THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO MATTHEW ELLIOT AND JOYCE'S SOMEWHAT BLOOMING RELATIONSHIP (S.B.R.)
Ch. 7 - 3 Months of No Human Interaction = Awkwardness
—
Recap:
Realization dawned on Lucy's face.
"Oh, no."
Emerald nodded.
"You aren't thinking-" Lucy started. Emerald nodded. Why was this stupid feline so smart?
Lucy grimaced. She was gonna have to go to Rimoro Village.
—
"Gate of the Compass, I summon thee!" Lucy cried. "Pixis!"
The bright red bird materialized. "Hello, Lucy! How can I assist you?" Pixis squawked.
Lucy smiled. "Can you show me the way to Rimoro Village, please?" Pixis smiled widely and began to spin, and eventually came to a stop, pointing Southeast.
"Rimoro Village is directly this way," it squeaked. Lucy nodded and thanked the compass bird. She closed the gate. She looked up into the thick foliage.
"Emer?" She called. Emerald, resting in a tree just above Lucy, leaped down and stationed himself in front of her. Lucy pointed Southeast. "We're gonna have to go that way," she directed. "And," she added, "You're also gonna have to carry those bandits as well. We're gonna drop them off there too, so the villagers can bring them to the train station and then they can be jailed."
Emerald, being the sass king, rolled his eyes and laid down so Lucy could have somewhat easier access onto his back.
"After all, we can't just leave them here," she continued. She threw the still unconscious bandits onto his back, deciding she didn't really care if they fell off or not, but still tying them down anyway. Lucy climbed on and patted his back fondly. "Don't forget," Lucy teased, "You were the one who suggested this!"
The cat snorted and took off.
As they cut through the forest, Lucy's mind wandered. She was kind of iffy about seeing them again after three months. 'Oh man, I'm kind of nervous about seeing them again…' she thought. 'I wonder if Sakimo has a boyfriend yet…' she mused. She snickered at the thought. She was quite beautiful, though. Suddenly, her thoughts turned to Natsu. 'I wonder how he felt when I left without telling him…'
—
It turned out they were a lot farther into the forest then Lucy thought she was. It took a total of 3 and a half days riding on Emerald to finally make out Rimoro Village in the distance. If she found Emerald earlier, she would have probably reached the other end of the forest by now.
By now, the bandits were awake but did not dare speak to the mysterious woman in the black cape. They found it surprising that she gave them food and water, however. She would never talk to them, only to the massive beast they were riding on.
When Lucy arrived at the village, she tied the bandits to a tree, putting one slim finger to her lips, and then brought her finger across her neck. It was a silent representation of, 'If you say one word, I will not hesitate to kill you.'
Lucy crouched behind a large berry bush adjacent to the bandit tree. She was just close enough so that she could see the village, but for them not to see her.
"Okay, Emer," she turned around to face the dilated green eyes. "You're gonna have to go. Stay close, in the trees, so when I call you you can hear me, alright?" Emerald nodded understandingly and scaled stealthily up a tree, barely making a scratch on it in the process. Lucy turned back to the bush, munching on a few berries as she sat here. She didn't know why she was sitting behind a bush watching the village and eating berries, but she was doing it. Why couldn't she make a decision?
She saw a familiar woman step out of a hut. With shoulder length hair now, Sakimo looked gorgeous. The villagers were also all wrapped up in thick furs, Sakimo included.
She pulled her cape closer around her. Maybe she should just come back at night and drop the bandits and the money off and write a note or something. Maybe she should just leave now and come back later. Maybe she sho-
'What was that?'
She heard something. A shuffle. Lucy hopped up into her battle stance and pulled out her dagger. She moved not a muscle. A tall, lean silhouette emerged from the bushes.
"Lucy…?"
'Oh, crap.'
Lucy lowered the jewelled dagger. "Rimo!" She shuffled her boots. "What a surprise…" She said nervously.
Rimo had changed slightly. His hair was longer and he was now wearing a brown fur and holding a bow and arrow. His features seemed to have matured slightly. His grey eyes were thunderous, as usual, but Lucy spotted a flash of surprise and… was that joy?
She didn't have time to say anything else, because Rimo dropped his bow and stumbled toward her. His arms widened as he got closer, as if he was going for a hug. Lucy wanted to hug him back, but her instincts kicked in and she swiftly dodged the hug.
"Em-" She quickly silenced herself, knowing that this was absolutely not the time to call Emerald. "Sorry," she coughed. Rimo turned and looked into Lucy's eyes. "I just… haven't really had human interaction in quite a while…" She trailed off.
Rimo coughed awkwardly. "I understand… I just can't believe you're here…"
Lucy smiled. "Yeah… Me neither…"
Rimo broke the awkward silence by saying, "So why did you come back?"
Lucy snickered. "Well," she said. "I found these idiot bandits in the forest and I want to rid them of my, erm, Rimoro Forest," she finished.
Rimo, who had apparently not noticed the 11 people tied up, glanced at Lucy in shock. "You defeated these men?" He asked incredulously.
Lucy nodded, dismissing the subject. "Yeah, and they also had 300 000 jewels on them, which I want you to take."
Rimo's eyes were as big as saucers, which was a pretty funny sight, considering.
"300 000!" He exclaimed. "We have no use for money either!"
Lucy shrugged. "Get someone in the village to dump the money and the bandits at the train station, I guess," she suggested.
Rimo looked around. "Okay, then, let's go to the village. Sakimo will be overjoyed to know you're back."
"Oh, hold on now," Lucy said quickly. "I'm not staying. I only came to get rid of these bandits."
Rimo's face fell, but he quickly plastered on a blank look. "Oh, okay. But you should still see Sakimo, she misses you," he insisted.
Lucy suddenly felt bad. She left them and suddenly turns up again only to get rid of some bandits; visiting the village was the least she could do. She forced a smile on her face. "Sure," she said, through clenched teeth. "I guess I can come for a short visit." She untied the bandits from the tree and grasped the rope.
Rimo didn't seem to notice her discomfort and allowed the corners of his lips to turn up slightly before turning and leading the way to the village.
After a short, quiet, and frankly, quite uncomfortable walk, they emerged from the edge of the forest. "Sister," Rimo called, stepping into the village. "I'm back, and look what I found."
Sakimo, carrying a jug of water turned toward him, her brightly coloured earrings glinting in the early winter sun. Lucy hesitantly stepped out from behind Rimo and pulled her hood down. Sakimo's face went through a mixture of confusion, surprise, and joy. 'Lucy,' she mouthed, before putting the jug of water down and rushing toward her. Lucy barely had time to pass the rope holding the bandits to Rimo before she was engulfed in a flurry of fur. This time, she forced herself to stay still. She stiffly stood there, and waited for Sakimo to let go. When she didn't, Lucy raised a hand and awkwardly patted her back.
When Sakimo finally let go, her grin was so wide it rivalled Natsu's. She turned and scribbled a note. 'you still have the bag! and come, the rest of the village wants to see you too.' Lucy's eyes flicked to the crowd of villagers gathered to see her. She resisted the urge to dodge as the hugging ensued.
'I only knew them for a day and a half and they treat me like they've known me for years,' Lucy mused. She looked into the darkening sky.
"Why don't you stay for dinner," Rimo suggested. Actually, it was more on an order then a suggestion.
"Eh? Oh, no, I only came to bring these bandits to a police station," Lucy said quickly.
'No, we insist!' Sakimo wrote. Lucy smiled grimly. They weren't letting off so easy. Lucy sighed.
"No, really, it's fine," she insisted.
Rimo had an idea. "We won't bring the bandits to the train station is you don't have dinner with us," he said firmly.
Lucy opened her mouth to say something sharp, but decided these siblings would force her to stay anyway. "Sure, okay," she tiredly responded. Sakimo nodded happily and Rimo turned around.
'Oh, crap,' Lucy remembered. "Uh, guys, I forgot something." The siblings turned around with curious looks on their faces. Well, Sakimo had a curious look, Rimo just looked monotone. "I need to introduce you to my travelling partner I met along the way," she continued anxiously. Rimo looked slightly suspicious. Sakimo grinned and let her eyes flicker from Lucy to Rimo. "I told him to wait in the forest until I called him… Oh, god, he's probably so worried about me-" She was cut short by Rimo.
"He?" Rimo spat.
Lucy was slightly taken aback. "Um, yeah," she said, confused. "Oh, and he might frighten you when I call him," she added.
"Nothing can frighten me," Rimo said, straightening up.
Lucy almost started laughing. "Oh, really?" She replied dryly.
Rimo faced Lucy. "And what are you doing, travelling with a male anyway? How long have you travelled with him?" he asked.
"About two months," Lucy retorted. "And what's so wrong with travelling with a male, anyway?"
"Two months!" Rimo exclaimed. "You can never be too safe, you know, when travelling with a male."
Lucy's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" She said. "I'll have you know, Emer and I have been travelling for quite a long time together and we're basically inseparable, except for today," she snapped.
Rimo laughed dryly. "It's so unsafe; you never know when he may make his move," he huffed.
"What are you even talking about? What move?!" Lucy threw her hands up. "Hah! You do realize that you're a man yourself, right?" Lucy smirked.
Rimo looked offended. "Do not compare me to those… uncouth men," he said angrily. "I never said that I was that type of person! I'm just warning you about the dangers!"
"Oh so you have the right to be offended?" Lucy huffed. "You just insulted my close friend and you think you can be offended?"
"I never insulted your friend directly!" Rimo defended.
"Then I never offended you!" She argued.
They were interrupted by a loud clanging noise. Turns out they were arguing for so long, Sakimo had time to go inside the hut and grab two pots. Sakimo smiled at them sweetly. She took out a note. It said, 'having a lovers spat, are we?' Rimo blushed under his tan skin and Lucy laughed coldly.
"I was only defending my friend!" She defended. "Which I was supposed to call 4 hours ago…" She realized.
"You'd better call him, then," he snapped. Lucy rolled her chocolate eyes.
"Whatever," she said. She turned to the forest. "Emerald!" She hollered. Almost instantly, Emerald leaped out of a nearby tree, almost as if he was waiting for her to call him.
"Run!" Rimo shouted when he saw Emerald. He whipped out a dagger as Sakimo disappeared into her hut. Emerald's cat eyes slitted and he backed away slowly, growling. He glanced at Lucy.
"No!" Lucy screamed, "Don't hurt Emerald!" She leapt in front of Emerald and put her hand on his nose.
"Emerald?" Rimo paused, but still stood bearing his dagger. "This is your travelling friend?"
Lucy nodded hurriedly. "Drop the dagger," she commanded. Rimo hesitantly did so. Emerald sat down with a thump. "Come here," she instructed. Rimo slowly walked toward Lucy. "Let him smell your fist, and then pet him or something."
The 'or something' part freaked Rimo out slightly, but he did as she instructed anyway.
"Good boy Emerald!" Lucy cooed. Sakimo peeked out from the hut fearfully. "It's okay Sakimo," she said. "Come and meet Emerald."
—
"That animal is called a Jinsoku," Rimo stated. They were sitting around a wooden table eating their late dinner as Emerald napped outside the house. God knows he couldn't fit inside. "It's one of the most powerful beasts in the forest," he continued. Sakimo nodded. "By the way," he added, "How did you manage to tame such a beast?"
"Hmm?" Lucy looked up. "Oh, it was having a fight with this really ugly giant monkey-like thing, and he was losing so I pitched in and defeated it for him." Rimo and Sakimo looked at each other in shock.
"You mean a Grimalalikino? You defeated it?" he asked incredulously. Sakimo looked at Lucy in awe.
"Uh, I guess?" Lucy said, confused. She stared at their shocked faces. "What?"
"A Grimalalikino is equally as powerful as a Jinsoku, but it plays dirty and kills things for fun," he said grimly. "You defeated one?" He asked again.
"I just said that," Lucy replied, rolling her eyes.
Rimo and Sakimo both shook their heads in awe.
—
Lucy was covered in furs but she still shivered.
"Where am I…" she murmured. She wandered around a seemingly busy city. Hey, was that… Natsu?
"Natsu!" She called. She saw him turn around and lock eyes with her. She smiled and waved. But his eyes glazed over like he didn't know her and he walked away, disappearing into the crowd. "Natsu?" She called again. She began to run after him, but the deeper she went into the city the darker it got.
It was dark now. She could she nothing in the distance. She stopped running when she got to a large plaza. "Natsu? Are you here?" She yelled. Her eyes scanned the plaza. She quickly spotted the bright pink hair.
"Natsu!" She exclaimed as she ran up to the fire mage. "Natsu, why-"
Natsu cut her off. "Who are you?"
Lucy stopped. "What?"
"I said," he said impatiently, "Who are you?" Lucy stepped forward. Natsu stepped back.
"It's Lucy, your best friend!" She said, confused. Natsu shook his head.
"Sorry, I dunno anything about you," he replied.
"It's Lucy Heartfilia! Remember? You got me into Fairy Tail? You were my first friend!" She protested.
Natsu backed away. "You know what? I think I knew a Lucy, once in my life, but she left me. So, I forgot about her," Natsu said. He laughed cruelly. "I don't care about her anymore. So just stay away from me."
Lucy felt hot tears well up in her eyes. "But-"
"Get away from me!" He shouted. "You left me!"
The plaza went pitch black. Lucy screamed.
Ouch. Lucy felt a sharp sting on her cheek. "What the…"
She opened her eyes to see a pair of concerned grey eyes. "Sakimo…?"
Sakimo handed her a note. 'sorry about that. i had to slap you in order to wake you up' it read. Lucy smiled.
"Thanks. I was having a nightmare anyway," she said, rubbing her cheek. "How did you know to wake me up?" Lucy inquired.
Another note was thrust toward Lucy. 'you were murmuring a name in your sleep. then you started screaming, so i slapped you in the face'
Lucy laughed unhumorously. Sakimo pointed toward the main doorway. Lucy looked toward the door. A black nose was shoved part way through. Lucy chuckled and got up.
"It's okay, Emerald," she cooed, patting his snout. The urgency to get inside stopped. "I'm okay. You can go back to sleep now." Emerald gave a little snort and backed away. Lucy made her way back to a waiting Sakimo. As soon as she sat down, Lucy was handed a note.
'whos natsu?' Sakimo's grey eyes were genuinely concerned. Lucy sighed.
"Well, it's now or never," she breathed.
"Natsu is… was…my closest friend. Maybe he was even closer then that…" She began.
A/N:
Oh my gosh, I am SO SORRY for not updating in a week! I just left you hanging like that! I wanted to write this for a while, but I was really busY! I'm sure you don't wanna know my reasons. Anyway, thank you SO MUCH FOR 39 REVEIWS AND LIKE 44 FOLLOWS OR SOMETHINGLIKE THAT. IZZ MIND BLOWINN! I asked for 35 and then it goes BAM. I felt so bad getting reviews and then not updating for a week! Forgive me!
In all seriousness, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I put lots of effort into writing this one!
Please leave a review! Writers block in in my path. Pm me if you got ideas! Please. heh.
-Jo
ps. If you don't get the matthew elliot joke, don't worry about it. It's an inside joke lol. its for YOU JOYCE. YOURE WELCOME 3