Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.
Previously:
I hear boisterous laughter coming from the side, so I look over and up to see Pinky standing up nearby laughing his ass off. He says something to Gray which causes Gray to yell back. Pinky is about to shout again when he glances over to me and sees my gaze.
He points to his face and says happily, "Natsu."
Looking into his eyes, I smile and whisper back, "Natsu."
"My, my. What do we have here? I think Natsu just got himself an admirer." says a slyly smiling Lucy in a fake whisper while she watches Krystina and Natsu exchange names.
"They llllllllike each other!" cheerfully cries out the flying blue cat before snickering loudly.
"I do not, Happy!" shouts out Natsu angrily while he waves both of his arms wildly in the air. Gray returns with all his clothes on and has a smirk on his face.
He gives Natsu a look of confidence before raising his arms in the air in a shrug as he replies, "An admirer? Highly unlikely. Even she is too smart to like you, flame-brain." At this, the angry pink-haired guy jumps forward and raises up both fists.
"You wanna go, Popsicle?" growls out Natsu.
"Anytime, anywhere you overheated gecko." retorts Gray.
At this, both of them butt foreheads together in an attempt to out stare the other to get them to back down. Which doesn't work, as usual. Within seconds they begin fighting with fists and magic, embroiled in their long-time rivalry. Ezra stands up and is about to forcibly separate the two, when a rather loud gasp catches the attention of the females. There on the ground, Krystina is still sitting and is now staring wide eyed and open-jawed at the two guys. Her mouth starts to move like she wants to say something, but no sounds are forthcoming. With a shaky hand, she points at the boys and stammers out some word that is too soft to hear due to the noise of the fight.
Erza turns with a frown on her face and yells, "Both of you stop fighting and shut up!"
Snapping to attention, the males shout in unison, "Yes ma'am!" while getting on their knees and bowing their heads low to the ground. Satisfied. Erza turns back to the woman on the ground and tries to calm her down again.
Giving a light laugh, Lucy says, "She is an excitable one, isn't she?"
"Yes she is. Seems like everything is shocking to her." Erza replies before shifting her attention back to Krystina and crouching in front of the woman on the ground again. "Its ok, they stopped fighting now. No need to be scared. You're fine, Krystina. They aren't going to hurt you." At the sound of her name, the brunette takes her eyes off of the boys and focuses on the two girls. She then starts making movements with her hands trying to say something to them. Neither girl is able to figure out what she is trying to say in her language and movements.
The females shake their heads and shrug their shoulders signaling that they don't understand, which causes the unknown woman to slump down in a huff. Silence befalls the group for a few moments and Erza breaks it by standing up quickly and coughing.
With everyone's attention on her, Erza states, "Alright, we've been wasting enough time here. Let's get back to the Guild." She walks over to her wagon and everyone else picks up whatever they dropped on the ground. A moment later, the group is ready and they start walking off in the direction of the beach. All except the woman on the ground. She just watches them walk off with large eyes.
"Hey guys, what about her?" asks Happy the cat as he flies around their heads. At this, the group turn as one to look back towards the woman who was watching them leave. At their stares, she ducks her head and looks away.
Watching them walk away, I feel a pang of sadness in my heart. Why do I feel sad? I barely know them, much less can even talk to them. At the sound of the blue cat talking, I think his name was Happy, I see the group turn and look at me. I quickly look away in shame. I guess it's rude to watch people leave. What am I going to do when they're gone? This is a new place, most likely a new world and I don't know anything about it. Well, correction, I know one thing. Magic. This world has magic. A strange feeling starts to grow inside me at that thought.
Before I can dwell on it further, I'm broken out of my thoughts by a hand appearing in front of my face. I jerk upright to look into the smiling face of Lucy as she is crouched in front of me with the others behind her. I look at her hand, then at each of their faces in confusion. Lucy beckons me to get up, while Gray and Ezra nod in approval. I look at Natsu and he motions with his hand to get up as well. Suddenly feeling really happy, I smile at them before grabbing Lucy's hand and she helps me up. They give a cheer as I stand, which makes me even happier.
Smiling at them I notice that the guys are taller than me, Gray by half a head, and Natsu a little less. Erza and Lucy are about my height, Erza a little more, Lucy a little less. Lining up on either side of me, Lucy and Natsu each wrap an arm over my shoulders and give me a slight push. Linked together like this, we start walking down a path I haven't noticed before. Even though I have no idea where I am or why I am here, and there are demons, and magic, and flying, talking cats, this may not be such a bad place after all.
The group of 6 make quick time and soon arrive at a beautiful beach. The two older women just watch the boisterous antics of the younger members of the group with smiling faces. Happy insults Lucy causing her to chase him around for an attempt at revenge. He flies around just out of reach, to the irritation of the blonde girl. The boys kept getting into heated arguments which led to more fistfights. Erza would quickly step in and bark out an order which would cause the boys to sling their arms over the other's shoulder to act like they were the best of friends. This would cause Lucy and Krystina to giggle. They traveled down the beach for a half hour like this before a large ship appears in the distance.
Looking extremely startled, Gray shouts out, "A pirate ship!"
"Don't tell me you hijacked it! Whoa…" says Happy in awe as the stares at the ship.
Shaking in fear, Lucy screams out, "NO! I don't want to ride that!" She then shivers in fright.
Giving Lucy an easygoing smile, Natsu replies, "If you're going to swim, I'll accompany you."
"Not going to happen!" snaps Lucy, immediately shooting down the idea.
Erza pays the younger members no mind, while Krystina just gawks at the ship. The high-strung antics of the younger group members settle into easy-going silence. Lucy would give the ship a nervous look and shiver now and again. As they continue to move along the beach, a large group of people appear out of the jungle close to the ship.
"Hey! It looks like the villagers are here to send us off!" squeals a now excited Lucy. She waves to them and shouts are heard coming from the larger group. The large brunette starts to slow down as she stares intently at the group. Erza notices this action, but doesn't say anything. She just keeps a closer eye on their new traveling companion. When the group gets close enough to start making out the villagers clearly, Krystina stops with a large gasp. Turning almost as one, the friends see her eyes widen in fear.
"Not this again." mutters Gray, starting to get annoyed. The large woman takes a step backwards, still staring at the villagers. She quickly spins towards the woods to make a break for it. Before Erza can say anything, Natsu, who was closest to the frightened woman, quickly grabs her by the wrist. Digging in his heels, he effectively stops her escape. Lucy and Happy both share a worried look at how afraid the brunette is. Erza just nods in approval at Natsu's quick actions.
"Hey Lucy, she looks really scared of the villagers." comments Happy quietly.
"Yea, she does." replies Lucy just as quietly while she goes to hold the blue cat in her arms.
"Tch." Gray says irritably as he looks away from the scene. Krystina tugs against Natsu's grip trying to get him to follow her if he won't let go. She says something in a begging tone as she looks over to the rest of the group.
"They aren't going to hurt you. It's ok." calmly says Natsu. She shakes her head before pointing back at the villagers and tugging harder. When Krystina lets up enough to change her stance, Natsu quickly pulls her to him and immediately gets her in a one-armed embrace. Everybody looks at him, stunned at his sudden move. Recovering quickly, she starts struggling against his hold. He just tightens his grip, causing her face to be smothered in his scarf.
Gray, Erza, and Lucy all share looks of silent agreement to stay back and see how this plays out. Krystina struggles and pushes against Natsu for a few moments before she gives up. A few more seconds later and Natsu's grip visibly loosens. Without warning, the large woman seems to collapse, startling everyone. She seems to of fainted until in a practiced motion, she twists her body and arm to break the wrist grip Natsu still had on her. Not stopping her fall, the brunette uses the momentum to keep turning until she is facing away from the others and takes off towards the woods again.
"Stop!" Erza orders. Unheeding the command, the mystery woman keeps running.
"Catch her flame-brain!" shouts Gray.
His voice seems to jump start the slightly dazed pink-haired man. Dropping his pack, Natsu dashes over and quickly catches up to the woman before she makes it to the woods. This time he catches her in a full on embrace, trapping her arms to her sides. She shouts something in frustration and tries to shake off Natsu's hold. The frightened woman puts up a good fight, even flipping Natsu completely over her shoulder to try to make him let go of her. Unfortunately for the brunette, his hold doesn't break and she gets pulled down as well. Krystina is slightly stunned by the impact before shaking her head to clear it and renewing her struggles.
She tries a new tactic by repeatedly kicking the pink-haired man wherever she can while still trying to squirm out of his hold. Natsu quickly has had enough of her kicks after a few strong blows to his legs. With a loud roar, he quickly pins down both of her legs with his, effectively ending her struggles. She wiggles against the hold for a bit before slumping again in defeat. Not wanting to be tricked again, he keeps a tight hold on the larger woman. The others stand where they are, watching in silence. Unseen by the others, the woman is shaking in Natsu's hold.
He leans his head close to her ear and makes shushing noises, like how one would try to calm a frightened animal. As her shaking continues, he uses his hands to gently rub up and down her arms without relaxing his hold. Her shaking stops after a few minutes, and he continues his ministrations to calm the frightened woman down more. When she releases a sigh and relaxes in his arms, Natsu tentatively relaxes his hold. He stops rubbing her arms and releases her legs. The rest of the group takes this a signal that they can get closer and they silently approach the two on the ground. Natsu helps Krystina off of the ground, but doesn't completely let go of her.
She dusts herself off a bit and reluctantly turns to face the others. The trails left by tears on her cheeks can be clearly seen through the dirt and sand on her face. Gray jumps back like he is burned while Lucy rushes to help comfort the crying woman. Natsu continues to keep his hands on her upper arms to prevent any more escape attempts, but he does back up a bit to give her some more personal space. Gray stands back with Happy to observe the others while Erza also approaches the huddled trio. She hands the large woman a handkerchief to use for her nose. The brunette ducks her head in thanks before using it. Erza stands there watching them before nodding to herself like as if she came to a decision.
"Natsu!" she calls out sternly while clamping a hand on his shoulder. Catching everyone's attention she continues speaking without pausing. Fear shows on Natsu's face, causing Krystina to cringe away from Erza as well. "Since it seems you're the best one to catch and calm her when she runs, I'm putting you in charge of Krystina. She will be your responsibility until we decide matters later."
Stiff as a board, he replies without hesitation, "Aye, sir!" Too scared of Erza's wrath to argue.
"I also want to add that if you do anything untoward or let anything happen to her, you will regret it. Understand? Good. Now let's get her moving again, I would at least like to get back to Harujion before night." She ends matter-of-factually.
When I finish up using the handkerchief, I give the others an uneasy smile. Natsu lets go of my arms and grabs one of my wrists while Lucy grabs the other. They gently try to pull me towards the demons again. I dig in my heels and refuse to budge. They give me encouraging smiles and tug again. Still unsure, I try not to get pulled forward. Happy, Gray, and Erza join us and I get bombarded with smiles and nods of reassurance. They all seem so comfortable and confident. Maybe they know what they are doing. They seem so nice, maybe I could try trusting them. Another tug, and I let myself move forward a step.
The smiles increase and I move forward another step. Before I know it, I'm walking down the beach again, heading towards the mass of demons. Natsu on my left, Lucy on my right, both of them holding onto my wrists. Lucy switches from wrist to my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze in encouragement. Natsu gives me these happy boyish smiles to help me stay calm. Happy stays silent, but flies around everyone in circles with a smile on his face. As we close the distance between the demons and us, I become nervous again. I start to tremble more with each step.
My steps slow, but I don't stop. Soon I am close enough to be able to tell each demon apart. Happy decides to bother Lucy with something which causes her to let go of my hand as she deals with the cat. Still scared, I move to walk behind Natsu to use his height as a shield to help hide the demons from my view. Why does it have to be demons? The one thing I'm afraid of more than anything. At the awkward angle, he lets go of my wrist and out of impulse I grab the back of his black vest and his scarf. It gives me a bit more courage as we approach. Nearing 10 yards away, the group stop near the demons. By now, I'm almost whimpering in fear as I huddle up against Natsu's back, trying to hide myself from the demon's view.
I hear strange voices call out towards us and I see Lucy, Gray, and Erza move forward to greet and interact with the demons. Thankfully, Natsu stays back allowing me to stay huddled close behind him and I can peek over his shoulder and scarf. After a few moments of watching everyone interact, I realize something. These demons don't act evil. They seem nice and friendly. Just like regular people. I let out a small gasp as the significance hits me and hearing it, Natsu turns to look down over his shoulder at me and grins. He motions his head towards the group and his grin widens in encouragement.
Erza, Gray, and Lucy were saying their goodbyes to their newly made friends. All were laughing, smiling, and hugging. Most of the way through the goodbyes, a sudden hush befalls the villagers. Turning around they see their latest friend Krystina who is no longer hiding behind Natsu. Looking nervous, she takes a few steps forward before stopping about halfway between Natsu and the villagers. Taking a deep breath she bows down very low and shouts out some words they don't understand. After the initial shout, her voice calms as she speaks.
They may not know what she is saying, but what they do understand is her meaning behind the words. Her apology. Her shame and embarrassment of her fear toward them. Her sorrow at judging them by their looks. As soon as her speech finishes and she stands up again, the tears were seen in her eyes. Almost as one, the villagers rush towards the brunette to envelop her in a giant group hug to show that they forgave her. Krystina let out a squeak of surprise seeing the whole village heading towards her, but she quickly overcomes her surprise and smiles nervously.
Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy all look at each other and share nods and smiles of approval. The villagers shout and cheer for the larger woman and for the mages. Lucy walks over to stand by Natsu amid the chaos and shares a pleased smile with him.
"Whatever you did or said sure did the trick eh, Natsu?" she says to him. He shrugs it off.
"Didn't really do anything, just kept her calm so she can see that they weren't bad." he replies nonchalantly.
"Still, you did a good job." she chirps back happily.
On the deck of the pirate boat, I stand with Lucy waving goodbye to the villagers until they are too small to make out. We look at each other and giggle. I hear some sounds from behind me and I turn to see Erza and Gray talking. Lucy soon joins them and I notice that Natsu and Happy are missing. I hear an all too familiar noise coming from the right side of the ship. Turning to look, I see that Natsu is hanging over the side, tossing his cookies.
Happy, who is flying above Natsu, says something before flying to the others which leaves him alone. Oh poor thing, he gets seasick. Maybe the others haven't noticed yet, I'll see if they can help. The three other people stop talking as I approach. I give them a look of worry as I point over to Natsu to signal my concern. Looking to where I am pointing, they laugh and wave it off. Like it wasn't a big deal.
"Look at him, can't you help at all?" I plead. They say something flippantly and turn back to each other and keep talking. I frown at this. Well that's just cold-hearted. Fine, if you won't go, I'll see if I can help then. Huffing in disappointment, I turn away from the group as make my way towards Natsu. I walk up beside him and touch his shoulder lightly to let him know I'm there.
After he finishes his current round of hurling, he looks slowly over to me with the most pitiful look. My heart aches for him. I just hate seeing people in misery. Oh poor Natsu. I know how it sucks when you get sick and have to hurl, a lot. I'll do what I can to help. I give him a sympathetic smile and start to tug off his backpack and sleeping roll. He stands up straight just long enough to let me get it off of him before he has to hang off the edge again. I make shushing noises and rub his back in circles, giving what comfort I can.
It seems to help a little bit. From the look and sound of it, his stomach is close to being empty and the dry heaves will start soon. I cringe at the thought, remembering all the times I've been sick at my old job. I know exactly how he feels. Nausea is not something to be taken lightly, especially when you get it often. I don't know how it is for him, but for me the dry heaves are the worst. I start to alternate between massaging and rubbing his back. Each episode he has seems shorter than the last, and it takes longer before he has another one. Somewhere during this, Happy made his way over to watch us.
I look over at him to see him staring at me intently. I get slightly flustered at this. Ok, why is he giving me that strange look? Is it wrong to help this poor guy when he is so distressed? Seemingly coming to some sort of decision, he nods and helps me rub Natsu's back. I give him a grin in thanks and turn my attention back to the poor pink-haired guy. I think for a bit, trying to come up with something else that I can do right now. Maybe a soothing song perhaps? I start to lightly hum a song that reminds me of home and always calms me down when I hear it.
By the time I repeat the song for a third time, his convulsions seems to have ceased. He still lets out some low groans, but seems to be finished hurling. He feebly lifts himself off of the side and almost flops to the floor. I barely catch him by the waist in the nick of time and I help him stand on his shaky legs. I put his arm over my shoulders and hold onto it to support him before wrapping my other arm around his waist so I can carry him if needed. He gives me such a grateful smile that it melts my heart and causes me to blush. I look away to gather my thoughts and refocus on easing his discomfort.
Since it is the ship's movements that are causing this, he should feel better in the middle of the ship. The rolling should be lessened there. I start leading him towards the middle of the ship, letting him set the pace. We pass by the others and I look over at them. They are giving me these really surprised looks. It is like they never expected someone to help him. I glare and snort in disapproval at them before looking away. Some friends they are. They don't even lift a finger to help him when he is in obvious distress. We maneuver around some barrels and rope and other things a ship seems to need to have on the deck. I lean him up against a wall in the middle of the ship, near the door that leads into the interior.
Making sure we were far enough from it that if the door opened we wouldn't get hit, I let him slide down until he was sitting. I join him right after he settles down. He is still breathing heavy, but doesn't look like he is going to throw up anymore. His eyes are tightly shut in concentration. I remember back to my American Red Cross and basic first aid courses that I took a couple of years ago. Ok, now that he seems to of calmed down, he needs something to drink so he won't be getting dehydrated. I don't know how long we will be here on this ship. So the sooner we take care of this, the better off he will be in the long run.
Using the wall as support, I stand up planning on finding someone to help me get some water. As if on cue, one of the crew members happened by and I wave my arms to get his attention. Using my pantomime skills, I do my best to convey to the pirate that I would like to get a drink for Natsu. The pirate nods with a grin and motions for me to wait there. I hope that its water or juice and not something alcoholic. Natsu lets out a groan and I turn to look down at him. I see that his face is starting to have that green look to it again. I move to sit beside him, this time facing the wall.
Leaning him forward so his head can rest on my shoulder, I start humming and rubbing his back again. Like what I would do for a sick child. I resist the urge to rock him as well since that will most likely make his seasickness worse. A moment later, I feel a quick tap on my free shoulder. Twisting my head back to look, I see that it is the pirate, back with a cup of something with Happy floating behind him. I thank the pirate the best I can and after he leaves I sniff at the cup. Hmm, no smell. Good sign that it isn't alcohol. Still, better do a taste check first.
Quick sip. Tastes like water to me, slightly woody and stale, but better than nothing. Setting the cup beside me, I gently nudge Natsu off of my shoulder and lean him against the wall again. Gently, I tap his face to get his attention since his eyes are still closed. I bring the cup over to his face and motion for him to drink when he finally opens them. Natsu groans and shakes his head, but I continue to motion that he should drink. Happy says something to Natsu that seems to convince him. He takes the cup from me in shaky hands. I steady the cup for him and he drinks the water in one go.
He lets out a relieved sigh and mumbles something to me. I laugh and say, "You're welcome." He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. I watch his face for any signs of possible signs of distress. I hear Happy say something and looking back towards him, I see he has a smirk on his face. I grin back which seems to catch the cat off-guard. Hmm? I wonder what it was he said. I reach over and pat his head a few times.
"You're a close friend to Natsu, aren't you, Happy?" I ask him, knowing that he wouldn't understand.
He looks at me confused and I just warmly smile down at him. Turning back to Natsu, I check his breathing and pulse before coming to the conclusion that he will be fine for now. Since he is sleeping, I should make him more comfortable. He could get a crick in his neck sleeping like that. I slowly unwrap Natsu's scarf so I won't wake the poor guy and lay it to the side so he can have an easier time breathing. I look in surprise to see an old scar on the right side of his neck. Now how did he get that? I hope it wasn't serious. I can ask him about it later.
"Happy." I say softly to the blue cat. He looks up at me with those wide eyes. I motion for him to stay and he nods before sitting next to Natsu. Getting up, I head back to the side of the ship to retrieve Natsu's pack from where we left it. Doing so means I pass by the others in our group.
I hear them talking to each other and I ignore them still feeling miffed about their lack of regard for their friend. Picking up the backpack, I grunt a bit in surprise on how heavy it is. Feels like my high school backpack when I have it crammed full of all my textbooks. Or about a bag of chicken feed back home. With a bit of a grunt, I swing the bag over one shoulder and make my way back to my sleeping patient. Letting the bag drop down with a thump, I pull out the blanket on top of the pack. After a moment I have it folded up and lay it on the floor next to the wall. Then crouching down, I guide Natsu's sleeping body to the wooden deck to lay on his back, and have the blanket act as his bed.
Standing up again, I look down at him and smile at his sleeping face. He does seem a lot more peaceful now. I hope that I was able to help. Happy who has been watching me, decides to fly back to the other group. I spare them only a passing glance, still in my 'Doctor mode'. I'm more concerned of the welfare of the guy who I decided to take charge of. Not knowing how bad he stays seasick or how long we will be at sea, I plan on doing my best to make sure he will be okay. After all, he helped me probably more than he realizes with my fear of those nice demons.
I sigh a bit at the memory of my last escape attempt. What is it about him that is so damn calming? I guess I just have to take care of him now so maybe I can find out more about him later. If I remember my lessons correctly, without proper treatment seasickness can become deadly if the person isn't taken care of after a few days. I hope this trip doesn't last long for his sake. Man, it's too bad that I don't have my bag that I carry medicine in. Then again, it's not like I was planning on coming to this world.
With things now peaceful, or at least as peaceful as it could be on a pirate ship, I sit back to relax and sort through everything I learned since I got to this world.
"Guys! Guys! Natsu doesn't seem sick anymore!" exclaimed a joyful Happy as he flew over to his friends.
"EH!?" replies the group all at once, surprised by this news.
"Happy, is this true?" asks Erza.
He does a back flip in the air before saying cheerfully, "Aye, sir!"
"Well this is an interesting turn of events." says Gray, quickly recovering from shock. He then asks, "What is he doing now?"
"Sleeping from the look of it. I've never seen him look like that while on transportation." Happy replies in a cheerful manner.
"And Krystina?" questions Erza.
"She is staring at Natsu a lot. I think she is broke." the cat answers.
A sly smirk appears on Lucy's face as she says in relief, "Maybe we can convince her to join us on future missions so we don't have to deal with Natsu's motion sickness anymore."
Erza glares hard at Lucy and asks angrily, "What future missions?"
"Oh, that's right, the punishment for breaking the rules." whimpers out a frightened Lucy. Scared out of their wits, Lucy, Gray, and Happy huddle up in fear hoping Erza won't hurt them as the red-head oozes out an evil aura.
I stay near Natsu for the whole trip, which lasted less than the whole day to my surprise and relief. Staying in 'Doctor mode' the whole time, I had him wake up every now and again to drink more water that I was able to procure from the pirates before letting him go back to sleep. When he starts groaning, I would either hum or turn him onto his side to rub his back. Happy comes by to check on Natsu now and again, otherwise I'm largely left to myself. The rest of the time that I am not taking care of the sick man, I am thinking about my situation. I came to the conclusion that until I can at least learn the language, I should try to go with the flow and not be surprised by everything.
Never in my life would I of thought that I would somehow get 'magically' whisked away to some far off place. Magic, huh? I wonder if that really was magic I saw those two use in that scuffle or was I just seeing things. There are nice demons, cats that can fly and speak, I guess it wouldn't be too far off the mark to think that there is magic as well. I look up into the sky and watch the clouds with a heavy sigh. Can anyone learn magic in this place, or only a select few? What kinds of magic is there? I look back down at the sleeping male. His complexion still seems to be normal, that's a good sign.
"I wish I could talk to you and everyone else, I have so many questions." I sigh wistfully.
I hear shouts coming from the pirates and I turn to look behind me to see that we are approaching a sprawling port town ahead. I look over at my traveling companions in curiosity and see that they are gathering their gear together. Ah, so I guess that confirms my suspicions that Natsu and them are only passengers and not pirates. Seems weird that pirates would act like a passenger ship. Maybe they aren't pirates and just look like them? Oh well, just another one for the question pile. I turn back to Natsu who is still sleeping peacefully, despite the increase of noise.
I kneel down by his head and gently tap his shoulder to wake him up. His eyes open at my touch and I motion for him to get up. He nods with a smile and I smile back while handing him back his scarf. As we near the port, the ship rocks a bit more violently which causes Natsu's face to pale as he sits up. I rub his back and slowly lean him against the wall again. Gathering his blanket, I roll it up and attach it back to Natsu's pack before shouldering the load myself. We wait for the ship to dock and get secured. The rocking becomes barely noticeable now and his complexion comes back some. I move to put his arm over my shoulders to help him up, but he refuses.
Stubborn guy. Heh. Ah well, I would do the same. He makes it up on shaky legs and I stand up beside him ready to support him as needed. He slowly and cautiously works his way across the deck. I stay close beside him, keeping an eye on his condition. About halfway across the ship, the rolling motion starts getting to Natsu again. I quickly wrap an arm around his waist to steady him. I already see that the rest of the gang is waiting for us when Natsu and I reach the side of the ship. Walking down the gangplank was horrible. I'm worried it would break under our weight, and its wobbliness had Natsu's face turn green again.
I could feel his abdominal muscles start convulsing, and I turn him to lean out over the water as soon as we were off the gangplank. Turning to face his side and shrugging his pack off of my shoulders, I wrap my other arm around the front of his waist to keep him from possibly falling in. I take my other arm and move it upwards so I can rub his shoulders and also keep his scarf from getting soiled.
After a minute or two, Natsu's complexion begins to get better again. I continue to rub his back as he stands upright and I remove my arm that was holding him up. I gently lead him away from the edge of the dock so we are less likely to have some accident. As I kept working on Natsu to help him recover, I look back at the gang to see them staring at me, almost awestruck.
Forgetting that we don't speak the same language, I ask them, "Why are ya'll looking at me like that?" They shake their heads in amazement and don't say anything. Ok, now I am confused. They seem to be friends, but they don't care when he is seasick. And when I help him they look at me like its amazing. W. T. H. For real. I give the group a long appraising look.
Either something is messed up with this friendship, or maybe its some sort of cultural rule thing I messed up. Either way, its confusing and another thing to ask about. I'm shaken out of my thoughts by a loud whoop coming from Natsu as he moves away to do a happy dance and cheer. I chuckle at the sight to see him so energetic after his recovery. Guess he is more of a kid than an adult. Still, its cute and I'm happy... I'm shaken out of my thoughts for a second time in just as many moments, by a big bear hug from behind. Next thing I know, I'm lifted up and spun around real fast. I shriek out in surprise at the fact that my feet aren't on the ground.
For some reason, this really freaks me out. I flail my limbs and scream in terror while I hear Natsu shouting something behind me. Not soon enough I'm back on my feet. My heart is beating rapidly and I'm breathing heavily trying to recover from that shock. That was soooo not fun. My knees get weak, and I slump down to the ground on my hands and knees with Natsu still hugging me from behind. His shouting hasn't stopped just yet and when he does, he hugs me even tighter. Hearing laughter, I turn my head to see the others laughing at us. Or most likely at me for that shriek. Heh, now I know why my female friends hated it when I hugged and spun them around fast. Looks like they got their revenge without even trying. That's karma for ya.
Everyone but Erza starts talking towards Natsu and me in a mocking tone while giving us amused looks. Natsu retorts back at them angrily. When Gray says something that sounds insulting, Natsu lets me go and almost flew to Gray in a rage to start another fight. Feeling recovered from my earlier terror, I laugh lightly along with Lucy as Erza says something which causes them to suddenly act all buddy-buddy for who knows how many times today. Erza then looks at me, before saying something to the others in a serious tone. They look at me, then back at Erza before replying. Oooookay. Now what is going on? Jeez, its annoying not knowing the language.
She raises her arm in a signal like they are moving out. I grab a strap of Natsu's pack as I stand back up from my earlier fright, when his hand stops me. He gives me a big smile and signals that he is okay. I nod and he swings it on his shoulders in a practiced motion. Erza turns to walk down the street with her luggage wagon trailing behind. The others follow quietly along and I walk behind them. We take a lot of twists and turns in this maze of streets until Erza decides to stop at some random shop. She says something quietly and goes in alone.
I decide to take a seat on the ground and rub my feet. They started making their complaints known a few streets back. Just socks and cobblestone streets don't mix. Owies. Just about as bad as breaking in new shoes. I hope we don't have to walk for a while. I take off my bright red fuzzy socks to massage them better. That's when I realize something. My mind has been so focused on everything going on that I forgot that I have been wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and a nightgown. I feel my face heat up in embarrassment and I look down to hide the blush.
Oh thank the gods above that I didn't decide to wear my thin silk gown. That would be sooo embarrassing! Well more embarrassing then being in this nightgown. Dammit, well this is great. I need to get new clothes as well I can't run around in just these clothes… Crap, I'm an idiot! Been so caught up about magic and stuff that I didn't even think about how I'm going to support myself. I grab my socks to try to clean them so I can have something for my hands to do as I think more about my situation. What am I going to do for food, and clothes, and stuff much less trying to get back home? I don't want to burden these guys. I don't know how I can earn whatever passes for currency in these parts.
Realizing the extent on how bad my situation is, I give up trying to be gentle on my socks. Violently shaking out as much dirt and sand as I can, I go to put them in my pocket before I remember my iPod. Oops. That wouldn't do. Don't want dirt and stuff to gunk up the electronics. Better check on it. I reach into my pocket and find nothing.
"What the…?" I mutter to myself. I dig deeper into my pocket and I quickly change to the other pocket on my sweatpants again to find nothing. "Aw dammit." I whine to myself. I slump down feeling depressed that I lost one of the few links I had to my home.
"Klistina?" I look up to see Lucy standing in front of me with a questioning look on her face. I give her a sad smile and pat my empty pockets while shaking my head no. I look down again, still depressed. I feel a tap on my head and I look up again to see her holding out my iPod and headphones. Happiness floods through my system as I smile widely and nod yes while reaching out for it. She hands the iPod over before sitting next to me. She looks at it questioningly and points at it. Ah, so she is curious. Hmm, odds are there isn't any wi-fi, so I can't do anything that needs it. That takes out a lot of functions.
I click the home button and swipe to open it, I hear a small noise of surprise beside me and I grin at her. Looking through the apps, I decide to choose something simple. Music. I tap on the app and go to lengthen the wire on my retractable headphones when I feel a warmth on my other side. Glancing over, I see Natsu looking at the iPod in curiosity and Gray walking over as well to see it. Still grinning, I detach the cord from the jack while quickly retracting the cord before slipping it in my pocket. I start scanning through the play lists before settling on one I simply have labeled as Me.
Adjusting the volume, I tap play and a soft, gentle, Celtic melody starts. I see their pleasantly surprised reactions and that makes me feel happy. An sudden weight settles on my head and before I react, I feel something furry along my neck. I grab at it to see a blue tail with a white tip. Ah, so that's Happy on my head. He better be house trained. The song ends after a few minutes and I scroll through the list to look for another song to let them listen to. I settle on one of my favorite songs, Love's the Only House sung by my favorite female singer, Martina Mcbride.
As the opening chords start, I close my eyes and I feel a weight lift from my heart. I always feel like I come home when I hear her music no matter where I am. As the song gets to the second chorus I start singing softly with it, forgetting about the other people by me.
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain
You drive three miles from all this prosperity
Down across the river and you see a ghetto there
And we got children walking around with guns
And they got knives and drugs and pain to spare
And here I am in my clean white shirt
With a little money in my pocket and a nice warm home
And we got teenagers walkin' around in a culture of darkness
Livin' together alone...all I can say
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain
And I can't explain it and I can't understand
But I'll come down and get my hands dirty and together we'll make a stand
Somewhere 'cross the parking lot some bands playin' out of tune
City streets are gonna burn if we don't do something soon
And señorita can't quit cryin baby's due now any day
Don Juan left got sick of trying
No one there to show him the way
She came down to the grocery store and she said I-
I wanna buy a little carton of milk but I don't have any money
I said hey I'll cover you honey 'cause the pain's gotta go somewhere
Yeah the pain's gotta go someplace
So come on down to my house
Don't you know that
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain
Don't you know that
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain
I feel a hug suddenly envelop me from the side before the song's ending chords are done. I open my eyes in surprise and see nothing but blonde hair. A cold hand touches my face to wipe away a tear I didn't know was there. Lucy moves her head to reveal Gray's softly smiling face and his hand on my cheek. A warm arm reaches around my waist and an even warmer body presses up next to mine on the other side.
I turn my head to see Natsu grinning at me like a fool. Happy moves off my head to land in my lap and hugs me the best he can. A soft tap on top of my head causes me to look up into Erza's smiling face as well. Looking at those five faces with cheerful smiles causes a happy bubbling feeling to well up in my heart.
"Everyone." I say softly before I start smiling and cry some more. These people. We barely know each other and yet here they are making me feel like I'm just as loved by them as I am by my own family. I don't know how or why I am here or even if I can get back. But I think that if they are with me, it won't be a lonely journey. The next song that starts playing is another one sung by Martina, this one is called Happy Girl.
It fits the moment, perfectly. I switch off the music and turn off the iPod's power to save the battery before giving everyone a hug. Happy flies out of my lap after I hug him first. It did take a bit to get untangled from Lucy and Natsu as they cling to me while I tried to get up to hug Ezra. Gray extends a helpful hand and I give him a smile of thanks as he helps me up. Erza roughly shoves my head to hit her armored chest during her hug.
"Ow!" I cry out in pain. When she lets go, I pout and rub my head where it hit the armor. The others laugh and give sympathetic looks. Ah, so that's normal for her then.
"Klistina." I look back to Erza to see that she is holding out what looks like some sort of ear piece. Gesturing for me to take it, I pick it up and look at it. Hmm, odd. Looks kinda like the rubbery bit on my ear buds. Smaller though. I look back at her and she motions for me to put it in my ear. Curiouser and curiouser. I place it in my ear and I get a large jolt not unlike an electric shock. I quickly dig it out and shake my head to clear it. My heart beating rapidly from that shock. Damn, felt that one in my heart. Just like when I touched that metal flagpole while still getting out of that electric fence.
I look at the little piece and then I give Erza a 'what the fuck?' look. She looks at the piece and corrects the position. Then motions for me to try again. I look at it feeling a bit uneasy. She nods in encouragement and much more cautiously I put it in my ear ready to snatch it out if I get another jolt. This time nothing. Huh? Ok, what now?
Looking back at her, I raise an eyebrow and she smiles before speaking, "Hello, Krystina. Are you able to understand what I am saying?"
"Eh!" I just exclaim stupidly.
The two guys walk up next to Erza to face me while Lucy stays by my side and all three say in unison, "Glad to meet you, Krystina."
I touch the little bit of rubber and say thoughtfully, "Huh, so it's a translator, two-way I'm assuming. That was a hell of a jolt it gave me though."
"That was due to a magical feedback that was caused when you placed it in backwards. I'm sorry for not making sure it was in proper position before you placed it in your ear. And you're right, it is two-way so we can understand you and vice versa." explains Erza.
"Ok, that makes sense. And that answers one of my questions already. Don't worry about the shock, its not the first time I got a shock like that." I reply. I look at each of them before closing my eyes with a relieved sigh. "You have no idea how good it is to finally be able to talk to y'all normally." Opening my eyes, I grin widely before continuing, "It was getting frustrating. And hello to all of y'all as well. I'm Krystina Skye VanHawkins, you can call me Krysti, and I'm pleased to meet you too." I get bombarded by various greetings all at once, making it hard to tell who said what.
"I have soooo many questions to ask!" I say excitedly as the initial greetings die down. I feel my stomach give out a low growl at this point which causes me some embarrassment.
"Natsu! That's rude!" Lucy huffs out while putting her hands on her hips.
I raise my hand while feeling bashful, and say, "Guilty. And I guess that would be my first question, could we go get something to eat?"
Lucy quickly blushes and looks down in embarrassment. "Sorry, Natsu. Sorry, Krysti."
Natsu just grins and says, "It's ok, Luce. No hard feelings. I'm feeling hungry anyways." He pats his stomach for added emphasis. I look over at him and my inner doctor kicks in again.
"That's right! We need to get some food in you, mister. After that seasickness bout, you're gunna get dehydrated if we don't get some more liquids in you as well." I say to him while putting one hand on my hip and using the other to point at him. Natsu blinks in surprise at my words before suddenly lunging at me and capturing both of my hands in his. Startled, I just gape at his actions.
He gives me a very intense look with a few tears gathering in corner of his eyes before saying extremely seriously, "You are the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful person I have ever met."
Flattered, confused, and flustered, I feel my cheeks warm up a lot at his intense gaze and the praise. "Now that can't be true…" I start to contradict him when he interrupts me, still serious.
"Nuh-uh! It's true. No one ever took care of me like you did when I get motion sickness!" So its all motion, not just the sea. His grip on my hands tightens as he continues on in a more angry tone, "Not even my so-called friends over there did as much as you did the whole time I knew them!" Shocked, I look over to the others.
"Is that true?" I ask. All I got was a cough and no one would look me in the eyes. Incredulous at their actions, I ask, "Seriously? You do this every time?" His hold on my hands lessens as he steps back to listen to my budding rant. "Aren't you guys suppose to be friends? But yet none of y'all would try to take care of him when he gets that way? What kind of messed up friendship is that?" I end snappishly. A friendship like this gets me really steamed up. If this is how they treat their friends, maybe I would be better off without them.
All four of them look down at the ground, ashamed. I start to berate them. "That's right, y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. I mean seriously, I could maybe, maybe, understand every now and again if it he did something to deserve it, but every time? Really?"
Erza clears her throat before meeting my angry gaze with a stern stare of her own. "Well, I would actually knock him unconscious with a swift punch to the stomach so he didn't have to be awake and suffer through it." Hearing this, all my protective feelings went into overdrive. I hate seeing people mistreat others. More so if they are suppose to be friends, and especially if they are people I consider one of my patients. It doesn't matter if I barely know these people. This pushed my buttons in a way like never before.
I was mad.
I was angry.
No, I am pissed.
I pull my hands out of Natsu's to march over to the red-head and I snap at her, "You punch him? In the stomach? When he is suffering from motion sickness? That's a horrible way to help! Haven't each of you at one point have an upset stomach and nausea? How would you feel getting punched in the stomach while your feeling that way?! Hasn't anyone heard of motion sickness pills? Or if you wanted him to sleep, some sleeping pills? At the very least give him some frickin' ginger root to chew on!" I end in a shout.
Looking indignant at my accusations, she glares angrily back before heatedly replying, "We didn't know about cures for motion sickness! If we did, of course we would of gotten him some!"
I glare back, not breaking my gaze and snarl, "Did you even try to find out if there were any cures? Did you even bother to check for any?" She looks shocked at my accusation and starts to reply before stopping and hanging her head down.
"No, I didn't." she replies in a quiet, defeated tone. I turn my glare on the other three and they jump back in fear.
"And how about you three? Did either one of y'all even bother asking?" I growl. Silence met my questions. "Just as I thought, and you call yourselves his friends. Tsk." I hiss out. I turn to look at Natsu and my anger melts. He stares at me like he is in complete shock. I walk back to Natsu and catch him in a hug.
Softly I say, "You poor thing. Being nauseous for hours on end is a terrible feeling. I've been through that myself, more than once." I step back from him and I rest my hands on his shoulders. He gives me an unreadable expression, not saying anything.
"Shall we go find a place to go eat? I'm sure you must be starved." I warmly say while smiling up at him.
Closing his eyes, he shakes his head before answering, "Not yet. First, I would like you to apologize to my friends for being too harsh." Stunned, I just gape at him. He pauses before continuing in a calm voice, "They may be inconsiderate about certain things, they may be jerks. Especially ice-bastard over there." He glares over in Gray's direction before looking back towards me. "They may be frustrating. But they are my friends, my family. Through the good times and the bad, family sticks together. Maybe they needed to hear from someone new to the family to point out a mistake, but I think that you were too harsh on them. Even if you're just trying to help me." he explains.
Touched by the strength of his love for his family that I could hear in Natsu's words, I nod in acquiesce despite my anger. Letting go of his shoulders, I walk over to Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Erza before giving each of them a long disapproving look. Inside I'm still seething at his mistreatment by them, but I push that down to take control of my emotions. Before I am able to do anything else, Erza drops down on her hands and knees in a very subservient bow. The ring of her armor hitting the cobblestones echoes loudly in the silence.
I blink back my surprise as she starts to speak, "Krysti has been correct in everything that she said. I must apologize to you Natsu, for my lack of consideration for your condition. I have believed that I was right in my actions and now I have been shown the error of my ways. I have treated one of my family badly, and ignored their suffering for too long! I deserve a punishment! Please do what you see fit!"
I take a step back, unsure on how to proceed. Looking back towards Natsu, I see that he too has a stunned expression on his face. Glancing at me, he nods for me to continue. Facing forward again, I take two steps towards the others before bowing as well. I bow as deeply to them as I have for the island demons.
I then begin to speak, "I must apologize as well. Natsu is right, I have spoken too harshly about matters that do not concern me. I feel that people are important and should treat each other with kindness. Friends and family more so as they are extremely precious and must be treasured. So seeing what seems to be mistreatment of those important bonds, I have allowed my passion to control me and I have spoken harshly. Please forgive me and my words."I close my eyes and remain bowing.
I hear Lucy begin speaking, "No, what you said was true. We ignored the suffering of one of our own. We are the ones who should be apologizing. Nastu, we're so, so sorry! Please, can you forgive us?"
"Umm, yea… I'm sorry as well." said Gray in a lame way. Feeling a tap on the small of my back, I look up to see Natsu motioning me to stand up. He gives me a small smile of approval. As I do so, I see that Lucy is bowed just like me and Gray looking away and shifting around uncomfortably. His shirt was off again. What is up with this guy and clothes? Like seriously. Natsu walks over to Lucy and has her stand as well. He motions me to join them and I feel curious at what is happening. Natsu then crouches down in front of Erza who has not moved and taps her on the head.
She looks up at him and he then grabs her arms to have her stand up. Getting us all together, he faces us with a stern expression. After looking at all of us, Natsu closes his eyes and lowers his head like he is thinking. After a few seconds, his head pops back up with a large grin plastered on his face.
"Everyone is forgiven! After all, we're all family and we forgive each other for mistakes when they're made." he cries out cheerfully. At that, he plows into us for a large group hug. Out of reflex from years of never being considered part of a group, I sidestep out of the way so as to not mistakenly get caught up in the hug. I'm glad that he is able to forgive them. Maybe now they will treat him better. I quickly spin away from the happy scene to give them their 'moment' together. Looking everywhere else, I notice something red on the ground. I walk over to find that I've forgotten about my socks.
I pick them up and slip them into my empty pocket when a sudden silence catches my attention and I turn to see what caused it. I step back in surprise when I see five stern faces staring at me. What the…? Why are they looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?
An angry Natsu stomps over toward me and grabs one of my wrists before dragging me into the middle of the group.
"You're family now." he states in a tone that brooks no argument. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. They accept people this easily into their family? They don't know me.
"Aye, sir! You're family now." A high pitched voice quavers. I turn to look into the crying face of Happy who is flying just above us.
"You're now a part of our family." I look at Erza as she says that.
"Welcome." Gray.
"Welcome to the family, Krysti." Lucy.
Natsu grabs one of my hands and holds it up, soon to be enveloped by the hands of everyone else. He look at me and our eyes lock.
"Family." he says.
"Family!" repeats everyone loudly.
Tears start to fall as I feel overwhelmed. "Family." I agree quietly.
Author Notes:
If anyone has any questions on why things are the way they are, or if I happen to make a reference about something that you don't understand, then please leave a comment with your question(s). I'll make sure to answer them all before the next chapter. Same goes for Chapter 1 or any in the future that I'll post.