Hey guys, it's Kay! Hope you enjoy today's chapter!
Natsu slammed his fist onto the wooden table. "We can't just stop looking! Lucy is out there somewhere, I'm sure of it!"
"Natsu, we have no possible idea where she is! There have been no leads, and at this point we're just blindly searching. It has been two months, Natsu. I don't know that there is much left we can do," spoke Erza firmly, yet her eyes were filled with sadness. She loved Lucy like a sister, but where was there left to look?
"No! We can't just abandon our nakama! Lucy needs us!" Natsu shouted. "She could be hurt!"
"She could be dead!" Erza screamed back at him. The effect of her words was instantaneous. She clapped an armor-clad hand to her mouth, looking horrified. The guild fell silent.
Natsu, bangs covering his eyes, began to tremble. "Don't… don't you dare say something like that," he ground out, voice as cold as steel. The he turned on his heel and sprinted out of the guild. Nobody said a word.
Dead… Lucy could be dead… The words echoed in his mind. No. She couldn't possibly be dead. Lucy was too strong. She was too strong to be dead…Right?
Dead… If Lucy was dead, it would be all because of him. Guilt flooded through him. This was all his fault. If it weren't for him being a selfish bastard and making her tag along on every mission they went on, she would still be here, laughing at his antics, Lucy Kicking him in the face for breaking into her apartment. If only he had let her be for a few days, like she wanted, this never would've happened. She could've defended herself, or at least have gotten a chance to escape. Natsu loathed himself for letting something like that happen.
Natsu stopped running once he had reached Lucy's apartment. He climbed through her window and into her bedroom. He had been paying her rent for the last few months. If he didn't, where would Lucy stay if she came back? When she came back, Natsu amended. He made his way over to Lucy's bed, where he had been sleeping since Lucy's disappearance, and laid on top of the covers. He rolled over onto his stomach and pressed his face into one of her pillows. He inhaled deeply, trying to catch a hint of Lucy's scent. The smell that was distinguishably Lucy's was faded, almost completely gone. Natsu didn't know what he would do once the scent faded completely. It was one of the best things Natsu had ever smelled, a mix between honeysuckle and vanilla. Laying on Lucy's bed with her fragrance tickling his nose, he was lulled into a peaceful sleep.
"Natsu! Wake up, Natsu! Natsu!" Natsu awoke to Happy calling his name, perched on the back of his head.
"What, Happy?" Natsu grunted, annoyed to be woken from his slumber.
"Get up! It's about Lucy!" Happy cried. "Levy's found a lead!"
At that Natsu sat up so fast that Happy, who was on Natsu's head, went flying across the room. "What?! What's the lead?!" Natsu bellowed.
Happy, who was recovering from being launched through the air, rubbed his head and grumbled tearfully, "I don't know, she just told me to get you before she said what it was." He climbed back onto the bed. "That hurt, Natsu," he whined.
Natsu ignored him. "C'mon Happy, we need to get to the guild," he said, determined.
"Aye," trilled Happy enthusiastically, fully healed from his unexpected trip across the room, as he grew his wings, grabbed the back of Natsu's jacket, and flew to the guild. Happy released his hold on Natsu when they reached the front doors of the guild.
Bursting through the large double doors, he yelled, "Levy! What's happenin'?! What did you find?!"
Levy was sitting at a round wooden table with wrinkled newspapers in front of her, surrounded by the rest of the guild. Natsu pushed his way through the crowd of his guildmates until he was standing directly across the table from Levy.
"Spill it, Levy," said Natsu urgently.
"Okay, now that everyone is here…" Levy started. "I was searching through some newspapers to see if I could find any patterns in the disappearances in Magnolia and other surrounding cities. I was looking through some newspapers from a few weeks ago, and I kept reading about various disappearances in and around Magnolia, specifically the disappearances of girls. I'm not sure if this is the guy that kidnapped Lucy, but I think it'd be worth a shot just to look into it."
Levy unfolded one of the newspapers in front of her. "Let's see… Here. It says his name is Aito Nadir. The most recent of his kidnappings was about two weeks ago, not far from here, in fact. It seems he's very difficult to catch."
Natsu reached across the table and slid one of the newspapers to him. "So where should we start looking?"
"Well, many of the disappearances have occurred around the same area: the East Forest. I think starting the search around there would be the best bet," replied Levy.
Master Makarov jumped onto the tabletop. "Alright, my children!" he rumbled. "I don't know if this will be the search that brings Lucy home, but we can damn well try!" Various shouts of agreement were heard. "Natsu! Erza! Wendy! Gray! Happy! Go and do your best to bring our family back!"
At this the cheers in the guild exploded. They finally had some sort of lead, an idea of where to look. It may not have been the man who took their Lucy, but after a long time, they finally had a plan of action.
Alright guys, there you go. They finally have a trail to follow! As promised, this chapter was out waaay earlier than my last one. I'll try not to keep you guys waiting forever for the next update. Anyways...
Anonymous Person: Ah, yeah, I see where you're coming from, but it wouldn't be as interesting or suspenseful without the cliffhangers, in my opinion at least.
Fanficaddict14: Aw! Thank you so much! That really means a lot :)
As per usual, comments are always appreciated. See you next time, my loves!