Original Description: At a young age Lucy had been tainted with darkness. The only stark white in her life was the rules she had been programmed with. But, a contract is sent her way: The Assassination of Natsu Dragneel, a case that has her questioning the very fibre of her being. Soon enough the white in her life fades into an undecipherable grey. And she wonders if rules were only made to be broken.

HEY IM BACK

Did you miss me? Probably not... ehh

Anyway so while i was writing this chapter i got a follow from 7Annabelle43

And i was like, "how far have they gone digging to find a story that hasnt been published in over

FIVE WEEKS"

and then i kinda snickered and was like, "Well ain't they in for a surprise when theres a new chapter coming out

THAT SAME DAY"

HA! Enjoy it my friends.

(i hope no one judges my stories off of my grammatically incorrect authors notes.)

Recap:Mard smirked, "It's not too much of a shock is it, Miss Heartfilia," he crossed his arms. "And after the death of your mother, no one would judge you if you didn't return."

Lucy glared at him. "I've come far enough to know that this is something I have to do."

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" Lucy layed back down.

"Goodnight, Mard Geer."

-0-

Lucy soon discovered she hated running. It was tireless and boring, and while not entirely pointless, seemed entirely pointless.

So being told to 'Run until she couldn't stand.' every morning and every night got very boring very quickly. And with the constant nagging from the granite faced Mard Geer, it was simply irritating. The urge to slap him or punch him or kick his face was getting hard to keep in check.

And Mira seemed to turn a blind eye. Not because the teenager didn't care, but because she was completely absorbed in Jellal. And it wasn't that Lucy was jealous, it was the fact that she was perfectly fine with Mard teaching Jellal and Mira teaching her.

And then they decided that they each wanted to trade students.

How positively splendid.

Lucy knew Jellal didn't care; he had a gorgeous woman praising everything he did, even if it weren't Erza.

But Lucy at least figured she could have been assigned a teacher that wasn't an emotionally disabled mutant.

She kept to the track, breathing as evenly as possible, Mard was watching from his place on the side of the track. His eyes not leaving her. She ran past him, hearing him call,

"Too slow, Miss Heartfilia."

She felt her eye twitch, and she pushed her legs, feeling them groan in protest. She ignored them. She moved her arms slightly further back, propelling herself forward.

Jellal was doing pushups on a mat in the middle of the track, Mira watching and jotting things down constantly.

Why can't I do that?

"Why does Jellal not have to run!" she panted.

"Because Jellal has more upper strength than you."

She ran a little harder, her feet thumping, "So what!"

"So he will improve his upper body strength,"

"And I'm running because…?" She ran around the arch and continued running, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when she saw her 'teacher'.

"Because your strength is mostly in your lower body, so you will run."

As she ran forward, she kept her eyes straight glaring, refusing a glance at him. She felt his gaze on her, as she ran past she heard another comment.

"You are most sad to watch."

She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but anger fuelled through her, and before she knew what was happening, she had stopped running and was marching her way to the stupid man. She glared at him, and she saw the amusement in his eyes. She shot her fist out, hitting his stomach. When he didn't flinch, she shot out her other arm, repeating the motion.

"You're a STUPID man!" he looked down at her, an eyebrow almost raising. "YOU have NO feelings! And maybe the reason I am so SAD to watch is because I am WRITHING in PURE AGONY!"

And then, as if to infuriate her further, he placed a hand on her shoulder and nudged her.

It should have made her step back at the very most, but with a strength he shouldn't possess, it sent her sailing backwards a metre and landing roughly on her behind. "You are acting utterly ridiculous, Miss Heartfilia."

"I'm acting ridiculous? ME? I'M THE ONE WHO'S RIDICULOUS?" she stood up, pointing a condescending finger at him. Her voice had risen, and she didn't particularly care that Mira and Jellal had paused to stare at them. "Why don't I make you run until you can't stand, HUH? Why don't I wake you up at THREE-THIRTY IN THE MORNING?–"

"This is just standard procedure, Miss Heartfilia," she ignored him.

"–Why don't I INSULT you every time you pass me? YOU ARE RIDICULOUS, Mard Geer, NOT ME."

"I command you to stop this at once,"

"Or what? You'll wake me up an hour earlier? Make me run until my legs actually fall off?" she sucked in a breath, shaking her head, "You know it wouldn't surprise me, you probably eat babies for breakfast!"

"Normally no. Maybe I should change my diet," he glared at her, "How would you feel about being my first meal?"

"Is that anger I sense?" she laughed, airily and angrily, "So the emotionless one CAN feel something."

"I can assure you, Miss Heartfilia, you will not like the outcome, should you provoke me." His words were threatening enough, his eyes almost made her walk away.

Almost.

But she was too revved up, she really didn't care.

"What? You'll kill me?" she leaned in closer, grinning maniacally, "Oh, but then where will your precious source of income go?"

"Have you failed to forget, Miss Heartfilia," he lowered his voice, to that level that promised a good punch. "That I am in fact an assassin?"

Still, Lucy stood her ground, lifting her chin in defiance, "Don't go boasting, Mard," she shook her head, "It hardly makes you a man."

And then, with the speed of lightening, there was a hand around her throat, lifting her feet from the ground.

Had it been Jellal waking up from a nightmare again, she wouldn't have done anything, she would have let him, because he didn't mean it.

But the look in Mard's eyes, there was no longer anger, just disgust; and while the emotion had disappeared, his hand didn't, and while her air supply was growing thinner and thinner, there was something in his eyes.

And suddenly he wasn't the emotionless, insulting, stone-faced Mard Geer. He was the Black Witch.

And something inside of her snapped.

Like a cord snapping after too much strain, or part of her mind had broken free. She could hear Mira's voice warning him, but it faded, she could sense Jellal's apprehension, but it slowed and transformed into something of a dim light.

And then her arm shot out, her palm driving his nose up, his head flying back with the shock of it. His arm lowered her, and much needed breath entered her. And then his arm left her throat and he looked at her.

Really looked.

And he didn't see the worthless little girl anymore.

He saw someone with true potential.

Lucy breathed in, refusing to choke on the air. It was painful, but it was bearable. Mard easily recovered, a thin trail of blood running from his nose and down his lip, Lucy felt strangely satisfied.

And then she turned around, and with new found determination, she took off running, her feet thumping being the only sound in the room.

And as she turned through the arch and made eye contact with Mard, he did the unthinkable.

He nodded.

Mira sat on the lounge in the conference room, Mard sat on one of the wooden chairs, idly flipping through a book.

"You almost snapped today." He knew exactly what she was talking about, but Mard didn't move his eyes from the text in front of him. Perhaps he too was thinking about it.

"Indeed," Mira sighed, crossing her legs under herself,

"Are you going to apologise?"

Mard finally looked up, his eyebrows furrowed, "Why would I?"

Mira stared at him, furrowing her own eyebrows, concern etched into her voice. "You could have seriously hurt her."

"I wouldn't have."

"And how do you know that!" she hadn't expected, nor wanted to yell at him, but she was getting angry.

"Because I would have been stopped." Even when she too was about to snap, he was as cool as ever.

"Oh, and, do tell, by who?"

"You." He looked at her, affection somewhere in his dark eyes, and Mira felt momentarily stunned.

"And had I gotten there too late," she was whispering by now.

"Mira," he looked back down at his book, flipping a page, "You are the fastest runner I have ever seen, you would have gotten to me."

She stared at the ceiling, leaning her head back on the arm of the couch. While she knew she shouldn't worry, she had too. Now that her sister was all grown up, she had no one else to look out for. And, while Mard wouldn't understand, she saw herself in Lucy. The blonde girl was so similar to how Mira had been when she first came, it was unsettling.

And while Jellal was stronger than anyone had originally thought, he didn't have nearly as much inner strength as Lucy. And when taking into account Jellal's ex-slave history, she had to wonder what had happened to the feisty blonde.

"How's your nose?" Mard chuckled somewhat,

"She certainly packs a punch." Mira smiled. She followed the ceiling fan blade with her eyes, her smile melting into a more neutral expression.

"And what will Zeref do if he finds out?"

"I don't think Zeref should be too worried."

Mira raised an eyebrow, her voice holding uncertainty, "And why do you figure that?"

"I believe that he too sees the same potential as I."

She smirked, "Is that so?"

Mard hummed, "Yes, she has something. Something I've only ever seen in one other person."

Mira turned her head, "And who's that?"

"Minerva," Mira couldn't keep her shock at bay.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, wetting them slowly, "It's been a long time since I've heard that name." she frowned, "What ever happened to The Black Widow?"

Mard pressed his lips together, "She supposedly met an untimely end."

Mira narrowed her eyes, "You don't really believe that do you? One of the world's best assassins dying so easily?"

"Of course not," he closed the book, "I believe she's responsible for many, many murders after her supposed death."

"Like who?" she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Mostly influential businessmen," she nodded, most assassin jobs were to kill wealthy men, this wasn't too much of a shock. "Which is why I started believing she was alive,"

"Why would you think that such a great assassin would be alive because of such average deaths." She shook her head, "That isn't like you, Mard, so tell me what you actually found."

He sighed, "A widowed mother was shot dead in her home, in front of her child," she felt her eyes widening,

"That's horrible,"

Mard continued, "Her late husband was one of the most powerful men in the country, the wife inherited it all."

"But the wife died, so where did the money go?"

"To the sole-survivor, the daughter," he tapped his fingers along the wood, "Miss Lucy Heartfilia, head of the Heartfilia Konzern."

Mira found herself staring open mouthed at the ceiling, searching for the right words.

"Don't you find it quite peculiar that the sole-survivor and inheritor of one of the world's largest fortunes happened to stumble into the same company that trained her mother's – possibly even father's – killer?" he tilted his head slightly, "I believe there's somthing else going on here, something even we haven't been told about."

Mira took in the information, she swallowed, "And I assume you have a theory?"

"I think someone hired Zeref to look for her."

"Who? Lucy or Minerva?"

"Lucy,"

Mira choked, letting out a laugh, "Who would have enough power or money for that matter? Fair enough if it had been an adult, but a child, it's unlikely."

"But Lucy isn't an ordinary child." he inhaled, "She has one of the largest fortunes to her name, perhaps whoever wanted her here wanted her safe. And besides," Mard grimaced, "I don't think it was a matter of money, Mirajane," he joined her in staring at the ceiling, "I believe it was a matter of fear."

"Fear?" She asked incredulously.

"For someone to hire the head of assassin's," he sighed, long and dreary. "I think that Zeref is afraid."

Mira felt her hands go numb with his next words.

"Which means we should be too."

Lucy opened the door of her bedroom, it was late, but not too late, and she knew that Jellal would still be awake. She tip-toed into the hallway, tucking her key into her pocket. She stared at the door at the end of the hallway, the light could be seen under the door, but no sound travelled down the corridor.

Lucy walked towards it before stopping, and twisting the handle of Jellal's door. When it didn't budge she sighed, resting her head on the wood. She knocked softly, "Jellal," she whispered. "You awake."

She knocked again, but got no reply. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her key.

I wonder. . .

She pushed into the lock, when it fit she turned it slowly, hearing a click resound in the hallway.

She smirked a little, Oops.

She turned the handle to see Jellal spread out on the large bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling blankly. Without looking, he spoke. "You usually go away when someone doesn't open the door."

She closed the door behind her, "You usually open the door when someone knocks."

He shrugged, "Fair point." He sat up, moving to the side and leaning against the headboard. When she didn't move, Jellal patted the space next to him. Moving towards the bed she sat down the same way.

"What do you think of this place?" she asked softly.

". . . I think we have a lot to learn."

"You know what we're learning, right?"

He nodded. "What do you think of that?"

She stared at the door, not caring that at any moment someone could open it. "I think we have a lot to learn."

There was a silence that hung in the room, it wasn't uncomfortable or heavy, it was just soundless.

"I heard Mira and Mard talking about The Tower Of Heaven."

Lucy felt him stiffen and she was about ready to shove her foot in her mouth.

"So you know what we all came from." She nodded. Jellal shrugged, "What can I do? Erase your memories?" he laughed a little, "Just . . . don't treat us differently."

She snickered, "I wouldn't dream of it."

She turned her head, staring at the red pattern on the right side of his face. The red was almost as red as Erza's hair, only slightly darker. They made eye contact and she lifted a hesitant hand up, "Did you get it in the tower?"

Jellal nodded.

"So it's a scar?"

"Yeah,"

"Can I touch it?" she hadn't expected her voice to be so timid. Jellal froze for a moment, stiffening, he nodded. She reached her hand up, and using the softest of touches, began tracing it. The skin was smoother than the rest of his face, more sensitive too.

"…we tried to escape." She paused, and then slowly began retracing it. "There were seven of us, Grandpa Rob didn't make it, but the rest of us did." He averted his eyes, "When we got caught they took Erza… we all thought she had died, but I refused to believe it. So I went looking for her." He looked down, "When I found her she was beaten." Lucy had to force herself to keep her hand steady, "Her right eye was gone, but she was smiling so bright."

Lucy smiled softly, still intrigued by his scar. "Seems like a very Erza-ry thing to do."

He chuckled, nodding. "We were on our way back when we got surrounded, they took Erza again and I thought for sure they would kill her. But then they took me in her place." He looked her in the eyes, his brown orbs teary, "So the scar was a branding… a constant reminder, they said."

She made eye contact with him, "I think it's actually quite beautiful." She was whispering, but with the delicacy of the conversation, Lucy knew that was how she had to speak. "I can assure you that if I had known before I certainly wouldn't have called you a coward." He smiled a little,

"You think?"

"Absolutely." She lifted her finger from the bottom of the scar, "Beautiful indeed."

She turned back around, leaning against the headboard. Jellal did the same and she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing.

"I should probably go," When he rested his head atop of hers, Lucy felt her body relax completely.

She smiled.

"Goodnight, Lucy,"

As his words hung in the air, she stared out at the door. Thinking aimlessly, she savoured the tranquillity of it all. As she moved to get up, he pierced her with his stare.

"Stay," she looked at him, staring into his eyes, "Please," she nodded and made herself comfortable again.

Whether it was because of the conversation, or because Jellal needed someone, Lucy didn't know. One thing was for sure.

Jellal didn't want her to go.

HEY GUYS so basically last chapter I said i was gonna tell you the pairings for this... book? ehh... piece of writing. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW JUST EXIT THE PAGE OR SOMETHING. I don't want o be blamed for revealing too much or something. ANNNNNNNNNYWAAAY, this is how it's gonna go, in order of events I guess (ALSO if im feeling generous, the rating may go up a bit)

Mira x Mard

Jellal x Lucy (there's gonna be a lot off what people call fluff)

Natsu x Lisanna (it wont be a main part, come down you NaLu fans, you'll get your turn)

Jellal x Erza

Natsu x Lucy

Maybe also some Gajeel x Levy

SO i hope you guys like the chapter, i actually had fun writing the argument scene, it was kinda stress relieving.

anyway the next chapter will be up whenever, Look forward to it.

hope you enjoyed

Until next time :)

~MyFictionalFantasy