As everyone began to make their way back to Shigure's house, they were all messing around with one another. Congratulating Lucy for winning against Akito and even going so far as to make the head Sohma blush in embarrassment. None of them, expect Lucy, were aware that Akito was in fact a girl, so the blonde just giggled at their shared secret. She knew that Akito would warm up to the rest of the Zodiac members and Kyo in due time and she had a feeling that Tohru would be the one to truly let a hand out to her.
Kyo and Natsu were recalling the entire event rapidly, naming their favourite parts and hyping up Lucy and Hatori for speaking up to Akito. However, to them, nothing could beat when Akito tried to throw a punch at Lucy while Kagura and Hatori tried to make them unconscious using blow darts, only to be blocked by the celestial mage's barrier. The moment replayed in their minds, Lucy's unflinching body and everyone else worrying about her... it was epic.
Hikaru and Kaoru were basic mirror images for Natsu and Kyo while Gajeel and Tamaki were walking alongside Lucy, patting her head in pride. She had controlled the situation calmly and there was no need for violence. Her determination was strong and it helped her get her words through Akito. She had even planned ahead to block the blow darts and casted her barrier spell just as they were walking in the room. Of course, being the elder brothers they were, they were undoubtedly proud of her.
Erza, Yuki and Gray were also like the twins, Natsu and Kyo, but in a way more calm manner. They were more so impressed, like Gajeel and Tamaki, with the blonde's performance and couldn't be any more satisfied than now. Wendy, Tohru, Juvia, Haruhi and Carla were basically just glad that everything ended with no complications and went the way Lucy had planned it... miraculously. Happy and Pantherlily flying next to their respective dragon slayers also beaming with pride.
Kyoya, Mori, Honey and Shigure, meanwhile, were just happy that everything had turned out okay. Shigure was more than happy that it was resolved rather quickly and that the whole Sohma family wouldn't be facing charges, thanks to Lucy's generosity. But that didn't mean he couldn't feel the burning stares of the 3 hosts that were next of him. He knew better than to meddle in the affairs of rich and magical people and made a mental note to dedicate time to make it up to Lucy.
"Man! It's good that everything is back to normal!" Natsu said, resting his hands on the back of his head.
Everyone laughed at his statement, but agreed nevertheless. "You can say that again." Hikaru agreed, copying the dragon slayer's pose. "Now we're all set to finally go home!"
"Don't remind me... we're probably behind on so much school work." Haruhi grumbled, dreading the amount of studying she would have to catch up on.
"Says you Haruhi, you at least have it easy." Lucy said in a matter-of-factly tone. "I, on the other hand, still have to deal with Yuzuru."
"What? Why?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't he be happy that you've been found?"
"If I know my own older brother and the rest of the host club, which I do, I bet you all didn't tell Yuzuru that you were coming here to see if I was possibly hidden here due to how he would cause panic and commotion with a major search party and a lawsuit." Lucy explained. "That and the fact you were all going on the assumption from a vision from a magical book no less."
Everyone froze and their bodies tensed almost immediately. The younger Suoh was completely correct. Upon hearing that Aya was possibly Lucy, Tamaki had ordered for a helicopter to pick them up from the school and headed straight for the Sohmas' school. In the excitement of finally finding his little sister, Tamaki had failed to tell Yuzuru any sense of explanation as to where they were going or why they were in such a rush to get there.
Kyoya immediately slammed a fist on Tamaki's head, since he is Yuzuru's son and that he should've been the one to tell his own father that they were to go retrieve Lucy. But on the other hand, Kyoya should've also made sure that Tamaki informed the Chairperson so he had to regrettably admit he too was also at fault. The host club, except the Hitachiin twins and Haruhi, just coughed in attempt to brush aside the topic as if it wasn't much of a big deal.
"...Oops?" Tamaki said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
The fairies and Sohmas just facepalmed as Lucy and Tohru sighed. "So now, I'm in the position to have to explain the entire ordeal as to why you all were gone for practically 3 days and have to deal with Yuzuru's breakdown of relief now that I've come back."
"Sounds like you've got your plate full then." Erza said in a joking manner.
The celestial mage just hunched over with enthusiasm at the scarlet mage's words. "Doesn't help that no matter where I go or whom I'm with, I always end up finding a version of Natsu and Gray outside of Fairy Tail too."
"What!?" Happy exclaimed. "You've met another Natsu and Gray!? Where!?"
"Yeah, what the heck Luce!?" Natsu said, his eyes narrowed. "There's no way there's another fire dragon slayer like me! And isn't Fiore the only place with magic!?"
"Correction: both the continents of Ishgar and Alvarez are inhabited by people born with magic!" Happy said.
"Okay yeah, whatever, but still!"
Carla just sighed and rolled her eyes. "I believe the Natsu and Gray Lucy is referring to is the ones right behind you." She said, pointing her paw at the 2 Sohmas, Kyo already glaring at Yuki in anger.
"Say that again to my damn face, Rat Boy!" Kyo demanded as he got into a defensive position.
"Not a problem." Yuki replied, seeming unbothered by the orange haired boy's glare. "Lucy is referring to you, you stupid cat, since you are just as hot headed and reckless as that Natsu boy."
"Finally, someone else who sees the truth about Ash-for-Brains over here." Gray replied to Yuki's remark, earning a grateful smile from the silver haired boy.
"Is that a challenge I hear, Ice Boy!?" Natsu cried, lighting his fists on fire.
Yuki went to stand by Gray while Kyo and Natsu stood in front of them in pure annoyance and anger. "Considering that the last time you tried to attack me, you couldn't even touch me, it wouldn't be much of a challenge if we team up." Yuki said nonchalantly. "After all, Kyo always loses to me."
"I bet I could even cool off that heated orange head of yours, Kyo." Gray added, channelling a few flurries to hover from his hand.
"Tell that to me when you're not practically naked, you stripper!" Kyo retorted, pointing to Wendy and Tohru who turned away with embarrassed faces, while Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru were covering Haruhi's face. "Don't you see that we've got some girls over here!?"
"Oh crap, where'd they go now!?" The ice mage screamed, looking for his clothes.
"Forget about that Kyo-kyo!" Hikaru said, the panic look on his face obviously mirroring his brother's. "The real question is why the heck aren't Lucy, Erza, Juvia and Carla not fazed by this!"
"Me, Lucy and Carla have had our fair share of trying to get Gray to keep his clothes on back at the guild, but it's been a habit since he was a child so it can't be helped." Erza explained calmly. "But I'm better at dealing with it since me, Natsu and Gray used to have frequent baths together as children."
"You guys showered together!?" Tamaki exclaimed in disbelief.
"A woman like you bathed with those 2 idiots!?" Kaoru shouted.
"Wow Erza, that means you, Natsu and Gray must be pretty close, huh?" Honey asked as he sat atop Mori's shoulders.
The scarlet haired mage nodded, watching the 4 boys argue it out in an amusing matter. "We did join Fairy Tail when we were really young, so you could say that they are my brothers."
"Then... what about Juvia?" Haruhi asked from behind the twins and Tamaki's arms, but soon got her answer 2 seconds after she voiced her question.
Juvia had gone next to Gray the minute he realized he lost his clothes and she too had begun to strip herself of her shawl and dress. Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru screeching before turning away in total embarrassment and mumbled about how men shouldn't be seeing a woman in her underwear. Shigure, on the other hand was another story since he had tried to get pictures. Luckily, Yuki and Kyo had taken the camera from him and crushed it and the film inside, just in case he tried to recover the image.
"My camera..." Shigure whimpered, little tears running down his face.
"Gray darling, if you must strip then so shall Juvia!" The water mage declared.
"Don't you start!" Gray shouted.
Lucy couldn't help but just laugh at the scene unfolding before her. She had missed the random and crazy bickering between her and the rest of the guild, a lot more than she'd like to admit. But now that she had forgiven Team Natsu, it was as if nothing tore them apart in the first place. What was even better was that she is able to share that kind of relationship with her new family, who made the bickering twice as entertaining and hilarious. She felt so at home... and it kinda hurt for her to think she had to say goodbye.
"This... This right here..." She thought. "...This is already home..."
After everyone had gotten back to Shigure's house and retired for the night, the morning sun soon arrived. During breakfast, both Tamaki and Kyoya were informed of the 2 planes that had arrived to bring the fairies and the hosts to their respective homes. Of course, the 2 hosts didn't mention of Lucy's return and decided that she would be the one to announce her return in order to not cause mass commotion. After telling the celestial mage this, she obviously agreed to the idea.
Kyo, Yuki and Tohru had gotten ready for school while everyone else began to pack anything that they had brought with them since they did stay there for 3 days. All except Lucy of course, who really had nothing to pack since she never had the choice to bring anything with her. Once everyone was ready, they began making their way down the path towards Kyo, Yuki and Tohru's school. The midpoint being right before the path goes into town.
When they did get to the midpoint, everybody began to exchange farewells. It wasn't as bad as when the trio had left Ouran, everyone having heavy hearts back then because they had to leave in the midst of Lucy's disappearance, but now they had nothing to worry about anymore. However, Lucy never got the chance to say goodbye then so she was kind of hesitant to say goodbye and just watched everyone say goodbye first. Everyone giving the 3 a hug, except Haruhi who only hugged Tohru.
When it had come to the blonde's turn, she started by giving each of them a tight hug. Kyo, with all his hugs, had been pretty reluctant, not liking all the mushy feelings that were going around. But of course, he knew better than to say no to Lucy and gave her an awkward but warm hug. When they had parted, the 3 could sense that she had wanted to say something and just stayed quiet. Waiting for her to say what she wanted to say first.
"I wanted to thank you..." She finally said with a shy smile. "Even though I was rude to you when I was Aya... you never gave up on me and that means a lot."
"Aw c'mon Lucy!" Tohru said cheerfully, taking the blonde's hands in her own. "Aren't we family now? Of course we wouldn't give up!"
Lucy nodded with a sad smile and then turned to Yuki and Kyo. The silver haired boy smiling at her while the orange haired one crossed his arms with a stern expression plastered on his face. "Even though it isn't goodbye forever, I still feel sad." She said.
"It's because it ain't forever that you shouldn't be moping around like that." Kyo stated, turning his head away since he knew if Lucy started crying, he wouldn't know what to do.
"You're always welcome to visit us whenever you and the others want, Lucy." Yuki added. "I'm sure everybody in the Zodiac that you have and haven't met would love to see you."
"I should like that very much, Yuki."
It was then that Tamaki steps up and places a hand on his little sister's shoulder, the younger Suoh looking at him have a serene look upon his face. "Come on, Lucy... it's time to go." He said, to which she just nodded in agreement. The elder Suoh then looked at the trio and smiled. "Make sure to visit Ouran when you can, I'm sure the ladies would like to see Yuki and Kyo from time to time."
"In your wildest dreams buddy." Kyo replied.
"I might have to pass." Yuki said coldly.
Everyone laughed and then they separated. Lucy was behind everyone else so she kept on looking back until Yuki, Kyo and Tohru disappeared from view. When they did, pink hair came into view as Natsu with Happy sleeping atop his head began to walk alongside her. He held a look of concern, to which the celestial mage just tilted her head in confusion. "What?" She asked.
"Nothing." He replied, his expression soon changing to that of reluctance, betraying his own words. "It's just..."
"Just?"
"Can't help but be sad... Lucy of Fairy Tail's last mission is finally over." Natsu's words made Lucy's eyes widen for a second, realizing that he was right and now she was finally going to have to give a proper goodbye to her old team and the others.
She looked at Natsu before turning to look at the backs of both the hosts and fairies talking to one another. "It's like I've been split into 3 pieces..." She thought sadly.
"Even though she's gone, she's only gone just for now." Natsu continued to say, making Lucy look at him in shock. "Gramps even said that he's considering on bumping you to S-Class, can you believe it? Me and Ice Princess got kinda jealous."
"Natsu..."
"Lucy of Fairy Tail may be gone, but the guild will always have a spot for Lucy Suoh to come back to." He said. "So when you do decide to come back, we'll all welcome you back home as Lucy of Fairy Tail again."
The celestial mage blinked a couple of times in disbelief and smirked, catching the dragon slayer off-guard but he smirked in return anyway as she brought up her fist in determination. "And the day I do, let's have a battle... just you and me, one-on-one."
Natsu nodded, raising his own hand and the both of them high fived each other, the action reminiscent of when they had first formed a team with each other and Happy. Erza, Gray, Wendy and Carla had overheard their conversation and they couldn't help but smile in nostalgia, the thought of them being whole again as Team Natsu in the guild residing in the back of all their minds. A hope that they would never let go of until the day they are together again.
When they had gotten to the clearing, 2 planes were waiting for the hosts and fairies. One was Tamaki's personal pilot and the second being the pilot that had brought Lucy to Ouran in the first place, he was the only one who knew how to get to Fiore after all. Natsu had rejoiced in gratitude, since he was also the pilot that supplied the motion sickness pills, to which Gray just mumbled in complaint about how he had to deal with the hyperactive dragon slayer on their way back to the guild.
"It's time for us to part ways now, huh?" Gray asked.
"It seems so." Kyoya replied, pushing his glasses up. "We've been gone from our school for far too long and I'm sure your guild and master is eager to know the results of everything that has happened here."
"Yes... though successful, I can't help but feel like we're going back empty handed." Erza said in a regretful tone.
"It's okay!" Honey cheered. "We can visit you guys during summer vacation! And you guys should visit us too so we can hang out in Kyo-chan's family's water park and aquatic zoo relaxation centre!"
"Yes and you guys are free to stay at the Suoh estate as well!" Tamaki added in dramatic fashion.
"Whoa! A water park and aquatic zoo!?" Happy exclaimed, drooling at the thought of all the fish. "Just imagine the buffet just waiting for me to try out!"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Happy." Hikaru said with a sneer.
"I mean, the last time we were in there, there were crocodiles in that side of the facility." Kaoru added, mimicking his twin.
"C-Crocodiles!?" The exceed cried.
"What kind of place is that?" The fairies all thought in unison.
Lucy stepped up and hugged Gajeel, Lily, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Happy, Gray, Erza and Natsu in that order. Once she parted from them, she smiled and laughed to herself at the ironic feelings she had. "After all that had happened, I never thought I'd say this..." She said. "But I'm gonna miss you guys a lot... along with the rest of the guild."
Lily just smirked while crossing his arms. "Well, even though you had no memories of the past 6 months, you certainly had enough time to think about it."
"I know I had so much hate the last time I saw the guild, and I know I said that that would be my final farewell, but I'm really glad that I was able to see you all and I hope to see you again soon." Lucy replied. "Though, I have a feeling that won't be possible for quite awhile so... please send the guild my regards?"
"Juvia is sure they will be more than happy to hear that, Lucy." Juvia said, giggling a bit. "Juvia can guarantee a good lot will cry too."
"I don't doubt either."
Team Natsu then looked to Tamaki, who beaming in pride towards his younger sister. Natsu, Erza, Gray and Happy looked at each other, nodding as they sent silent messages to one another before Natsu stepped up and pointed his finger straight to Tamaki. Scanning at each of the hosts in the process as well. Each of them tilted their heads in confusion, wondering what the dragon slayer was doing while the rest of the fairies just smirked as Natsu's glare burned through their bodies.
"Hey pretty boy!" Natsu called, Tamaki flinching a bit at the sudden shout. "I don't know if Metal Head over there told you already but you're Luce's big brother, so that means you better make sure that she doesn't cry. My team and the rest of the guild already paid hell when we did, so you better watch out unless you want to deal with all of Fairy Tail, you hear me!?"
"And that goes for the rest of you as well, especially one I will not name." Carla added, staring right at Hikaru who just blushed in embarrassment. "I don't want you especially to give her a hard time."
"That cat really has it in for me..." Hikaru thought, sulking a bit.
The celestial mage just smiled gratefully while hugging Tamaki from the side, the elder Suoh recovering from the obvious threat and gave a determined stare of his own as he wrapped his arm around Lucy to pull her close. "You have my most solemn promise as both her brother and on behalf of the club, that we will protect Lucy." He replied. "Because she too is our family, much like she is yours."
The fairies were all satisfied with his answer and they all began to board the plane, looking back at everyone while doing so. Lucy and the hosts were waving to them as they boarded, waiting for them to take off before they began boarding their own plane. From the windows, the blonde girl could see her other family waving from their respective seats and she could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. She was finally saying goodbye... she won't see them in person until she is ready to forgive the rest of the guild.
The hosts all gathered around her, somehow knowing that she was about to cry and continued to send the fairies off with a smile. When she heard the engine start and saw the wheels beginning to move, her tears began to spill and her heart began to pound at her chest with an aching pain. But she refused to look away. Makarov had once told her to keep her head high and she was going to watch them leave with her own 2 eyes, regardless if she cried or not.
Once the plane was finally in the sky and far from the ground that Lucy let her tears fall freely, but she still held the genuine smile on her face. Staring at the sky, the blonde couldn't help but to feel so at peace. She had said goodbye properly this time, it wasn't out of anger. In her heart, Lucy knew that she will always remain a part of Fairy Tail... whether she was a member or not.
"I will definitely see you again..."
"TAMAKI! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Yuzuru's voice yelled across the halls of Ouran Academy.
When the hosts and Lucy arrived back to the academy, classes had already ended and extra curricular activities were currently going on. Hikaru and Kaoru had given Lucy a change of clothes to change into during their flight, courtesy of their mother's designs. She had no other clothes except for the plain shirt and denim shorts she wore in the 6 months she was missing, excluding the school uniform she used when attending Kyo, Yuki and Tohru's school. So she was grateful that gave her something new to wear.
Her outfit consisted of blue and black sweater dress that had a zipper that went past her chest to create a deep v-neck look and wore a simple white spaghetti strap top underneath. The skirt had black lined pockets and at its hem were 2 sets of ruffles: one half being black and the other side being a plaid pattern. A belt on her waist to hold her whip and keys. Lucy had the hood, that was also part of the dress, pulled over her head to cover her face. There were still students around the school so if they saw her, it would cause an uproar.
The group immediately made a beeline straight for Yuzuru's office, fully knowing that the pilot that was sent to bring them back had notified the Chairperson of their arrival. They were all nervous, but not as nervous as the Suoh siblings. Tamaki for the sole reason he knew that he was in big trouble and Lucy because she knew that she would have to calm down Yuzuru with her presence and then be bombarded with a bunch of questions, crying and hugging from her biological father.
"Father... now if you would just let me explain..." Tamaki replied, his voice shaking as he did so in fear of his father's wrath. The rest of the Host Club behind him, standing stiff while Lucy hid behind the open door. "I have a perfectly good explanation as to why I was gone for a bit..."
"YOU WERE GONE FOR PRACTICALLY 4 DAYS!" Yuzuru yelled that Lucy could swear his face was turning red. "I can see you doing this, but taking your entire club with you!? What were you all thinking!?"
"Father, if you would just let me-"
"Because of you, I was nearly eaten alive by that Yoshio Ootori!" The Chairperson continued on, the hosts and Lucy sweatdropping at the news. "He thought that my son had led his third son to death..."
With those words, Kyoya could only pinch the bridge of his nose while rolling his eyes at his father's actions, having a good idea what had transpired between the 2 adults. "Goodness father..." He thought.
"Now you better explain to me what the devil was so important that you had all of your friends fly to-"
"Um... sorry... but that would be because of me..." Lucy said in a surprisingly calm voice as she cut the Chairperson off, considering how timid she felt about facing her biological father's wrath.
Yuzuru looked at the hooded girl with a raised eyebrow, surprised to hear a female was the reason the whole Host Club had decided to take a mini vacation from school. He looked at Lucy, not being able to see her face due to shadow cast by the hood and took a deep breath before calming himself down. "I'm sorry that you had to see that Miss, but it seems I fail to understand why you are the reason."
The celestial mage could only blink before giggling, catching the man off guard. He was about to say something about showing him some respect when he suddenly froze on the spot as Lucy began to take off her hood, her blonde hair and brown eyes revealing themselves. "It's easy really... you've been looking for me for quite awhile too, right?"
Yuzuru was frozen as he continued to blink, rub his eyes and any other sort of action to make sure that the Lucy before him wasn't some apparition that only he could see. He had been so stressed and sleep deprived for the last 6 months over her disappearance that he thought it was about time for hallucinations to hit, but the Lucy in front of him wouldn't disappear and he could tell that everyone else in the room could see her too.
"...Lucy...?" He asked slowly. "Is that... actually you?"
When the younger Suoh nodded her head, the Chairperson didn't move and could only stare at disbelief. The hosts looked between the 2 in an awkward manner, but Lucy expected this so she used the time to explain the situation for Tamaki. "Tamaki and the others were able to find a lead on me and in order to not waste time, they flew to Tohru and the other's which is probably why they forgo-"
Yuzuru then cut the celestial mage mid sentence as he dashed to envelop her in a grateful hug, his body trembling as he held on to her. The hosts and Lucy stood frozen wide eyed at the action and didn't know what to do next. Lucy composed herself shortly and just placed her hands on his back, soon returning the hug and patting him in a soft rhythm to calm the shaking. She had expected him to be dramatic, but in a more hyperactive childlike sort of way, but I guess this was better than what she had envisioned.
"You've finally come home..." Yuzuru said in a low voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm so sorry that we took so long to find you... I thought I had let your mother down... I'm glad that they were able to find you..."
"Hey... so long as you didn't give up on finding me, you didn't let me or mom down." Lucy replied, a soft smile appearing since this was her first time seeing her biological father be so vulnerable. "You should apologize to Tamaki and the others though and tell Mr. Ootori that his son had helped Tamaki and the others to find me. I wouldn't be here without them."
The head Suoh immediately composed himself from his vulnerable state and immediately began to apologize to the hosts, going back to his seat and allowing for everyone to explain what had happened one by one. They hadn't bothered hiding the fact that Akito was the one who had taken Lucy, and sure enough Yuzuru was preparing a lawsuit in his head, but the celestial mage immediately shut him down on the idea and explained that she already used a special method to deal with the head Sohma.
This obviously caused chills down the man's spine, since Lucy is also indeed a mage with mages with friends and once he learned that Gajeel and the others had also gone to deal with Akito, he knew that there was no way the Sohmas would dare try to do anything to their family ever again. It was thanks to the pictures that Lucy provided of Gajeel and the others that Yuzuru was convinced of whatever was done to teach Akito a lesson, that and the story of the frequent destructions caused by Fairy Tail.
Then Lucy got into explanation as to why they took a long while to come back after finding her. Wisely leaving out any details of the use of blow darts against her and the others as well as the Zodiac curse, Lucy began telling of her amnesia and her appearance change; the very reason why the hosts had to confirm it was her and was somehow able to explain how they confirmed everything. It took awhile for Yuzuru to take everything in, but he understood for the most part and welcomed Lucy home.
It didn't take long for the rest of the school to know that Lucy Suoh was back either. The next day, when all the students began to arrive to the academy, there was already a large banner overtop the entrance saying 'WELCOME BACK LUCY' in big bold letters, making the students go into an uproar. It also didn't help that Yuzuru was announcing it over the PA, which made Lucy freak out as many students began to welcome her back in a very enthusiastic manner.
Especially her class, which was the same as the twins and Haruhi like the year before. They had given her a completely warm welcome and she was grateful for their welcome. When class ended, she had gone ahead to the clubroom with Haruhi to prepare tea, coffee and snacks. Mori and Honey had come to visit from the university as well. Once she was done with that, the club began preparing for the activities for the day, which meant Lucy was free to sit down on a couch and relax for the remainder of the day.
"So how did your families take the reason as to why you all up and vanished for a couple of days?" She asked as she ate a cupcake. "I'd hate to be the reason why you guys got in trouble."
Haruhi sat down beside her and leaned on the couch while sighing. "Apparently Kyoya had already told my dad about the errand me, Hikaru and Kaoru were doing." She said. "He was a little angry that I was gone longer than planned, but when I told him it was 'cause it was to find you, he cooled off."
"Really? Why?"
"I had told him that Haruhi's only female friend, who knows that she's a girl, at this school was in danger and that it was of utmost necessity for Haruhi to help." Kyoya answered, to which the 2 girls just sweatdropped.
"Of course you did..." Haruhi mumbled under her breath.
"How did your dad take the news, Kyoya?" Lucy asked. "Please tell me he cooled off... I don't think it would sit well with me if I was the cause for our families to be in awkward situations."
Kyoya chuckled under his breath and pushed up his glasses. "He actually took the news rather well." He replied. "He was quite impressed to hear that I was the one who found the secret room that you had been hidden in."
"Our parents were pretty okay with the news too." Hikaru said. "Actually, our mom was pretty grateful to us for figuring out your identity before the boss came and all that."
"She was hoping that you could get Mira to model her new fashion line though as compensation..." Kaoru added, earning a nudge from Hikaru. The 2 sharing a silent conversation about how they had presumably agreed to not bring the topic up.
Lucy just laughed, getting the twins to look at her in confusion. "Even if it wasn't for compensation, I could've still asked Mira as a friendly favour." She said. "Tell your mom I said okay, but it's up to Mira herself whether she decides to model for her or not."
The Hitachiin twins blinked at first before taking Lucy's hands in their own gratefully as they light began to ooze out of their bodies. "You really are a blessing to this Earth, Lucy!"
"Our families were fine about it too, which is crazy weird." Honey said as he was being carried piggyback style by Mori. "Actually, the minute we mentioned your name, my father backed off and even offered me cake for my accomplishment."
"He offered you cake, Honey-senpai!?" Tamaki exclaimed. "Did you mention that she's Lucy Suoh or Heartfilia?"
"I'm pretty sure I just said 'Tama-chan's sister, Lucy'." Honey replied, resting his head on Mori's shoulder. "Right, Takashi?"
"Yeah." Mori replied.
"Speaking of the Haninozukas Honey, I had spar with someone from your family before we all went home yesterday." Lucy informed, the twins, Tamaki, Haruhi and Honey looking at the girl with wide eyes.
"What!?" They exclaimed, closing in to her face as Lucy leaned back in surprise.
"Who!?" The twins asked in unison.
Lucy just shrugged as she tried to recall who she had fought before everyone had gone home. "Well technically there were 2 of them, a boy in middle school or first year high school student from the looks of it and the man next to him was apparently his father. He had pretty long messy hair that was brown and was old but well in shape." She explained. "Tried to intimidate me with glares but failed."
"Hold on now!" Honey said, jumping off Mori before sitting next to Lucy. "Did the boy have brown hair and had glasses on?"
"Yeah actually, who were they?" The blonde was surprised that Honey was right and raised an eyebrow. "The boy's name was Yasuchika and the man's was Yorihisa if I remember correctly."
It was then that Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi's mouths dropped to the ground. The entire host club knowing fully well who Lucy had encountered yesterday evening. "You fought father and my younger brother Chika-chan, Lucy!?"
"When the heck did this happen!?" Tamaki asked in an utterly shocked state, Lucy mirroring her brother's own expression.
"I didn't know they were your immediate family, Honey! They just claimed to be a part of the Haninozukas but they didn't say how!" Lucy explained, realizing that the events after the fight made more sense now that she knew who they were. "I was just walking through the halls after going to the washroom while you guys were still talking to Yuzuru, that's when I bumped into them!"
"They were here in the school!?" Haruhi exclaimed, remembering when Lucy hadn't come back to the room and when she did they had already gone to the club room.
Lucy nodded and thought back to the events leading up to the fight. "I was originally going to just pass by them since I knew you would worry if I didn't come back soon, but then..."
(Lucy's POV)
"Excuse me." The younger of the 2 called to me. "Are you by chance the missing student, Lucy Suoh?"
I turned around at the mention of my name and looked at them in confusion, the boy seemed hostile towards me. The middle aged man kept on glaring at me while he was crossing his arms. It wasn't like I was fazed or anything but it seemed like he was trying really hard to intimidate me. Jokes on him though, Mira and Gajeel have a way more scarier look than him. I just nodded though and placed a hand on my hip, seeing the both of them widen their eyes for a second. I could only assume because I seemed unaffected by their glares.
"Yes... can I help you?"
"We are a part of the Haninozuka family." He replied. "My name is Yasuchika and this is my father, Yorihisa Haninozuka."
"You're Haninozukas?" I asked, a smile on my face since they were related to Honey. "You must be here to see Honey-senpai then! I know he's been gone for awhile so you must be worried-"
"We're not worried about him, Miss. Suoh." Yasuchika said with distaste in his voice. "We are here to see the one who made him and Takashi Morinozuka just up and leave without so much as a word as to why."
"What?"
"We challenge you to a battle, Lucy Suoh!" He declared, pointing his finger at me. "First, you must battle me and if you win, you may battle my father!"
It wasn't the first time I was challenged to a fight. If I had been challenged back in Fairy Tail, I would've declined immediately but I was stronger now thanks to Makarov, Mira, Gajeel, Lily, Juvia and Wendy so I wasn't too worried. But it did bother me how they just went and challenged me without so much as a second thought. I get that the Haninozukas are a martial arts household, but they could've at least held the slightest bit of manners.
"And why would you exactly challenge me without so much as a thought?" I asked. "I am a girl, after all."
Both of their eyes narrowed and their glares turned colder, but I remained unbothered. I could tell that it was ticking them off. "We've heard from Mitsukuni that the young daughter of Suoh is a well off fighter and that means a lot coming from him." He explained. "So you shouldn't have nothing to fear... or do you?"
I just shrugged and rolled my eyes, not bothering with the whole respect thing if they're just going to battle me. "No not really, but good answer." I replied with a determined smirk. "But I don't fight kids, so I'll fight your dad over there... and just him alone."
Yasuchika seemed pretty mad at the kid comment and began to be very defensive. "I am not some little kid for you to baby, lady!"
Before I could retort a response, Yorihisa made his son quiet down and nodded in agreement to my request. "I have to compliment your confidence, young lady." He said. "However, I can sense that you do not know what true strength is."
I just scoffed and leaned on the wall, taunting the both of them. "If I don't know what true strength is, why don't you enlighten me while we fight?"
"...Gladly." Yorihisa replied.
"Then follow me, I don't feel like breaking a wall today." We were on the second floor, but the window next to us led to the one of the clear gardens that were all grass with no breakables. So I opened them and just jumped out, somersaulting upon impact to land on my feet. I looked at the window and saw them wide eyes, clearly they didn't expect that from me. I was just too lazy to use the stairs.
"Are you crazy lady!?" Yasuchika shouted from the window.
"Oh don't be such a wuss!" I replied, still taunting them. "I'd like to hope that a martial artist such as yourself is capable of doing something as simple as that. To think I had the impression that you were a master as well."
I'm pretty sure that I hit a nerve because Yorihisa immediately jumped out of the window and landed on his feet immediately on impact. Yasuchika decided to just take the stairs. I smirked, getting excited for the fight to begin and got into an offensive stance as did Yorihisa. "I will allow you to start first." He said.
"Oh?" I asked, immediately dashing in front of him as he blinked and I appeared from below. "Don't mind if I do." He dodged my first 2 punches and was about to dodge my third when he saw me pull my fist back, but what he didn't realize is that that left him open for me to do a Lucy Kick. With that opening, I kicked him in the gut, pushing him back towards the paved path behind him.
Yorihisa growled and dashed for me once he regained footing and tried to punch my jaw, but I dodged at the last second and used my forearm to block him. I couldn't help but smirk as he tried to break through, but his strength was nothing compared to Gajeel. He literally turned his skin metal in order to help me build up strength and that hurt like hell. "You're quite talented." He said.
"Aren't you supposed to be telling me what true strength is?" I asked, the both of us jumping away from each other. "If so, then start talking!" We both dashed towards each other, the older man going in for another punch, but I front flipped over him and kicked backwards while pushing off from his back to land on the ground.
Yorihisa stumbled and took in another breath. "To maintain one's self discipline... to cast away all weakness and leniency." He said. "You must do these things in order to grab hold of one's true strength."
I had maintained my stance while listening him talk, but once he finished, I just sighed and adjusted my posture so I stood straight. I knew I had caught him off guard with my actions, but he still maintained his form just in case I decided to do some kind of surprise attack. "And I should assume that's why Honey is looked down upon since he disobeyed these rules?" I asked.
"Excuse me?" Yorihisa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"For someone who follows these rules and I assume has this true strength, you haven't landed a single hit on me and I've hit you a total of 2 times and blocked an attack to my jaw with little to no effort." I stated, the man gnashing his teeth, trying to control his anger at my taunting.
"What are you trying to get at, girl?"
"Honey has attained his true strength by allowing himself to love the things he likes and is the most powerful Haninozuka if I've been informed correctly." I said. "It seems that loving his weaknesses has made him stronger, which means that true strength should be the reverse."
"If you believe you know true strength, then show me yours."
It was around that time when Yorihisa said that, that Yasuchika finally got to the garden. It had been quite a few minutes since we started our little battle and I could see in my peripheral vision that he was shocked to see me so calm and unscathed while his father was already taking deep breaths. Poor boy, he probably thought I was toying with his own father. But that didn't stop me from doing what I planned to when he said those words.
I just smirked, my golden magical aura surrounding my body, clearly shocking the both of them. "My true strength lies in the bonds I share with my friends and family." I stated. "Even if I'm beaten and on the verge of giving up, they give me a reason to continue the fight. They are my weakness... and they give me all the strength I could ever need."
Yorihisa just scoffed as he got ready to dash at me again. "Then let's see this strength of yours!"
(General POV)
"So what happened next, Lucy!" Hikaru and Kaoru whined, everyone being invested on how the story went.
They were all sitting on the couches, Haruhi, Honey and Mori sitting with Lucy while Tamaki, the twins and Kyoya sat on the couch across from them. Haruhi, Honey, Tamaki and the twins were the ones obviously listening to the story since it was so intriguing, Mori was listening quietly, his eyes closed at what Lucy was saying and Kyoya was writing something in his black book while listening in a more passive manner. But all the hosts had to admit, the story itself was good.
"I showed him exactly what my true strength looked like." Lucy replied with an innocent smile on her face. "I had originally planned to summon Taurus but that wouldn't be a good idea if bystanders were to see so I just sent a strong but harmless celestial blast his way."
"You used magic on him!?" Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi exclaimed, to which the younger Suoh just shrugged in response.
"Relax, it wasn't like I killed him." She reassured. "It just sent him flying to a tree so that he wouldn't get up again. Yasuchika was so shocked that he ran in panic to the man."
"Well yeah, you just used magic to send the dude flying!" Hikaru shouted.
"Hey, he asked to see my true strength and I gave it to him!" Lucy defended. "He shouldn't be underestimating others' weaknesses anyway! So it's his fault!"
"Lucy..." Haruhi said softly.
"Using your weaknesses to one's advantages, to use what makes you weak to help you grow strong... that's what helps develop true strength." The blonde continued to say. "Pretending like they don't exist... it's like locking up your full potential and thus restricting yourself from becoming stronger. At least that's what I believe."
The others blinked and looked at one another before smiling in satisfaction towards the celestial mage. "We couldn't have said it any other way, Lucy." Tamaki said.
"Yeah, we're proud of you." Kaoru said with a cheeky grin.
"I'd have to agree." Kyoya spoke up. "To think you bested Honey-senpai's father, that is a very impressive accomplishment."
Honey then went to hug Lucy tightly, Usa-chan being in between the 2 of them. "Thanks for standing up for me, Lucy! I knew that you were a good person from the moment I met you!"
The younger Suoh just chuckled and returned the hug. "Of course, you guys are my family, I will always stand up for you no matter what!" She said. "Your happiness is important to me!"
As Tamaki watched the scene before him, he thought on his younger sister's last words. Your happiness is important to me! "And your happiness is important to us too, Lucy..." He thought, a serious and concerned gaze filling his eyes. "That's why... I know you won't be truly happy with just staying here..."