I'm not going to lie, I got some amazingly sweet reviews and I wanted to take a minute to let you all know how much I appreciate it. I just wanted to say thank you everyone! It's good to know I'm not disappointing anyone too much.
I had some good questions: Will I be adding romance - well I didn't want to in the beginning; mainly because I love Lucy and Hiro Mashima is lucky I don't own Fairy Tail because I'd want to pair her up with everybody! Sad.. I know.. So as of right now no. But that may change, I'm fickle.. And I don't have this story planned out. I write the chapters as they come to me and if I'm feelin a little frisky one chapter then who knows!
Second question: Will there be a Quincy or Vizard key? No Vizard key, they are technically Shinigami and once it's revealed how the keys were made it'll make sense why there isn't one. Will there be a Quincy key? I'm not telliiiiiiiiing XD
I personally had a lot of fun with this character, he's just so cute.. And mature.. And as badly as I wanted him to lash out I had to keep him in character..
Enjoy~
"B-b-but you're just a child!" Lucy was pointing her finger at the white haired boy as he switched from looking at the Ice Mage to the girl with annoyance in his expression. His eyebrows were creased into a scowl as he rolled his eyes and turned back to the demon.
"Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the 10th Division. Next time don't hold onto my lieutenant for so long, do you have any idea how much paperwork I was stuck with?" His hands were now clenched at his sides as irritation dripped out of every word.
So this is Rangiku's Captain..? Lucy was instantly impressed – Rangiku was so powerful on her own, and this young boy was stronger? How amazing..
"And I don't know what you lot gave her last night; but she's been out of commission all day!" Hitsugaya had slightly turned around to address the blonde when he noticed the look of affection in her eyes as she just stared at him.. Like an idiot.
"So cute.." She barely mumbled as Hitsugaya's look of annoyance turned to one of disgust. I swear to God if she calls me child one more time..
"You can't be older than 10.. Are you in Elementary school? You're so cute.." Lucy now had her hands clasped as she scooted even closer to the boy. A vein popped from his temple as his anger slowly started building
"Can I call you Little Toshiro?" That did it.
"You will address me as Captain Hitsugaya!"
"Pffft…Captain?! You can't be a Captain! That's a job for adults little tyke, you should run along now and go grab Rukia – we need an adult who can wield ice." Gray was sitting cross-legged on the ground, shooing him away with a hand gesture.
Hitsugaya had fully turned around, gritting his teeth as he was about to address the idiot man on the ground; then he was suddenly gone.
Lucy's right leg was still in the air – just finishing one heck of a Lucy-kick.
"Don't talk to my spirits like that Gray! If he says he's a Captain then he's a Captain! You will show him respect since he's here to help us! And if the key summoned him over Rukia then he's clearly more than capable of handling this situation!" Lucy's fists were clenched in the same manner as Hitsugaya's as her face became red from anger. Nobody was going to disrespect her spirits, not with her around.
Hitsugaya's irritated look switched to one of surprise as he looked at the blonde girl again. People didn't usually stand up for him, he had to take their comments and insults with a grain of salt to not destroy half of Seireitei – heck she looked more pissed than he was.
"Thank you Lucy. Your kindness is much appreciated. Now I am to understand that I'm under contract to defeat this.. Tree..?" Hitsugaya was giving the tree an odd look – trees run around in this world?
"Oh, yes.." Lucy had now put her foot down as Gray was stuck handling the demons charging from the forest again; seems how Lucy managed to send him flying right in the middle of them.
"It's not a tree though, not really.. It's a demon. A very large demon; and those smaller demons you see charging are trying to protect it for some reason.." Lucy was pointing at the demons Gray was now finishing off as Hitsugaya spared a quick glance. Clearly if the demons were so frantic to keep the tree safe it was of great importance – he instantly deduced that destroying the tree would more than likely have a detrimental effect on the smaller demons.
Just then the tree shot one of its roots into the ground, causing another miniature earthquake; small shrieking noises could be heard. What was it doing?
A minute later more demons came running through the thicket, shrieking again. Was it summoning – or – creating demons?
Gray came trotting up to the pair, annoyed that the midget had yet to do anything to the tree; especially after watching it possibly create a few more demons. "Step aside small-stuff, I'll handle the big demon. Why don't you take care of the little ones – they're more your size." Gray was about to walk past Hitsugaya when the Shinigami grabbed his arm.
"Please stand back – I'd really hate to get you caught up in this.." The sarcasm in the boy's sentence didn't escape Gray as he began gritting his teeth. Lucy was about to punch him in the head when a sudden drop in temperature stopped her in her tracks.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens: Hyorinmaru." A huge ice dragon came shooting out of the Captain's blade, circling around the tree once and then smashing into its face, knocking it to the ground. The ice continued its path down towards the embedded root; causing it to snap off once the demon was completely parallel with the ground.
Lucy's eye's held amazement while Gray only lost composure for a second, so the boy could wield a little ice, huh? There was no way in hell Gray was going to let some kid outdo him.
"Oh yeah? I can do that too!" Gray was now standing next to Hitsugaya as he removed his pants; the demon was slowly starting to stand back up.
"Ice Make: Lance!" A series of lances came shooting out of Gray's hands as they smashed into the demon's trunk, not quite piercing it but still throwing it back to the ground. Gray threw a cocky smirk at the Captain as he simply raised an eyebrow, barely masking his look of revulsion. Why did he take his pants off..?
Hitsugaya casually stepped in front of Gray again, closing his eyes to rid himself of the Ice Mage's pantless presence and pointing his sword towards the tree demon. Without even muttering a word he shot out 5 more dragons as they completely swarmed all 400 feet of the tree. He then pointed his blade to the ground allowing a wave of ice to span out and freeze every demon attempting to attack the three as well as halt anymore efforts the tree might make to summon more demons by creating a thick sheen of ice that completely covered the floor. The ice Gray had used in his attack was now being combined with Hitsugaya's as everything within sight was now frozen solid in place.
Gray sweat dropped. Did he just use my ice..? He gave a wary glance to the Captain as he now had his back turned to the Ice Mage. He's not even gonna gloat..? Gray began scratching the back of his head. Who was this kid? Is he really even a kid?!
"Alright, I'll give it to ya. That was kinda impressive." Gray now had his arms crossed and was looking off to the side. A vein popped from Hitsugaya's temple as he rolled his eyes at the imbecile unbuttoning his shirt. If I was stripping down I wouldn't garner so much attention to myself.. What a strange place..
Lucy gave Gray an annoyed glare. "Gray, I swear to God if I have to remind you about your clothes one more time in front of my spirits.."
Hitsugaya was looking to the girl's exasperated posture as his expression softened a little. The woman was okay, especially since she recognized undressing in public was indecent and was quick to reprimand the ice idiot..
A popping and cracking sound could be heard as the three turned back around to where the demon tree was. Cracks could be seen in the ice surrounding its trunk as its branches broke off from the weight of the ice. The remnants shattered and the demon howled; a second later another chorus of screeching and howling could be heard from all over the forest as a small earthquake began. Apparently it had summoned, or created, more demons than the group originally thought..
"I think you just pissed it off.." Gray was taking a step back now as he began looking from side to side, still trying to put his pants back on. The tree was now standing back up and smashing the frozen remnants of the smaller demons around it. The ground began to shake yet again as the unfrozen trees behind the ice began uprooting themselves; even more demons similar to the ones they'd been dealing with also came running out.
"LUCYYY!" Happy came flying in carrying Natsu as Erza broke a couple frozen demons before joining the group.
"Lucy! Gray! Are you guys alright?! We saw the ice attacks." Erza was looking at the mages until her sights fell on the boy. "Oh, umm, hello, little boy. What would your name be?" Erza was now giving Hitsugaya a curious look as he began clenching his fists again.
"Lucy what's with the kid?" Natsu walked up to the Captain and began patting his head. "Hey kid, it's gonna get pretty dangerous around here. Sure you wanna stick around?" Hitsugaya gave him an exasperated glare through gritted teeth as he fought the notion to freeze the pink-haired boy's arm off.
"Natsu, Erza, this is Toshiro Hitsugaya. He's the one who froze everything over, he's here to help!" Lucy was gesturing the entire area that was now covered in ice with a proud smile.
"Wow.. That's very impressive. Well, we can use all the help we can get." Erza gave Hitsugaya a small smile as she requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and began readying multiple swords. "Ready when you are Captain." Erza's expression was all seriousness and ready to get down to business.
Histugaya instantly liked the red-head. He was also slightly curious about her armor, where did it come from?
"But he's a kid?" Natsu's arms were crossed with an eye brow raised. "You sure he did all this?" He was now looking around the area – clearly not believing the boy managed that much damage.
"Don't question my spirit Natsu!" Lucy was now standing in front of Hitsugaya, defending him. "He did freeze everything!" Lucy had her hands on her hips in frustration.
Hitsugaya liked Lucy too. Why did the women of this world seem to be the only ones with a brain?
"Oi, who's the pipsqueak?" Laxus came crashing in the center with a loud booming sound as his magic slowly dissipated – leaving smoke and embers where he'd landed; the ground looked as though it had just been struck by lightning.
"My name is not kid. Nor is it boy or pipsqueak. I am Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. I've worked hard for my title and I would much rather be addressed as Captain Hitsugaya." He was clenching his fists again and closing his eyes – trying to calm himself down.
Laxus, Gray, Happy, and Natsu all shared a look. Then began howling with laughter.
"C-C-Captain?! Oh man! That's a good one kid!" Laxus was slapping his knee; Natsu was clutching his sides with Happy collapsed on his head while Gray was wiping a tear, "I know! I said the exact same thing!"
All four continued to laugh for a few more minutes. The demons all stopped and glanced back at the redwood tree – clearly confused. Why were they laughing so hard? Weren't they aware of their situation?
The redwood just stared at the group of mages as they laughed for a couple more seconds, if it's branch-like limbs hadn't snapped off it probably would have shrugged. Then the atmosphere dropped a few degrees.
Lucy and Erza were about to step in when Hitsugaya put his arm up, halting both women mid-step.
"If they don't believe I'm a Captain that's fine. The only one that matters here is Lucy Heartfilia – which she believes in my abilities." He gave Lucy a quick glance as she gave him a smile. "And her red-headed friend is okay in my book too." He gave Erza a quick glance as she smiled back as well.
"You three however." He was barely giving the three mages a look. "Are on your own."
Then they noticed the sudden drop in temperature – and stopped laughing.
"Ryojin Hyoheki." A solid ice barrier surrounded the girls to protect them from the onslaught about to come. "You two should be safe from the temperatures in there." Hitsugaya took a few steps ahead of the wall and walked past the rest of the mages – who were all casting him curious glances and giving each other one as well.
The tree was shrieking again – signaling to all the demons to attack. Hitsugaya didn't even flinch; he simply jumped into the air and began floating upward.
"Bankai." Ice began flying from his sword to himself, starting at his right arm – forming a dragon's head. It then continued up his shoulders creating two large wings and a tail down his back. It continued down his left arm and feet into claw-like structure. Three ice flowers could be seen floating above the boy.
"Is he flying..?" Laxus was staring at the boy floating in the air with amazement. Gray, Happy, and Natsu were completely shocked – mouths hanging open. The three had seen Harribel flying but obviously doubted the boy's abilities; this was a whole new experience for Laxus.
"Tenso Jurin." The weather was suddenly overcast and was easily below freezing. Natsu, Happy, and Laxus were shivering as Gray was taking his clothes off yet again.
"Not now Gray!" Laxus smashed his head into the ground – the guy really needed to get a clue..
All the demons were once again not moving as they all slowly froze over. In fact – the entire forest was freezing over as icicles began to form and snow began to lightly fall. Did the spirit just make it winter? All the mage's eyes were wide with amazement and Gray's jaw was hanging open from his place on the floor.
Lucy was now sitting on the ground. Summoning him took up a good deal of magic, but this new power he was using made it so she couldn't even stand. Hitsugaya looked back to the girl a little worried. He did like the Celestial Mage. Rangiku wouldn't stop raving about her and even Ukitake seemed rather fond of her. Kenpachi sang her praises for.. Err.. Other reasons.. But none the less she was perfectly polite and respectful. He would end this quickly to not harm her further, he preferred testing his opponents out and maybe come to a peaceful arrangement; but it was clear these demons were mindless brutes only seeking bloodshed.
"I will end this now. Hyoten Hyakkaso." The sky suddenly darkened a little more and the clouds began swirling in on themselves. A hole began to form and a larger amount of snow began to fall directly over the giant tree. Ice flowers began forming all over the trees body – creating a pillar of ice.
"Once the last petal falls the tree will no longer be living. Such is the nature of this technique – I prefer not to use it with my Bankai but I wanted to end this quickly. Everything within a 7 mile radius should be completely frozen over; but don't worry, any natural forestry will defrost within a few days. The demons however will succumb to the cold." Hitsugaya was calling his Bankai back to his sword as he began to resheath it over his back – lightly floating back to the ground and cancelling the shield around the girls. The Dragon Slayer's and Happy were huddled near the ground trying to maintain as much body heat as humanly possible, both beginning to sneeze as their noses began to run.
Gray had put his head down in defeat. Too humiliated to even get off the ground or make eye contact with the spirit - he'd never live this one down..
Though Hitsugaya didn't outwardly show it, he was feeling rather smug. He didn't even give the other three a glance as they all stared at him like gaping idiots – while freezing their asses off. Serves them right.
Lucy was fighting for her consciousness. He'd used multiple attacks plus his Bankai; it took a lot out of her - especially considering she'd summoned another spirit previously who was also relatively high on the power scale. She was fighting the urge to black out when a small hand found her shoulder.
"Are you alright Lucy?" She looked up into big turquoise eyes that held a hint of concern. Maybe he'd gone a little over-board..
She smiled at his worry, "Yes Captain Hitsugaya. Thank you for all your help – you're amazing!" Her eyes were glazed over again; she couldn't help the fact that all she wanted to do was hug him to death.
"Ouch! Ouch! Okay! Okay!" Erza was standing directly behind the three mages and Happy; forcing them into a bowing position in a straight line. "Say it properly!" Erza was smacking all four again as she shoved her boot down Gray's back.
Yep. Hitsugaya definitely liked the red-head. He couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the corner of his lips.
"We're sorry! We're sorry!" Gray and Natsu had tears in their eyes as Laxus was fighting the aneurysm threatening to burst. "Yeah yeah, whatever, sorry." Laxus practically spat the words – earning him a boot in the back.
"Ouch! What the-! Alright, I formally apologize Captain Hitsugaya." Laxus' apology was laced with sarcasm but the Knight knew that was as good as she'd get from the Lightning Mage and slowly let off on the boot. The Dragon Slayer's were still slightly frozen over; Laxus wasn't currently in the state to fend the violent Knight off – besides he swore to never hurt another guild mate.
"I'm so sorry your imminence! Please forgive our stupidity!" Happy was bowing up and down like crazy as tears flew from his eyes. He didn't know what was worse – being frozen over or having Erza behind him.
"You're definitely a better ice user than the Stripper! There's no question about that!" Natsu had now jumped to his feet – smile on his face. "Let's fight!" He was now charging the boy as Erza grabbed his scarf – stopping him mid-stride.
"Look at Lucy! Do you think she can handle another fight! Besides, you wouldn't last two minutes Natsu!" Erza was slapping his head as she threw him to the ground. But then he suddenly remembered Lucy – these spirits weren't easy for her to call.
"Luce!" Natsu and Happy were running over to the girl as she was now only holding herself up with her hands on the ground.
"I will take my leave now Lucy." Hitsugaya gave her a small smile as she radiated one back at him. "Thank you so much Captain! Tell Rangiku I'll try to call her out again! Oh! And tell Rukia thank you for everything!" She barely finished her sentence as Hitsugaya vanished, nodding his head in acknowledgment.
"Who's Rukia..?" Natsu was giving Lucy a curious glance as she waved him off. "The spirit I summoned before him." Erza, Natsu, and Laxus' eyes went wide with surprise. "You managed two summonings?" Erza was holding her shoulders looking into her face.
"Yep! Both were pretty awesome too. Even the kid I guess.." Gray was mumbling something under his breath; apparently he didn't like being outdone by a spirit that resembled a child.
"N-Natsu.. C-Can we go now.. I'm f-f-freezing!" Happy was curled around Natsu's neck as both girls began to shudder as well. His barrier kept them safe initially but now that it was gone they got the full impact of the cold. The group casted a quick glance to the tree, it was no longer moving or resembling a monster as the final petal fell. All the demons were crumbling in on themselves as well – guess the tree was maintaining their power; without it they were just plants again. No wonder they were protecting it.
The team managed to find its way out of the forest; Lucy was on Natsu's back as he managed to make his skin a personal furnace for the Celestial Mage, she was already worn out, she didn't need to freeze on top of it. Once they got to the town they were surprised to see all the villagers outside. The children were running and laughing, playing with the falling snow that still lingered from Hitsugaya's attacks. Even the adults were looking much brighter than usual – then Lupe came running up to the group.
"Fairy Tail! How did you fare?!" The little old man's eyes were bright with hope as the towns people were now holding the same gaze, looking to the group as well.
"Done and done!" Natsu chirped as Erza and Gray gave a head nod and a smile. The towns people began to cheer as Lupe was once again crying, hugging Erza and kissing her hand. He even kissed Laxus' hand – much to his annoyance.
"Please, oh please, there must be something we can do for you?! You've done so much for us!" Lupe was on his knees, he felt awful sending in a less-than-truthful request but to not pay a penny for what should have been SS-class? There had to be something he could do..
"Don't worry about it old man! Just remember Fairy Tail mages are happy to help!" Natsu began walking past the old man with Lucy still on his back.
"Wait! Lucy! Is she alright?" Lupe was chasing after the Dragon Slayer now, a little worried for the blonde.
"Don't worry, she's just a little worn out. She used up a lot of magic." Erza had placed a hand on the old man's shoulder and was now pointing to the sky.
The old man's eyes went wide as he realized what the Knight was telling him. She was the one who caused the sudden weather change?! Incredible..
"Don't worry about the weather either, it's supposed to fade within the next day or so." Gray was now walking past the old man, finger in his ear and annoyance still laced in his expression – clearly pissed he wasn't the cause of the snow storm. Laxus snorted at the Ice Mage's mood as he walked past the old man as well – straight to the train station.
"Oh please, Sirs.. Madams.. Please stay the night in some of our rooms.. It's the least we can do for our rudeness earlier and you saving us all.." Another elderly couple was approaching the group, gesturing to a quaint little inn right next to the train station. There couldn't be more than five rooms in the place and was probably only managed by the pair.
"It's really not necessary.." Erza was now looking to the couple, not wanting to impose and since they didn't get any reward money they couldn't exactly afford a room..
"No, please, we insist. No cost! Free food and your tickets back home will be covered to!" Lupe was now standing next to the couple – he must've planned on at least paying some of the expenses. The group shared quick glances with each other – clearly unsure.
"Please.. Lucy looks like she could use a hot bath, a warm meal, and a soft bed." Lupe was now patting Lucy's arm as she gave him a smile. All the above really did sound amazing..
Erza, Gray, and Laxus all looked around at each other and shrugged. "Alright, but just so you know these three might eat you out of business." Erza was jerking a finger at Gray, Natsu, and Laxus as she walked towards the inn. The townspeople looked ecstatic – Lupe finally felt a little guilt slip away as the group took him up on his offer.
Erza and Lucy decided to share a room as the three men plus Happy took the largest. Erza insisted on Laxus being the mediator for Gray and Natsu – just because the town offered everything free of charge didn't mean destroying the only inn was okay..
"How are you feeling Lucy?" Erza was sitting on the side of Lucy's bed – they'd both already taken a bath and eaten, all that was left now was a good night's sleep.
"I'm okay.. Just tired.. I'm glad we decided to stay, I really needed to sleep." Lucy was turning in her covers to face Erza as she smiled.
"Lucy I can't believe you already managed two summonings in a single day. You've really improved – I wouldn't be surprised if you were in the S-class exams next year!" Erza's eyes began to sparkle as she imagined Lucy as the next S-class mage; they could go on as many S-class missions as they wanted. She'd definitely never have to worry about rent again. Lucy laughed at the idea, her? S-class? Maybe if she could call out Captain class spirits without fainting every time..
"We'll have to see about that one Erza.. Maybe when I'm a little stronger.." Erza gave her a small smile, she knew better than anybody how much the girl underestimated herself. But she had plenty of time to get stronger. A few crashes followed by Laxus' yelling could be heard next door, then a loud thunk that made the room vibrate. A pair of heavy footsteps then made their way across the floor and the sound of weight being dropped on a bed could be heard – finished off by an even heavier weight dropping on the other bed. Sounds like Natsu and Gray were put to sleep.. Lucy sweat dropped as Erza nodded her head in approval before jumping into the other bed and shutting off the light.
The group decided to head out early, they wanted to be back at the guild by noon; especially since it was still very cold outside and none of them had packed for a snow storm. Gray was still very irritable the next morning.. And the train ride home.. And after they got to the guild.. Apparently the little ice spirit left quite an impression..
"Ahh! Here you all are! How did it go?" Makarov was standing at the guild's bar, waving the group in as some of the commotion somewhat died down while 'hello's' were being shouted throughout the crowd.
"Hello Master. The mission was a success; the demon has been dealt with." Erza came walking in ahead of the group, pride in her declaration as more cheers ensued in the guild.
"Well then this definitely confirms it.." Makarov was looking at Lucy again, "They're definitely after Lucy. Looks like you've got your hands full child – there's still five more requests for you to fill!" The Master was giving Lucy a smile as she began nervously fidgeting, all eyes were on her again..
"By the way Gray, you seem rather upset, everything alright?" Gray was standing at the back of the group – still sulking. He didn't even bother picking any fights with Natsu on the way in.
"Oh don't mind him, Popsicle's feelings are hurt 'cuz some kid showed him up in ice magic." Natsu was giving him a sarcastic grin.
"Alright! That's it!" Gray lunged towards Natsu as fire and ice exploded everywhere. Laxus' scowl only deepened as he made his way towards the Raijinshuu. "Let me know when you're gonna pick the next mission." He gave Lucy a pat on the head and a smile – earning one back. "Wooo! Get'er Laxus!" Cana could be heard shouting through the guild as Bixlow started cat calling.
"Shut the fuck up!" A very irritated Dragon Slayer was covered in static – eyes turning yellow.. Somebody didn't get much sleep the night before.
"Woah.. Don't get'er.. Don't get'er.." Cana had her hands up in an I-give-up gesture as Laxus brushed past her. She laughed nervously before approaching Lucy. "So how did the mission go? You guys were able to beat the demon?" The Card Mage was now sitting next to Lucy and Erza.
"Yeah, it was the redwood in the middle of the forest." Lucy was considering jumping the counter and making herself and Erza strawberry milkshakes; looked like the Strauss' weren't back from their mission yet.
"The redwood?" Cana's eyebrow shot up as Macao was approaching the girls as well.
"You guys sure?" He had the same confused look as Cana.
Erza and Lucy shared a quick glance, "Err.. Yeah.. It was the demon creating all the smaller ones.." Lucy was fidgeting in her seat as Erza was now leaning in. Did they miss something?
"Oh.. Hmmm.. That's odd.." Cana was scratching the back of her head as she shared a curious glance with Macao.
"Okay, what are we missing?" Erza was leaning towards the pair, apparently something was off.
"Well, it's just; when we investigated the tree was, well, a tree." Cana now had her arms crossed as Macao was leaning against the counter; facing the three girls. "It didn't have any magical presence – or any of that 'curse' power we've heard so much about.." Cana and Macao were gauging the girls' responses.
"So you're saying when you guys went into the forest – you didn't sense anything?" Erza had an eyebrow raised.
"Well we were attacked by a few of the little guys, but that's it. Didn't you guys notice that once you defeated all the smaller 'demons' that they just turned back into their harmless plant selves? No trace or essence of magic left?" Macao was scratching his head.
Erza and Lucy were looking at each other again as realization dawned on them. They were right, after Hitsugaya froze the redwood over; all the demons did crumble and return to their previous state. Even the redwood keeled over and acted as a tree that was simply destroyed in a violent blizzard.. But what about all the curse power it fought with? How it created all the other demons? Didn't that make it the S-class demon?
"Hmmmm, maybe the redwood was just a puppet. The real demon manipulated the forest into coming to life by inserting its energy and forcing it to animate." Makarov had been listening in the entire time. Taking in everything Cana and Macao were saying. "Maybe it wanted us to think the redwood was the S-class demon."
"But Master, why would it do that?" Erza was confused – it was true the forest turned back to normal after the snow storm, but why would the demon do that? Why wouldn't he come out and attack on his own?
"I don't know Erza, maybe it was testing you, us, or maybe.. Lucy."
All eyes were now looking to Lucy as she began to subconsciously play with her key ring. "I don't understand.. Why wouldn't it attack when I was all worn out then?" Lucy was fidgeting in her seat, the idea of a powerful demon lurking in the shadows, watching her and waiting to strike had her on edge.
"Maybe it was intimidated.. Either by your keys.. Your team.. Maybe it wasn't in the area." Makarov was rubbing his chin again – every possibility going through his head.
"Should we go back?" Erza was looking to Makarov now, she wasn't too sure what the best course of action was at this point.
"No, if it was in the town it would most likely have attacked or made itself known. If you want my opinion it probably wanted to see if Lucy was really capable of wielding those keys or not. As to why – I'm not sure.." Makarov was patting Lucy's hand, trying to reassure her. He was beginning to think all this tension was going to give the girl a heart attack.
"Hey what the hell?!" A booming voice shouted at the doors of the guild. A very angry looking Gajeel, Levy, and Lily came charging up to the small group at the bar.
"You went off without us Lu-chan!" Levy had her hands on her hips, a cute little scowl that almost looked menacing – if Levy could ever be considered menacing.
"Lucy, we don't care about the reward money, but at least let us know when you're going off on missions. We thought we were all in this together." Lily had jumped onto the bar and was looking Lucy right in the eyes, arms crossed.
"Yeah what's up Bunny girl?! I told ya I owe ya! Don't go off getting yourself killed before I pay ya back!" Gajeel had slammed his fist on the counter, staring Lucy down since Levy was doing a pretty pathetic job at being intimidating.
"I'm sorry you guys.. I guess we didn't really think about it.." Lucy had both hands in her lap, looking a little embarrassed at not being considerate of the three. She was so focused on getting the mission done and keeping the team to a reasonable size that she never considered leaving them would potentially hurt their feelings.. Or cause them to worry about her..
Levy smiled as she now placed both hands over Lucy's, "It's okay Lucy.. Just next time don't go running off without us.. We worry and we want to be with you through this. We've been around since the very beginning – we plan on seeing this through with you!" Levy's smile reached Lucy's as a light blush tinted her cheeks. There was no arguing how lucky she was; she really did have the best friends in Fiore.
"Good, I'm glad you have lots of dependable people Lucy, there seems to be a lot going on that we don't know about – it's better to have more friends than enemies at this point. I trust you all to keep an eye on her." Makarov was looking to the seven at the bar, glancing at Laxus with the Raijinshuu and then at Gray and Natsu, they'd all stopped what they were doing to listen in at the bar after Gajeel's dramatic entrance.
"So Lucy, feeling up for another mission?" Levy's eyebrows shot up and a playful smirk tugged at her lips.
"You bet, how about first thing tomorrow?!" Lucy was smiling at the script mage now as Gajeel and Lily both had confident smirks. Laxus and the Raijinshuu had now approached the group at the bar – he'd heard everything Erza, Lucy, Cana, and Macao had discussed. A little pissed at himself for letting something so obvious fool him. "Let's go pick the mission chick." He was thrusting his thumb towards Makarov's office as the Master had jumped down from the bar and was walking towards the stairs. "Alright!" Lucy jumped from her seat with everyone following her. Apparently they were going to pick this next mission as a group. Or caravan.. Their group just continued to get bigger and bigger..
"Me Lord.. What did you think of the Celestial Mage?"
"She was.. Adequate. At least she can summon the keys."
"Shall we get her now me Lord?"
"No. We wait. Until she can maintain those gates or summon both keys simultaneously."
"Will you be creating anymore S-class demons for her and her team?"
"Maybe.. But for now it seems some of the other demons have other.. Plans.. We'll just wait and see how this plays out."
"Very good me Lord."
A demon that can make S-class demons?! And what does he want with Lucy? Dun dun duuuuuuun :D
I'm almost a quarter of the way into my story! Yaaaay! We need more summonings! And our favorite characters to make multiple appearances. And we need a strawberry to come in and save the day! Oh when will Ichigo ever come?!
Yes I'm holding out on certain summonings, you guys will understand why when they're finally summoned. Lucy can only hold these gates open for so long, do we want 5 minutes of Ichigo? I think not!
Did anyone else notice the mentioning of S-class exams? XD