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CHAPTER SIX
Purse
the money a fighter earns for a given fight
Natsu huffed out a breath, his heartbeat slowing as he came down from the high that came from servicing a client. He was laying down on his back, silk sheets smooth and cool under his hot skin.
The woman he was with was in her mid to late forties, perhaps a housewife that had too much time and money. Someone who wanted a little more passion and excitement stirred into her life.
Natsu didn't know her name. It wasn't necessary for her to tell him what she wanted and for him to give it to her. The only personal detail he knew about her was that she was clean. Zeref was very strict about keeping his fighters disease free, which Natsu supposed he should have been grateful for.
Other than that, Natsu only knew what she craved. Like many others before her, she wanted the same thing.
Ferocity. Domination. And he gave them that. Natsu was always attentive to their needs, even if his own often went neglected. Not that he had many to begin with. He felt a simmer in his stomach, but no real connection to his clients. Not even when they were in his arms and he had them beneath him.
Today was different though. The memory of the woman he met before stuck out in his mind. She looked so surprised to see him, her large, brown eyes were like warm pools of spice. The way she stared at him was so different than the way anyone else did. It made something in his stomach flop.
Natsu had been so ready to dismiss her, but the sight of those flushed cheeks and embarrassed flailing had stopped him cold in his tracks. For a rich darling of the upper class, she seemed to have spunk. Even telling him a bold faced lie to try and evade his questions.
He kind of liked her spunk. It reminded him frighteningly of her….
But it couldn't be.
She remained in his head, even as he was lead upstairs, washed, cleaned and stripped down. There he waited on the sheets, devoid of all clothing and staring at the light overhead. The silence was only punctuated by Happy digging his claws into a fancy looking throw blanket.
But then his imagination got the better of him. How he was a little disappointed she hadn't been the one to buy his time. He wouldn't have minded watching her beneath him, her hair fanning out around her head and shifting in waterfalls every time he rocked into her.
The way she looked in her dress, all pretty and fierce made his gut twist. She was curvy; enough that he could fill his hands with her, squeeze, and still have more spill out between his fingers. Her generous chest was eye catching, and her flaring hips swayed in just the right way. He had never seen a woman like her before up close and wondered if those traits she had distracted men.
Sometimes he would catch the guards looking at magazines of women, and figured she was probably more than capable of making all sorts of men weak to her. While those traits were all eye catching, Natsu had been entrapped by her eyes. It took bravery to look a fighter in the eye the way she had, and he liked it.
He thought, for just one wild moment, what it would be like to have her here with him in this bed, looking at him with those fierce eyes.
That simmer he occasionally felt jumped several degrees hotter with alarming speed. Natsu's breath had caught, along with the surprise over what was happening down south.
He was a virile young man but more often than not he needed some external help to make him interested enough to service a client. There was no bigger mood killer than apathy after all.
This time he had been ready to go. No additional help needed, which had been confusing and embarrassing when his handler had taken one look at him and leered.
"Well, someone's eager."
He stared up at the ceiling, one arm tucked under his head. Tired muscles pulled at the action and he shifted to get comfortable.
A light touch ran across his arm, drawing his attention. Lips pressed against his mouth and Natsu responded automatically.
"See you tomorrow, Salamander." The woman whose name he didn't know was sliding her hand across his chest as she drew away. She shifted towards the edge of the bed to wiggle her dress back on.
Natsu thought she kind of looked like a worm when she did that.
"That was your best performance yet, I hope we can have some more fun soon." Then she looked at her reflection in the mirror, fixing her lipstick and fussing with some invisible detail in her hair. She winked at him, and he watched her leave without breathing a word.
It was blissfully quiet in the pretty room, and Natsu let the sound of his breathing lull him into a half-sleep.
Thoughts of the blonde kept plaguing him.
He wished he could just wipe his mind clean of her, make her mean nothing at all like all the other women that came and went. Not like he'd see her again anyways. Unlike the women who visited him here, who paid money for his body, the blonde with the chocolate eyes had stumbled upon him seemingly on accident. Had even denied his accidental offer.
Something about her wouldn't let him go. She was familiar, and at the same time was not.
Hers was a face he couldn't quite place, like a phantom scratching at the corners of his mind. He'd be lying to say he hadn't noticed her immediately. Even in the ring he had caught sight of her, just briefly before her face melted into the crowd with a bunch of strangers.
It was right after the Dragon had kicked him into the wall. His calf throbbed in an angry reminder at his lack of attention. Somewhat dazed, Natsu had chanced a look up at the crowd.
And locked eyes with her.
The woman's bottom lip was caught between her teeth, her eyes were wide with what looked like worry. Her body leaned forward over the railing, as if she had wanted to go down into the pit herself. But unlike those on either side of her, she was missing the vintage bloodlust of a normal spectator.
The distraction had earned him a square punch to the face, jolting his head back into the fight.
But that familiarity was hard to shake. Perhaps that was why he had helped her…
Breathing out through his nose, Natsu punched at his pillow to mold it into a more agreeable shape.
He knew he would soon be collected from the room. Sent back down to his better guarded quarters where he could properly lick his wounds. His breathing slowed and dropped off into a restless slumber. He might as well enjoy the room while he had it.
-::-
"What were you thinking!"
Gajeel's roar was loud enough to shake the frame of Levy's Hackmobile. Levy rocked back on her stool, her hands rubbing at the sides of her head to try and get some hearing back in one of her ears.
They were parked far away now from the Ring, Gajeel the one who had taken the wheel despite Levy's penchant for mad driving. The entire time he drove, the bulky man muttered sharp curses under his breath, jerking the steering wheel from one side to another. Levy and Lucy exchanged glances, both aware he was like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
It seemed he had just enough sense to hold off on his rant until they were good and far away from the arena. Gajeel clearly wanted distance from the place, and thanks to what she had seen within, Lucy couldn't blame him.
Although she was not looking forward to his fury.
Lucy cringed now that they were parked, hunching down in her dress coat, wrapping the faux fur around herself like a shield.
"I had to improvise, Gajeel! Salamander was there!" Lucy shouted back at him.
"So what? He would've still been there next time! And the time after that!" Gajeel shot back, eyes furious. "You almost didn't make it back out of that room. Do you know what could have happened to you?!"
Lucy took a deep breath. "I do," she affirmed in a low tone, raising her eyes to stare at him defiantly. "But I'd do it again."
Gajeel groaned, raking a hand through his hair and pressing his palm into his eyes. He took a deep heaving breath, as if to find his center, and shook his head.
"Of course you would," he grunted, dropping down on a tiny stool his frame completely overshadowed.
It was right in front of one of Levy's console units, and Pantherlily took the second he was distracted to jump up onto his lap. The cat sat upright, his spine straight and like a military captain as opposed to a domestic pet.
He meowed at Lucy, as if to chide her for her recklessness.
"It's an unnecessary risk for you to go in there more than you're needed, Lucy." Gajeel looked up, his large hand lightly setting on top of his cat's head, patting down his spine. "The more often they see your face, the more suspicious they'll get."
Lucy lifted her chin at Gajeel. "Which is why I gave them a reason they'll see my face so much."
"C'mon, Gajeel, she's got this," Levy sighed, but Lucy could tell she was also very wary over the risks she was taking.
But Lucy couldn't help it.
This was Salamander. He was her friend, even if he couldn't remember it.
It was worth the risk.
-::-
Two short knocks interrupted the silence of Natsu's room.
Laying on his sorry excuse for a bed, one arm tucked behind his head, Natsu turned and glared at the door. He knew who was on the other side - only one person bothered knocking, the rest just barged in whether he was ready or not.
Since the door couldn't be opened from the inside, Natsu made a noise of acquiescence.
It swung open a second later, allowing Zeref to stroll inside.
Though his face was carefully neutral, void of emotion, Natsu could tell that he was pleased about something. It was in the way that his dark eyes crinkled at the very corners. His hands were clasped behind his back as he meandered through Natsu's room, perusing the walls as though there were knick-knacks to inspect.
"You want something?" Natsu finally grunted.
"Do I need an excuse to come visit my younger brother?" Zeref lifted a single brow but continued to glance over the bare walls.
Natsu didn't respond, his eyes turning stubbornly back towards the ceiling. He knew there was no point in talking to Zeref, the older man would just say whatever he wanted to anyway. In fact, he was surprised he was taking so long to get to the point.
Lazily, he slid his eyes over to where Zeref was looking at the floor near his sink. Natsu's eyes widened when he realized that was where that strange lady had been hiding earlier. Had she dropped something? Natsu hadn't even thought to question it. After spending the evening with his client, he hadn't even paused to check the room.
Now he wished he had.
Zeref stopped part of the way where he was crouching down, picking up something from the floor. Natsu's heart almost jumped out of his chest when he spotted some glittering gold sequins in the older man's palm.
For a moment, Zeref seemed puzzled.
He held the bauble between his fingers, twiddling it and holding it up to the light as if to inspect it. All the while, Natsu held his breath - waiting for Zeref to turn a knowing look on him. There was no way that he didn't know the gold sequin had come from another person. Another person who wasn't supposed to have been visiting Natsu's personal room.
The blonde woman.
But, instead of commenting on it, Zeref merely pocketed the sequin.
"You did well today," he murmured, finally meeting Natsu's gaze. "I came to tell you that."
Natsu swallowed, unsure why Zeref had chosen to ignore the sequin, but grateful nonetheless. "You don't usually come to personally congratulate the winners," he pointed out.
"True enough," Zeref allowed, "but I've always made an exception for you."
Natsu snorted. He supposed there was some truth in that, even if it was always to Natsu's detriment. He scowled and sat up, wanting to know why he was really here.
"And?"
"Always straight to the point I see..." Zeref looked a little disappointed with the speed in which Natsu seemed to dismiss him. He snagged the sheet Natsu had used to cover his sink, folding it in slow, deliberate motions even as he gave it an annoyed look.
Natsu hid a smirk, knowing the blood and grime he had gotten on it would bother the clean corners and immaculate order his brother tended to like.
He shook his head afterward, hating that he still called the man who had done so much to him 'brother.'
Some habits never died.
No matter how much he might have wanted them to.
"Your retainer said you were very good today with your clients. You didn't even need the additional help like normal," Zeref put bluntly, and Natsu felt like burying his face in Happy's fur to try and smother himself.
The direction of this conversation was already horrifying and demeaning on more than a hundred levels. The way Zeref spoke about the experience - as if Natsu were a breeding stallion and had performed exceptionally well.
"I had hoped this to mean you would finally be in a more agreeable mood."
Being forced to fuck some high end, dainty housewife never put him or anyone else in an agreeable mood. Even if, during the whole time, Natsu had been imagining someone else in order to make it a little more...engageable.
Someone with pretty blonde hair who smelled like fresh soap and flowers and not gallons of musky perfume to mask the smell of sex.
Natsu snorted to distract himself.
Zeref turned, his expression tight, as though he were about to breach an unpleasant topic. "You are meant to inherit Tartaros from me one day."
That made Natsu sit up straight.
Unpleasant topic indeed.
He'd always known about Zeref's plans for him - the coddling and grooming had been dead giveaways. It was pitiable to think that Natsu had been treated fairly well compared to some of the other fighters, but he was clearly given better food and medical care. Not to mention, he was educated to a certain extent.
Most fighters couldn't even read their own names.
There was a reason, though, that Natsu had been the "lucky one". A reason why Zeref had reached out to him as a child and continued to watch and guide him from afar. Zeref seemed to think that they were alike in some way, that they were kindred spirits.
That alone was enough to make Natsu's stomach revolt - he wasn't like Zeref. He never would be.
"I'm not one of your pawns," Natsu growled.
"No," Zeref agreed, "you're my brother. And as my brother, you're destined for greatness." He spoke to Natsu slowly, as if he was still a small, frightened child in a cage.
He was not afraid anymore, accepting of his fate perhaps, and angry - but not scared. Natsu still lived in a cage, even if it was a different size and shape than the one he'd first occupied.
"Greatness? What part of this hellhole even remotely resembles greatness? You have people paying you for bloodbaths. People pay you to watch us slaughter each other like wild animals."
Natsu felt like screaming that at him. How many times had he tried to get Zeref to see the sense in what he did? How all the violence they went through never changed anything. It only altered the body count and made the privileged people's wallets fatter.
A dime of which none of the fighters, of course, saw.
Not that Natsu would want a dime for what he was forced to do in the Ring. Or outside of it.
"This doesn't seem like greatness to me," was what he chose to say instead.
But Zeref shook his head, his smile indulgent and maddening.
Natsu wanted to surge to his feet and rip it right off his patient face. That was an act he knew would not end well for him - Zeref had not become the Master by accident, and Natsu did not think he was ready to take him on.
Not yet, anyway.
Zeref ran a hand through his dark hair and shook his head. "After all these years you're still so naïve…" he uttered upon a small laugh. "Don't worry, though. You'll understand one day, and you'll thank me. Everything I've done is for you." Zeref's dark eyes flashed, and Natsu swore they glinted a strange shade of red. "You'd do well to remember that."
"I'd sooner let Happy claw out my own tongue," Natsu replied bitterly, his hand dropping protectively over his feline.
The little cat's fur had fluffed out the moment Zeref entered the room, long hisses and snarls coming from the puffy feline the whole time.
Happy hated Zeref. Almost more than he hated all the muscle men.
And Natsu didn't blame him.
"Well I hope it doesn't come to that," Zeref's response was dry, if a little amused by Natsu's snarl. It was almost as if he thought he were making a joke of some kind. "Rest up, little brother, you have two appointments tomorrow. And I hope you'll be just as successful as you were today."
Zeref gave him one last, lingering look, before he tossed the filthy blanket to the foot of Natsu's bed and let himself out.
Natsu groaned the instant he was gone, stroking his hand down Happy's tail to calm him down.
"Great," Natsu sighed and shook out his blanket, rolling over onto his side and curling Happy to him. The cat obediently dropped into the space next to his scarf and under the crook of his arm. "Alright, buddy… let's get some shut eye."
Natsu stared at the gray wall in front of him. "No rest for the wicked, is there?"
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