so Gajeel and Elfman weren't here.
"Dear first years," Bora declaimed, "we welcome you to this traditional welcome party that kind second years like us hold every year to create strong bonds with you."
His friends snickered at this, but didn't try to talk or interrupt him in any way.
"Tonight, you will prove us that you are brave and loyal comrades that will stop at nothing for a friend."
Lucy gulped. Her instinct screamed at her that something very bad was going to happen soon.
"I'm getting out of here," she said.
She headed for the door, but Bora stepped in front of it and spread his arms, smirking.
"No, no, pretty boy," he snickered. "If you want to leave first, you go first."
He grabbed her neck and dug his fingers in her skin. She groaned and punched his side while both Gray and Loke ran to help her. The fights that ensued with the second years were violent and Lucy started to panic when she realized that her friends were losing and Bora pushed her to the ground.
"Stop thrashing around," he growled, "it will hurt even more if you do."
She tried to resist, but had to admit that this guy was far stronger than her and it pissed her off to no end. She was frustrated! After this afternoon's game she had felt invincible and now she was pinned to the floor, weak as a baby while this bastard was tugging at her pants.
"Damn it!" she yelled. "Let go!"
The door suddenly burst open with incredible force and Bora was flying toward the other side of the room in the next second. A strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her up and she found herself staring at the pink haired commander. His jaw was contracted and his eyes had never been so dark. Every second year in the room froze upon seeing him and most first years ran away as soon as the door was open.
"Loke," Natsu called coldly, "drop that."
Lucy turned her eyes to her friend and saw a very large knife in his hand. When had he gotten that? And was he actually going to use it? The young man obeyed and dropped the knife to the floor. Natsu never let go of her arm, but she suspected that he wasn't really conscious of it.
"All of you follow me to the general's office," he ordered. "If one of you tries to run, I'm breaking his legs."
"Now, now," someone sang from the broken door, "what's the ruckus about?"
"None of your concern," the commander immediately spat, "they're my recruits and I'm taking care of it so you can leave."
Lucy noticed that her commander purposely disrespected the newcomer by refusing to turn around and face him, but she was so curious she just had to peek in so she glanced at him over her shoulder. The man was tall and muscular with black hair and a strangely trimmed beard of the same color. His face had very angular features and his eyes were small and dark. He snickered lightly and crossed his arms before leaning on the doorframe.
"What are you so angry about?" he mocked. "It's just a little joke to welcome the newcomers."
Natsu's jaw contracted even more and he did turn his eyes to the man upon hearing this.
"You knew about this?" he growled threateningly.
The other man's smile vanished.
"No need to get so furious," he retorted, "it's common for the second years to slightly bully the younger kids."
"Those bastards were going to rape him!" Natsu violently snapped at him. "What's wrong with you? Do you really have shit for brains?"
Hearing him say the word made Lucy's cheeks burn and her eyes dropped to the floor.
"You're overreacting," the black haired man snickered, "they just wanted to scare him a bit. It's very common, it happens every year."
The commander finally let go of Lucy's wrist and was standing right in front of the other man in the very next second.
"Not under my command," he growled.
A very large hand fell on the older man's shoulder and Lucy sighed in relief upon seeing the lieutenant colonel Clive.
"I don't think you should have this kind of conversation right now," he said calmly. "Ivan, you've got nothing to do with this so I suggest you go back to your room and rest. Natsu, your kids are tired, take them to Gramps."
The older man, Ivan, glared at Clive but said nothing and left, not without sending a malicious smirk toward Lucy beforehand.
The little old man with grey hair that had been sitting with them on the first day turned out to be the headmaster of the academy and was way scarier than he had looked back then. All the second years that were implicated were expelled and Lucy and her friends were allowed to go back to their rooms since they hadn't been hurt – though Loke never got his knife back – but the old general insisted that Lucy had to see the academy's psychologist.
"You can go back home tomorrow," general Makarov said, "but you'll start seeing her starting Monday."
"I wasn't that scared," Lucy protested.
The old man shrugged.
"Procedure," he explained.
The general asked the recruits to leave the office soon after and the lieutenant Dreyar escorted the second years to the academy's detention rooms. Lucy stopped in front of the office's doors and Loke frowned.
"What are you doing?"
Lucy shrugged.
"I want to properly thank the commander before going to sleep," she explained, "but you go ahead."
Loke smirked.
"Yeah, I'll do that," he said, "take your time."
Lucy sighed when he turned and walked down the corridor. Why was he so certain that she had a thing for the commander? She was pretty sure she was putting a pretty convincing act on. Whatever, it was not important. Because it wasn't true at all. No way. She jumped when the doors opened and Natsu stared at her.
"Is there anything you need?" he asked.
He was much gentler than usual and she appreciated that he was so considerate after what had just happened to her. She suddenly got nervous and failed to find the words she wanted to say.
"No... I mean yes," she stuttered, "but if you don't have time... not that it would take long, but... if you have something else to do, I can..."
Natsu slightly smiled and she shut her mouth. "Don't blush, Lucy," she internally scolded herself, "he's only amused by your stupid way of talking! And you're a guy now, goddammit!"
"I wanted to thank you," she said, more sedately, "for helping me out earlier."
"Good job, Lucy!" she mentally praised herself. The commander's smile softened but didn't really disappear. He patted her head and walked past her.
"No problem, Luc."
The next fifty seven seconds were torture for Lucy because she had to resist the urge to touch her hair where he had patted her until he turned at a corner and disappeared from her sight. She froze when she realized what she was doing. She liked it better when he was mean to her...
End of Chapter 2
Author's note: Thank you very much to those of you who already posted reviews and favorited/followed the story. Your support is the reason why I'm posting the second chapter today.