Chapter 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.
A/N: This chapter might have a few disgusting things like blood, killing (there won't be any), etc. If you're uncomfortable about this, feel free to skip this chapter.
Lucy was frozen stiff with fear as she stared at Natsu's deep wound with a horrified expression. The dagger was also stuck in the wound, making it seem like a brutal murder. Lucy didn't what to do. What could she do? The first option would be to call the ambulance, but what if it's already too late? What if he's...
The blue cat, who had been sleeping soundly, twitched its ear, as if it could sense what was going on. Meowing, it ran over to Natsu and licked his face. When he didn't respond, the cat meowed again, this time more anxious. Then it turned its head to look at Lucy and hissed.
Lucy snapped back to reality when sh heard the blue cat's threatening hiss. Why was she hesitating? Time was being wasted, and if she didn't do something now, Natsu'll... She shook her head. Focus, Lucy. Calm down. Maybe he's still alive. Now, you should be calling the ambulance! Lucy thought to herself. Trying to ignore the hissing blue cat, she stumbled back to the living room and found her school bag that she left lying on Natsu's couch. She unzipped the bag and poured everything out on the floor, grabbing her cellphone when she saw it.
She dialled for the ambulance and tried to explain the situation as calmly as she could. After that, she left her phone on the floor and returned back to Natsu. In this kind of situation, usually a calm person would check for the victim's breathing and pulse. She grabbed Natsu's wrist and checked his pulse and waited for the familiar beating. ...Ba-dump...Ba-dump... He's still alive! There's a chance of saving him!
Relief engulfed her and she felt calmer. Now, what else could she do? Her gaze shifted to the dagger stuck in his wound. What if she pulled it out? Would it make his injury worse, or better? With a trembling hand, she clasped the leather handle of the sharp dagger. If she was going to do something, it was now, or never.
She squeezed her eyes shut and with a lot of mental effort, pulled out the dagger. The feeling of pulling out a dagger was strange. It felt like taking something from meat, although it was not like she had done that before, until now.
Warm blood dripped from the dagger onto Natsu's hoodie. Lucy dropped the dagger and tried her best not to freak out too much. She was scared again. Terrified. She held Natsu's hand and gripped it tightly. "Natsu... Hurry and wake up... I-I'm scared..." Lucy pleaded in a small voice.
At that exact moment, she heard the unmistakable siren of the ambulance. And then, she heard a female voice speak worriedly, and quite loudly. Lucy could make out the words "Why is the ambulance... Serious injury?... Natsu?!" As the footsteps of the paramedics and the female aproach Natsu's house became louder by the second, Lucy used the hand that held Natsu's to try to carry him to the living room with his arm over her shoulder.
The aggressive blue cat attacked Lucy, biting her leg. The blue cat wasn't going to let just any stranger take away his owner, even if that person was someone with a nice lap to nap on. Lucy winced and stumbled a little because she was startled, but continued to slowly carry Natsu to the living room.
Just then, the front door burst open, and paramedics arrived, helping Natsu get onto the stretcher. Following behind the was the owner of the female voice, Lisanna Strauss. Lisanna and Lucy were both a bit surprised when they saw each other, but did not say anything. At that time, Natsu was the most important person to worry about.
Lucy and Lisanna followed Natsu and the paramedics to the ambulance. When the girls were about to go into the ambulance with them, they were stopped by the paramedics. "I'm sorry, only family members are allowed to follow the patient onto the ambulance and to the hospital," a paramedic said.
That wasn't going to stop Lucy from following Natsu, even if it meant lying. "I-I'm his sister! And, uh, the snow-haired girl, Lisanna, is too!" Lucy blurted out. The paramedic raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but signalled for them to follow them onto the ambulance.
"Normally I would ask people to confirm it, but since this is an emergency, I will be lenient with you two," the paramedic explained.
They arrived at the hospital in a matter of minutes and Natsu was sent to the emergency operation room. "I'm Dr. Jellal, and I am the head surgeon of the operation on your brother. This operation would take approximately 6 hours, and there is a 55% chance that your brother would survive," a blue-haired surgeon said in a hushed tone. The surgeon sounded like he was used to speaking softly. "Leave him to me."
Lisanna and Lucy nodded. "Doctor, please save him... if he dies, I'll... I'll also die," Lucy whispered weakly to him. Dr. Jellal nodded without any change of expression on his face.
"I'll try to save him, to the best of my ability," Dr. Jellal told her, before heading into the emergency operation room with a few other surgeons.
Lucy and Lisanna sat on the chairs outside the emergency room, waiting for Natsu in silence. Lucy's back was bent over and she was looking down at the floor, while Lisanna was lying against the chair, staring up at the lights. After a few minutes, Lisanna began to dial for some of Natsu's friends and informed them of the situation. They were shocked and promised to be there ASAP.
Lucy borrowed Lisanna's phone and tried to do the same, but she was calling Sting and Yukino. She was trembling so hard she was having a hard time just trying to hold the phone properly. "Let me do it for you, Lucy," Lisanna told her gently, taking her cellphone back. "All you have to do is tell their numbers, alright? Are you able to do that?"
Lucy gave her a small nod and told her Sting and Yukino's phone numbers. Yukino was at the national library, studying, but she said that she would try to be there was fast as she could. The library she was at was far away from the hospital, so she would take some time. Sting was at home so he said he was coming immediately.
The two sat in silence, waiting for their classmates to arrive. "I remember this," Lisanna suddenly spoke. She had a sorrowful smile on her face, and she was still staring up at the lights. "This particular day during my childhood. Natsu and I had been neighbours since childhood, so we knew each other ever since we were little." Lisanna glanced at Lucy, as if asking her if she could continue. Lucy sat up straight and decided to listen to Lisanna's story. She gave her a small nod to tell her she could continue.
"Natsu and I used to be extremely close. My older sister and brother would always tease me and Natsu, saying we would definitely get married when we were older. I would always tell them that Natsu was not going to be my husband, but he was going to be my little brother. I used to take care of him a lot, you see. One day, I couldn't find Happy, my cat. I cried, because Happy was important to me. He was the only thing I had that used to belong to my mother, who died giving birth to me. Natsu searched the whole neighbourhood, and found him trying to eat some birds on a tree branch," Lisanna told me fondly, her sorrowful smile replaced with a slightly more happy one. She laughed a little and continued.
"He started climbing that tree. I told him to get down since it was dangerous, but he stubbornly refused to. When he finally managed to hold Happy, the thin branch broke off and he fell. He ended up here, in this same hospital. I felt guilty and worried sick. When the operation was over, and his bed was being pushed to a room, he smiled at me and asked if the cat was fine. I slapped him and cried even more than I did when I couldn't find my cat," Lisanna said, her voice croaky. "That idiot. But that was the time I learnt that I loved that idiot, and secretly... I wanted to marry him so bad."
Love? Lisanna... loved Natsu? Before Lucy could utter a word, Elfman, Mirajane, Erza and a few other classmates came running to them. "How is he?" Mirajane asked her sister.
Lisanna explained everything that happened, with Lucy adding in details from her experience. "I see. I do hope the operation is a success," Erza muttered, biting hard on her bottom lip. "Is the surgeon named... Jellal?"
Lucy nodded. And then she saw it again. That painful, faraway look in Erza's eyes. Jellal... Did this person hold some kind of connection to Erza? Her older brother, maybe? She would never know. Well, at least, not now. Erza wasn't ready to share her secret with anyone.
Sting and Yukino arrived some time later, and Natsu's classmates explained everything to them. "What about Father and Minerva?" Lucy asked Sting. Sting gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head. "Oh... Then, what about you? How are you feeling?"
"Better. I promise that I'll never ever do this again. To you, to Yukino, and to everyone who cares for me. Especially you and Yukino. I'm thankful for everything that you did for me, Lucy," Sting told her gratefully.
Lucy nodded her head. "It... was nothing. All I did was... remind you about what's important," she mumbled, staring back at the emergency operation doors every now and then, as if expecting Natsu to come out.
Natsu... Why? Why were you stabbed, why was your wall vandalised, why are you in debt? Questions swarmed her mind, and she had no answers. Only Natsu himself could answer these questions... If he ever came out of that emergency operation room alive. A few tears escaped her eyes.
She had only known the man for a few days, she barely knew him. Yet she felt so much happiness, elation whe she was with him, depression and pain, when he was hurt, like he was now. The uneasiness she was currently feeling, the elation she had felt for the first time, all because of him.
And now, she was waiting for him to come back to her, alive and well. She had become so selfish, wanting Natsu to be alive, wanting Sting to live. Since when did she even wish for something this much?
Lucy could only wait in anticipation, hoping for a miracle to happen.