Chapter four.
A bet on love's start.
Lucy might have only been away from home for three months (which, considering some of missions she had her ex-team had taken, wasn't that long) yet she was already suffering from the severe homesickness that Mavis had told her had to be one of the factors for her to go back early.
And the second factor (her training) while progressing smoothly - and ahead of schedule, she might add - still had a long way to go before she was anywhere near finished with it, even with as dedicated and helpful as Hisui, and as...motivated(?) as the king.
(What could Lucy say? Her training with the patriarch of Fiore was like being back in the Diamatou Enbu again, only she could now hear her king's delighted cheers for 'more action!')
"What's wrong?" Lucy's companion and current teacher asked, putting down the book she had been bringing over. "You've been staring out into space for about five minutes now,"
"Ah, sorry," Lucy apologized, straightening her posture and smiling meekly. "I guess I was just lost in my thoughts for a while,"
Hisui cloaked her head, eyeing the blonde for a second. "About home? You're worried they haven't remembered you by now, aren't you?"
Lucy sighed, shrugging helplessly. Truth be told, she had explained to Hisui the list of reasons why she had taken a 'break' from her guild within the first week of their new routine. Needless to say, the princess had been disappointed in the actions of such a nakama-oriented group, but had understood Lucy's desire to still return.
And she had also understood the anxiety the blonde had over her friends and loved ones never remembering her. It wasn't likely, as Hisui figured that if they didn't remember on their own then their masters would beat it into them before long, but that wouldn't help ease her companion's worries.
Looking for and idea to inform the blonde about the goings-on back in Magnolia (without doing something like sending a solider to spy on them, or buying a Viewing Lacrima), Hisui's inspiration came in the form of their current study material.
Holding one of the books up, she smiled. "How about we try looking through the crystal ball? See how things are in Fairy Tail,"
"That's a good idea, only I don't have a crystal ball," the blonde replied politely.
"Oh, I think there was one in here we could use," the royal jade stated, heading in the general direction she thought it was at. "Just wait here a sec until I find it,"
"Ok..." Lucy said, then gave a mental shrug. If it would ease the homesickness to a degree that didn't make her want to vomit, then it was worth a shot.
Mira sighed, watching from her place behind the bar as the remaining half of the guild that wasn't out on, quote-on-quote 'missions', moved through their usual routines with such lack-luster expressions that the barmaid nearly shattered the glass she was supposed to be cleaning by gripping it too hard.
It had been just under a month since they had all awoken from whatever speed they'd cast on themselves that had made them forget their precious friend, and depression was starting to set in as no new news was found on Lucy's whereabouts.
But Mira could see that wasn't what was really tearing up her family; it was having to constantly explain it to the other members who were out on missions during the dramatic events of that day.
And her, being the one people usually talked to when something was wrong, wasn't sure how many more times she could repeat and relive the moment her guilt over not noticing the blonde summoner without either bursting out into tears, or withholding all visible emotions period.
Mira put the now clean cup down on the rack next to her to dry, automatically reaching for another one. Letting her thoughts wander through the mental list she had of the people currently out of the guild, the white-haired girl realized that Laxus's team, the Thunder God Tribe, was due back from a month and a half long mission today.
Mira sighed. Four more people who didn't know. Four more people she would have to tell. Four more people who would join in on the heartbreak, even if they could hide it better than most.
I should start steeling my emotions for this now, she thought. It might help lessen the ache.
Ten minutes, a dozen deep breaths, and twenty dirty glasses later, Mira watched as the returning team walked through the guild hall - and right to her, to record the mission's undoubted success - bickering and laughing as though nothing was wrong.
Mira took another deep breath, basking the small amount of energy they brought with them, the energy that would be considered normal here if things were that same as they had before the Thunder God Tribe had left. In a way, Mira was glad she was the one who quest-returnees spoke to first; she could use what was left of her cheerful personality to lessen the blow for them.
Exhaling sharply, Mira plastered on her usual cheerful grin as the four reached her at the bar. "Welcome back! How was the mission?"
"Went fine," the blond Thunder Mage said gruffly, eyeing the guild with the keen look Mira had expected from her fellow S-class Mage. "What's going on here though?"
Mira's lips twitched ever so slightly. As blunt as he was, Mira was sure that Laxus wouldn't appreciate it if she sugarcoated anything. "Lucy's gone, and we don't really know if she's planning on coming back,"
"You mean the cheerleader? Why'd she go?" Bixslow asked, his wooden babies repeating his last word.
Mira shook her head, opening her mouth to speak, but getting cut off by Laxus before she could utter a sound.
"I'm sure you three can ask around the guild for that information," the blond stated, dropping his large frame onto one of the barstools. "Her team is more likely to know what it's about, so go pester them,"
The three members saluted, dispersing themselves across the half filled guild. Mira, being observant as always, noticed that Evergreen went directly to Elfman, while Bixslow had ended up speaking to Lisanna.
"I take it you don't want me to say anything about what happened," Mira said, reaching for one of the glasses she had just cleaned to get the man's usual. "For some reason,"
Laxus shrugged, watching the barmaid move. "I figured you've already talked about it enough,"
She placed the full tankard down, eyeing the blond suspiciously. "While the concern is nice, I still have to tell you about it, and the rules master gave us to follow,"
Laxus raised an eyebrow. "The old geezer made rules for Lucy's leaving? That's odd,"
Mira nodded, then resuming her previous task of cleaning the dirty dishes, all the while filling in the blond wizard on what had happened during his absence, and filling up his mug twice more.
"So when'd Natsu leave? Right after, or did he wait a bit?" The Lightning Dragon Slayer asked, taking a swig of beer.
"Thankfully, he waited and we managed to speak with him, and have him read some of Wendy's book, but he left not an hour later," the white haired woman said, turning around to put the dried plates away.
"That would explain why I wasn't assaulted for a fight the moment I walked in," Laxus commented, once again watching the barmaid. "Also why half the guild is out, and why you're so antsy,"
Mira stiffened, craning her neck around to pin the hulking man with an annoyed glare. "I am not being antsy,"
"Sure you aren't," Laxus said sarcastically, unimpressed with the Take-Over mage's huff. "That's why you haven't stopped moving in the thirty minutes since I walked in."
"That's because I'm working, Laxus," the white haired woman retorted.
"You and I both know there's a difference between working and stilling idle hands, Mira,"
Said barmaid closed the dish cabinet with a snap, twirling on her heels to face the Dragon Slayer. Truthfully, she had sought to use her job in the guild to ignore her knowing guilt and heartache, but being called out on it made what was left of her frayed nerves snap.
"What, would you suppose I rather do instead, Laxus? I'm all ears," Mira seethed, cupping a hand over her ear and leaning in to make her point.
The man smirked. "I never said you shouldn't stop working, but I recommend you do something outside the guild,"
That threw the barmaid for a definite loop, and judging by the look in the blond's eyes, he knew it too. "You can't be serious. The last time I took a mission was before we thought Lisanna died, Laxus,"
"Oh, so you're saying that you're rusty?" Laxus smirked, lifting one brow in a challenging sort of way.
"No, I'm not!" Mira defended, slapping her hands on the bar in front of her. "But there wouldn't be anyone here to serve the guild food and drinks,"
Laxus pinned her with a flat stare, unimpressed with her efforts to stay in the guild and wallow in her guilt. "Kianna,"
Mira scowled. "She would need help, Laxus, even with only half the guild here,"
"Please, we've all seen Lisanna helping you out sometimes, so that's not a problem either," the blond Mage smirked, enjoying the flustered look on Mira's face. "But if the reason you don't want to go on a job is because you don't think you can handle it, me being the gentleman I am will go with you on one,"
Mira scoffed, crossing her arms and leaning on her weight to one foot in a woman's universal body language for - oh really, you think so? I think not. "Fine, I'll take a job, but the catch is, if you come with me, it's going to be one from the S-class board."
"Sounds good to me," the Lightning Dragon Slayer said, gulping down the rest of his beer. "When do we leave?"
Mira cocked her head, challenging sparks flying between the two. "As soon as I get packed,"
"Are you sure you want to go on another job, Erza? You just got back for your last one," Kianna said, placing a slice of strawberry cake down in front of the tired looking redhead.
It was true, the Requip Mage had a sunken color around her eyes and her cheeks looked hollow, like she hadn't eaten normally in a few days. Regardless, she looked like she could kick butt and take names at any moment, but there was a subtle air of forlornness to her that hadn't been there two months ago.
"Ah, I have to do my part to see if we'll find Lucy before her apartment hold ends," the armored woman said, using her fork to cut a piece of her favorite dessert.
Kianna sighed, hugging the serving tray to her chest. She really shouldn't be surprised by Erza's behavior, since she was hardworking and a bit introverted naturally (along with a lot of people in the guild, actually), meaning she wouldn't be very reasonable until whatever she was working on was finished.
And since even Mirajane, of all people, had left on a mission - with Laxus - for the first time in years, the purple haired barmaid figured it was for the same reason so many people had taken so many missions and leaving the guild only half full on a good day.
But the redhead had more of a reason to exploit the loophole in the rules their master had laid down, since she was on Lucy's team and likely felt she had more the make up to the missing blonde for.
"Well, I'll tell you what," the barmaid sighed, shifting her grip on the serving tray to rest on her hip and thigh so she could rummage through the dress's pocket with the other hand. She hadn't wanted to tell anyone about this job in particular but... "I'll let you take this job, but you'll have to promise me you'll get enough rest and that you'll take care of yourself,"
"Uh, sure?" Erza said, confused. A far as she was concerned, as long as she wasn't falling apart at the seams she was fit and ready for almost anything. But, if her fellow guild mate was worried enough on her behalf to call her out on it, she would do her best to listen to her.
Kianna nodded, placing the job request down in front of her fellow Mage and then walking away to continue her job. Erza, curious, picked it up to read what made it special enough for her colleague to hide it from the rest of their family. Her eyes widened when she saw the time limit listed in the description.
"U-unlimited time!?" The redhead muttered in shock, thinking of the riot that might be incited by the promise of unlimited time to look for Lucy, since that was what ending a mission early had evolved to mean.
This is good, she thought, finishing the remaining bits of cake before getting up and heading out of the guild. The request itself is simple, so I have a few months of free time to look, since I'll be expected back at the guild eventually and they don't need anything more to weigh on their minds.
Continuing with that line of thought, Erza quickly picked up her multitude of suitcases, then, while ignoring the usual stares she got for moving such a load, headed towards the train station so she could buy her ticket to Onibus.
Five hours later, Erza had finished her job, received her pay in full, and was in the process of sending most of her luggage back to her rooms in Fairy Hills. She had realized early on that if she wanted to find her missing friend, she would have to travel light in order to cover more ground faster.
"Right, let's go," she said to herself softly, reassuring herself that with every step around the bustling city that she was one step closer to finding Lucy. It took her three hours, during which the sun had turned into a fiery orange blob on the western horizon, but she had managed to thoroughly sweep what she called the first layer of the city, the layer that honest, normal, everyday people dwelled in.
Now she would look through the second layer, the seedier parts of the city, with dishonest men and likely some dark Mages around.
But Erza wasn't going to take a chance that her friend had been passing through, ended up getting kidnapped in the hands of some local Dark-Guild, and she hadn't been found because the Requip Mage wasn't diligent in her search.
She had no doubt that the Celestial Spirit Mage could protect herself, but it was just that...well, the scarlet haired woman was worried for the girl she had seen as her little sister. She, and most of those at the guild, understood what it was to lose everything, and that made them desperate to hold on to what they had regained, trust, and loved ones especially.
About two hours after the sun went down, Erza was about ready to move on after the next stop, which from what she had gathered was a fledgling Dark-Guild located towards the very edge of town. In the usual fashion of her Guild, upon arrival of the scene she kicked down their front door and let herself in.
What she found had not been anticipated.
"J-Jellal!? Meledy!?" She yelped in shock at the battle scene going on before her. The same battle that had paused the moment she walked in, including the two people who seemed to be hopelessly outnumbered.
"Erza!" The blue haired Mage sputtered, caught totally off guard at who had just entered the fray. Unfortunately for him, several of the opponents he had been fighting noticed this as well, and took the opportunity to strike.
"Look out!" The red head shouted, summoning a sword and leaping to his defense.
Her actions seemed to shock everyone out of whatever daze they were in, and the dark Mages resumed their assault.
"What are you doing here!?" Jellal yelled, somehow managing to be heard over the sounds of shouting and multiple spells going off all at once. Not to mention the fact that he was fighting off, read 'knocking-aside' multiple enemies at once.
"I could ask you the same thing!" She shouted back, requiped in her Cheetah armor and dancing around the large room, taking down as many enemies as her graceful twirling could accommodate for.
"Tch. We came to investigate the opening of a Dark-Guild base here in Onibus," the tattooed man replied, both his and Erza's fighting leading them to stand back to back. "Now why are you here?"
"Lucy's missing," she replied, double kicking the wizard in front of her into submission before moving to slash at the next one in line. "I was looking for her,"
"And you think these guys have her?" The accusatory tone in his voice and the redoubling of his efforts did not bode well for the poor Dark Mages on the other end of his glare. "Are the others coming for back up or something?"
Eza shook her head, using a newly summoned second sword to take out twice the number of enemies as before. "No, Lucy left on her own, but I was exploring all options if she'd passed through town,"
"Makes sense," Jellal replied, elbowing someone in the face before ducking and sweeping the legs out from under another.
"Uh, I hate to interrupt here," Meledy interjected, fighting her way to the two allied Mages. "But maybe we should talk after we deal with these guys?"
"You know, that's a good idea," the blue haired man replied as he blocked and parried at least three different attacks, re-diverting his efforts back into putting this Dark-Guild out of commission, permanently.
It took only ten minutes, as three S-class Mages working in unison against barely two dozen grunts was never what one would consider a 'fair fight' under any circumstances. But the three weren't going for fair; they were looking for a quick and efficient win. After taking out the last one left, the Guild master as it was, it was a relatively simple task to tie the unconscious dark Mages up and anonymously drop them off in front of the police station.
Erza stood on the roof of the apartment building across the street from the now bustling law enforcement office, watching for a second more before twisting her head to face her two companions, the wind causing her long scarlet hair to temporarily obscure her view. "It's nice to see the both of you again, for what it's worth now,"
Jellal winced. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, but we should continue what we were talking about earlier. When and why did Lucy leave? Things seemed fine the last time I saw everyone,"
Erza shook her head, telling the story from beginning when she and Team Natsu came back from a long mission, to where she currently was, standing on a roof and watching the police make arrests below.
Upon hearing the end, Jellal nodded, grasping the current situation back at his former guild. "I got it, but I'm sorry to say we haven't seen her,"
"I see..." The redhead murmured, meet both of their eyes, a somewhat crestfallen expression on her face. "Well, I'd probably better get go with my search, then."
"Oh, right," the criminal Mage said, a sad and surprised look on his face as he realized his time speaking with the red haired woman was up for now. "We'll try and contact you if we find out anything about Lucy,"
"That'd be good," Erza nodded, turning to leave. "I guess I'll see you both later,"
"Wait," Meledy said, a brilliant idea forming in her mind that neither of the two before her could really say no to. "Why don't you come with us? From what you've said, people are only skimming through the areas closest to their job location since they don't have a very long window of extra time after to completion to do anything.
"If Lucy really has fallen into any trouble with Dark Guilds in their areas, they wouldn't know. That's where we'd come in; we'll cover the ground they miss, both taking out Dark Mage strongholds and looking for Lucy," the pink haired girl smiled, watching as the two others shared an unsure look. Oh, they needed to agree to this; what other opportunity would there be to ever get these two together?
"Well..." Erza started, about to argue that she would be fine on her own, but froze when Meledy gave her a patented teary-puppy eyes look. The Fairy Queen sweatdropped, then sighed. "Fine, I'll come with you guys. You don't mind, do you Jellal?"
"Uh..." Was his ever so intelligent reply as he blinked in confusion at whatever the hell had just happened. He looked between the two women, one waiting for his response, the other threatening him with her eyes to say yes. It wasn't that hard of a decision. "Sure, you come with us,"
Meledy cheered, throwing an arm around Erza and nearly taking both off the roof in the process. "Yay! Thanks Jellal! So, when do we leave?"
Cana slumped onto the bar counter of the inn she was at, her mission to some random-ass town in the middle of Fiore's country land finished and paid for, with all her things packed and ready to leave for the next morning.
Except it wasn't Fairy Tail she was going back to.
No, it had become something of an unspoken rule back home that when anyone finished a quest and had extra time before the allotted mission was up, they would do a quick search of the surrounding areas to see if their missing Celestial Mage would turn up.
So far, four months after everyone had realized she was gone in the first place, and everyone in the guild having taken at least one mission like this - including Nab - they weren't any closer to finding her then when they began.
"Excuse me, miss?" Cana shifted her eyes up, not feeling like lifting her chin off the cool wooden top. It was the bartender, holding a wine glass and an unopened bottle. "Would you like to order something to drink, or are you just taking a breather?"
Any other time, the offer was nothing Cana would turn her nose up at; she loved booze, the buzz that came with it, the mature flavors, and kicks often times with enough bit to kill a dragon. It was officially a running joke back at the guild and across Magnolia that if there was alcohol anywhere in her vicinity, she could be counted upon to consume it all at once and not later die of alcohol poisoning.
She had both practice and genetics to thank for that little blessing, as she had put it to use many times during her equally as numerous drinking-binges.
But that was four months ago.
"No...just taking a breather," she said, an apologetic smile on her lips as she watched the bartender nod, putting away the glass and wine before heading over to two other customers that were belting out different off key songs.
She sighed, pulling her knees up her chin, leaving her forehead resting against the edge of the bar and keeping her from toppling forward.
She felt so bad over Lucy leaving; they shared pretty much the same pain after all, losing their mother at a young age, and then being thrust into the care of a neglectful father who likely only spared them a glace once or twice before shit hit the fan.
True, Cana wasn't nearly as torn up about it as Levy, or Natsu was. Actually, scratch that. Natsu's hurt was in a league of hurt all his own at the moment, with Happy at a close but still far off second.
She hadn't been lying to the bartender when she said she had needed a breather; the air the guild as a whole gave off most days was gloomy and depressing at best, not to mention that there were reminders of their friendly blonde Summoner on every corner of the entire frikin' city.
Was it any wonder that all the Mages back home were fighting over the missions that had an aversion to anything that would even be remotely related to Lucy? No missions to the capital, no missions to Onibus, and especially no missions in Hargeon.
Cana tightened the ball she had curled into, just thinking of all things related to her missing friend driving the wedge of loneliness deeper into her heart. She had bonded with Lucy on Tenroujima, had been her partner. She really did not want to know what Natsu was going through right now.
She was doing somewhat better than the other members on that team, though. At least she was taking missions.
Grey mostly stayed around the guild, usually freezing up a dark, isolated corner as Juvia watched, quietly and not-so-quietly displaying her concern for him.
Erza...had taken this one mission at the two month mark, somehow managing to find a job with an unlimited amount for completion time from Mavis knows where, and nobody had thought twice when she hadn't comeback two months afterwords. And nobody bothered looking, either, since they had all take up her example and left to find Lucy on their own.
Which brought Cana back to her current situation, sitting alone in an unfamiliar bar, in the middle of Fiore, with the nearest (legal) guild being over a dozen miles away in any one direction traveled.
"Well look who it is!" An obnoxiously happy and loud (in Cana's opinion) voice boomed from centimeters behind her, at the same moment the force of what had to be that of a full-grown man's crashed into her.
From her already precarious situation on the stool, and the face that she hadn't been paying attention whatsoever, her nose unceremoniously met wood. Hard.
A tick mark appeared from what could be seen of her brunette head, and she automatically put a hand up against her stinging nose. It came back with her fingers dripping in blood.
A swarm of tick marks appeared, but the person who had charged Cana, read, the-one-who-needed-to-run-from-her, still had his arm over the back of her shoulders, and was either drunk-signing, or talking way too fast.
Cana wasn't sure, but she didn't care. Five seconds after she found her nose to, in fact, be bleeding, she acted out on her violent urge to punch the bastard in the face, years of experience in bar fights letting her slip out from the idiots arm and giving her room to score a clean uppercut.
"That was my nose you fucker!" She shouted, and was satisfied to hear a grunt followed by a thud as whoever it was landed several feet away. Still refusing to look at him, Cana turned in one motion to look at the shocked bartender. She pointed to her nose, which she had clamped shut with the other hand. "Do you have any tissues? I need to stop the bleeding."
The man scrambled behind the counter, being quick to fulfill her orders. "Y-yes, here you go,"
"Thanks," she said, tilting her head back as she tried to stop her nose from bleeding anymore.
She was cleaning up the rest of her face when, yet again, she was assaulted by the same asshole who she could have sworn was out cold a moment ago. It clicked into place when she heard the first words out his mouth that she bothered listening to.
"This nee-chan's got some wild spunk to her yet!" The Drunk Falcon cheered, paying no attention to the fact that said girl was glaring at him enough to boil led. He leered suggestively down at her, a competitive glint in his slightly glazed over eyes. He mimed taking a drink. "Shall we have another go at a contest?"
Cana shoved him off of her, taking a new seat on the other end of the bar. "Piss off, and go find some other bar buddy to get drunk with. I don't feel like it, Bacchus,"
He didn't take the hint, following her over the her new seat, and the next one, and the next one, getting the Card Mage more and more furious with each time she had to get up and move. Tired of the stupid game, she took a final seat, deciding to just ignore him.
So he just continued their conversation from where she (tried to) walked off alone.
"Ha! That's the funniest joke I've ever heard, the only woman capable of drinking as much as me not doing so just because 'she didn't feel like it'," he cackled, dropping heavily to his seat and smacking his hand down on the bar, effectively getting the only server's attention.
"Er, what can I get you?"
Bacchus spared as look a Cana, who was still ignoring him, then gave a drunken grin to the man. "Get me a couple Bloody Mary's, and her some beer,"
"Don't," the brunette snapped, and the bartender looked at her. "I don't want any,"
"But still get her some," the S-class Mage insisted, bringing the poor server's attention back to him. "She needs it,"
"I don't, so just leave it at that," Cana hissed, grinding her teeth and trying not to look over her shoulder at the drunken fighter.
"Yes, get it,"
"No, don't,"
"Yes, dude, get her some beer,"
"And I told you I don't want any beer,"
"Yes,"
"No,"
"Yes,"
"No,"
"No,"
"Yes,"
"Okay, she agreed, now hurry up with our drinks!" Bacchus hollered in success, and the bartender scurried off to do so, glad he didn't have to follow that argument any longer.
Cana, meanwhile, blinked before slapping her forehead at the stupidity of what just happened. How, could she fall into such a childish trap while completely sober? And let's not neglect to mention that the one who set it up was already off kilter enough to get a drink to celebrate her bloody nose and female gender.
"Whatever," she muttered, turning herself further away from her unwanted bar buddy. "I don't have to drink anything,"
Bacchus snorted. "You'd never let good booze go to waste, nee-chan,"
Cana 'tch'ed, knowing he was right since it had become rather precious to her after the first time she needed to dull the pain in her heart, but now she could blame it on taking away whatever time she's had left with Lucy before she left. If she hadn't been so absorbed in her bets and barrels, she could have seen that her friend had desperately needed someone, and been the one to have her stay...
Maybe she could let these beers go to waste, just this once at least.
She grinned, baring her teeth in a mock-snarl at the Quatro Puppy member. "Watch me; I refuse to drink a drop until a certain friend of mine comes back to Fairy Tail."
Bacchus leaned back in his barstool, surprise obvious on his angular face, before leaning back in, closer than before. "Is that a bet?"
Cana shrugged, meeting his interested gaze head on, neither looking as the first of the drinks were placed before them by the still nervous bartender. "If you want to make it into one, then go right a head,"
They were nose to nose now, competitive electricity brightening the tension around them. Bacchus's grin widened. "Alright, the bet is that you, Cana Alberona, can't have even a drop of alcohol until this friend of yours gets back to your guild. My job is to see if I can get you to have a swig, and the winner of this little bet will decide the punishment when the whole thing comes to terms, deal?"
Cana smirked, sticking out a hand which was immediately taken and shook. "I, Cana Alberona of Fairy Tail, hereby accept the terms of the bet laid before me by you, Bacchus Groh of Quatro Ceberus,"
The electricity around the two raged stronger than before, and the sudden jump in intensity nearly made the bartender drop the last of the drinks he was bringing over to the pair. He briefly stared at the two and the magnitude of alcoholic beverages around them. Both of them together definitely wouldn't be enough to polish it off, and from what he'd gathered, the girl still wasn't planning on drinking anytime soon.
He'd better get a bucket and mop ready, just in case...not that he'd need it.
"So, who's hooked up with who this time?" Hisui asked, noticing the devious smirk on the blonde across from her. When she had given her friend (and they could officially be called that at this point) the crystal ball to help her feel better, she hadn't predicted that Lucy would use it watch her friend's love life's.
Or that she herself would watch over the blonde's shoulder and follow it just as closely on most days.
"I think Bacchus just made a move on Cana!" Lucy squealed, watching as the two mentioned Mages continued to bicker and talk until the enchantment on the crystal ended. She swore. "I'm still not very good at this, even after three months of practice."
Hisui giggled. "No, but the dance-casting and new spells you're learning for that are spot on."
Lucy's smirk grew wider as she stood up, arching her back to better show off the faint but noticeable lines on her stomach. "I still cannot get over the fact that I now have abs, and you have no idea how glad I am that they aren't bulging and muscular like they are on guys,"
"I don't think you have to worry; Natsu will love you either way," Hisui teased, watching as the blonde's face turned a dozen shades of red and pink. This had become another pass time that Hisui had not anticipated gaining by being around Lucy, but it was one she enjoyed. "It's too easy, I swear. But before you checked on Cana-san, you were looking in on, uh - Erza-san and Mira-san, right?"
Lucy nodded, settling back down into her seat, finger tracing patterns on the smooth crystal ball before her. "Yeah, and I'm actually glad I did. Things are getting pretty serious between Mira and Laxus, not to mention Erza and Jellal have sort of had feelings for each other for a while now. But whatever, I'm just really, really happy for them!"
"I can tell by the smile that's trying to split your face open," Hisui giggled. "Now this is totally not relevant to the subject at hand, but... Happy birthday!"
The surprised look on Lucy's face was priceless. She hadn't told Hisui her birthdate, and even back at the guild the only persons who might know were Master, since he was the master, and Natsu and Happy, since they had seen the dates on the gifts her dad had sent her.
So how had Hisui...? Then she remembered that this green haired girl I front of her was the princess of Fiore, and had unlimited access to her citizen's records if she so wished it. Lucy laughed. "Thanks, Hisui. I can hardly believe I'm eighteen now. I feel so old,"
Both girls burst out laughing. Hisui wiped a tear from her eye, reaching under the desk to pull out the cleverly wrapped box that contained the gift. "I hope you like it; it will help with your training as well,"
Curious, Lucy swiftly moved to unwrap her gift, her companion rolling her eyes as she neatly unstuck the tape before taking off the paper and opening the box. Lucy caught her breath, slowly laying a delicate hand on the soft fabric beneath it.
Hisui coughed, nervous. "Do you like it?"
Lucy did answer, enraptured was she was by the whole piece of fabric in her hands. It was a deep, mysterious navy blue almost the exact shade of a clear night sky, made of the same durable, yet fashionable clothes Mages made thief clothes out of. As thoughtful as that was, what the Stellar Spirit Mage really noticed was the clear, painstakingly sewn constellations of all the different Celestial spirits that dwelled above, the Twelve Zodiac's dominating the front of the skirt.
"I love it," she whispered, mentally naming all the patterns she saw. Loke, Aquarious, Aries... Plue, Lyra, Harologium... They were all there, even those whose keys she didn't own, like Pieces and Libra.
Hisui smiled, relieved. "I'm glad, but the skirt wasn't the only thing in there; there's also a Gypsy coin belt, and a too to match."
Upon further investigation, the tissue paper separating the clothing articles coughed up a luscious golden yellow coin belt, and something that might have been mistaken for a wrap in the same color.
"Uh, I thought there was a top in here," Lucy stated, examining the strip of fabric that was much narrower on one side than it was on the other.
"That is the top," Hisui explained, taking the fabric and demonstrating how to put it on over the shirt she already had on. "It may look like a swimsuit top, but it will allow you ease of movement when fighting."
The blonde grumbled. "And who designs battle swim wear, exactly?"
Hisui shrugged, handing the gift back, a smirk on her face. "I wouldn't know that, but I do know that Natsu will love you in that,"
Lucy groaned, burying her red face in both her hands and yellow cloth. "I've told you, while I like him, he has something with Lisanna!"
The princess raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know? You haven't used the crystal ball to look at more than a handful of people from your guild, and neither of those two are on the list,"
"I've removed myself from the picture entirely, so it shouldn't be that hard for him to move on,"
"Then how about we make a bet? I bet that he's in love with you only, and hasn't looked at another girl. You bet that he's long since moved on with Lisanna. The wager I place is that neither of us can cut our hair until we find out which one of us is right,"
The blonde summoner mulled it over in her head, before agreeing. "I'll take that bet of yours, but only if we're still allowed to get it trimmed and stylized,"
"Deal," the royal jade said, taking Lucy's hand and shaking it. She blinked, and then laughed, a sudden thought just occurring to her. "And it would seem like tonight is the night for making bets dealing with romance,"
It took a beat, but then Lucy remembered Bacchus and Cana's conversation, and she too burst out laughing.
And somewhere, buried under whatever denial she still had left for her love of Natsu, a part of her wouldn't mind losing this one bet.
Next chapter should be out in another we week, for those of you who keep asking me to update - and I recommend you look at my profile for info about my updating policy.
Besides that, I'm curious to know what you guys think of these parings and how you I did setting them up. Tear them apart and piece me together what you liked about them so I can see what might need to be tweaked in how they actually act later.
This chapter is 6,556 words long - I didn't write it for you guys not to tell me what you think, and that includes current readers, new readers, and future readers that will find this way after it's completion.
With that being all I have to say, I'll see you guys in about a week!