Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome to Chapter Seven of Lucky Star!
So yeah, the date officially ends in this chapter. I can't say I planned it this way, but I honestly had no idea how to extend the play! I mean, my first instinct was to stick Natsu and Erza there on a date and let it write itself, but that just felt totally forced. So, you get this! Enjoy!
I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.
The Magnolia Music Theater was not by any means large. Being in the town where the famous Fairy Tail Guild was based, it wasn't the main attraction. Still, it had a decent enough cast of performers, young and old, which made it a highlight of anyone who might be visiting Magnolia.
The theater wasn't that fancy, which made Jellal a little uncomfortable. The most dressed up he saw the men was a nice shirt, a pair of khakis, and a jacket of some sort. This was basically what Jellal himself was wearing, but nothing anyone else wore... matched.
"Lucy, I feel totally overdressed," he muttered to his date.
"I know," moaned Lucy. "But this is really the first time I've gotten to come here! It's not that expensive, but I live on a budget, and my team always destroys something on jobs, which comes out of the reward, meaning no money to spend on theater! And that's not even counting supplies for my writing!"
"All right, Lucy, just breathe," said Jellal, putting a hand on the Celestial mage's shoulder. She took a deep breath, and within the moment calmed down. "You panic about money a lot, don't you?" he asked with good humor.
"Kind of," Lucy admitted. "I mean, as a member of Fairy Tail's Strongest Team, I often go on high-profile missions, and the S-Class ones pay especially well... but as I said, Natsu, Gray, and Erza – sometimes all at the same time – cause massive property damage like, ninety-five percent of the time, so-"
"92.1 percent of the time, Princess," said a female voice from behind Lucy, causing her to scream.
"Jesus, Virgo! Don't sneak up on me like that!" yelled Lucy.
"I am sorry, Princess. Will I be punished?" Virgo asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
"No, of course not," sighed Lucy. "What is it you wanted?"
"I brought new clothes for Master Jellal," said Virgo, holding up a black suit with gold pinstripes. "I will not have my owner's lover walking around in filth."
Lucy's jaw dropped at Virgo's procalmation. "Lover!" she exclaimed, at a near-total loss for words. Oddly enough, her companions both ignored her melodrama, Jellal opting instead to smile at Virgo's kindness.
"Thank you, Virgo," said the ex-Wizard Saint, taking the clothes with a smile.
"It's truly nothing, Master Jellal," replied Virgo. "I know you'll find what you're looking for in my Princess." With that, she disappeared back into the Celestial Spirit World, leaving Jellal to ponder her words.
What was Jellal looking for? Was he just looking to escape the loneliness that Erza unwittingly forced upon him? It was too soon for him to think so. Was he looking for someone to talk to? Possibly. After all, it was kind of awkward to think of him spilling his guts to Erza, the woman he antagonized for so long. It was a miracle Natsu didn't pick fights with him as it was, and Doranbolt reported to the Magic Council, so those two were out.
Jellal shook his head, realizing he was overthinking the whole thing, and concluded that Virgo just wanted him and Lucy to end up together. He went to the men's room to change, deciding to leave everything at that.
Two and a half hours later, Jellal and Lucy were walking out of the theater, Jellal fully intending to drop Lucy off at her apartment before heading home to rest for tomorrow's mission.
"So did you like the show?" asked Lucy.
Jellal thought for a moment. "It was good," he admitted. "Funny in some places, but it knew when to be serious. Mostly, I liked it for its message."
"Message? What message?" asked Lucy. "Classic revenge story, what's to get about it?"
Jellal chuckled. "Lucy, you're the writer in this relationship. Don't tell me you don't get what 'The Lion King' is all about!" he said.
"It's true that, superficially, the story is about revenge. However, to truly appreciate the story, we need to look at how Simba grew up after Mufasa's death," said Jellal. "He was all alone in the world until Timon and Pumba found him. They accepted him, and became a sort of family as he grew up. But as he got older, he wondered where he truly belonged in the world. Then, Mufasa appeared to him, urging him to defeat Scar and take his rightful place as king, in the aftermath of which he found his calling. And that's how the audience is expected to sympathize with Simba – we all want to belong somewhere, to know we're wanted... needed, even. To know we're not alone."
Lucy only listened in amazement to Jellal's speech. Clearly, the show had had a sort of impact on him. Though if she was being brutally honest, she suspected that Jellal had found a parallel with the life he was living right now. He had been a slave, but had loyal friends who supported each other. One day, he woke up with no memory of the past eight years to find that he had become a villain, so he resigned himself to the gallows in order to make penance. And now, he was being given a second chance at life, and he was determined not to waste it.
"You're not alone, Jellal," she said resolutely. "Not as long as you're a part of Fairy Tail." She knew from cherished experience the truth in those words.
"Thank you, Lucy," said Jellal. He could have said more, but it just didn't feel right.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence.
"I had a great time tonight," said Lucy sincerely, her apartment door the only thing standing between her and her home.
"I did too, Lucy," said Jellal. "You know, aside from the crazy waitress."
"You don't think she'll try anything else, do you?" asked Lucy with a hint of worry.
Jellal shook his head. "Day to day, my magical power is defaulted to that of an average mage in a high-ranking guild. Not enough to be considered a threat, but enough that I won't be totally defenseless if I'm away from my jailer," he explained. "If I were at full power, blocking Ruby's Cutter would've been like swatting a fly to me. The effort I had to make in my current state tells me that she's a powerful mage. Capable, too. Still, if I explain to Doranbolt – I'm sorry, would calling him Mest be easier on you?"
"Both work for me," said Lucy.
"Right," said Jellal. "If I explain to him what's going on, I suppose I could convince him to allot me the minimum powers of an S-Class mage." His face turned serious. "But now that she's seen you with me, you're just as much a target as I am, so... just be careful, okay?"
"Okay," replied Lucy. She knew the kind of stigma associating herself with Jellal would bring, and this was part of it. Honestly, she felt people looked down on her more as a mage of Fairy Tail than as Jellal Fernandes's lover.
Wait, lover? Lucy inwardly cursed Virgo for putting the thought into her head.
Jellal smiled. He didn't know for sure if Ruby would target Lucy, but her reassuring voice, so full of confidence, illuminating her strong will, put his mind at ease. He took her right hand in his own and planted a soft kiss on her guild mark.
This caused Lucy to blush a little. Yes, a kiss on the hand was the gentlemanly thing to do, but if she allowed Jellal that much freedom, it would only be a matter of time before things got awkward between them.
So why wasn't she fighting it? And more importantly, what was there to fight?
She said a hasty goodnight to Jellal and let herself in. Only problem was, the door was already open. Now, Natsu usually snuck in through the window, so this was quite queer. She turned on the light, and sighed as she was greeted by a scarlet-haired young woman.
Just her luck.
And here we go!
I don't know what led me to The Lion King for the play they saw, but when I thought about it, I realized, "Hey, this could actually work!" Now, personally, I like The Lion King. Second movie I ever saw (first being Aladdin), so there's... a lot of nostalgia there, and I hope I managed to breath a sort of new life into it for you guys.
Next chapter wraps up this part of the story, and then I won't be updating this until I've typed out all of the next (and hopefully final) arc of this story. The thing about this story, though, is that it's not timeskip compliant, meaning everything beyond Tenrou Island would have to be all original. I mean, I'm doing well here, or at least I like to think so, but wide-open sandbox settings like this aren't really my forte, and if anyone remembers Champion (my old journey fic under Pokemon), I really kind of struggle making an entire world of original characters. Oh well, this is just a stepping stone, as should all of an author's work be.
But enough about that, I'm determined to get this published before I leave in the next ten minutes, so peace and love from Nightlingbolt! Bye!