FATE
Summary: Fate brought them together and Fate gave them happiness. But Fate just had to be cruel and take the girl away, seperating them. Still, the girl comes back. How will she survive against the game of Fate?
Main Pairing: StiCy
Rating: T for SafeT and Character Death
Genre: Romance, Drama, Humor, Hurt/Comfort

Halloow~! I'm back with another long chapter. I had a pretty fun time writing this chappy down ^_^. O.o And I updated quite fast, too.

Oh, and NOTE: I will be referring to Lucy as Lucy when narrating it. But in speech, I will be referring to her as Lucino. Is it confusing? If it is, tell me :).

English is my second language, people~!

Chapter 7: Individual Feelings
"Well, you see, it's just...there's this weird feeling..."

Previously in Fate...

"Aside from my name, I... don't remember anything."

"My child... How are you doing?"

"And... a person who has lighter blonde hair than me who was smiling."

"Welcome to the Guardians, Lucy."

"Lucino... Bernhart? Is that okay?"

"You're already a part of this guild. A part of us."

"Thank you."

"Fate is still at work."

The Guardians Guild, Galdmiore, Fiore
November X791

Normal POV

Sunlight peeked over the clouds and shone on the windows of Lucy's room. The bright light lit Lucy's sleeping face, which caused her to wake up and squint her eyes. Groaning, she sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. She yawned and stretched her limbs. Looking out the window, she smiled.

"It's such a nice morning... Today's going to be a great day!" she nodded to herself and moved to the side of the bed. When she was about to stand up, she heard a LOUD shout, "Get down here, Brownie! We're going on a mission!". Animatedly, she fell over in shock. The door banged open and Kaze rushed in. Once he saw Lucy, he's mouth formed an 'o'.

"Oh, you're awake."

A tick mark appeared on Lucy's forehead. She sighed in frustration and shook her head. I take that back. It's NOT a nice morning and it's NOT going to be a great day, she thought. It's been a little over a week since she joined The Guardians and Kaze was ALWAYS this rude to her. Never once had she seen him act nice towards her. Well, maybe once or twice, but nevertheless, he still pissed her off.

"Yes I am, IDIOT. Why are you so loud..." she grumbled.

This time, it was Kaze's turn to get pissed. A tick mark appeared on his head.

"As if you're not louder! Do you even remember yesterday I tried to wake you up without being rude and you KICKED me. KICKED ME! The Amazing Wind Storm Kaze!" he shot back.

"It's not my fault I'm not a morning person!"

"You still didn't have to kick me THAT hard! Man, I could still feel the pain..."

"Shut up! And, there's no need for you to shout this early in the morning!"

"I don't care what you say, Brownie! All I care is for you to get down there right this instant or else Anna will beat the crap out of me!"

"Who are you, my Mom?! Anna can beat you up for all I care!"

"What did you say, brat!?"

"Who are you calling 'brat', monster!?"

"Who's the monster!? For all I know, you act more like a monster to me than I do!"

"You're a monster because you're SO noisy!"

"As if you're not noisy right now!"

"And as if you are any better!"

BANG!

The loud sound of the door banging open (the second time this morning) stopped their argument (and once again prevented Kaze to retort another smart answer). They turned their heads to the person at the door and instantly cowered in fear.

For right there on the doorstep was THE Crystal Maiden, Anna.

Anna glared at the both of them. "What do you two think you're doing, creating a racket this early in the morning?" she said calmly but deadly. Extremely deadly. Lucy and Kaze shrunk back in fear and gulped. "U-u-uh..." they stuttered.

"Umm... waking Br-Lucino up...?" Kaze's statement came out more as a question than an answer. Anna focused the full power of her glare on him, which caused him to sweat nervously. Slowly, she stepped closer to him. Kaze tried crawling backwards in fear while Lucy watched the both of them with amusement and fear written on her face.

Anna reached for her sword and continued glaring at Kaze. Kaze panicked and immediately bowed down. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!" he pleaded. Anna scoffed and pointed her sword at his face. He gulped and looked up at Anna, only to meet her fierce violet eyes that were gazing straight at his own. "I think you're forgetting what I said about a week ago, Kaze. Did you forget that Master and I will give punishment to anyone who mistreats Lucino? In that case, I shall make you remember," she threatened.

With that, she raised her sword and just as it was about to hit him, someone interrupted yet again.

"I think you better not do that, Anna," Coral suggested rather happily as she walked over to Lucy and greeted her 'Good morning'. Then she faced the confused Kaze and Anna and smiled. "Vulcano wouldn't have any punching bag left to beat up!" she remarked. Lucy, again, fell over animatedly, Kaze narrowed his eyes at her in annoyace, and Anna nodded in agreement.

Sheathing her sword, she turned and headed for the door. Glancing back one last time, she commanded, "Go down as soon as you guys are ready. But do NOT make a racket."

Once he was sure that Anna was out of earshot, Kaze breathed a sigh of relief and quickly glared at Coral. Coral looked at him with a confused yet slightly amused expression. "What~?" she asked. "What did you say earlier about me being Vulcano's punching bag? For your information, he's the punching bag and I'm the one beating him up," he answered.

Coral shrugged and turned to Lucy. "Lucino-chan, you better get ready~! Anna can be REALLY scary when we arrive there late~!" she childishly told her.

Kaze was almost sure one of his nerves exploded. "Hey, don't ignore me!" Coral went to him and grabbed his arms. "What are you－" he started. But he wasn't able to say anything because Coral practically dragged him out of the room and closed the door.

Giggling, Lucino went to her closet. Master Sakura, Amy, Shante, and Anna bought her clothes the day she joined her guild. She took some clothing and undergarments and entered the bathroom for a relaxing bath. She used the vanilla-scented shampoo and soap that Amy and the Master bought for her.

Once out, she changed into a simple dark brown tank top and black pleated skirt. She also put on a brown hooded cape with a star-shaped lock. Putting on her brown boots, she thought of her new friends. Master is really kind, but she could be really scary. Anna's just like an overprotective and strict older sister. Coral's like a younger sister. Vulcano and Rain are like my brothers. Kaze, too, but he's so annoying. Shante is so bubbly that sometimes I couldn't catch up to what she was saying, she giggled. She also loves books just like I do. But since when did I start loving books? I feel like I've always loved them, she shrugged. Oh well.

Standing up, she picked up the tropical mango and hibiscus perfume that Anna bought for her. After doing a final check on her appearance using a full-length mirror (that she got from Shante), she took her whip, strapped it on her belt and left the room.

"Why do girls always take so long?" Kaze grumbled. He and the rest of Team Accord where gathered in the entrance of their guild waiting for Lucy.

"Stop complaining like a little kid, birdbrain," Vulcano said, annoyed of his constant complaints.

"What did you say, ashbrain?" Kaze shot back.

"Don't call me 'ashbrain', birdbrain!" Vulcano spat.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Anna boomed and punched the back of their heads, creating a sizeable lump. Though, Kaze's was larger than Vulcano's. Rain sighed and shook his head while Coral giggled.

She knelt down beside Kaze. "Would you like me to heal your wound?" she asked him. Kaze's head shot up and looked at her pleadingly. She giggled again. "With one condition."

Kaze's mouth fell open. "What!? You ask me that but... You're planning something aren't you?" Kaze eyed her suspiciously. Coral just smiled at him innocently. "Tch. Spoiled brat," he muttered under his breath. Apparently, Coral heard him and she hung her head low. Then, she started trembling.

Immediately, Rain, Vulcano, and even Anna started panicking. "Oi, Kaze! You idiot! Don't make Coral angry! You know very well what will happen! You don't want to see h-her angry would you!?" they simultaneously scolded him. Immediately realizing what he has done, he quickly said, "I-I-I was just joking, Coral. F-Fine. What's the condition?"

Coral immediately looked up and beamed at him as the others sweatdropped. "Then, answer my question honestly," she excitedly said. Kaze raised his eyebrows and looked at her questioningly. She smiled oh-so-innocently that it made Kaze gulp.

"You like Lucino-chan, don't you?"

Blink.

Blink blink.

"WHAT!?" Kaze shouted while the rest snickered (Rain smirked).

"Just admit it, birdbrain," Vulcano sniggered.

"I don't like her, idiot!" Kaze shot back, but his face betrayed him. His cheeks were tinted pink.

"Yeah, yeah, as if."

"Why you little-"

"Kaze," Anna interrupted. Kaze froze and slowly faced Anna. He stared at her in shock when Anna put her hands on his shoulder and gave him a hopeful and reassuring look. "Work harder," she said. The rest doubled over in laughter. Rain was looking away and covering his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter.

Kaze gaped at her, utterly speechless. Seeing his reaction, Anna smirked and patted his shoulder before walking away while he stood there staring into space.

"Hey, guys! What did I miss?"

Everyone turned to Lucy who had just arrived. Vulcano opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by a blast of wind, courtesy of the ever-so-polite Kaze-sama. Note the sarcasm.

"N-nothing important," he quickly answered. Lucy raised her eyebrow and eyed him suspiciously. He turned away from her suspicious stares and whistled innocently.

Shrugging, Lucy walked over to Anna. "So, where do we go?"

Everyone gathered around them and proceeded to the train station. Kaze was deep in thought. Do I like her? Now, now Kaze. Stop overreacting. That's impossible, he thought. Why would I like someone like her? Besides, why did Coral even ask that question? Sure, she's pretty cute and all, but she's damn noisy and annoying. Even though her smiles brighten up your day, the way she acts kindly to everyone, her heavenly laughs, her- Then he stopped walking. Wait, what the hell, Kaze!? He shook his head vigorously trying to stop his thoughts.

Noticing that Kaze stopped, Rain stopped walking as well. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Kaze shaking his head vigorously. He was about to ask what's wrong, but since they were getting left behind, Rain decided to break his twin brother's line of thought. "Hey, Kaze. We're getting left behind," he said. Kaze quickly looked up and nodded following behind Rain as they caught up with the rest of the team.

Kaze looked down. Damn. What the hell is wrong with me!?

- ~ 2 days later ~ -

"Happy 13th birthday, Coral!" The guild cheered as Coral blew the candles on her cake. Master Sakura gave them permission to eat and they happily dug in.

In Team Accord's table, Anna happily munched on her favorite ube cake while occasionally glaring at Kaze and Vulcano who always had something to argue about. Rain was calmly eating his food while shaking his head at their idiotic antics. Lucy sat beside Anna and giggled while watching them. Coral joined them shortly after and proceeded to annoy Kaze and Vulcano again.

The party continued on throughout the afternoon, and when nighttime came, Master Sakura had a small program prepared.

Walking up to the top of the stairs, she clapped her hands loudly, gaining the attention of her guild. Scanning the hall, she made sure everyone had their eyes on her. She cleared her throat and smiled. "All right. To celebrate Coral's birthday, we're going to have a little show," she winked and her smile brightened. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

Immediately, smoke enveloped her and around the stairs area. When the smoke cleared, there she stood with Amy and another of the "Big 3", Yui Michelle di Bruch Aldernaie. They were wearing matching dark blue dresses that made them look like an idol group. She smiled and looked at her two companions. They nodded at each other as the background music started playing.

Amy opened her mouth and sang the first part.

"Yumemiru hitomi ni sekai wa utsukushii kumi e dakedo, utagau koto o oboete, hito wa okubyou ni natte iku no?"

She looked at Yui to which the latter smiled. Putting the mic near her lips, Yui sang the next line.

"Nita mono doushi dayo ne to warai atta ano koro, sasai na uso sae yasashiku minogashite kureta yo ne."

Sakura spread her free hand wide. Smiling brightly, she sang the bridge.

"Moshi futari ni kaeru basho ga nakute mo, kamawanai, watashi ga sono egao o mamoru kara."

They smiled at each other and stepped forward to sing the chorus.

"Hoshi no kazu hodo no deai ya wakare ya, ushinaitakunai mono mo zenbu, nanni mo iranai to omoeru yo ima. Tada kimi no soba de, mitsumetetai yorokobi mo kanashimi mo, nani mo kamo."

Everyone started nodding along with the music. Coral smiled and tiny tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she cheered loudly. Some others laughed and cheered with her. The three singers rhythmically waved their hands along the beat. As the next part came, they sung it beautifully and added some hand gestures.

"Otona ni naru tabi sukoshizutsu, wasurete shimatta itsu de mo jibun no kokoro ni sunao de iru koto."

Amu and Yui stood side by side and stretched out their hand to the audience. They smiled as they sung their duet part.

"Kimi kara moratta yuuki no KAKERA, kimi dake ni ageru watashi no kokoro ni saku hana o."

Sakura joined them and they danced along the makeshift stage. Colorful lights shone on them, creating a dazzling spotlight as they sung the next chorus.

"Afuredasu namida ga oshiete kureta, nakushicha ikenai mono wa zenbu, ano koro no mama kokoro no naka ni aru. Taiyou no you na, kimi no egao ga, konna ni mo watashi no koto tsuyoku suru."

For the brief guitar solo, they twirled around the stage perfectly and gracefully. As the music changed a bit and the lights dimmed, Sakura stood at the middle of the stage with the spotlight focused on her.

"Hoshi no kazu hodo no deai ya wakare ya, ushinaitakunai mono mo zenbu, nanni mo iranai to omoeru yo ima. Tada kimi no soba de, mitsumetetai yorokobi mo kanashimi mo subete..."

The lights spread once again and the two joined her in the middle of the stage as they sung the last part of the song.

"Ima kara koko kara hajimeyou yo. Futari no ashita o hajimeyou yo. Umareta mama no kimochi de iyou yo. Natsukaze ni yureta hana no you ni, ima kono isshun o sakihokorou."

The three singers curtsied, smiled, and waved to their guild. They nodded at each other and exclaimed, "Happy 13th birthday, Coral!/Coral-chan~!" They laughed together, and the guild soon joined in. Coral grinned widely and laughed along. The guild busied themselves with laughter, praises for the three "idols", partying, and enjoying the birthday night.

Lucy laughed along with her new friends at her table. Kaze watched her for a while before quickly averting his gaze before Lucy could catch him staring at her. Fortunately for him, she didn't notice. She was too busy laughing along with Shante's jokes and Anna's comments.

Sighing, Kaze stood up and climbed the stairs to the second floor's balcony that overlooked the ocean behind the guild. Kaze rested his forearm on the railing and watched the waves crashing on the beach. He sighed again and clutched his head with his other hand. "What am I doing?" he muttered.

"I was going to say that."

Startled, Kaze quickly looked to his right, only to see his twin brother Rain leaning on the railing marveling the spectacular view. "Oh, Rain, it's just you." Relieved, Kaze turned again to the ocean and watched the view.

Rain glanced at his brother and inwardly sighed. "You like her do you?" he asked. Kaze stared at him from the side. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, albeit defensively. Rain turned around and leaned on the railing so that he had his back facing the horizon. He stared up at the sky. "I'm talking about Lucino," he continued.

Silence.

Not getting a reply, he glanced at Kaze, only to see him staring at the open sea with eyes that looked somehow... confused. He sighed and tried again, "You're purposely making her hate you by acting like an idiot around her, aren't you?"

Again, silence.

Rain stared at Kaze and was about to continue when he heard Kaze mutter, "Maybe." Raising an eyebrow, he studied his older twin brother. "Maybe?" he inquired. But Kaze was silent again. Already starting to get annoyed, he continued. "Just admit it, Kaze. You like her."

"You're becoming awfully talkative tonight, Rain. Did you drink too much? Has the party gotten into you?"

"You're avoiding the topic."

"..."

"And you're awfully silent."

"..."

Rain sighed. "Kaze, just admit that－"

"I can't."

Rain's eyes widened at the slightest as he stared at his brother, surprised and confused with his answer. He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you get it? How about if she was actually already taken before she lost her memories? I'm not a selfish bastard, Rain." Frustrated, Kaze clenched his fists and looked down. Rain remained silent as he stared at him. Kaze straightened himself up and looked at Rain. "That's why I can't fall for her," he determined.

Rain searched his twin brother's eyes for any sign of doubt, confusion, and the like. When he realized that Kaze was serious, he smirked and averted his eyes from his brother's determined ones. He stood up and chuckled.

Kaze raised an eyebow at him. "What's so funny?" Rain ignored the question and walked towards the entrance of the balcony, waving a hand. "Suit yourself," he said. Kaze studied his brother's back before shrugging and turning around to watch the ocean again.

Before completely leaving the balcony, Rain paused and glanced back at his brother. You have already fallen for her, Kaze.

At the same time, on Lucy's table, Coral started a certain topic. "Ne, Lucino-chan~. Do you like Kaze?" she teased as she wiggled her eyebrows. The Master and Shante giggled. Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What? Yeah. He's a good person when he's not being annoying," she replied, clueless at what the other girls are getting at.

Anna chuckled. "That's not what she meant, Lucino." Lucy looked at Anna questioningly. "She meant if you liked Kaze more than a friend," she continued, while smirking.

Lucy gaped at the giggling girls before waving her hands in front of her. "Hey, don't get the wrong idea! No, no, I don't like him that way. As a brother, yes. Nothing more than that," he explained. The other girls raised an eyebrow, kind of disappointed at her answer. They expected her to be flustered and start getting desperate to hide her blush.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Why?" she asked.

"I don't know," was Lucy's brilliant answer. Some of them animatedly fell out of their chair while the others sweat dropped.

Seeing their reactions, Lucy decided to explain further. "Well, you see, it's just...there's this weird feeling..." At that, the girls listened attentively to what Lucy was going to say.

"It's like..." She tried looking for the right words to describe it. The girls continued staring at her, as if begging her to continue. She sighed.

"It's like I'm in love with someone I don't even know, never met, nor even remember," she said. The girls blinked and looked at each other cluelessly, except for Master Sakura. She cupped her chin with her hand, deep in thought.

- After the party -

As Lucy walked along the hallway to her room, she passed a small balcony. She stopped and looked out at the stars. Smiling to herself, she walked out on the balcony and gazed at the twinkling stars.

"Hey..." she trailed off, gazing at the stars, lost in thought. "Hey, can you hear me? Whoever you are..." she chuckled. "I'm so weird. Talking to someone I don't even know..." She stared longingly at the stars, pretending that she was talking to the person she said she was in love with. "I just wanted to say that... I want to know who you are. My heart feels like its longing for a special something - someone - its missing piece."

Lucy smiled. "Why don't I sing you a song? I heard Master Sakura singing it once. I'm not sure if I remember everything, but will you listen to me?" She smiled and cleared her throat.

"Hitorikiri de aruiteru no? Sonna kakkou ja samui deshou. Gomen ne mou, koe wo kakeru koto sae dekinai kedo..."

Lucy smiled sadly up at the stars as she continued.

"Kanashimi no oto ga garandou no mune ni kodama shiteta. Obieta watashi wa, ie wo sagashi aruku maigo no you datta ne."

She closed her eyes as she sang the chorus.

"Hidamari no you na, kimi no tonari. Atatakai nemuri ni ochite yuketa. Tatta hito toki no yasuragi wo. Kimi ga kuretanda yo, tsutaetai yo－arigatou tte."

Tears started welling up in her eyes, but she didn't bother wiping them off. She didn't know why she was getting emotional, but she felt that it had something to do with that person. "That's all I can remember. Isn't it a wonderful song?" she commented as she gazed lovingly at the stars. "I hope we could meet soon."

Unbeknownst to her, a figure in the shadows was listening to her the whole time. The person in the shadows stared at her for a while before retreating, noticing that Lucy was about to leave.

She smiled at the stars and muttered, "Good night." Turning around, she headed for her room. Lying down on her bed, she hummed the song, a part she didn't sing, to herself and fell asleep.

"Itsu no hi ni ka kono unmei no imi wa mitsukaru kana?"

Lucy's Apartment, Magnolia, Fiore
November X791

At around the same time, Sting sat on the windowsill of Lucy's apartment, gazing at the stars that his beloved loved so much. Suddenly, he sneezed. "W-what the－?" he muttered to himself. Was he catching a cold? Nah, maybe someone was thinking of him. That's not entirely impossible, though... right?

Looking up at the stars once again, a small smile creeped on his face. "Hey, Luce. How are you doing? So far, I'm doing fine down here." He chuckled and let a stray tear trickle down his handsome face. "I hope you're doing fine up there. It's so different without you here. Everything just doesn't feel right," he sighed sadly and looked down. His eyes saddened and was covered by his blonde hair.

After quite some time, he looked up at the stars. "Well, I'm getting tired, so I'll retire for the night," he said. He smiled up at the stars and pictured Lucy's smiling face. "Good night."

Sting got off his place on Lucy's windowsill and lied down on her bed. Taking in the remains of her faint smell, he fell asleep and dreamt of his precious memories with Lucy.

Next time on Fate...

Team Accord entered the train and immediately sat on an empty compartment. Lucy sat accross from Anna beside the window.

"Where's our next mission, Anna?"

Anna looked up from the package she was examining in her hands.

"Magnolia."

(A/N)

- "Sunlight peeked over the clouds and shone on the windows of Lucy's room."
- Master Sakura was kind enough to lend her one of her guild's guest rooms. Yes, they have guest rooms.

- "Standing up, she picked up the tropical mango and hibiscus perfume that Anna bought for her."
- I didn't make this up. My own perfume has this scent :D.

- "Hoshi no kazu hodo no deai ya wakare ya, ushinaitakunai mono mo zenbu, nanni mo iranai to omoeru yo ima. Tada kimi no soba de, mitsumetetai yorokobi mo kanashimi mo, nani mo kamo."
- DISCLAIMER: Song: "Kimi ga Iru Kara/Because You're Here by Mikuni Shimokawa. This song was also used as FT's 4th ending (during the Laxus arc, I think. The one with Mirajane in the credits).

- "Hidamari no you na, kimi no tonari. Atatakai nemuri ni ochite yuketa. Tatta hito toki no yasuragi wo. Kimi ga kuretanda yo, tsutaetai yo－arigatou tte."
- DISCLAIMER: Song: "Memory Heart Message" by Saori Hayama/Sachi (SAO). Spoiler!: This song will be an important "theme" in this story ;)

- "Itsu no hi ni ka kono unmei no imi wa mitsukaru kana?"
- This is still a part of Memory Heart Message. In English, it can be translated to: "When will the day come when I finally find the meaning behind my fate?"

IMPORTANT NOTE!: This will NOT be a LucyxOC story! It's a STICY! The StiCy will come soon. Just be patient, my friends~! :D

- ~ (^_-) ~ -

Was it cheeeeeeesy and fluuuuffy enough? :3 I love fluffy cheese :D Was my humor humorous enough? And if you guys think Sting was a bit too... OOC (okay, maybe not a bit...but still...), then I'm so sorry~! I tried my best T^T

Any questions? PM me or leave it in your review. :D I'll answer as soon as I can.

I ACCEPT constructive criticism. But NO rude comments or flames please! Put in the nicest way you could think of~.

Aaaaanyway, see ya~!

Don't forget to leave a review~! ^_^

Also, don't forget to vote on my poll~! :D

GUEST REVIEW RESPONSES:
ninjapanda: "Fate is still at work" is just a small quote that I made up. It simply means that there's more to go~! :D And thank you for the small piece of advice~! And of course, for reviewing, too~! :D