Sorry for the late chapter! We've been preoccupied trying to sync up our schedules! I hope you all really enjoy the next chapter! Lets jump back into the ring!
CHAPTER TEN
Puncher's Chance
when an under-skilled, but hard-hitting fighter must rely solely on his punching power to win a fight
It was time. The next tournament.
God, she hoped he'd be there again.
At the same time she internally cringed, hating the fact she had even thought that for a second. She couldn't help herself though. Lucy desperately wanted to see Salamander, but at the same time - if she didn't, he would be safe. At least from the fists of an opponent trying to kill him.
This time when Lucy got changed into her blue evening gown, she made sure to pick a pair of shoes that wouldn't get so easily damaged. Something a tad more sensible, but still alluring enough to let her flirt her way through security. Her favorite pair of gold pumps had gotten damaged at some point in the last adventure, some of the woven beads and sequins having fallen off.
The arena was strange this time, but not as odd as the last one. This one appeared to be a condemned mall, with an area dug out in the area among fake, potted plants for the fighters to take their corners. The spectators could watch from the upper level, while cages lined the other side.
While it was certainly a lot safer looking than the old pool had been, there were more obstacles and traps for the fighters to trip over or get slammed into. Lucy was eyeing the fountain with a touch of fear. There was a corner that looked particularly deadly, stained a dark brown from an earlier fight.
Her stomach lurched.
Feeling strangely observed by the empty-faced mannequins standing behind many of the unlit shop windows, Lucy quickly mingled with the large crowd at her side.
Pushing through the shiny faces of people who wore their jewelry like trophies, she made for what she assumed to be this tournament's bidding room. She'd have to be fast this time, and not let the woman who had overbid her once or twice last time get the better of her again.
It had been a clothing store, probably, but was now emptied out to make room for the usual display of fighters. It was still too early to bid, and the room was empty except for a man with sleek blond hair. Last time, the bidding had been held by a woman, but this sure made things easier for Lucy. She was determined to buy Salamander's time for today, and a little extra help had never hurt anyone, now, had it?
If she was surrounded by criminals, she could as well be one herself.
"Lucy, what are you doing?" Levy's voice cracked in her ear.
"Preparing," Lucy replied in a hush, her hands tugging at her waistline. She adjusted her cleavage, her hand tugging a few strands loose in her intricately woven hair to frame her face.
Cancer might be a little disappointed by her impromptu decision, but she leaned to the side to check her appearance and decided this would be sufficient.
"Preparing for what?" Levy asked, but by the flat intonation to her voice, it was clear she already knew.
"Time to place a bid," Lucy huffed, making her way to the blond man, hips swaying with every deliberate and graceful step she took. Her lips spread into a painted smile the moment she caught his eyes flicker downwards for a moment, her fingers twisting at one of her blond locks of hair.
He looked like a hard nut to crack, but not impossible.
"I hear this is the place I can wait to put in a bet," Lucy asked in a breathless rush. She bit her bottom lip and looked up at the man. She was laying it on thick, but sometimes with neanderthals like this, subtlety was wasted.
The man didn't even blink as his eyes moved down to her face.
Lucy held back the surprised, displeased frown that wanted to work its way onto her face. Was he blind?
"Ma'am," he said in the most monotone voice she had ever heard, "the bidding will start in an hour."
"Oh, I know," Lucy tried again, coquettishly batting her lashes. "I just thought I'd pass my time a little, maybe have a look at the available offers…"
Outside, the bell rang, signaling the start of another fight. Lucy swallowed, eager to distract herself. Her eyes flashed to the large screen that had already been turned on, displaying the fighters in all their sweaty and muscular glory.
The auctioneer didn't so much as budge, instead pointing to the screen next to him. On it a man was fighting against a much smaller opponent, his eyes blindfolded. But that didn't seem to stop him from wrecking as much carnage as possible.
Lucy's eyes snapped back up to the man's face, who crossed his arms around his clipboard.
"Ma'am," he repeated, "the bidding will start in an hour."
Or maybe he was impossible.
Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, impatience flaring to life within her in a hot minute. However it was reined in through an incredible show of willpower. The last thing Lucy wanted to do was to make a scene and sacrifice whatever chance she might have had with winning Salamander's time.
Partially because she was trying to build a rapport with him, but again because she really just liked seeing him. Lucy wondered if he'd had time to practice his card games.
Casting her eyes down in a dejected pout, the man made a noise of impatience through his nose. As if Lucy only amounted to some airheaded blonde with a nice rack and fat wallet. Still, that wallet of hers supplied the man's paycheck, so he jerked his head towards the screen.
"No use bidding if you don't know who is even going to make it out of a fight yet," he grunted, "why don't you go enjoy the fights and take a look at all of the faces that are still pretty enough to look at after getting pounded on."
He could as well have dumped a bucket of ice water over her head.
A chill ran down Lucy's spine, and she felt the sudden urge to storm out and see for herself that Salamander was alive and well.
The amount of indifference with which the man spoke about these people disgusted her to the core. They sold them off as if they were pretty pieces of silk clothing, their value lowered by every stain and crinkle they might obtain.
Her face slipped for only a moment, and she gave him a cold stare. "Very well," she allowed. "You are right, of course. I assume there are no… refunds?"
Not one muscle moved in the Neanderthal's face, and Lucy didn't wait for an answer she didn't need. He'd probably just tell her that bidding would start in an hour, anyways.
Which meant she had no choice but to sit and watch the fights. Both teenagers and adults went through the battles. Lucy was disheartened as well, because now she didn't even have a way of determining if Salamander would even be competing tonight.
Again, it was a conflicted set of feelings Lucy kept swaying between. But in her gut, Lucy knew he was her absolute best chance of bringing the ring down. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about him that spoke of a rebellious spirit she could relate to. The other fighters all had a blank look behind their eyes. Not one of them had enough inner fire to fight against their chains, and Lucy suspected that if she tried to talk to another fighter besides Salamander about it-
Well, the questions she asked would see her dead.
So it was with an unbearable amount of disgust that she seated herself between a bustle of taffeta and a fine Italian suit.
She tried hard to block out the sounds of dull thuds and fists hitting meaty flesh. Only when a roar from the audience rose a few decibels did she look up. One of the ring's fan favorite's, Salamander had taken the ring.
Lucy's breath caught when the bell rang out again, an agonizing jolt running through her heart and causing her to freeze. Just like the fight with the Twin Dragon, he fought hard.
Just like before, he gave his fight everything he had, and then he scraped down to his reserves and gave a little more. It came as a surprise to no one when his victory was clinched.
She didn't waste time, this time springing to her feet before the last bell rang.
Natsu's stomach twisted with nerves as he was sprayed down and cleaned up after his fight. It had been another tough one, but Natsu knew he had been distracted.
Aside from the usual tension and thrill he felt being able to fight, there was a bubbling excitement that swelled in him as he landed blow after blow on his opponent. Hope. It was such a dangerous emotion that dragged him up higher than he had been in years. He knew the bubble would eventually pop, smashing him down into the ground.
Lucy was a strange influence, and despite the oddness of their arrangements, Natsu found himself hoping she would be waiting for him in the rich room. He didn't even know why he should have expected such a thing from her. The woman clearly didn't seem interested in the fights, so why would she return?
Just to see him?
Now that kind of blind hope was just ridiculous.
So when the guards came to get him, Natsu didn't resist. In fact, he couldn't help but try and move a little faster. He cursed himself for having hope, understanding why Zeref had wanted to crush it from him.
He was lead into a large area, where soft beds and thick blankets occupied the space. It looked like it had once been a store, but half of the entrance was bricked over, a narrow metal door inset into the cement. It was rather spacious compared to the other places he had been brought to. Curiously, Natsu glanced around himself before the guards shoved him to the back to wash up.
A single knob over an emergency eyewash station was all he had to work with. It was actually a step up from what he typically got. Which was a hose.
Here, the water was still ice cold, but at least he had the benefit of bathing alone instead of being lined up with other winning fighters and hosed down.
He wondered what was so important about this client he was being allowed to shower in private.
Natsu hissed in pain as he scrubbed over a stinging cut across his chest. It was long and thin, a sliver made by a loose piece of glass he'd fallen on. But the worst injuries he had were those still remaining from his two weeks of training with Acnologia.
"Hurry up, Salamander!" one of the muscle men snapped. "You were a popular bid tonight! You can't keep your lady friend waiting."
He grunted, frowning a little when a thin towel was tossed at his head. He scrubbed at his body quickly and discarded it a moment later. He was a popular bid? But why? As far as Natsu was concerned, he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to win that much attention in the ring.
"Damn, that was a cat fight if I've ever seen one," the muscle man laughed to himself. "These bitches really must be in need of a good pounding. Shame I can't join in."
Another man snorted, obviously having heard him. "Bet your dick is as big as a matchstick," he sneered. "Now me... I'd make that blonde scream louder than you or Salamander here ever could."
He slapped a meaty hand on Natsu's shoulder, right where a large bruise had already begun forming.
He stiffened. The blonde?
The spark of hope in Natsu's chest ignited anew, but he stomped it down. There were a million rich blonde women watching him every day.
If it was Lucy, however, and this scumbag was talking about her with that dirty mouth of his... Natsu clenched his fists.
The other guard smirked to his buddy, grabbing one of Natsu's arms and dragging him back into the larger area. There wasn't much point in him getting dressed, so he hadn't bothered.
"Get comfy, Salamander, your client's a real knockout."
He was shoved at the bed, his teeth biting angrily at the insides of his mouth.
"Damn, did you see her tits?"
"You think a girl like that is 'real'?"
"We could always just share her and let Salamander watch. How 'bout that, buddy?" The one that looked like a gorilla turned to Natsu, a sadistic grin on his ugly face.
A low growl crawled up the back of Natsu's throat.
"Look at that," he laughed, "the greedy little fucker wants her all to himself. There nothing good to fuck in the cages, eh?"
For a split second, Natsu stood stockstill. Then his fist hit the man's jaw in a well-placed, forceful hit that had the bones crunching beneath his skin.
"Say that again," he snarled, "and I'll kill you."
The man roared in pain, but his colleague was already advancing, taser in his grip.
Natsu was sure he could take him on. The muscle men might have brute force, but against a highly trained fighter of Natsu's caliber it was not of much use. The guy was all open as he came at him.
Natsu's mind raced.
Even if he did beat him to a pulp (and oh god, would he love that), he wouldn't make it five steps out of the room before another man would be on his tail. And rebelling to that degree was sure to get him locked away for the rest of the day. He wouldn't see Lucy.
Because it was Lucy, right?
It had to be.
He took a step back, instinctively avoiding the painful taser. But he didn't counterattack.
The flat, plastic of the man's baton cracked against the side of his head since Natsu didn't try to guard. He was knocked to his side, where the guard he had punched was getting up. He had a hand clamped over his jaw, and Natsu thought he might have broken it.
That was the one satisfying thought he had before the man came to him and began to swiftly kick him in his aching side. Natsu coughed as he accepted the beating, feeling the others baton punch against the skin of his back several times in punishment.
The other guard eventually had to pull the other off, dragging him a few steps to force him away from Natsu.
"You'll get another crack at him later, remember he's gotta last for the customer!" the other snapped.
The guard Natsu had punched couldn't speak, and his jaw was beginning to purple where he had been struck. His eyes were black with murderous intent, and Natsu knew he had just made himself another enemy.
"Get your fucking ass in that bed, Salamander, otherwise I'm gonna have to explain to our customer why her fighter smells like grilled chicken," the man seethed at Natsu, dragging his friend back up and to the door.
Still, Natsu offered no further resistance and crawled into the bed. Sliding under the smooth sheets, he dragged them up to his waist to cover the bruises that were sure to start forming over his side and ribs. His back stung, but the strikes with the baton hadn't broken the skin. The silk sheets felt nice against his bruised back.
Furious, the guards let themselves out. The door swung shut behind them with a heavy thud, the sound of a thick lock sliding home filled the room.
Happy, who was always with him, waited exactly one second before jumping onto the bed to get comfortable.
"No, buddy," Natsu groaned around his new injuries and bent to pick up his slinky blue body. He moved the loudly protesting cat back to the floor. "Let's wait until she gets here."
Happy made an offended noise, but the grim truth was that there were plenty of blondes in the audience. Even newcomers. Natsu had totally lost it on those guards, and it was bound to make its way back to Zeref. He was sure to be punished. Again.
Natsu couldn't help but smile at his disgruntled cat. Lucy had put some bad habits in him with her appearance in his life. He knew he shouldn't be hopeful he had her as a client, but that didn't stop his pulse from quickening.
So when the door opened, he froze, looking over towards it with a mixture of concern and fear.
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