PART I – Resolution
Chapter III – Obsession
"I have little left in myself - I must have you. The world may laugh - may call me absurd, selfish - but it does not signify. My very soul demands you: it will be satisfied, or it will take deadly vengeance on its frame."
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Lucy snapped when she was pushed for the seventh time.
"Goddammit!" she yelled. "Stop pushing, the list isn't even here yet! You guys are a pain!"
Loke laughed. His small friend was a bit moodier than usual that day and he could understand why. The list that everyone was so desperately waiting for contained the names of the recruits that would form Natsu's team on the game of Capture the Flag and Lucy needed to be part of it if she wanted to ask Natsu to let her join the snipers' course. Furthermore, and as if that damn list wasn't stressful enough, she had to attend a psychotherapy session in just a few minutes because of that incident with the second years.
She had spent the weekend at Erza's, having no home or relatives left, and had to tell her about the hazing. Words wouldn't be enough to describe the state of raw fury the redhead fell into when she heard about this incident. She was satisfied to hear about Natsu's strict – violent, really – reaction, but still wished she could go to the Academy's detention rooms right away and gut the bastards that had dared raise a hand on her dear friend. Overall, Lucy enjoyed her time at Erza's, the girls even received Mira's visit and Lucy was introduced to her younger sister, Lisanna. She was a student at the Academy as well and was staying in the nurses' building, where Lucy and the recruits were forbidden to go.
"Natsu and I actually are friends," Mira's sister had cheered, "I can ask him to be a bit nicer to you if you want me to!"
Lucy had declined and asked the girl to hide the fact that they knew each other. Even if the Strauss sisters were in the confidence it could be dangerous for her cover if Lisanna were to speak with Natsu about her. Rumors travel fast.
"Luc... Luc!"
Lucy snapped out of her thoughts when Loke pushed on her arm.
"The commander's here with the list, man!"
Pushing through the crowd with no delicacy whatsoever, the pink haired commander was walking toward the board with a sheet of paper in his hand.
"Get out of my way," he growled, "or I'm kicking you all out of the team."
He clipped the sheet to the board and left while all the recruits started to push again to get a glance at the list. Immediately after, loud cheers and disappointed whimpers were heard all over the hall. Lucy smiled at the sight of all those big strong men crying and hugging each other. She nodded at Loke when he gestured to the board and took a few steps forward. Her heart was hammering loudly in her chest and time slowed down as her eyes found the names written on the list. She first searched for her friends' names.
- Alzack C.
- Elfman S.
- Gajeel R.
- Gray F.
- Loke S.
- Rogue C.
- Sting E.
She let a breath of relief slide out of her lips and steadied herself for the last name. Her eyes rose to the L section and searched through it. Every second seemed to last a full year as she anxiously searched for her name. Luckily, only her first name would be written on this list so even if she was accepted in the team, none of her comrades would know about her father. She lightly gasped when she reached the end of the L section.
- Luc H.
Here it was. She was officially accepted in Natsu's team. She paused for a long moment and let a bright smile slowly stretch her lips. Loke bent over her shoulder to look at the list and immediately cheered.
"Hell yeah, babe! We did it!"
He took her in his arms and spun her around. She laughed and let him lift her over his shoulders to celebrate as all the other chosen recruits did. She was in heavens, she was delighted and felt so happy, so victorious. Her shining eyes found the commander's behind the crowd. Despite the general agitation and her own excitation, her attention stayed on him, on his slight smile, on the gentle look his eyes had, on the fact that he was definitely looking at her. He nodded at her and turned to leave. She kept staring in his direction.
Lucy was late. The session with the academy's psychologist was at 12 a.m., and she arrived at the office ten minutes later. That's what happens when you take detours and drag your feet around the administrative building. She took a deep breath in when she reached the glass door and knocked.
"Come in," someone answered.
Lucy didn't know who the psychologist was, she didn't even know their name. The academy's headmaster just told her she had to attend a few sessions with them. And that no, she wasn't allowed to skip them. She opened the door of the office and slowly went in, she didn't want to waste time here, she didn't need this session. The office was just as white as every other room of the building and a woman was sitting behind a shiny black desk, looking far too sweet for Lucy.
"Welcome, mister Luc," she smiled, "I am doctor Yesta but since you're so cute, you can call me Dimaria."
Lucy nodded politely but said nothing. There was no denying that this woman was beautiful with her nice curves, her pretty face and her nicely done short hair but she made Lucy feel uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe it was because of this unnaturally sweet smile that she's been wearing since Lucy had entered the room. Why did she look so happy? Was it normal for a psychologist?
"You're a quiet one," she laughed lightly, "it's alright, it's cute. Please, have a seat."
Lucy did so, making sure that no emotion could be read on her face. This doctor Yesta was hitting on her, right? Her question was answered as Dimaria slowly stood up from her seat, making sure to bend over in Lucy's direction enough for her to see her breasts, and went to sit on the desk, crossing her legs to make the skirt run up the flesh. She smirked when Lucy blushed.
"So," she sang, "I heard that you were bullied by second years? How terrible! You must have been really scared!"
"Not really..."
Lucy inched back as much as possible in her chair while the pervert doctor kept on leaning closer to her. Dimaria smiled enticingly, her hand coming up to caress Lucy's cheek.
"Of course you weren't," she agreed, "you're a brave man, I can see it."
Damn, this session is turning out to be even worse than I imagined it to be, Lucy thought.
"In that case I can go back to class," Lucy cheered while standing up.
The doctor somehow managed to move faster than her and stood between Lucy and the door.
"Oh no," she purred, "we'll be spending a full hour together, alone in this office, mister Luc."
Crap.
Loke was dying of laughter after hearing from Lucy how the session went. He was supposed to be her best friend so she told him about that crazy psychologist in hope that he would support her, but here he was, having the time of his life listening to her worries. Bastard.
"Mister Shishikyū," Clive growled, "if you don't shut up this instant, I'm ripping your head off."
"I'm so sorry, sir," Loke laughed even harder, "you'd laugh too if you knew!"
"Oh yeah? Go ahead, speak."
Lucy kicked Loke under the desk to make him understand she'd beat him to death if he were to speak. He still told Clive, and everyone in the class listened attentively to his tale while she blushed like crazy and hid her face in her arms to try and disappear.
"I get why you were laughing," Clive said, "but you're still in class so keep it down."
"What a lady killer," Gray smirked from his chair. "Couldn't get enough with Strauss, you had to go for your psychologist, too?"
"Who the hell are you calling Strauss?" Clive thundered. "Don't go dropping the honorifics, brat, it's colonel Strauss for you."
Gray gulped and nodded. Clive could be very scary when he wanted to. The rest of the day went smoothly, class with Natsu was funnier than usual since they started special training to prepare for the Capture of the Flag. A few days passed with Lucy attending classes, as usual, and going to her sessions with the pervert psychologist that couldn't seem to keep her hands to herself.
"Your arms are surprisingly soft," she commented while trying to grope her everywhere. "I saw your training sessions with the commander Dragneel, shouldn't you have bigger muscles? Well, it's fine, I like soft skin and thin bodies, it's easier to..."
"Alright," Lucy interrupted her, "I'm leaving, end of the session, see you."
She wasn't even embarrassed anymore, just annoyed. Rumors spread around school like wildfire and Mira and Dimaria were summoned to the headmaster's office. Mira told Lucy that the officers of the academy accused them to be her lovers. She obviously denied it, but Dimaria didn't.
"What's going on between you and this woman?" Mira asked worriedly. "She made it sound like you were really into her..."
"And you believed her?" Lucy scowled.
The colonel sighed and shook her head.
"Of course not," she whispered, "but something's up and I wanted to know if you had any suspicion?"
Lucy thought about it for the rest of the day, but couldn't think of anything in particular. Even though Dimaria was a pervert that could never leave her alone, she never spoke with malice or did anything potentially harmful to her or anybody. She seemed completely inoffensive.
"Hey, Don Juan, care to answer when I talk to you?"
Lucy lifted her head to let her eyes meet the commander's hard gaze. He'd been even edgier these last days and Lucy didn't know why. Though, at this instant she was pretty sure he was mad because she ignored him during class.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
Natsu let the heavy black and orange bag he was holding fall to the ground and walked toward her with fast steps. His face was right in front of hers when he talked with a low, menacing voice.
"I don't care what you do when you're not in my class, but when you are, I expect you to focus and stay attentive, otherwise I'll kick you out of the team without a second thought, got it?"
Lucy gulped and nodded. She felt guilty for being the reason he was mad and stupid because of the reason of her own inattentiveness. She had a mission and failure would cost her her life, she had to succeed and for that, she needed to join the snipers' course and integrate the Elite Squad. She didn't have time to waste with crazy groupies.
"Sorry, sir," she said, making sure to look him in the eyes, serious, "it won't happen again."
Natsu's anger seemed to fade a little bit and he nodded.
"Good."
He took a few steps back and explained the lesson's objective for the second time. Since she paid attention this time, she understood that the commander wanted them to take part in an obstacle course race. The winner of the race would be Natsu's second captain during the game.
"I forgot to tell you," the commander added, "all of you that have been selected for the game automatically won fifty points for the final ranking. If we win the game, a hundred points will be added to the fifty you already have. But the second captain will win two hundred points if the team wins."
Lucy gritted her teeth, of course, there would be competition already. Almost all of the recruits wanted to be accepted into the Elite Squad, they would fight with everything they had to get those two hundred points. And so Lucy would. She was so focused on Natsu's speech that she didn't notice Gray until he was right next to her and tugging on her arm.
"We need to talk," he whispered, looking grave.
She nodded and they took a few steps back to talk without attracting too much attention. Gray looked annoyed, but Lucy didn't think he was mad at her, something else had upset him.
"What is it?" she asked, feeling a bit nervous.
True to himself, the dark haired boy didn't waste any time trying to be subtle about it and went straight to the point.
"Are you and your psychologist in a relationship?"
Lucy blinked and stared dumbly. One could hardly blame her, this really wasn't what she had expected. And just when she had decided to stop thinking about her, too...
"No," she assured, "not at all. Why?"
Her friend sighed and slowly shook his head.
"I only asked to make sure, but I already knew, somehow... Listen, you have to stop seeing her, something's up with this chick and she's gonna bring troubles..."
Lucy frowned, Gray wasn't the first person to warn her about Dimaria but what could she do about it? And, though the girl was a huge pain in the ass, she really didn't seem like the kind of person that could harm others...
"It's not like I have a choice," she retorted, "I'd much rather not go to these sessions... And why do you sound so worried about her? She's just a shrink..."
"Oh yeah?" Gray sarcastically asked. "Do normal therapists ask their patient's friends for the patient's phone number and mail address? Do they want to know if the patient's single or ask them to help setting them up together?"
Da hell?
A heavy silence followed Gray's angry rhetorical questions.
"Are you serious..."
He nodded, his frown still present.
"Dead serious. We need to tell the headmaster, this bitch is crazy and she's obsessed with you."
"I agree, this is serious, we should go tell the general."
Both Lucy and Gray turned their head to see Loke listening to them as if it was normal to spy on your friends. The blonde girl sighed.
"I'll go," she promised, "after this afternoon's classes. I'm not skipping this race just because of her, I want to be the commander's second captain."
Gray smirked when Loke laughed out loud.
"You think you can beat me in this race? You're going to fall hard back down to earth, kid. I'll be the second captain."
"Do you guys actually think you stand a chance against me?" Gray snorted.
"Hey, ladies!" Natsu called. "If you're done talking, your comrades would like to start!"
The race was hellish... They had to run at full speed, jump, crawl, climb, dodge, shoot, swim, but the funniest part was when they had to run blindfolded through a very smoky bunker while having to listen to their partner to avoid tripping or running straight into a wall. Alzack paired up with Sting and got out of the bunker with a black eye. Lucy's partner was Loke and he did a pretty good job at guiding her. Lucy arrived in third position. Loke was second and Gajeel reached the finish line first.
"Congratulations, punk," Natsu smirked when Gajeel arrived, "you're my second captain! If we lose because of you, I'll kill you."
"As if you could," the other man snorted.
Anyone else would have been beaten up for answering Natsu with such familiarity, but, for some reason, Natsu seemed to get along pretty well with the black haired thug-looking guy. The commander smiled this cheeky smile he only had when having fun with Gajeel or Laxus and Lucy couldn't help but feel annoyed by it. Why was he so cool with them when he was such an ass with everyone else, including her.
"Do you feel neglected," someone laughed into her ear, "you want me to give you the affection he's not showing you?"
Loke's arms appeared on her sides and the boy embraced her from behind with his head on her shoulder. Lucy wondered how come he never found out about her being a girl with him being such a tactile person. She slapped his hands off and sighed.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied, "I'm not jealous or anything."
Her cheerful roommate laughed lightly and tilted his head to the side.
"Jealous?" he repeated. "I never said that you were..."
Crap...
Lucy started to stutter when she realized she had been tricked.
"And there's no reason for you to say that," she argued, "since I'm not... So, there's nothing to say... Stop smiling like that, you're creepy."
"You're so easy to read..."
"I told you, you're wrong. I'm not jealous, I have no reason to be!"
"Jealous of who?"
Lucy blenched with no discretion and turned to face the commander. He was looking at her as if she was a very funny squirrel playing in the woods surrounding the academy, and she knew that he was satisfied with himself since he managed to scare her.
"Nothing," she immediately assured. "No one, he's just joking. And it has nothing to do with you..."
"Sure," he answered, still looking like he had won some kind of battle against her.
He ruffled her short hair when he walked past her and continued toward the main building. Loke stared at him in shock.
"What in the world was that?" he asked.
Lucy was just as confused as he was. She stared at the commander's retreating back, a hand automatically reaching for her now messy strands of hair.
"I have no idea..."
The blonde recruit was floating on clouds for the rest of the afternoon. Clive threw a chalk at her head during class because she wasn't paying attention and she noticed that Loke was smirking at her distracted self. She went back to her room to have a shower and remembered only then that she had to talk to the general about her therapist. Well, it could wait until tomorrow. She was in a good mood now and didn't want to spoil it for no good reason. The refectory was full and very noisy, even more so than usual. Lucy walked through the agitated recruits to go sit at her usual table, in the left side of the room. Sting, Rogue and Alzack, who usually sat somewhere else, were here too, and her seat next to Loke was taken by Gray so she searched for another seat at the table and found one, in front of the commander.
"Why are there so many recruits in here?" she asked. "We usually eat at a different time than the second years..."
"Oh!" Loke exclaimed. "That's right, you didn't hear since you were having a shower! Guess what? We're gonna have..."
"They will announce the date for the game of Capture the Flag," Natsu interrupted.
Lucy's eyes went from Loke to the commander and she was surprised to see him already looking at her. He usually ignored everything that was not food during meal times...
"Is that so... No wonder everyone's so excited..."
Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? From the corner of her eye, she saw Loke smirking at her and decided that ignoring him would be the smartest decision. So, she just lowered her eyes to her plate and started to eat. Conversations went on for a while at the table, seems like Gray was almost late to dinner since the doctor Yesta summoned him in her office.
"She said she was worried 'cause I look like I have an asocial behavior..."
That's all? She wanted to see him because he wasn't as cheerful as she would like everyone to be? Weird... It was well past seven when Lucy finally noticed that something was amiss. She searched the room for the familiar faces and frowned when she realized they weren't here.
"Where are colonel Strauss and doctor Scarlet?"
Gray snorted.
"Colonel Strauss and doctor Scarlet?" he repeated. "Why don't you call them Mira and Erza, like you usually do?"
Lucy threw him a piece of bread.
"What does that have to do with you? Mind your own business, fifth place."
Everyone laughed while Gray tried to explain that he would have been fourth place if he hadn't tripped right in front of the finish line. The refectory suddenly got deadly quiet when a group of people entered the room and went to stand in front of everyone. They were dressed in the dark uniform of the academy's private police, but no one paid any attention to their uniforms. They all supposed that they were here to give them the official date for the game. Lucy understood that something much more serious was up when she saw the grave faces they had. The tallest one coughed to attract everyone's attention.
"Is Mr Gray Fullbuster in the room?" he asked in a low, menacing voice.
Silence. A few heads turned toward the dark haired boy that was frowning, trying not to look too worried. He stood up.
"Yes," he answered. "That's me. Why?"
The man had thick eyebrows and a powerful-looking jaw hidden under a small scarf. He gestured toward Gray and the four men that were accompanying him moved like a one man army in his direction.
"Mr Fullbuster," the leader said, "you're under arrest for Attempted Rape on the person of Dimaria Yesta. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
"What!?"
Among the recruits and officers that were in the refectory at that time, most of them started to whisper among themselves or send curious glances in Gray's direction, but no one stood up for him. At Lucy's table, though, everyone was standing up when the police officers reached their table.
"What the hell do you think you're doing," Gajeel growled when the nearest one tried to handcuff Gray.
Eyebrows guy growled at them when he understood what was happening.
"We will arrest everyone that tries to oppose us," he warned. "Sit down and let us do our work."
No one sat down. Natsu took a few steps forward and stopped in front of Eyebrows, unflinching under the giant's hard glare.
"What proof do you have?" he asked. "You better have some damn consistent evidence if you want to ruin my meal."
The giant tried his best not to look impressed, but still gulped nervously.
"Doctor Dimaria ran inside the Academy's police office, crying and begging for help," he explained. "Her clothes had been torn off and she had bruises on her face, arms and stomach. She clearly stated that the recruit named Gray Fullbuster assaulted her in a sexual way."
"That's bullshit!" the concerned person yelled. "Why does everyone believe what that crazy bitch says!?"
"Crazy bitch?" Eyebrows repeated.
Loke facepalmed and Lucy groaned while Natsu rolled his eyes. Was he purposely trying to look even more guilty? Their accused friend understood their point and calmed down, just a bit.
"She said I assaulted her," he repeated, "when would I have done that? I was with my friends all the time!"
Eyebrows stared at him with such a hard stare that it sent chills in Lucy's back. Was this man even human?
"Doctor Dimaria said she summoned you in her office about thirty minutes before dinner," he stated, "she wanted to talk to you about your strange behavior and said you attacked her right away."
"This is crazy..."
He looked defeated and it worried Lucy even more than his anger. He didn't attack Dimaria, she knew him, he would never harm a woman. Why was this happening to him?
"This hardly can be considered a proof," Natsu retorted. "Do you arrest people every time someone tells crazy stories? This isn't how it works here."
Eyebrows glared at the commander, he looked just as pissed as he was.
"From now on," he growled, "this will be how it works. The new Academy's police head takes this matter very seriously since something similar happened in the past."
The giant man sent a cold look at Lucy and she froze. What did all that have to do with her? Natsu saw this.
"And who's the new head?" he asked in a low voice.
From the way he asked, Lucy guessed he already had an idea on the question. And she understood why when Eyebrows answered him.
"Ivan Dreyar. Now, let's go."
Ivan Dreyar... Seriously? Ivan Dreyar? The new head that took Attempted Rape very seriously was the officer that let the second years attack her the previous week? One of the academy's police officers handcuffed Gray and grabbed his arm to force him to walk. Lucy reacted instinctively and grabbed the officer's arm.
"Wait," she insisted, "this is..."
She never got to finish her sentence as the officer sent his knee to her stomach. She coughed and let his arm go as her hand went to soothe her injured stomach. In the very next second, a powerful fist met the officer's jaw with enough strength to dislocate it. The man fell to the floor and cried in pain and confusion. Natsu helped Lucy up and glared at the other officers.
"If one of you tries to lay a finger on my men one more time," he warned, "I won't only dislocate the jaw..."
Eyebrows' face turned very red.
"You..." he growled, "how dare you..."
"That's enough," someone declared.
All heads turned to the man that had just talked. He was escorted by two women that Lucy was glad to see: Mirajane and Erza.
"General," Eyebrows saluted.
"Take the handcuffs off," Makarov ordered. "We don't need to restrain him since he will quietly follow me to my office like a good boy. Right, Gray?"
The boy, though still confused, immediately nodded.
"Good. Do you want to bring a witness with you?"
Gray was about to shake his head but seemed to think better of it.
"Yes," he said, "I want Luc to come."
Lucy froze. He wanted her to come? Why? She didn't have the right to lie and the only thing she could say about Dimaria was that she was a pervert. The general glanced at her.
"Do you agree?"
She didn't even hesitate.
"Yes."
The old man nodded.
"Let's go, then."
"I'm coming, too."
This wasn't a question and Lucy had to admit that she was glad that her commander was so determined to come with them. His presence had a very appeasing effect on her in time of crisis. In the general's office, they found Dimaria sitting in front of the desk, looking miserable. Her eyes were red and wet with tears, her hands around her shirt as if she was scared that someone would pounce on her to tear it off. She was shaking and whimpering like an abused puppy. Such a fucking annoying act. Lucy knew what a woman looked like after a beating, she had seen it. Dimaria was insulting all the women who had to go through such an experience with her poor comedy. Gray refused to sit in the seat next to her and so did Lucy, Natsu and everyone else but Eyebrows.
"Doctor Dimaria," Makarov called, "can you tell us what happened in your office?"
The therapist let out a strangled cry that sounded very forced to Lucy.
"But... but... I already told you... everything that happened..."
Everyone in the office heard the growl but they couldn't tell if it had emitted from Gray or Lucy.
"Tell us, once more," Makarov insisted.
She used her most fragile sounding voice to tell them that she had summoned Gray to tell him that she was worried about him and his strange behavior, that he suddenly got mad at her and said she was just trying to stir him up – Gray didn't even use this expression – and pounced on her.
"He looked like a wild beast," she cried, "I tried to fight him, but he was too strong... I don't know what would have happened to me if my assistant hadn't come back at this moment..."
Gray stared at her with a disgusted scowl.
"Just how fucked up are you?"
"Gray," Makarov scolded, "shut up. Where is your assistant?"
Dimaria shrugged and averted her eyes.
"I don't know... she was very scared. Maybe she ran home?"
"I see... Gray, what can you tell us about this?"
The young man snorted.
"What is there to say? None of this bullshit is true, I wouldn't do her even if she begged me to. She's a crazy liar that keeps harassing my friend. Just ask him."
Makarov looked at Lucy and she gulped.
"Is that true, boy?"
She nodded.
"Yes," she said, "doctor Yesta has been trying to flirt with me since our first session."
Eyebrows snorted and got up to go stand right in front of her, looking disgusted with her.
"How stupid," he groaned. "You just got rejected by her and trying to get your revenge, right? Who do you think you are to..."
Natsu grabbed his wrist when he pointed a finger at Lucy and twisted it to make him fall to his knees.
"What did I say about laying a finger on my men?"
"That's enough," Makarov groaned, "let him go, Commander."
Natsu obeyed and winked at Eyebrows when he stood up. Lucy smiled and Natsu smirked when he noticed. They looked like kids playing a prank on a mean teacher.
"From where I stand," the general went on, "it seems like it's only Gray's word against doctor Dimaria's. There are no witness of the incident and the circumstances are unclear. But Gray's behavior was rude and suspicious..."
"What!?"
Makarov ignored him.
"So, I guess you really look guilty, kid."
Lucy was at a loss for words. What in the world was he saying? This was ridiculous! She glanced at Natsu to try and get him to react, but found him smirking at the old general. Were they all crazy or what?
"But, just to make sure," Makarov grinned, "we will ask our witness. Come in, child."
Dimaria's face when the young woman entered was priceless. The newcomer was a very serious looking girl with blue hair and dressed with the white blouse of the medical unit. She glared at Dimaria when she entered.
"Her name is Juvia Lockser and, for some reason," Makarov went on, "we found her locked inside a cupboard. But she's your assistant and was working when Mr Fullbuster came to see you, right?"
"No," Dimaria stuttered, "um... I'm not sure anymore... it could have been a little earlier... before she started work..."
Juvia snorted, but kept quiet.
"But," the general explained, "this was the only time possible for Gray since he had classes all day long..."
"Um... Then maybe it was someone else... I don't remember clearly since I was so shocked... and it was dark..."
"It was 6 p.m.," Makarov countered, "the sun was only starting its slow descent. But I guess you were shocked, like you said."
"Yes", the therapist approved. "Maybe it was someone else, after all..."
Makarov's smile slowly faded. He had her, he knew it. Lucy shivered when seeing the look in his eyes. He really was impressive.
"Miss Lockser," he called. "Do you confirm that you saw Mr Fullbuster in Miss Yesta's office?"
"Yes," the blue haired girl answered.
And did you hear or see anything that could incriminate Mr Fullbuster?
"Absolutely not."
Gray slumped against the wall and sighed in relief. Lucy smiled and felt someone ruffle her hair again. Her eyes met Natsu's and she found him smiling at her before he turned and left the office. The general declared Gray not guilty and promised Dimaria that the Academy would conduct a very serious investigation to find the real culprit. Lucy finally got the general to cancel her sessions and she walked back to her room feeling so happy that she hummed a tune to herself.
"Luc!" someone called. "Luc! Wait for me!"
Lucy froze. Seriously? No way, right? She slowly turned around to see her ex-therapist running in her direction. Come on, would she ever leave her alone? Should she tell her that she's a girl to discourage her? "Sure," her inner-self snorted, "tell your obsessed stalker that you're a girl. Why don't you just go and tell the higher officers that you're the little girl that was there when they arrested Jude Heartfilia?" Good point. So she decided to just ignore Dimaria and continued walking.
"What are you doing?" the latter yelled. "How dare you turn your back to me after everything I've done for you!?"
Lucy frowned and finally stopped to look at the therapist that definitely needed to see one.
"I never asked for those sessions," she said, "and I'm glad they're finally over."
Dimaria clicked her tongue and walked closer.
"I'm not talking about the sessions," she groaned, "I'm talking about the rest. I gave my heart to you, I had to bear with those bitches that hang out with you, Strauss and Scarlet, I had to get rid of Fullbuster when he tried to separate us, though it backfired on me..."
Whaaaaaaat? Lucy stared in silence as the other woman confessed to her just how insane she was.
"Sorry, but you've got it all wrong," Lucy said. "I don't want anything to do with you and I'm going back to the general's office to tell him about what you just said."
Dimaria's beautiful face became pretty scary as shock, fear and fury passed on it.
"No!" she yelled. "I did that for us! You can't betray me!"
Lucy ignored her, she was no psychologist, she didn't know how to deal with people like her. The insane therapist grabbed her arm and tried to pull on it, but Lucy was stronger than her.
"You don't have the right to reject me! I'll destroy you if you try to leave me!"
"Don't hit her, Lucy," she mentally told herself, "she will use it against you." The blonde recruit managed to shake the other woman off without hurting her and turned to go to the general's office. However, she never got there. For, when she turned, she found herself facing the new Academy's police head, Ivan Dreyar.
"What is it?" he asked with a sly smile. "A lovers' quarrel?"
"I'm busy," Lucy answered, "I don't have time to talk with you."
Ivan laughed, but didn't try anything to physically stop her.
"Ivan!" Dimaria screamed. "You have to stop him!"
Lucy froze. Was Ivan Dimaria's accomplice? What the hell was happening there?
"I see that you're starting to realize that something's strange, right?"
Lucy listened but didn't answer for she was trying to look as unaffected as possible and her voice would definitely have betrayed her. Ivan's smile never faltered.
"I will go straight to the point," he went on, "keep silent about everything you learnt from this idiot bitch and I will make sure you never have to see her ever again."
A heavy silence followed Ivan's words and Lucy stared in shock. She was supposed to lay low for the sake of her mission. The plan was simple: do a good work in the army, get into the Elite Squad and save her father. Why was she involved in such complex affairs?
"What are you saying, you bastard!" Dimaria was furious. "You promised me you'd..."
A muffled sound escaped her lips when the tall man grabbed her mouth with his huge hand and smashed her head on the wall.
"Be quiet, you failure," he growled.
As mad at the therapist as she was, Lucy didn't accept that this man used violence against a woman with no reason.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked. "Let her go, I will tell the general about this!"
Ivan let go of Dimaria and turned very bored eyes to Lucy.
"Sure," he drawled, "go and do that. The moment you do that, I'm calling my partner and he will kill one of your friends."
He smirked and laughed darkly when seeing Lucy's horrified face.
"You wouldn't dare..."
He laughed even harder.
"I wouldn't dare!? When Laxus was three years old, a spy from an enemy country kidnapped him and told me he'd let him go if I let one of his friends out of prison and back to their country. But he'd kill the brat if I were to refuse. Do you know what I did? I told him to go ahead."
Lucy kept silent. She observed him, tried to see if he was lying. Surely, no father could be this cruel, right?
"I wonder who'll be the target," he wondered out loud. "Maybe that red haired doctor you like so much, or the colonel Strauss? There's also my scapegoat, Mr Fullbuster. Maybe it will even be your commander?"
Lucy's instincts kicked in and she pounced on him, grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall. He grabbed her hair with one hand and punched her stomach with the other.
"You don't stand a chance against me," he laughed. "But I like reckless kids like you so I'll forgive you, for this time. Aren't I such a kind man? If you're obedient, I'll get rid of the crazy therapist for you! But if you're not, you know what will happen."
He let her fall to the ground and grabbed Dimaria's arm to drag her along as he turned to leave the place. Lucy groaned in pain and frustration. She was furious! Everything had gone so well when she entered the Academy, she should have known that it was too good to be true! She glared at Ivan's retreating back and gritted her teeth. You obey or I kill your friends, he had said? We'll see who'll get rid of who, it wouldn't be the first time Lucy had to make someone disappear.
End of chapter 3
I was almost done writing this chapter when I decided that it wasn't good enough, so I deleted it and wrote it again from the start. I think it's much better now.