SEPTEMBER 13TH — PROTECTION
"In A Hoop That Never Ends"
I didn't think about it for a second; my legs just moved on their own. One second I was standing across the sandy plains watching the magical bullet fly towards Natsu's heart, and the next second I was on the ground with unimaginable pain burning through my left side. Even with the searing agony, I shivered like mad on the uncomfortable ground.
"Lucy! Oh, gods—Lucy!" Natsu's voice rang urgent in my ears as he grabbed my hands and tried to pry them away from where they clenched around the entry point. My eyes stayed squinted shut as I let him, and I was glad I couldn't see his face, because the next sound that came from him was a sob. "This...this is bad..."
"Oi, Zhao, you fuckin' missed 'im!" the leader of the mercenary Guild called out. Natsu's hand laid gentle on my shoulder, but the growl that came from his chest was pure anger.
"You have five seconds," he muttered in a voice so even it was terrifying. "Five seconds to get your asses out of my line of sight before I turn you to charcoal."
"Heh!" The four men laughed loudly and disdainfully while the pain in my side grew more potent. I whimpered against my will and Natsu's grip tightened. "Like you ever had a chance to—"
"Five," he said, and I didn't hear anything after that, but I felt the air temperature spike exponentially. When I managed to open one eye, I saw the tall yellow grass had been reduced to crumbling brown bits for dozens of feet all around. I didn't dare look over my shoulder at the men...or what would have been left of them.
"Natsu—" I choked with pain for a second and he made a little distressed sound.
"Don't talk!"
"Natsu...get the bullet out...it's sapping my magic." Every word hurt, but it was important he understood what to do.
"Wha...how do I..." His floundering was cut off by a flash of light. Loki's hand joined his over my arm and he let out a little pained noise.
"Lucy," he said pitifully, a shaky smile on his face. I managed to laugh.
"That's not a lady-killing smile, Loki." He laughed too, but it wasn't entirely out of humor. Then he looked at Natsu and held out a long pair of tweezers.
"The nearest town is half a mile off." He looked down at the wound and the thick clots of blood saturating my shirt and the dirt. "She's lost too much blood to make it that far, and I'm afraid of what'll happen if she goes through the Spirit World… You'll have to remove the bullet and watch over her while I go over there to get help."
"Can't you do it?" he said desperately, eyes going between mine and Loki's. Loki shook his head sadly.
"I've already exhausted a lot of my magic in the fight earlier." True, he was the star of my team when we first encountered the Guild, and he wasn't known for his leniency. His hand flickered in and out of sight around the tweezers. "I barely have enough to maintain my form. It'll take all I have left to return to this world so far from my Key. Natsu, please."
I'd lost so much blood it was getting hard to keep my eyes open. Natsu looked at me again, pressed his lips into a thin line, and took the tweezers. "Hurry up, Loki," he muttered, getting on his knees next to me. I heard Loki disappear as Natsu rolled up my shirt. Whatever he saw made his face go white. "Why did you do that?" he said quietly. It sounded like his voice would break if he spoke any louder.
"Di'n...want you to...hurt," I murmured, feeling too exhausted to work my tongue properly. He sucked in a startled breath as he bent over my side.
"I am hurting," he said in a flat tone before the tweezers went in. I sucked in a breath as pain sparked bright and colorful in my vision, but I didn't want to scream, didn't want to make him worry more. The sensation lasted a few seconds before he shifted and I heard something small hit the ground behind me. "Okay, okay, what next?" His breath came heavy and disjointed.
"Wait..."
"But, Lucy, blood, your blood—" He stopped, and it took me a moment to realize my eyes had closed. I forced them open again. "Why did you do that?" he repeated in a shakier voice.
"He...was 'onna...kill you..."
"And you think it's better if you die instead?" He shook me a little as a distressed little laugh came from him. "Gods, Lucy, you're too smart for this. Still bleeding, still...what do I do whatdoidowhatdoido!?" Then his eyes widened and he reached down to grab my hand. His rough fingers were solid and reassuring against my skin. "Lucy, this will hurt," he said a second before fire raced across my side. This time, I screamed, and Natsu turned away from me. The seconds seemed to drag on into years before finally, finally, the heat disappeared and Natsu slumped back.
"Stopped the bleeding," he said weakly. I wondered if it mattered at this point, if I hadn't already lost too much blood. "I'm supposed to protect you, ya know. That's what dragons do." I didn't have the energy to speak anymore, but I managed to scoff. He leaned closer and lifted my face so I had to look him in the eye. The green of his irises was more visible with the tears shining across the surface. "I lost you once, and I don't want to feel that pain again." It took me a minute with how sluggish my mind felt, but I recalled a me from another time, who also threw herself to take what she knew could very well be a fatal blow. I guess I hadn't changed even in several years.
Your heart stopped too back then. You think I wasn't pained when I almost lost you? Get real, Natsu.
He made another choked noise and sat back on his heels, burying his face in his sleeve. He didn't sob out loud, but I could hear his breathing hitch and break several times. He thought it was his job to protect me, but I thought the same about him. It was a weird circle that would spin on and on without end.
I blacked out for a little bit, because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was further in the sky and Natsu was on his feet waving and shouting at someone. Soon after, someone else stooped behind me and gentle hands turned me onto a stretcher. My eyelids were too heavy to raise again, so I only saw the people's legs as he lifted me into the back of a magical vehicle. They stuck a couple needles into my wrists and a machine started to beep slowly in time with my heart. I inwardly laughed — I'd seen Natsu in this position countless times, but I only remembered being this bad off during the Grand Magic Games. His voice melted with the others' as he argued with them, but I didn't need to understand the words to know he wanted to be with me here.
He thinks he's supposed to protect me, and I think I'm supposed to protect him. I wondered if it was because we loved each other, or because we felt responsible for one another. Or maybe it was both: we felt responsible for the other because we loved that person completely, like how Loki was willing to let himself die because he loved and anguished over Karen Lilica. Whatever the case was, the stuff getting pumped into my veins made me even sleepier, and I decided to let the thought rest until the morning. It wasn't a rush anyway; it wasn't like I was going anywhere, not if I could be with him.
