Chapter 10

Naomi strode through Magnolia as quickly and inconspicuously as she could. No one paid any attention to her, but she moved easily through the crowds. Although no one was aware of her, everyone instinctively moved away from the armed woman with the ramrod back and intimidating strides.

Her head was high and stiff, her body powerful, as if the last few hours had never taken its toll. She made it to the woods before her legs gave way. There was no one near, and she had no reason to hold onto the small shreds of pride that had kept her going through the crowded streets. She laid down among some ferns and closed her eyes, praying that no one would find her.

~.~

The next thing Naomi was aware of was a low rushing sound nearby. It was soothing, and she felt safe. But her eyes flew open when a cold, wet tongue licked her nose. She sat up, and immediately collapsed back onto the ground. She had severely underestimated the amount of damage she had sustained. Looking up again, she saw the fox from earlier standing by her side. The corner of her mouth twitched. Determined little guy.

More cautiously this time, she propped herself up onto her elbows and assessed her situation. She was lying on the mossy bank of a river. That was strange. She remembered falling into some ferns. She supposed she could've moved in a half-conscious state. But her weapons and gear were stacked neatly beside her. That wasn't the work of a severely injured wizard. She looked around, trying to find some clue, but her vision became blurry and she lowered herself back down. She thought she faintly heard the rustling of bushes. She hoped it was the wind.

~.~

She tried so hard to figure out why her forehead kept getting wet. She wanted to keep burning, burning in her own misery, but this coolness kept taking it away. It was fresher, cleaner, but she just didn't feel ready. Why couldn't he leave her alone?

~.~

He stalked back through the trees, making as little noise as possible.

~.~

Naomi sat up, startling the little fox. She looked at him with a fondness that hadn't appeared on her face in years.

"You need a name. Does Samson work for you?"

He rolled, exposing his belly, and barked.

"Got it. I'll call you Sam for everyday, and Samson for special occasions."

She stood, taking in her surroundings more than she had been able to before. She was still on a mossy bank next to a river. Her weapons were clean and neat, and the trees were close. Hopefully close enough to hide her for however long she had been unconscious.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to focus. Who had helped her? All she remembered was a flash of yellow, but nothing more. Looking down, she was surprised to see a fire pit a yard or so away. She walked quickly towards it, and knelt down, putting her hand in the ashes. Gauging by the position of the sun, it was about midday, and from the slight amount of heat still emanating from the broken logs, she guessed that the fire had been lit last night and put out sometime in the early morning. So whoever had been watching her could still be somewhere close. She was about to search the area when a wicked headache suddenly came on. She sat down abruptly, her stomach growling. Her whole body ached. Samson came up and rubbed himself against her legs, probably trying to comfort her. A few moments later Naomi heard him pawing at something a few feet to her right. Looking up, she saw some salted meat and a little fruit gathered in a bowl.

Who the hell was helping her? Fairy Tail? She shook her head as ugly memories came to mind. Eat first, think in a minute. Helping herself to what Sam had left behind (which was still plenty), she looked at her weapons, a wave of sadness coming over her. Having eaten and drank a little from the river, she slowly dragged her weapons and armor close to the bank and threw the pieces in, one by one. Had she been a lesser wizard, in her condition she wouldn't have been able to throw them more than a few feet, but her swords, knives, and pauldron flew easily into the middle of the river. Everything sank to the bottom except the katana, which was carried swiftly downstream.

"All gone." She sat down cross-legged, listening to the water going by, listening to Sam's panting, and closed her eyes.

She felt lighter, like a heavy weight had been lifted off. No, it was like breathing fresh air after being stuck in a deep mine. She relished the feeling, and for the first time in a long time, she was glad to be alive.

Her eyes flew open. Why on earth would he help her?

~.~

Laxus walked through the streets of Magnolia in the late afternoon. He had been wandering for some time, thinking hard. He walked slowly, but purposefully, so focused that he never took his eyes off the ground or paid attention to anything around him. He found himself on the bridge and sat down, looking at the water.

He didn't notice the katana floating away in front of him until it was too far to reach. He sat up straighter, recognizing the blade as Naomi's. Why was it down here? He stood up, and quickly moved towards the forest.

~.~

It took him only an hour to reach the river, and just followed it to where he had seen her last. He kept to the trees, careful lest he be seen. There was a strangely nervous feeling that made him hesitant to acknowledge that he had been helping her. Maybe it was pride. He tried not to think about it.

After a few moments, he reached the rough campsite, but didn't see any trace of Naomi. Stepping cautiously out from the trees, he noticed too late the fox that had been staring at him, sitting next to a pile of clothes. Before he could stop himself, and before his brain put the pieces together, Laxus looked up and saw the naked back of Naomi as she washed in the cool water. She turned her head when the fox barked, and froze when she saw him, but not out of embarrassment.

Laxus was no stranger to the sight of a woman's naked body, and he had always taken it for granted in his childish arrogance. But it had been a long time, and he was a very different man. So he found himself inexplicably looking away. Out of respect? He had no idea.

"Laxus Dreyar." It was not a question, merely an acknowledgment.

"Yeah?" He flushed ever so slightly.

"Why?" He heard a movement in the water that meant she had turned to face him. "Why the hell would you do this? I told Makarov, and everyone—"

She suddenly stopped. Laxus had moved his eyes downward so that he was looking at his shoes.

"Why won't you look at me? I'm talking to you!" He gritted his teeth. Did he really have to spell it out? How the fuck could she be so comfortable completely naked, without any weapons, talking to a strange man? There was a pregnant pause, and then:

"Oh. If it really disgusts you that much, I'll do my best to make you more comfortable." Laxus looked up without thinking, about to object, but the words died on his lips.

She was getting out of the water, and was clearly refusing to look at him, probably assuming that he had turned his back. Laxus somehow felt guilty for what he saw: the strong yet soft arms, the smooth line of her back, her whole body steaming as her magic dried her off…

He managed to wrench himself away before he started lingering on those parts of her and really did turn his back to give himself a moment to recover.

"Why?" Naomi's voice demanded. Laxus forced himself to turn and look her in the face. Her lips were drawn thin, and her face was set. She was clearly pissed. He couldn't stop himself from answering in an equally brusque tone.

"You just about tripled your recovery time walking on your own like that. Any self-respecting person would have kept you from getting yourself killed."

"Getting myself killed? What makes you think anything or anyone would have the balls to come near me in the first place?" Laxus raised one eyebrow, looking her dead in the eye. She broke contact first and swore under her breath before speaking again.

"Sorry. How long was I out?"

"About a week." Her brows furrowed together.

"You weren't here the whole…"

"Nah." Laxus said, a little too quickly for his liking. "There're basic barriers put around the area. You were fine on your own." It was Naomi's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Mostly."

"You call yourself a self-respecting person, and yet you can't let a dangerous wizard who took out four of your best friends die in peace. Weird sense of self-respect."

"Why are you trying to come up with reasons why I shouldn't help you, huh?" That took both of them aback.

"I-I guess I never…thought about it that way before." She moved slowly, as if in a dream, towards a log by the remains of the fire. "I hate owing people."

"Trust me, I'll hold you to it." Laxus let himself grin a little, but stopped when she glared up. There was a long pause.

"Sit down." Naomi said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I said sit down. You're clearly not leaving, so stop standing over me like a hawk." She said with a sigh. Laxus reluctantly obeyed, plopping down on the ground across the fire pit from her. There was another uncomfortable pause.

"I never said thank you."

"Like I said, any idiot would have—"

"No, I mean for before." Laxus looked up at her, surprised to see she had been staring at him. She looked quickly away, and he suddenly became very interested in a beetle scuttling by his boot.

"What was it like?" He asked cautiously. She shuddered. "If you don't wanna talk about it—"

"It's fine. I'll start paying off the debt by telling you." Laxus thought he heard a smile in her voice, but figured it was his imagination. She took a deep breath, then looked up at the sky.

"I discovered my magic after my father died when I was five years old. It was small at first, just little balls of flame and sparks here and there. When I left home I wandered for about a year until a woman named Ilsa took me in." Here Naomi's eyes softened, and she shifted her gaze to the trees in front of her.

"She didn't give me food and send me on my way like everyone else had. She didn't even ask my name. She just grabbed my hand and dragged me to her house where she kept me for a while, almost like a pet. She started calling my Sparky after I accidentally set fire to her brooms. And she taught me things about my magic. I still don't know what her magic was, but she trained me and taught me how to control it, and gradually I grew stronger. I was ten years old when she turned me out. No warning, she just told me to leave. When I asked her why, she said that she had nothing more to teach me. Something told me that that wasn't true, but I didn't understand anything that was happening, so I didn't question it. Now I know that she didn't want to be involved." She stopped a moment, her lips pressing together slightly.

"Involved in what?" asked Laxus.

"The next stage of my magic." She pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest. "She could have helped me with it, I know it, but she was wise not to. Spared me another year that way.

'After that year of wandering here and there, I found a cave in the middle of a canyon. Someone had just made a pot of soup and I was so hungry, I didn't think. Stupid. I ate the shit and immediately passed out. When I woke up, I was somewhere underground, and bitterly cold. That was the first sign that something was very wrong. I never get cold.

'Someone came in. I couldn't see him, but he didn't seem to have any trouble. I'm still not sure what happened, but he touched me and I became warm again, then started chanting. Really horrible sounding stuff. I realized that I was completely engulfed in flames, and I couldn't stop them. Suddenly I felt like something was being forced down my throat, and I almost died from the pressure and not being able to breathe. I passed out again, and woke up outside the cave."

Naomi's voice became completely monotone now, and Laxus couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Ever since then I haven't been able to control myself. I've been wandering for nine years, and I tried so many times to get rid of him, but I just couldn't. Until you came, of course."

"What do you think happened?" said Laxus, surprising himself. "Sorry…"

"It's fine. I know Porlyusica told you that I'm a fire demon slayer. I think that somehow this being jumpstarted my power, and then possessed me. It's so ironic and stupid. That a demon slayer would end up being possessed by a demon." She was angry now, and Laxus could feel the heat emanating from her.

"Hey, calm down—"

"I'm going to find him and I'm going to destroy him."

"Wait. You mean we didn't kill him back there?"

"No. I'm sure of it. There's no way we got rid of him and killed him at the same time. He's too powerful for that."

Laxus pondered the enormity of what she just said. Both of their magic combined was barely enough to get rid of the bastard, let alone kill him? Hold on…him?

"How do you know it's a man?" Naomi looked up at him quickly, and began to shake. She maintained eye contact, but her voice broke as she said:

"He…we…I couldn't stop him…"

"Oh." They looked at each other for a long time before he said, "I'm so sorry. That fucker will pay." He started to move toward her, but stopped himself and again surprised himself by asking, "Is it all right if I sit next to you?" What was going on with him?

"Yeah. I guess so." And, very slowly, he walked over and sat next to her on the log.

"Something's been bothering me about what you said earlier."

"You mean about him—"

"No, from when I first got here." Laxus took a breath before he continued. "I wasn't disgusted by you. At all." Naomi looked at him in shock. "I just wasn't…prepared, that's all."

"Why would you need to be prepared?" What was with this girl? Did she have any sense of boundaries?

"I don't know…it's just been a while since…" He found himself looking at her again, and she looked away quickly.

"I'm sorry. I don't really know about these things."

Suddenly a scream echoed through the forest. Both of them stood up.

"Did that sound like—"

"Lucy!" And as one, they sprinted towards the sound.