PART I – Resolution
Chapter XXIII - In Pursuit of Tomorrow
"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
The little girl giggled and smiled widely, swinging her legs over the lake. The rock she was sitting on was cold and wet, but she didn't mind. She reached up to play with the blindfold over her eyes, but her friend scolded her and she stopped.
"Don't take it off yet," he said. "I'll tell you when you can remove it."
"Alright," the little girl agreed.
Lucy heard her sister laugh and talk with Lyon about how cute they were, but had no idea who she was talking about. Gray was here too, he was swimming in the lake, but made sure to stay close enough to them. He too wanted to see what was up.
"You're slow, Natsu," Michelle scolded him. "You can't have a lady wait for that long you know."
Lucy's smile widened when she understood that she had just been called a lady. The sun was high in the sky, but the weather wasn't really warm and a gust of wind made her shiver, which her older sister immediately noticed.
"Good job, she's getting cold, now! You want her to be sick tomorrow? And, Lucy, stop smiling like that! You have to be harder on your man."
Lucy heard Natsu groan in embarrassment and she giggled once more, shaking her head.
"I don't know what that means," she laughed.
"I sure hope you don't," her sister muttered.
"Yeah," Gray agreed, floating in the lake, "don't become a pervert like your older sister."
"What did you just..."
"Hey," Lucy interrupted her sister to scold Gray, even if she couldn't give him her scary stern look through the blindfold, "don't call my sister a pervert."
Lyon chuckled and Natsu groaned.
"You guys, this is serious..."
"Do you know what a pervert is, Lucy?" Gray asked, ignoring his cousin.
The little girl shrugged.
"No, but I know it's not nice."
Michelle smirked and kissed her little sister's forehead.
"Good girl," she purred.
"Alright, everybody be quiet!" Natsu ordered. "You're getting on my nerves."
"He's nervous," Gray snickered. "Look at his face."
"Why are you so red, Natsu?" Lyon asked, obviously very amused too.
"Shut up. Lucy, you can take the blindfold off."
She didn't need to be told twice. Lucy threw the ugly thing away as soon as she got the permission to do so and smiled widely at the pink haired boy standing in front of her. He did look very nervous. He massaged the back of his neck and coughed awkwardly.
"I wanted us to be alone," he admitted, "but these idiots tagged along..."
Lucy's eyes were attracted by the black box in the boy's hands and he noticed. He cleared his throat and held the box out before suddenly changing his mind.
"I'll open it," he explained.
Lucy's eyes widened considerably when the boy kneeled in front of her. He opened the little box and exposed a simple magnificent ring and a thin gold chain.
"Wow," Michelle gasped. "That's a wedding ring, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." Lyon agreed.
"It belonged to my mother," Natsu explained, ignoring his bothersome friends. "It was a gift from my father, Gramps told me. It's some kind of tradition, apparently."
"How romantic," Michelle laughed ironically.
"Don't interrupt him," Gray snorted, "he's already on the verge of fainting."
"I'm not..." Natsu retorted. "It's just... harder than I thought."
"How cute," Michelle smirked.
"Right?" Gray agreed.
"Come on," Lyon chuckled. "Let him go on."
"Yeah," Natsu said, "my knee's starting to hurt! So, Lucy. Do you accept it? If you do, you can't marry anyone else, alright?"
Lucy's eyes widened even more, she didn't know it was possible to blush that much. The other boys laughed while Michelle groaned in annoyance.
"This boy is hopeless..."
"I accept," Lucy abruptly said.
The gang went silent and stared at her with dumbfounded eyes, including Natsu. Her sister was the first to get over the shock.
"Come again?"
The little girl extended her hand and took the necklace with much caution before looking timidly at Natsu.
"Help me?"
The boy blinked, but eventually took the thin chain to put it around Lucy's neck.
"Done," he said when the necklace was secured.
The children exchanged sweet smiles and Lucy ended up being the one to pull Natsu into a tight hug.
"I'm moved," Lyon said with a bright smile.
"Yeah, so moving," Gray yawned from the lake.
"I'll kill you if you hurt my sister," Michelle warned.
The day ended peacefully as the children all decided to go swim with Gray. Lucy couldn't help fingering the ring all day long and barely noticed when Lyon told them he was going back first. A few hours later, the ranch was attacked by the Octagon's intervention group called the Phantom Brigade, also known as the Spider.
oOo
Ultear refused to say anything more about Juvia's new mission, but the meeting wasn't over yet. They spent hours and hours talking about reports, strategies, squads, spies, potential and real threats, alliances and so on. Lucy almost found it funny that while she came mostly to hear about the rescue mission, she now was just as preoccupied with that Hades guy case. Neither the commander nor the doctor agreed to talk about it, but Lucy noticed that Gray looked uncomfortable. He knew something, she'd just have to wait for the right time to ask him about it. Unfortunately, the wait till that time came could be a bit long since the young man was going to spend the rest of the week-end at Ultear's place. He actually stayed behind when Lucy and her friends walked back to the car.
"We're taking important steps toward our goal," Erza commented. "Everything will unfold very quickly now."
The commander rolled his eyes and groaned in annoyance.
"What the hell are you babbling about?" he growled. "You should be with mister taciturn now, who knows... he may be away for a long time."
Erza averted her eyes and gulped nervously.
"You mean he may never come back," she corrected.
Lucy froze and the commander sighed and shook his head.
"No way," he retorted, "you know that's not what I..."
"I know," Erza interrupted. "Don't worry, he'll come to my place tonight. We'll have a talk about it and about... other things." Lucy frowned. Erza usually wasn't the type to smile at everyone for no reason, but she looked particularly tense now that the meeting was over. She was going to press the issue, but the redhead didn't let her. "Now that I think about it, Lucy, do you want to spend the night at my place? Seems like Natsu's doing good now."
The young woman widened her eyes and suddenly felt uncomfortable. She sent the commander a questioning gaze he made sure to avoid. Lucy didn't exactly know what she was going to answer when she opened her mouth, but she heard another voice call her name from behind them the moment she did.
"Hey, Lulu," Dan called, "wait for me!"
Lucy turned around and sent the man a puzzled look, thus missing the commander's frown. What had he called her?
"Don't think you can run away from me," Dan joked when he caught up. Well, she hoped he was joking.
"Lulu?" the commander repeated, arching a brow.
Dan sent him a curious glance and nodded.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "It's cute, it suits her."
The commander shook his head and snorted.
"If you say so..."
Dan frowned at him and opened his mouth to retort, but Lucy had no desire to watch them argue for hours about pet names.
"Did you need anything from me, Dan?" she asked a bit brusquely.
The young man turned shining eyes to her and smiled brightly. He looked like a puppy showering his owner with affection. It was sort of cute.
"I only need you to say my name to feel like the happiest man alive," he beamed, ignoring Natsu rolling his eyes. "But I had something to ask, yes. Would you like to go out with me tonight? We could go to the restaurant and watch a movie at my place? Rest assured, though, I'll be a true gentleman!"
Lucy believed him, he didn't look like he was the kind to pounce on women without permission. He was pretty attractive, taller than the commander and seemed to be a funny and nice guy too.
"Sorry," she said, "I already have plans for tonight. I'm staying at the commander's place."
Dan frowned in confusion.
"The commander? You mean him?" he pointed at Natsu with a lazy thumb and sighed. "Fine, then. I still have hope, though. If you call him commander, it means you guys aren't that close, right?"
Lucy felt herself blush thinking about all the times they could have gotten much closer. She opened her mouth only to stutter unintelligible sounds.
"That's none of your business," the commander grunted at the other man before grabbing Lucy's hand. "Come on, Luce."
Dan sent him a mean look, but neither he nor Lucy tried to stop Natsu. The young woman was too busy trying to hold back the satisfied smile that was threatening to give her true feelings away. Erza quickly started teasing them about what happened and the three of them stopped paying attention to their surroundings, thus missing Dan's muttered promise.
"So," Erza gave Lucy's shoulder a soft nudge. "I take it you're declining my offer for tonight? Or was it only an excuse to turn Dan down?"
Lucy didn't know if her friend was trying to give her a way out or if she only found it funny to embarrass her in front of the commander. Unfortunately for her, Lucy knew how to play this game too.
"It wasn't an excuse," she countered. "I'll stay at the commander's place. If it's not a bother to him, that is."
The man in question shrugged in mock indifference.
"You know it's not," he said.
Lucy smiled: yes, she knew. Erza's smirk matched her own when she resumed talking and asking what she most probably hoped to be embarrassing questions.
"I see," the doctor hummed. "May I ask why?"
Lucy's devilish smirk overpowered Erza's at that time.
"Of course," the blonde purred. "Do you remember the party we had at Mira's a few weeks ago? You had a bit much to drink and we talked about Jellal. I asked you how you'd spend the night if..."
"Alright," the doctor interrupted her. "It's fine, I remember. I understand, sorry."
O sweet victory.
Lucy fell asleep in the car on the way home. She would forget everything about her dream once she woke up, but for a moment she was back to her five year old self.
The sun had set, but it was still warm even as a gentle breeze brushed against her bare legs. A boy with pink hair was holding her hand and guiding her God knew where. The moonlight made him look like a moving silver statue. They were walking at a leisurely pace through the woods, listening to the stridulation of insects and hooting of an owl. Lucy tripped on a root and her friend immediately caught her arm to prevent her from falling. She chuckled and he shook his head, grinning back.
"You find it funny?" he laughed. "Don't go crying for me to carry you on my back when you scratch your knee."
"I never asked you to carry me," the girl retorted, still smiling brightly. "You worry too much."
"These are big words for a girl that small," the boy smirked.
Lucy jumped over another root, never letting go of her dear friend's hand.
"Be careful," he warned her, "Michelle will kill me if you come back with a new bruise somewhere."
"Yes, yes," the little girl brushed him off. "Where are we going, by the way?"
The boy sent her a playful glance over his shoulder and held her hand a bit tighter.
"It's a surprise," he said. "You'll love it, I promise."
Lucy believed him. She believed everything he said. They walked for a few more minutes and the boy had to carry Lucy on his back to cross a stream, but the girl trotted enthusiastically the rest of the way. It was dark, they were children, walking alone in the forest, but she wasn't scared one bit. She always felt safe and happy whenever her pink haired friend was near her. They finally reached large bushes and the boy turned toward her.
"We're here," he grinned. "Close your eyes."
The little girl obeyed and focused on the noises to try and guess what could the surprise be.
"You remember that time we talked about magic and you said it didn't exist?"
Lucy nodded again, still grinning widely, but didn't say anything. Maybe there was a dragon behind the bushes! She focused really hard on the sounds, but only heard the soft noise of quiet water. She let her boy friend guide her through the bushes until he finally stopped her and went to stand behind her.
"Ready?" he asked and she nodded energetically. "Good. You can open your eyes."
Once again, the girl obeyed. In front of her eyes were a lake, some bushes, trees and tall grass all around them. No dragon, though. The little girl did her best to hide her disappointment, but her friend could read her like an opened book and laughed at her small pout.
"Wait a moment," he said, putting his backpack on the grass. "I'll show you that magic does exist."
He stood back up with both hands filled with some kind of heavy dust. Sand? He threw it in the direction of the lake and the wind carried it and dispersed it all around them. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of thousands of tiny creatures started glowing and slowly rose into the air. Lucy watched this ocean of golden stars, her mouth agape with incredulity and wonderment. All around her, above her head, on her friend's nose, the lights were everywhere. She turned on herself and forgot to wink in her fascinated contemplation of these wonderful creatures. The sight was magnificent, marvelous. She turned to her friend and gave him the most beautiful smile she had ever given to anyone.
"See?" the boy laughed. "I told you. Magic does exist."
oOo
Lucy wasn't sure if she was awake or not, but someone was carrying her in their arms. Her father? If so, she didn't want to wake up. It was very comforting to be back in her father's arms. She heard faint voices, felt the cold wind against her face. All of a sudden, the wind died down and silence filled the air. They were inside. Lucy felt even more comfortable in the powerful and reassuring arms carrying her. She fell deeply asleep once more. If she had a dream after that, she couldn't remember it either. She only remembered the moment she left the comfort of the arms to lie on a soft mattress. She really wasn't sure if what happened next really did happen or if she was still dreaming, but she sobbed and called her father. Someone then shifted beside her on the bed and leaned down to gently kiss her forehead.
"I'll bring him back, Luce."
When the young woman opened her eyes again, it was morning. She recognized the room she was in right away, but she also noticed that she was alone in there. She yawned and stretched her back before rubbing her eyes and slowly dragging her lazy self out of bed. She walked out of the room dragging her feet and groaning like a zombie, scratching the back of her neck. Her hair was growing longer lately, she'd have to cut it soon. Her friends knew about her, but she still had to look like a boy to the rest of the world.
The living room was as empty as the bedroom and Lucy frowned. A pillow and a folded blanket were still on the couch. On the table in front of the TV was a lone white envelope. Lucy ungracefully slumped into the couch and sighed in relief when her back met the comfy pillow. She turned on the TV and watched a show for about twenty minutes before it got boring to death. She sighed. Where was he? She got up and walked to the fridge to get breakfast, thus finally finding the note the commander had left for her.
''Out jogging, might take a while. You've got mail, it's on the table. Make yourself at home. Natsu.''
The young woman chuckled at the simplicity of the note. She grabbed a glass of juice and a box of cookies before going back to the couch. The envelope was still quietly waiting for her. She took it in her hand and turned it around: her name was written over the commander's address, the Academy's wax seal closed it. Arching her brows in surprise, the young woman opened the envelope and took the letter out. She read it attentively and her stomach contracted when she understood that it was an official summons for the Tournament. The event would start on Tuesday, which was much sooner than she had expected.
The door of the apartment opened as she put the letter back on the table. The young woman glanced at him in silence and he met her eyes with a confused look until he saw the opened letter.
"I got the same," he told her. "We have two days left to get ready."
Lucy nodded.
"Is this why you were out jogging?" she asked.
He smirked and shrugged while drinking water directly from the bottle.
"I train every day," he retorted with a smug smile.
"Oh please," she snorted. "You're so scared of having to face me that you're going to train on your own?"
This made him laugh for real and it stirred butterflies in Lucy's belly.
"I'm scared?" he repeated. "You wanna try me right now to see who should be scared? You should forfeit, you'll get hurt if you compete."
The young woman completely turned away from the letter and the cookies to kneel on the couch and glare at the commander.
"I won't," she retorted, "you know I can fight."
Natsu shrugged his shirt off and threw it on the floor, near the armchair. He walked to the kitchen to get another bottle of water, not paying attention to Lucy's embarrassed reaction.
"I do," he admitted. "You can fight normal people. I know each participant this year and believe me, they're not normal. If you had more time to learn some techniques maybe you'd have a chance."
"Then, teach me those techniques."
The commander arched a brow at her and smirked playfully, unbuttoning his pants.
"You want me to do that within two days? Why should I even do that? I'm not that nice, you know, you're still an opponent."
He pulled his pants down and Lucy blushed, averting her eyes and groaning.
"Can't you wait to be in your bedroom to do that..." she grumbled.
The commander looked at her with confused eyes for a second before understanding what she meant. He then sent her his signature mischievous smirk and emptied a second small bottle of water.
"Why? You saw much more already." She groaned even more at that and he laughed. "Alright, I agree."
Lucy cocked an eyebrow and sent him a wary glance.
"You agree to teach me or to put some pants on?" she verified.
Once more, he laughed wholeheartedly and Lucy loved this sound and the effect it had on her. She'd have to make him laugh like that more often.
"I agree to both," he smiled. "Go get ready, we're going out for a run."
Tuesday
Lucy sighed for the hundredth time that day, trying to relieve some pressure. Since they were nearing the end of winter the weather wasn't really cold, but Lucy was still glad to have her combat uniform on: the gloves helped her hide her trembling hands.
"Get in line," Mirajane told them. "The general's speech is almost over."
In the Arena, the headmaster's powerful voice was stirring the assembly up and Lucy swallowed when she heard Makarov announce the official start of the Tournament. Lucy could have used a quiet moment to calm down, or even a supportive look from one of her friends, but she was alone at the end of the line. Juvia was in the front, the officers would enter the Arena after her.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Makarov raised his voice, "please give the competitors of our Tournament the welcome that is their due!"
The doors leading to the Arena slowly opened and Lucy could hear the loud cheers much more clearly. Someone standing a few meters ahead turned around and blew her a kiss and winked. She frowned at him and he laughed before turning back around. He had long blonde hair and scary eyes, but Lucy couldn't remember his name. She only remembered what the commander had told her about him and the way he fought. Before anxiety could overwhelm her, though, she took a deep breath in. She had spent the last few days training with the commander and she could say in all honesty that she had gotten a lot better at close combat thanks to his tips. She'd be fine.
The line started moving forward and Lucy was walking toward the center of the Arena in a matter of seconds. Lucy knew that civilians were allowed to enter the Arena as spectators during the Tournament, so it wasn't that surprising that the Arena was full. It was still an impressive sight. She saw a lot of banners and was very surprised to see that one of them was for her: Go Hawkeye! She smiled and waved a hand at them, triggering a loud fit of enthusiasm from her fans. She wasn't sure if she'd heard it right, but she thought she'd heard someone ask her to marry them.
When the participants were all standing in front of Makarov, the old man summarized the rules they had had to learn by heart and told them they'd have to pick a number from a jar for the draw. Lucy got number 4. The general talked some more and finally decided that it was time to announce the order of the fights. A nurse walked to the center of the Arena with a white plastic jar in her hands. Makarov put his hand inside and took out two small balls. He squinted his eyes at them and cleared his throat.
"First fight," he declared, "number 3 against number 7!"
While the crowd cheered very loudly, Lucy gulped and did her very best not to let any emotion show on her face, as instructed by the commander. Number 3 was Bakel, a massive guy always wearing a weird bandana and behaving like a freak. Downright creepy. Number 7 was Juvia. From the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Gray glare fiercely at Bakel when the latter started laughing at their blue haired friend like an utter pervert. Juvia looked completely calm, though.
"It will be the opening fight of the Tournament," Makarov went on. "It will start at 6pm sharp and I'll announce tomorrow's fights when this one's over. Try to rest until then."
Lucy and the other participants saluted and left the Arena under the crowd's loud cheers. Three hours left before Juvia's fight. As she walked toward the small door on the side of the Arena, she caught the eyes of Bacchus and noticed that he looked very confident about God knew what. Was he happy that Juvia was going to face Bakel? Did he want the nurse to get hurt because she was her friend? Unlikely: Lucy and Juvia weren't close enough for outside people to figure them out.
"Ignore him," a deep voice commanded her. "He's trying to destabilize you."
Lucy nodded and welcomed the warm feeling that flowed into her when she heard his voice and felt his body right behind hers.
"Your hair is a bit long," the commander noticed. "Can you try tying it up?"
Lucy reached up and felt the strands. To any other girl it would still be considered too short, but it was indeed growing longer.
"I don't know if they're long enough for that," she admitted, "but I'll try."
"Good," Natsu approved. "Come with me for a moment."
They walked through the old stone corridors of the Arena and ignored the other participants that were starting to pick fights with each other. Lucy saw Gray leading Juvia away from the others and was dying to follow them and play spies, but she was even more interested in what the commander wanted. They exited the Arena and he slowed down to enjoy the fresh air and the comforting smell of grass and wood. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Lucy was still following him and she smiled at him. He stopped and turned around. They were standing between the large bin store and the garages. Not the most romantic setting ever, but this was Natsu.
"I know it stinks," he shrugged, "but no one will come looking for us here."
He buried his hand in the pocket of his pants and was about to pull something out of it when he froze and hesitated. He glanced at her with a cautious gaze and she arched a brow, confused.
"Um," he hesitated, "I don't know if you remember this..."
He took a little black box out of his pocket and observed her reaction, but she had no idea what she was supposed to remember.
"I guess not," he smiled nervously. "I'm not surprised or anything, I gave it to you years ago..."
Lucy frowned and was starting to feel guilty for not remembering this box when she saw that the commander looked a bit disappointed. The thing did look familiar, though. The commander opened the box and the young woman froze in shock when the content was revealed to her. An elegant wedding ring and a thin gold chain sat on a tiny black velvet cushion. Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the jewel.
"I found it near the ranch when I was looking for you," he explained. "You probably lost it in the explosion."
She hesitatingly reached out and her hands froze centimeters away from the little box. This jewel wasn't any ordinary gift, after all. The commander noticed her reaction and cleared his throat.
"You don't have to think anything much of it," he assured. "I remember what I said when I gave it to you, but I was just a child. There's no special meaning, I gave it to you, so it's yours."
This wedding ring belonged to his mother, it was a very precious item for him and Lucy knew it. How could she take such an important thing from him? But what would he think if she were to refuse it?
"I... I can't accept it," she gulped nervously and her heart broke when she saw his pained reaction. "This ring is more than just a mere gift..."
"I know," the commander nodded, trying not to look affected by her rejection. "Don't worry, I was just making sure..."
He looked adorable at the moment and Lucy was dying to pull him in a tight hug to comfort him, but she knew this wasn't what he needed. She knew what he needed and she was willing to give it to him, but she wanted to do it right.
"I can't accept it yet," she specified, "because I have nothing to give you in return."
The commander frowned in confusion at this, but Lucy went on without giving him the time to interrogate her or tell her he didn't need anything in return.
"Until I find something precious enough to give you in exchange for the ring," she said, "will you keep it for me?"
The young man smiled softly and shook his head.
"You really don't need to give me anything in return," he sighed. "Of course, I'll keep it."
Feeling brave and taking advantage of the propitious atmosphere, Lucy briefly placed her hands on his shoulders to give him a peck on the cheek. She thanked him and walked back to the Arena, ignoring his amused eyes and smug smile.
When she got back to the Arena, she walked to the training field where she knew Juvia was warming up for the upcoming fight. The blue haired nurse was rehearsing complex sequences of combat techniques Lucy wasn't sure she would get to use against Bakel. Gray was leaning against the wall on the side, analysing each of her movements.
"How is it going?" Lucy asked, leaning beside him on the wall.
The young man shrugged.
"She isn't aggressive enough," he muttered. "She's much smaller and lighter than Bakel and she refuses to use dirty tricks. I swear if that bastard goes too far, I'll end the fight myself..."
He was worried sick about her, it was so cute. Lucy had to admit that she was worried as well, Juvia's fighting style looked too elegant and sophisticated to be used against brutes like Bakel. That guy was pretty scary... Speaking of scary guys.
"Hey, Gray," she called, "who's Hades?"
She knew asking this out of the blue would most probably surprise him, and it did. The young man tensed and coughed awkwardly.
"What do you mean? Ultear told you he's the leader of the Octagon's intervention team..."
"Oh, come on," Lucy groaned. "I saw how you guys reacted to his name. You know him well and I want to know how."
Gray gulped and averted his eyes, looking very uncomfortable. He shifted uncomfortably and nervously licked his lips.
"Listen, I really don't think Natsu would like to hear that I told you about it..."
"But no one else wants to!" she retorted. "Speak or I'm sending Ultear a message to tell her that you have a crush on Juvia."
Her taciturn friend glared at her.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
They glared at each other for another pretty long moment, listening to Juvia's quick breathing and sharp expirations before Gray gave up, groaned and sighed in annoyance.
"Fine, dammit. You're a real pain. Hades was the head of the academy before Makarov," he said. "He was Natsu's instructor and had him take the fear test..."
Lucy remembered her conversation with Mira and her friend's distressed look when she asked her to tell her more about Natsu's test. Lucy was no psychologist, but anyone could guess the commander's test had most probably gone very wrong. She took a deep breath in and clenched her teeth, readying herself for what was coming.
"Go on," she demanded.
Gray hesitated, eyes trained on the beautiful nurse that was still exercising in the center of the training area, her feet brushing the ground and sending earth and dust flying all around her. He briefly clenched his jaw before looking at her straight in the eyes with an intensity she hadn't been expecting.
"When you hear about what happened, you'll regret having asked this question," he warned. "Do you still want to know?"
The real question to Lucy was: did she have the right to know? Whatever it was that happened to the commander, it was personal. Did she have the right to pry into his private life after she had refused the ring? Granted, it was a temporary refusal, but still... did she have the right to know everything about him when she was still keeping secrets from him?
"I have to find Loke," she mumbled. "See you later."
With that, she turned around and buried her hands in the pockets of her pants, dragging her feet toward the exit of the training area. Her conversation with Gray had unsettled her and she mindlessly walked around the arena not really knowing where she was heading. The sky was painted a deep shade of blue quickly turning dark and a cool wind brushed against her face when she walked out of the arena. With everyone being busy getting ready for the Tournament, the area was empty and quiet. In front of her, the trees looked like an army of giant shadows preventing her and anybody else from entering their sanctified land, in the depths of which a body was being crushed under the weight of the lake's peaceful water. The stars were faintly glowing little dots, but Lucy knew they would soon shine brightly.
oOo
A religious silence fell upon the arena when the fighters entered the broad sand ring. The civilians of the country were allowed to buy a pass to watch the fights: thousands of them were sitting in the bleachers, but you could have heard a fly sneeze. Lucy gulped. She was standing with some of the other participants in the balcony, observing her friend and her opponent below. They were both dressed in the special black combat uniform, but none of them was wearing their helmet. Bakel wasn't even wearing any protection, he was only wearing his uniform pants, a black tee-shirt and his weird bandana. Juvia had been wiser and was wearing armored shin guards going up to cover her knees, her armored jacket with a high collar protecting her neck and her armored gloves.
"Where the hell is her helmet," Lucy heard Gray groan beside her.
Juvia's hair was tied up in a high ponytail and it gently swung in her back when the soft wind lazily flowed through the arena. She looked like a modern amazon.
"She looks so hot," Loke mused out loud.
Gray glared at him and Lucy arched a brow when she noticed her friend's presence among them.
"Where the hell have you been all day long?" she asked. "And you're not supposed to be here, this balcony's reserved for the participants..."
Loke grinned at her.
"I've been around," he sang. "Were you worried about me? That's so cute! Have you finally fallen in love with me?"
"No."
"You still can leave, you know," the commander told Gray. "Everyone would understand."
"Hell no..." Gray spat.
The commander looked like he wanted to say something more, but the general chose this moment to address the audience with his new toy: a megaphone. Lucy's heart hammered in her chest and her blood pumped against her ears as the small old man beamed and cheered. It was finally starting. A countdown appeared on a giant black screen and the crowd started counting down from ten along with the screen. In the fraction of a second that followed the appearance of the zero on the screen, Juvia pounced on her opponent. She kicked his left knee so hard he fell down with no resistance, allowing her to punch him straight in the face. Lucy stared in awe as the large man spat a tooth out, blood flowing down his chin, and his head hit the ground. Loke burst out laughing when he saw that and Lucy saw the commander grin slightly. In Juvia's place, Lucy would have kept punching him until he lost consciousness, but Juvia took a step back after this attack.
"What the hell is she doing?" Lucy frowned.
Gray gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"This is what I meant when I said she was way too nice when fighting," he groaned. "She still obeys the rules."
Bakel struggled to stand back up, but he eventually did. He wiped the blood and the sand off his face and glared at the blue haired Valkyrie. Juvia was on guard when her opponent was ready to resume the fight. Dropping the cool act, Bakel roared in fury as he lifted his brawny arms to send powerful punches her way. He was fast for a man that large, but Juvia was much faster. She parried both hits and elbowed him hard enough to break a few ribs. He fell again, screaming in pain, and Juvia once again stepped back.
From where she stood, Lucy could hear Bakel insult Juvia and threaten to kill her while groaning in pain. From the way he was glaring furiously at the bluenette's opponent, Lucy guessed Gray could hear it too. Even Loke wasn't smiling at all anymore. There wasn't any real reason to get angry, though. Bakel was very clearly losing the fight, curled up on the sand, both hands holding his stomach. Juvia's next attack would be the last one.
Beside her, two large hands slowly gripped the banister. The commander leaned forward, staring at Bakel with a frown.
"What is he doing?" he asked, seemingly to himself.
Intrigued, Lucy looked at Bakel as well. He was still kneeling, arms moving slowly around his stomach. Just like the commander, Lucy frowned. The referee decided to go check on Bakel to see if he was still able to fight, but he got his answer before he could reach him. All of a sudden, Bakel jumped to his feet and pounced on Juvia, a knife in his right hand.
"What the fuck!?" Lucy couldn't tell if she had yelled louder than Gray, but it certainly didn't matter at the moment. Bakel had a weapon!
"Hey!" Loke yelled. "Referee! Stop the fight!"
Either the referee didn't hear Loke or he voluntarily ignored him, but he didn't move an inch. Juvia opened wide eyes for a second, but she was impressively quick to react. She parried the blow, grabbed Bakel's wrist and twisted it until it broke. The giant dropped the knife and roared in pain as he fell to his knees. The next punch Juvia gave him hit his temple with terrific strength and he finally lost consciousness. A long moment of stunned silence ensued, the crowd hesitating between feeling shocked that one of the participants had tried to kill his opponent and cheering for the victor. The moment of hesitation didn't last that long, actually, and the whole arena exploded in cheers, whistles and applause. Gray sighed in relief and Loke laughed.
"Look at that!" he beamed. "Our cute shy little Juvia was a real badass fighter all along!"
Juvia officially won her fight and Bakel was handed over to the military police. It surprised Lucy, but since no one had been hurt, the Tournament went on after a two-hour break. The participants were summoned to the general's office during the break and he warned them about the consequences of breaking the rules and using weapons. Loke wasn't around anymore when she got back to the balcony, but she didn't worry about it since he tended to disappear a lot lately. They would be no more fights for the day, but the crowd was just as interested in the results of the draw. Makarov pulled out more balls from his jar and gave them the order of the upcoming fights. The first fight would be number 4 against number 1, then it would be number 2 against number 14 and number 6 against number 9. Lucy looked at the board and gulped. She was number 4, but who was number 1?
"Damn," Gray frowned. "I'm up against Clive right from the beginning..." So, Gray was the unfortunate number 9. "Gajeel will face Jellal, and you... Oh."
Lucy frowned at him.
"What?" she asked. "Who's my opponent?"
The commander's cousin shrugged and checked the board once more.
"Well, I'm not sure," he hesitated.
"It's Bacchus," the commander said. "No need to freak out, we trained for this."
Lucy stared at the number 1 written in front of her number 4 on the board. The commander was right, she was ready. She had to be. She gulped.
"I should go to bed early," she smiled. "Good night, everyone."
"Good idea," Gray agreed. "I'll go check on Juvia before going back to my room."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Lucy asked. Talking to her friend would probably help her think about something else.
"Um... no," Gray answered. "There's something I have to tell her in private."
Now, this obviously efficiently sparked her interest, but she knew she wouldn't get anything out of him before he had his talk with Juvia, so she would patiently wait until morning to question him.
"Fine," Lucy smiled, "see you, guys."
"I'll join you soon," the commander told her, earning sly looks from the other boys. "I meant the room, you idiots. I live there too, so stop looking at me like that."
It was still early and Lucy was far too nervous to sleep, but she needed a shower and some quiet time, so she quickly walked back to her room. On her way to the dormitory, Lucy noticed that the stars were shining much brighter now. They looked like millions of fireflies. Feeling a bit more relaxed, Lucy entered the building and climbed up the stairs. She opened the door to her room and immediately rummaged through the commander's stuff to get a small bottle of water, knowing he wouldn't mind if she took one. From the corner of her eye, she saw something small and white on her bed and almost choked on her water. Another letter.
Lucy put the bottle down and stared at the small letter as if it could change into a monster at any moment and try to eat her. This couldn't be possible... After a brief moment of hesitation, Lucy opened the letter and read the content. She was halfway though the letter when she understood what the message meant this time. Panicked, horrified, Lucy dropped the letter and ran out of the room. Luckily, there were more buses during the Tournament, so Lucy would get one even if it was this late. Since everyone was still in the arena, she easily got out of the Academy and ran for the nearest station. She knew the commander would find the letter and read it. She knew he would be absolutely furious at her for leaving alone when she was obviously throwing herself into the lion's jaw.
''Hello again, Little Bird
I think you and your man have been underestimating me, lately. I tell the idiot commander to stay away from you and you spend the weekend at his place? Fine. I hope you enjoyed this pig's filthy embrace because you'll pay for it dearly. Is what I want to say, but I'm a bit tired of this situation. I'm actually a nice person, you know? I found your adoptive mother a few weeks ago, I think we look alike, don't you? I want to negotiate with you, we can stop everything right now. You have until midnight to come to the abandoned Bank Tower, south district. Come alone.
Yours, truly.
K''
The fact that it was a trap was so painfully obvious. Lucy knew the chances of something terrible happening to her tonight were very high. But Kyoka had found Aquarius... What else could she do? Wait for her team to gather and head there? Kyoka still had a spy in the Academy, she would have been warned. Aquarius was the last living person Lucy loved like a mother, she wouldn't survive it if she were to lose her as well. Lucy got to the station before the bus and had to wait for almost twenty minutes under the now pouring rain before it arrived.
Lucy stayed up even though they were lots of free seats and glanced at her watch. It wasn't too late, she'd make it on time. Despite knowing that, the young woman cursed every time the driver had to stop. It took them twenty more minutes to reach the south district. Lucy recognized the area and noticed that they'd have to get very close to the construction site of the future mall. She glanced at her watch again and took a deep breath in when she realized she'd reach the meeting point in less than ten minutes. The driver turned left at a crossroads and Lucy had to squeeze her eyes shut when a powerful floodlight blinded her.
"Da hell?" the driver groaned.
A second later, she heard honking and the sound of squealing tires. Then, a terrible shock and the sound of everything around her exploding, like a glass castle collapsing. Then, nothing.
End of chapter 23
Hey there! I hope everyone's doing alright and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I said it on Tumblr, but we're nearing the end of part I very quickly! Something crazy will happen at the end of the closing chapter, which will be the 25th!
The next chapter will be written from Natsu's point of view!
As usual, don't hesitate to leave a review or PM me to tell me what you've thought of it or if you have any question. Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited or reviewed this story! There are more than 500 people following Dauntless, this is seriously freaking awesome!
Also, I apologize in advance because I'm going to do something horrible to Erza...
Questions/Answers
Q (from Rein Serenity): Will we have some Jerza moments in the near future? Or even with Bisca and Alzack?
A: Yes to both. I'll unleash my romantic creativity in the second part!
Q (from 4evrDorkly17): Was Lucy's hand hurt because of the handcuffs?
A: I honestly don't remember, but probably.
Q (from FlameDragonHime):Which crazy bitch? There are many
A: Fair point. It's Kyoka.
Q (from Guest): how much time do you usually spend writing per week?
A: Really hard to say. I'm a university student and I work too, so I rarely have the time to write more than five hours a week.
There are reviews I couldn't answer to because you guys didn't log in when you left them! Thank you to the Guest who told me about An angel with a shotgun!
Thank you to all of you who gave me so much love and support in your reviews, it really means the world to me. It's always a pleasure writing for you, guys!