Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this story. I've been a little busy with some other stories, such as Shadows which I recommend checking out if you liked this story. You can find Shadows by going on my profile page. However since you guys were begging me to upload, I thought I couldn't procrastinate any longer. So here you go!
Glass Hearts
Chapter 7; Silent Deductions
"What?" Natsu exclaimed in deep shock causing Lucy to flinch at his wild action. Guilt and sorrow filled her face as her deep brown eyes couldn't bare it and looked away. A pang echoed through the dragon slayer's body making his heart squeeze a little in his chest. Natsu took a deep breath and sighed calmly, turning towards the blonde mage. Big brown orbs shifted away as they connected, looking down at the cotton sheets she picked at with her nails. It was true; she couldn't hear but it was the only way. The only thing is, Lucy didn't think it would feel so bad when all she wanted to do was hear the dragon slayer's voice.
Something warm touched her knee, radiating through the cotton sheets. Eyes moved along the sheets to see Natsu's warm hand gently resting on her leg. Her chin turned upwards and instantly met the boy's soft onyx eyes. They were such a dark color, yet she still found them reassuring. It didn't matter whether she could hear or not; Natsu was always there to remind her that they were still there for her.
"So you're really deaf?" Natsu asked innocently.
"Idiot! You can't ask a deaf person that!" Gray grumbled irritably.
"Why the hell not, Ice princess?" Natsu snapped, launching up to confront the ice mage. Lucy felt an unexpected chill as his hand left her. It wasn't much of a chill, but more of a realization that the heat that kept her warm left like she had moved away from the fireplace to the other side of the room. She would have preferred to stay besides it and watched the empty space of his hand longingly.
"She can't hear you, that's why, Match stick." Gray growled. Unexpectedly, Natsu withdrew, as shock registered across his face. Astonishment filled his face so fast, as if he only just understood Gray's point. "You really are an idiot." Gray muttered to him self. It went unnoticed by the distracted dragon slayer who turned and walked back towards Lucy.
"So she really can't hear us?" Natsu asked, staring at Lucy then turning to Gildarts.
"No, she-" Gildarts went to explain but couldn't finish before the dragon slayer began speaking.
"Lucy, you complain all the time, yell a lot,..." Natsu began listing all of Lucy's unpopular traits while counting the fingers on his hand.
"You're violent, mean, vain..." Happy joined in, just as irritation was beginning to boil on the celestial wizard's face.
"Um, Natsu," Gildarts tried to cal to him but it was useless. They carried on and on, listing more and more of Lucy's bad habits. With each one, the murderous intent rippled, gushing out in gallons from the spirit mage.
A foot shot through the air, sending the pair flying backwards. They came to a stop when they crashed into the wall, leaving a man shaped crater in their place. "Ow..." Natsu whimpered, peeling himself from the rubble with a sore red cheek. Gray rolled on the floor in laughter along with Gajeel. Some other grimaced, stifled inescapable laughter or just tutted.
"I thought she couldn't hear me?" Natsu moaned.
"She can't" Gildarts replied, raising an eyebrow with an amused smile on his face.
"Then how-" The dragon slayer leapt up to exclaim in frustration just as Lucy cut in.
"I can lip read!" Lucy announced proudly.
"Lip read?" Natsu responded quizzically.
"I watch your lips and by the shapes your lips make when speaking, I'm able to understand what words you're saying." Lucy explain calmly.
"Wow...really?" Natsu asked in awe, and Lucy nodded. "That's so cool!" Natsu laughed, bounding up to the bed. He flung himself onto the end of the bed, staring at her point blank in the face. "What am I saying now?" Natsu asked and began making odd fish shapes with his lips.
"Idiot! Speak normally!" Lucy scolded, catching the back of his head with her hand.
"Hey Luce?" Levy butted in. She caught Natsu's attention and Lucy followed his towards the book mage's face. "Why are you deaf?"
For some particular reason no one had through to ask the question until that moment. Lucy went to speak but no words came out. Not because she couldn't speak but because she actually had no idea why. Brown eyes looked towards the tall man besides her, along with most of the other faces of the guild members. Natsu looked too just as he shuffled up the bed to sit next to the stellar mage.
Warmth captivated Lucy's body, sending jolts of electricity through her body at the places their skin touched. All she could manage was a small smile through her bright red face and thudding heart beat. Inside her mind worked rapidly to work out why she was blushing but also how to calm down. Before she could get very far, Gildarts began to speak catching her attention.
"Lucy has empathy as you all know," Gildarts began. "She has the ability to hear peoples' feelings. So when Lucy accepted the magic, she heard everyone's feelings around her all at once. It's only the first stage so it was good we got here quickly."
"How many people can she hear at the first stage?" Levy asked, slowly sitting herself down on the edge of Lucy's bed.
"The entire of Magnolia." Gildarts spoke indifferently. Gasps escaped members of the guild in shock, their eyes snapping on the mage with both surprise and brown orbs found her gaze moving slowly up to the pink-haired boy's face. Dark eyes firmly looked onto Gildarts. Concentration was a new look for Natsu she realised, it was also kind of cute. Big fingers softly entwined into the celestial wizard's. He didn't look her way, but he could probably sense hers watching him. Lucy sighed softly, her head rolling onto the dragon slayer's kindled shoulder.
"The whole of Magnolia at once..." Gray spoke, still reeling from the facts.
"So, you blocked Lucy's ability to hear, which also shut off her empathy too?" Levy asked.
"Yes but the spell won't last long." Gildarts answered with a face that said he wish he could do more.
"How long do we have?" Gray asked slowly, feeling the dread fall onto his chest as if he was being crushed by a boulder.
"Two weeks."
- In the guild hall -
"So that's two weeks to find that guy right?" Gray deduced.
"You better hurry up; Lucy will be your greatest asset. By touch, she can tell you if it's the guy or not." Gildarts quickly left through the crowd gathered in the small infirmary. As the mage passed Erza, he breeze of his swift move near her, gave her the impression to follow. Compelled to leave, Erza subtly followed.
"So you're really deaf, huh?" Gray wondered. The ice mage was beginning to feel self-conscious as Lucy intensely watched his lips, translating his motions to works in her head. An irritated twitch on her lips told Gray that Natsu and Happy weren't getting away with the dancing and teasing actions they were doing behind her. Not to mention the insulting worlds they were calling her. Levy tried to warm then to stop but obviously they didn't listen. Lucy had enough and quickly span on her stool at the bar. A second foot hurtled into their faces. The two mischievous boys were subdued by the infamous 'Lucy kick'; a terrible force not to be reckoned with.
Natsu picked him and his swollen face up off the wooden floor to have Lucy begin to yell. "What are you doing Natsu? I am not an idiot; I can see what you're doing!"
"Really? I thought you wouldn't know because you can't hear me." Natsu whimpered. Lucy sighed deeply, dragging a hand across her face.
"Oh well, Natsu." Lucy moaned. "This spell won't last forever so we better get started.
Lucy moved over to where Erza was sat, and slowly slid in opposite her and saw something was picking at her mind. The fork rolled the strawberry from her untouched cheesecake around the plate in a daze. "Erza!" Lucy called,waving a hand in her face. Titania shot up in her chair, pinging the strawberry to the other side of the room. Instantly, Natsu was in the air as the fruit landed in his mouth and he swallowed it whole. "It's not like you to be like this Erza." Lucy spoke. Erza watched the blondes innocent face for a moment. Lucy's eyes were pitch black, which was a sign of the empathy. They slowly grew darker the further the magic progressed, but she couldn't help but wonder how her eyes could get any darker than they already were. Erza then noticed the concern in those jet eyes.
After giving herself a mental slap, shaking her anxious thoughts away and recovering herself. Filling the voice in her mind left empty was the feeling of determination to find the guy who had done that to her friend.
Emotion switched on Erza's face and Lucy shone a smile seeing the mage return to normal. Natsu, Gray, Happy, Wendy, Carla and Levy joined in the collection around the table. Natsu sat by Lucy, Wendy sat by Erza and Gray and Levy stood at either end of the table, while Happy and Carla stood on top.
Lucy focused on Erza and her lips moved to form words . "Lucy, what do you remember about that night?"
"Not very much," Lucy replied softly, guilt hanging from each word. Lucy's friends were doing their best to help her but she wasn't being useful at all. It was almost shameful. A shoulder nudged her gently causing Lucy's head to turn.
It shot up to the dragon slayer next to her and even though her didn't look her way, Lucy saw the words being firmed by his lips. "Down worry." He mouthed. The celestial wizards knew, even if she couldn't hear, that his words were said in the language only Lucy understood; a silent gesture of reassurance.
"Thank you, Natsu." Lucy whispered so quiet that only Natsu would hear. They had their only special way to communicate.
"I may be able to help." A slightly hoarse and feminine voice calmly inputted from behind. A pink-haired woman hovered behind the group; Edolas' Grandeeny. It looked impossible for her to hide the dissatisfaction she had with the guild and all the members inside it.
"Porylusica!" Levy smiled gratefully, only for it to be returned with an irritated scowl. Levy backed away slowly, growing closer to Gajeel as he moved over to get as insight into the hot topic. Porylusica moved over to the table causing Gray to leap out of the way so he stood behind Lucy and Natsu. A small jar filled with a dark liquid that twinkled green in the day light, was placed in front of the blonde.
"Um...what is it?" Lucy asked, giving a nervous look towards the ominous liquid.
"It should help clear your memory. This way you will be able to remember everything about what happened on that night." Porylusica explained.
"Right," Lucy muttered, hesitantly picking up the jar.
"How does it work?" Gray asked curiously.
"It will break down the physiological barrier Lucy built up because of the shock of the events. She'll enter a dream-like stare and relive the memories. That way she should be able to recall what happened to her." Porylusica added. "You should take it now. I made it this morning but it won't last long."
"What is it with everything 'not lasting long'?" Lucy weakly uttered with mock amusement.
"You should take it, Lucy." Erza urged. Lucy didn't really like the pressure from the words of the others. Nevertheless, she might as well that it, seeing as though the longer she procrastinated, the more she was going to fret about it. Lucy opened the lid and tilted the bottle towards her lips.
"Wait," Porylusica calmly called. Natsu leapt out, catching the blonde wrist and stopping the bottle. Lucy sighed deeply , relieved the from the jump that shocked her body as Natsu caught her. "You should drink it with a glass of water. Drink the water before hand and it will help when the potion hits your stomach." Mira leapt behind the bar and ran the water.
Lucy stood up and collected the glass thankfully from the white-haired girl. "Right then." Lucy groaned with one glass of water in one hand and the murky liquid in another. "Here I go." Lucy downed half of the water in the glass and set it on the table.
"By the water, you could get drowsy so it's best you sit down and-" Porylusica turned while speaking, forgetting the girl could hear her see when her back was turned, and just saw Lucy sallow the small jar of liquid. As it rushed down her throat, it felt thick and heavy, leaving a hot burning trail down the inside of her neck. Lucy coughed just as it hit her stomach. Heat bubbled and dispersed from her stomach in waves around her body. Lucy's head began to feel suddenly heavy and stumbled backwards. Natsu leapt up quickly just as the mage's body tipped backwards. Big arms caught her body softly before she managed to collide with the wooden floor.
As he couched to the ground, cradling the fading girl in his arms, big black eyes watched his face vaguely for a moment. Surprising Natsu, she whispered. "I'll do my best." and was dragged into the darkness as Natsu's lips moved subtly.
"You always do." He said. With that, Natsu released a deep sigh. "Gray, give me a hand?" Natsu asked. Gray nodded and moved to help his rival pick up their friend and lay her softly on the booth chair. Porylusica suggested that they keep her head raised and Natsu volunteered his lap for the job. Mira would have fell head over heels if it wasn't for her own concern for her celestial wizard friend. All she could do was hope she would be safe.
"Be careful Lucy..." Mira muttered softly.
Lucy walked leisurely down the street with Plue wandering behind her. "Careful, Miss Lucy!" A friendly canal boat driver called. Exhaustion held her body in a tight hug as her heavy feet ragged behind her.
Suddenly, Lucy felt something cold and thin clasp her wrist, jerking her backwards. Lucy squealed, leaping around as her hands jumped to her keys. A small figure, hidden by a navy coat, stood shaking. Sweat dripped from the chin of his visibly aged face. Pitch black eyes glared at her coldly. They were full of so much pain and fright, Lucy felt the urge to look away. Yet, Lucy felt like she couldn't be selfishly ignorant towards the mage. Wizards were supposed to help people when they needed it,especially a Fairy Tail wizard.
"Are you okay?" Lucy quick put her hand on his thin shoulder. To her surprise, she felt an electric jolt echoed in her mind.
"Are you...Lucy Heartfilia?" the man gasped and Lucy nodded slowly. Faint senses of alert prickled the skin on her body causing her hair to stand on end.
"What can I do to help?" She spoke with haste. Shakily, his hand cupped her cheek with his old weary hands. Something flashed in front of her eyes causing her to stumbled backwards. The man's firm grip on her wrist held her steady. As Lucy opened her eyes she found her body teetering over the edge of the canal. Even if Lucy was to fall in, the current wasn't that strong and she could swim. However, she had the feeling that if she fell, she wouldn't resurface. A familiar face pounded inside her chest, causing her head to ache. Dreading what she might see, Lucy dared to turn her head. A beautiful young man gripped her wrist. Strong muscular arms locked onto a massive torso. The way he held her was like she was a weightless doll dangling over a pillow. Long, vibrantly red hair dimmed to an almost mistakenly brown color. Jade green eyes slowly brightened from a mold green. Pale skin shone under the white sky. The black cloak fell to a pile behind him. A small scar slid across his left eye. A glimpse of a smile caught her eyes as she glanced up, but was surprised to noticed it wasn't a smile, but instead a sad frown. Sympathy was all over his face as his grip slowly loosened. Pain on his face almost brought a tear to his eyes as he tightened his grip again. His strong arm dragged Lucy's body to his. Cherry flavored lips pushed against hers. A tingle groaned in her throbbing body, and he pulled back. Then he let go.
In her free fall, Lucy was sure she heard a faint whispered. "Sorry." It uttered.
Before she knew it, she was warped into a vortex of cold coming up on every side of her. Lucy's body locked frozen as the ice clasped her muscles, blocking any movement. Her skin went numb and she tried to scream, but only water gushed in. Cold raced through her body, tightening around her lungs. Sinking darker and darker, her body felt heavy cold, dark. Lucy began to feel a calm tranquility silence her panic, and she knew at that moment, that she was approaching death.
Something warm clasped onto her shoulders, jolting her frozen body. "Lucy." A faint voice called in the darkness. Suddenly the heat reminded her of the the cold that came crashing back causing her body to shake violently. "Lucy," It called louder, as if it was almost a shout.
"LUCY!" It cried. Pink danced across the darkness like seaweed under the sea. It was so pretty and calming. Then she remembered. Natsu, the guild, the potion! It was all just a dream!
Snapping back into reality, Lucy woke up into the guild. Everyone crowded around staring at her with pure white of all, Natsu. For a moment, she was sure she heard his voice. It had only been a day but without that loud mouthed dragon slayer, her silent world felt kind of lonely. The dragon slayer's face was frozen with shock, and hands clasped so tight around her shoulders it almost hurt. Dark eyes stared down at her wide in disbelief, and were so fragile it was if they were about to break into tears at any second.
"Natsu?" Lucy grumbled. Natsu's grip slightly lessened as sighs randomly exploded from the surrounding members, dispersing from the crowd. Natsu relieved a deep shaky groan as his head slumped against Lucy's.
"Jeez." He sighed, his voice shaking as he closed his eyes. "You sure know how to keep someone on their toes." As his dark eyes opened again, big black orbs watched his face innocently. A pink blush growing redder by the second as heat flushed her cheeks. Natsu pulled back looking at the blonde on his lap with a puzzled and quizzical expression growing on his face. "You okay, Lu-" Natsu went to ask. Before he finished, Lucy shot up, smacking her hands against her cheeks.
"I'm fine." she quickly replied in a small voice. Her attention was withdrawn from her rapid heart beat and burning cheeks to the frozen feeling of her hands. But it wasn't just her hands, her whole body felt like ice and began to shiver uncontrollably. "Why am I so cold?" Lucy gasped, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to keep in any body heat she had left.
"You tell us," Gray huffed shirt was gone and Lucy looked at his bare chest with envy, wishing she could be like that and still be warm.
"What do you mean?" Lucy questioned, rubbing her arms to create friction that would give her at least some heat and reduce the number of goosebumps on her arms.
"You were the one who suddenly stopped breathing." Gray replied, a little calmer than before with his hands slipping into his trousers.
"I did?" Lucy exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. That idiot noticed, he started screaming and screaming, saying he couldn't hear you breathing. Not to mention the fact that your body temperature dropped dramatically and your pulse began to race." Gray ranted, throwing large hand gestures around. The ice mage had made such large expressions that it distracted Lucy and she struggled to keep up with his fact moving lips. Although he was made, Lucy could tell it was just a sign of concern.
"I see," She muttered, realizing why her body reacted the way it did. It was the dream; It had felt so realistic that she must have convinced herself that she was really drowning.
"What is it?" Erza asked, speaking extra sternly for some reason. Lucy glanced up to catch the other inquiring looks she received from the rest of the people gathered around the bench, and began to shiver even more.
"Luce, do you want a blanket?" Levy asked, lengthening her arm to pass the stellar mage a warm red blanket.
"I'll warm you up, Luce!" Natsu declared proudly. Mira and Levy both had a girlish giggle as the all too familiar blush lit up Lucy's cheeks like it was Christmas. Lucy's arm reached out and snatched the blanket, wrapping it around herself as quick as she could.
"The blanket's fine." Lucy snapped, dragging it tightly around her small shoulders. A slightly disappointed look passed on Natsu's face. There was also the slight hint of relief and Lucy realised he had been strangely quiet until that point. She must have really worried him. Before her guilt had a chance to take hold too tightly, the original topic slipped back in.
"What do you remember?" Erza asked. With a deep breath, Lucy delved into her memories, opening her mouth to recite them.
"I was walking home with Plue along the canal when some weird old guy appeared. He seemed so weak..." Lucy's voice drowned out as she paused to think back to the past image of the helpless elder and then she continued to discuss the encounter. She told them all about what the man said, what she thought and then the flash and his transformation.
"His hair was red; At first I mistook it for brown because it was so dark." Lucy explained. "And he had green eyes, like the color of emeralds."
"That's a detailed way to put it." Natsu grumbled quietly to himself. Lucy gave him a quizzical look but moved on.
"Red hair and green eyes; That's not a very common combination." Mira stated.
"I doubt there's more than three people in all of Magnolia with that description." Levy agreed.
"There was something else." Lucy began, unsure of how to describe it. "It was sort of like a guild mark on his neck." Lucy indicated by touching the left side of her neck.
"A guild mark? Did you recognize it?" Mira asked.
"No, it was weird. It was like a bird with flames coiling around it." Lucy replied.
A small muttering came from near Lucy and everyone's gaze drifted to the blue haired mage with a strained, thoughtful expression. Lucy caught on and watched the girl mutter inaudibly to herself. "Oh!" Levy exclaimed, darting towards the guild library.
"Levy?" Mira asked wearily, with a little concern, as the girl returned carrying several books. Chivalrously, Gajeel lifted the books from the girl's struggling arms before she teetered over.
With her wind reading glasses on, Levy flew through the books lightening quick.
As she reached the second to last book, she stooped. With a bang, the heavy book got slammed onto the table causing everyone but Lucy to jump. Brown eyes looked curiously at the stricken people around her before Mira directed her attention to Levy reading thoroughly through an open book.
After a few moments, she twisted the book around to show Lucy. After studying the image for a moment, Lucy recognized it. It was an orange guild stamp with a birds spreading its winds and coils of fire in a burning coil of wisps around it. "That's it!" Lucy exclaimed. Although, she was more surprised how Levy found it so fact, especially after Lucy's super vague description.
"Phoenix phenomenon." Levy deduced.
"Phoenix what?" Natsu gurgled.
"Phoenix phenomenon." Levy repeated.
"What's a phenomenomenom- whatever." Natsu tried to repeat it but failed drastically, just waving a hand in defeat at the book mage.
"Phenomenon." Levy corrected again. "And it means like a remarkable or unexplained occurrence."
"That doesn't sound ominous or anything." Gray sarcastically remarked.
"I recognize that name!" Lucy exclaimed. "Hiro mentioned it once!" Hiro was an old friend of Lucy's who often looked after her as a child. He was an author but also had a job a one of the six priests of knowledge who were the most secretive organisation and knew everything about the world. {1} "Isn't it some kind of guild with super strong mages in it?"
"It has most of the best mages in history within the guild. Except the members are all on SS-class or even SSS-class missions all the time so they're never at the guild, so no one knows where it is and they're rarely heard of. Nevertheless, they're a powerful bunch of wizards." Levy elaborated pleadingly.
"Gildarts would probably fit in well there." An anonymous voice muttered in the background.
"A guy like that wouldn't be able to hide from an entire guild!" Happy chirped, waving a fist in determination.
"We probably shouldn't involve the whole guild." Mira suggested, disheartening the young cat.
"She's right, Happy. If the whole guild is looking, we might scare him out of the city." Erza added.
"No need to shoot me down anymore, Erza!" Happy wailed. "Carla, comfort me!" The blue cat flew with open arms at the white cat. Taking a sidestep to the let, she missed the cats hug and he went flying straight over the edge of the table, landing with a crash face-first on the guild floor. "You're so mean Carla!" The cat whimpered.
Lucy let a small giggle escape her lips, causing Happy to give her a surprised glance her way. It turned into a smile as he noticed, that even if it was a little bit, he managed to cheer Lucy up. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he missed the energetic, violent Lucy. The whole guild felt the same way, he would bet his tail on it.
"All we need to do is logically think about it. After being stuck in that state with that power, where would you go?" Levy notioned.
For a long moment, everyone thought in silence. Occasionally, they voiced their ideas but each one was mulled over and dismissed a unlikely. In the end, they had nothing at all until Natsu of all people, sparked a chain of ideas.
"Wouldn't it have been annoying hearing all those thoughts and feelings, I bet he'd have been relieved after he got rid of them." Natsu muttered to himself irritably, fed up from all the thinking. It was obvious in his voice he was mad about not getting any closer to him and that frustrated him deeply. Lucy dropped her hand on his arm and gave him a soft smile of reassurance. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Don't be; You're right!" Erza cut in.
"Actually, thinking about it, he probably isolated himself from people. Especially with all that noise going on inside his head and heart." Gray added.
"That's it!" Levy leapt up, causing everyone to jump again except Lucy.
"what is?" Gajeel barked from the other end of the room, moving closer to listen.
"Imagine you were this guy. Now, imagine you've been alone for years, hiding from everyone. Where would you go?!
"To have fun." Gray, Erza, Lucy and a lot of the of the guild muttered.
"With people." Wendy added.
"To eat!" Happy and Natsu confidentially exclaimed with delight. When the pair looked back at everyone, they saw tired and unimpressed gazes from everyone else as their faces dropped into their palms. Lucy just smiled softly at the pair. Natsu wasn't quite sure if she had caught what they said or just assumed from everyone else that they said something stupid. The moment of awkward silence lasted until Erza leapt to her feet.
"I know where to look!" Erza exclaimed. "Come on! Everyone else split into teams and search the rest of the city and look for someone matching the description!" Team Natsu leapt up to follow after Erza. Just before they left, Natsu turned back to see Lucy still sat smiling to herself. With a gentle smile, Natsu jogged back and gripped Lucy's waist. She gave a startled gasp as she met Natsu's cheeky smile just before she was dragged from her seat. Together, they ran straight out the guild doors towards their team disappearing into the distance. The chase was on.
As Lucy's time begins to run out, the present guild members and team Natsu find themselves on the hunt for the man mysterious mage. But will they find him before it's too late?
{1} If you want to learn about Hiro and Lucy, read my other story; Endless Nightmare. You can find it by checking out my profile page!
If you liked Glass Hearts try checking out some of my other stories.
Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.
If you want more Glass Hearts don't forget to follow! Love you guys.
-A-ccentric