How well will you all hold up after this chapter, we wonder... Hope you guys are prepared!
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rated: M (violence this chapter)
summary: In a world of underground fighting only the strong survive, abiding by the rules of kill or be killed. In the Ring, a feeble emotion like hope is all it takes to destroy you. And yet it exists– and those who hold onto it play a dangerous game. But once you enter into the Ring, it will never let you go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Haymaker
a type of punch, a wild swing with all of a person's might to knock out their opponent
Lucy had a ton of rooms and even more comfortable beds to choose from. But when they both got ready for the night, her eyes fell over him with such a lingering look, he felt his body ache to follow after her.
Not yet.
Natsu chose instead to get as far away from Lucy as he was able. Not necessarily because he wanted to, but if he was going to get any sleep it would be as far from her as he could manage.
He couldn't help but think she looked a little disappointed when he opted to sleep on the couch. Her hair was piled on the top of her head in a messy bun, a large gym sweater sliding off one of her shoulders.
Natsu could only entertain the thought the sweater looked familiar for a second until a far more pressing thought took hold of his mind. She looked great in it.
Lucy, comfortable and relaxed, always took his breath away. She was beautiful all the time, but there was something so achingly domestic about the way she held her toothbrush by her side and padded around the kitchen in bare feet that had his heart racing.
"You sure you don't want one of the beds?" Lucy's voice floated over from the kitchen. Natsu smothered a grin, punching the pillow she had given him into a comfortable shape.
"Nah, this is fine. I'd get lost in the upper levels of your place if I picked one of those rooms anyway." Natsu grinned.
Not that it would matter, he didn't like how many blind corners there were in this place. It made him uneasy.
Lucy's laughter drifted over to him, sharpening some as she got closer to the living room.
"Don't worry, I'll always find you when you get lost, Natsu."
Of that, he had no doubt.
He flopped over onto his back, a small jingle catching his attention as Happy finally made himself known from his mansion wide exploration of Lucy's home. The cat settled down on Natsu's chest as soon as he brought the blankets up to his chin.
Stroking fingers through the cat's blue fur, Natsu curled his thumb around the shiny, new collar and bell around his neck. It was green, with little fishes printed on the slender strap.
"Did you put this on Happy?" Natsu asked, curious over its sudden appearance.
Lucy made a guilty noise. "Happy likes to go outside and uncollared pets tend to either be taken in by shelters or mistakenly brought home by other people. I know I should have asked you first, he's your cat, but it was a spontaneous thought. He doesn't like it very much," she mused.
At that, Happy meowed and tried to scratch the collar with his foot. His irritation was plain in the way he gave a snorting growl when the green strip stayed firmly in place.
Natsu fiddled with the collar, turning the tag over in his palm. It had Gajeel's address on it along with Happy's name in bold etchings on the metal.
"Sorry, bud," Natsu muttered to his companion, "looks like the outside world is a little different. If a collar keeps you safe, you gotta wear it."
The cat settled once more, grudgingly accepting his fate.
He couldn't help the small smile it brought to his face. The small plate around Happy's neck. It had an address on it. A solid, real place Natsu went back to every day. Even if he was just staying there for a little while, that smooth metal made it all the more real.
Lucy came into view at that moment, a smile on her face as she reached out to stroke her fingers through his hair.
Natsu's heart flopped happily in his chest at the sensations of them running through his hair. A smile broadened his cheeks, lighting his eyes and relaxing his face.
His fingers caught loosely around her delicate wrist. It was so fragile in his grasp, and he pressed a tender thumb against her pulse. He dragged it down, his heart feeling so full and happy, he couldn't resist pressing his mouth against her open palm. He felt, rather than heard the throaty gasp from Lucy.
"Natsu-"
And then he licked it, a mischievous smirk flashing over his face as Lucy's entire body went rigid.
"Ew, Natsu, that's disgusting!" Lucy shrieked at the top of her lungs, and Natsu yelped out a laugh as she yanked his pillow out from under his shoulders and began to pummel him with it.
He clutched his belly as he rolled away, startling Happy, who darted off to the safety of some dark corner. Natsu flopped off the couch to escape the vicious pillow, laughing hard enough tears sprang to his eyes. He clutched at his stomach, even when Lucy threw the pillow directly in his face.
"Good night, Natsu!" Lucy stuck her tongue out at him, but he didn't miss the few giggles that escaped her pretty mouth.
Natsu's wheezed out a few remaining chuckles, holding onto the pillow to his chest as he climbed back on his makeshift bed. His eyes trailed over her retreating form, her hair spilling free from a messy bun and long legs eating up floor in her haste to get away from him.
"Goodnight, Luce," Natsu said lazily.
The new nickname seemed to register to her, his heart giving an awkward thump when her head tilted. He was rewarded when she paused mid-stride. Lucy looked over her shoulder at him, her cheeks still puffed out in a pout, but a small smile gracing her lips.
Then without saying a word, she retreated upstairs.
-::-
The schick of a window in the living room unlocking was what woke Natsu at somewhere past midnight. He went stock-still, his sensitive ears having picked up the unusual noise - he could block out normal noises, safe ones, but whenever a new or unknown sound disturbed the quiet, he always woke.
It was habitual.
Dropping one hand on the top of Happy's head, Natsu told himself to go back to sleep. He was safe, he didn't need to worry.
But then the window was shoved open, letting a draft billow in, and Natsu didn't hesitate. He sprung into action.
Jumping off the couch, sending Happy flying with a startled yowl, Natsu held up his arms defensively. The dark blanketed his vision, making him squint, but he could hear the distinct tap-tap-tap of light feet and nearly inaudible murmurs to match.
One invader, two invaders, three...four.
Natsu cocked his head, waiting and listening.
Four, he decided. Definitely four. All trained and deathly silent, save for the metallic clinks of their weapons.
An assassination squad?
Pushing a heavy breath out through his nose, Natsu realized he wasn't as safe as he'd thought. And when he heard his enemies round the corner in the living room, he struck.
He had to be fast. Four armed intruders against his lonesome...obviously the odds weren't in his favor.
But at least he had the element of surprise.
His sight compromised, Natsu had to rely on his other senses to dictate where his enemies stood. His hand launched out to the left, catching someone in the throat. They spluttered and choked as they fell to their knees, sending the rest of the team into disarray.
Turning swiftly on his heel, Natsu's foot connected with the same person's head.
It was a stone cold blow and they dropped face-first to the floor, unconscious.
A startled shout alerted Natsu to the second intruder just in front of him. He boxed a quick one-two combination, nailing the man's - presumably - nose and jaw. The man should have been disoriented but he still managed to lash out and catch Natsu under the chin. It was a mere graze, a lucky shot.
"What the fuck? They didn't say nothin' about a guard dog!" shouted one, the click of his gun audible.
"Doesn't matter," replied the one with a broken nose as he aimed for Natsu's ears. "Just grab the girl!"
Lucy.
Natsu's blood boiled - he wasn't the target, Lucy was. An assassination team had come after her.
Fury made his fingers tingle as he slung his arm around the neck of the man in front of him. Gasping, the man dug his fingers into Natsu's forearm as it tightened, slowly cutting off the air. Non-lethal, Natsu told himself even though his instincts told him to go the easy route - one jerk of his arms and the man would be dead.
Natsu gritted his teeth.
The man's struggles became weaker and weaker until he finally went limp. Not dead, but unconscious - just like the first.
Or at least he hoped. He didn't have time to check, as there was suddenly another person on his back. Their arms slipped under his and hooked over his shoulders, holding him immobile. A woman this time, Natsu thought, as she felt much more slender. But no less aggressive and dangerous if the press of her many weapons against his spine were anything to go by.
She carried a lot of tools for an assassin.
When she tried to wrap her leg around his, Natsu jerked his head back, slamming into her forehead with a crack.
She yelped and released him in shock, one of her many weapons clattering to the floor. She hissed as she searched around blindly for it, making the mistake of kneeling.
Natsu kicked the gun away before using his heel to flatten the woman onto her stomach. She collapsed, snarling, and he planted himself on the small of her back. His weight was more than enough to keep her in place as he covered her mouth with one hand, and with the other, gave a short chop to the back of her neck.
A pressure point.
Natsu didn't know much about them, but he knew where an important few were. And that when pressed with the right touch, could instantly KO.
He'd almost found that out the hard way in the Ring.
Shaking his head, Natsu released the woman and jumped to his feet. He still couldn't see in the pitch black living room, but the fallen bodies were close by.
One, he counted, two, three…
Somewhere upstairs, Lucy screamed.
Four.
"Shit," he cursed under his breath, searching blindly for the lightswitch. When he found it, he wasted no time and started sprinting towards the stairs. The sudden light blinded his eyes, and he squinted, grunting as he scaled the stairs two steps at a time.
A dull thump from upstairs made his heart freeze, and suddenly his legs carried him faster than his mind could keep up with.
Natsu ran past room after room, the hallways seeming to stretch on for miles. He didn't even fucking know which room was Lucy's, heading in the general direction of the scream from earlier. But, as he sprinted, the sounds of a viscous struggle met his ears and he zeroed in on the right one.
The one at the very end of the hall next to the huge French windows.
The door was ajar, making it easy for Natsu to crash through it and into the room. Whereupon he saw Lucy whimpering, sprawled across her bed but still struggling with the man looming above her. He had her caged beneath him, one of her hands in his, gripping a delicate finger.
It was bent at an unnatural angle.
"Don't make me ask again, bitch. Where the fuck is he - "
Natsu didn't pause to think, he simply lunged at the man. Tackling him to the floor with an enraged roar that hurt his own ears. They fell with a breath-snatching thud, right next to Lucy's toppled nightstand, and Natsu's fist immediately connected with the man's face. Repeatedly.
He'd broken Lucy's finger.
Natsu was going to break him into a hundred, unrecognizable pieces.
In the background, Natsu vaguely registered Lucy fumbling for something, her voice panicked and high floating around the room with a dial tone. It was indistinguishable to the task Natsu had set out before him.
His fists twisted into the man's black shirt, yanking him upright until his body curved up and slamming him back down into the floor. The man was dazed, but he twisted, still landing a knee into Natsu's side.
Grunting, Natsu instinctively curled away, rolling onto his side, a sneer twisting his face into one of blind rage. It was like he was slipping into a fugue state, from one breath to the next, he was being consumed by his own fury.
A roar bellowed out from him, Natsu's arms catching the rising man under his leg and around his side. He used their momentum to twist them around, slamming the man back into the ground with devastating force. This time he caught him by the chest, driving his knee down into the intruder's stomach. He spread his legs, pinning him down by locking his ankles around the other's and bearing down on his knees.
Twisting forward, he slammed the man's right hand onto the hardwood floor. Natsu's grip was so tight, the snap in the man's finger was unintentional. Natsu froze, when the man screamed, his eyebrows tightening down and teeth baring into a dark snarl.
An eye for an eye.
It was only fair.
Natsu wrenched the man's second finger back, enjoying the popping crack as it broke all too easily. Again, the man screamed his agony, swiping at Natsu's face with uncoordinated, sloppy, unbroken fingers.
It was annoying, and when he scratched underneath Natsu's eye, Natsu growled. He punched the man's soft, fleshy side.
The bastard deserved a lot more than this.
He deserved so much more. And Natsu was all too happy to mete out that punishment himself.
Vaguely, he was aware of someone calling his name. But he ignored them. Because he was busy with something more important.
Grabbing a third finger, Natsu yanked back. But there was no echoing scream or sob, eliciting a stab of disappointment in Natsu. The man he was straddling had passed out from the pain, his face bloody and swollen, tears leaking from his half-open, rolled back eyes. He'd passed his breaking point apparently...and that didn't sit well with Natsu, whose fist connected with the man's jaw again.
He had to wake up. He had to be conscious for the pain. Otherwise it just wouldn't be fair.
Again, Natsu was faintly aware of the sound of his name. It was tinged with desperation. And again, Natsu ignored the call - he sunk his open palm into the intruder's chest.
A rib cracked under the force.
And then...something collided with Natsu. It came at him with enough brute force that he was sent flying sideways, releasing his enemy, as a new body landed on top of him. Another enemy, one he'd missed somehow.
Natsu snarled, pushing away the hands that grabbed at his shoulders. He collared the thin wrists with one hand and squeezed while flipping the attacker beneath him. The woman, as he discovered, shrieked in surprise and pain...and the familiar sound tore through his heart like a bullet.
As did the scent of flowers that drifted up to his nose when he paused to breathe.
Horror spreading through his bones like thick tar, Natsu blinked and focused his vision on Lucy beneath him.
Her blonde hair was splayed out in a halo around her, her hands yanked above her head and held in his white knuckled grip, and her brown eyes were wide. And terrified. Of him.
Her delicate bones groaned in his hand and she hissed in response, her bent finger twisting.
Her chest heaved, her tear filled eyes round on his face and body stiff under his. She flinched when he took a breath, and Natsu felt as if a white hot lance had ripped through him at her recoil.
"Natsu..?" Her voice trembled, hesitant and quiet as if calling out to a feral animal.
Natsu's hand loosened around her wrists, his body flushing hot and cold in sickening turns. He pulled away, hands shaking as sense returned to his shocked mind.
He could feel the pain now, feel the bruised and torn skin on his knuckles. His lips pressed together and he could taste blood. Not his own, but the blood of the man he had beaten nearly to death underneath him.
"Natsu," Lucy's voice quavered, thick with pain as he distanced himself from her.
He shifted backwards, his eyes locked on her. She was sitting up now, her hand cradling the more damaged one. Tears dripped down her cheeks, but she tried to suck it back bravely, her eyes locked on his as she edged closer to him.
For every step she took towards him though, he retreated another back. Natsu couldn't think, he could barely breathe. The only thing he could rationalize in his horrified mind, was getting away from Lucy. He had totally lost control of himself, moving only off battle ingrained instinct and the need to absolutely crush whoever was in front of him. Even if that meant Lucy.
He felt bile crawl its way up his esophagus, and he had to gulp it back with dry swallows.
When Lucy's hand grazed his cheek, Natsu's heart knotted up into his throat, his hand lifting to stop her. Too hesitant to even touch her right now, Lucy's hand was successful in flattening against his jaw.
He aimed to jerk his head from her grasp, but her injured hand came up to his other cheek, and he had just enough presence of mind to freeze so not to accidentally bump it. She guided his head back to hers, their foreheads pressing together.
Their breathing, both panicked and ragged, mingled together, but Lucy's grip on him was solid.
"I'm okay, Natsu. They didn't hurt me, you didn't hurt me," Lucy whispered to him. "You stopped them, we're okay."
"Lucy," Natsu's voice sounded foreign coming from his own mouth. It was rough and grating around the edges. And suddenly, he remembered the words Gajeel had said when he first moved in with him.
"But what happens if she startles ya? You're gonna tell me your first impulse ain't to swing?"
It was.
Gajeel was right. That was his response, every time.
"Lucy," he tried again, this time his thoughts solidifying into something he could almost grasp. "There's something wrong with me."
Adjusting might be a little more difficult than any of them thought it seems...
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Next time! Chapter 26: Noble Art