AN: I am finally done with my first year of college and I can finally relax! :D Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 5
"Oi, Gray! You are too slow! We'll never find her if you keep dragging your icy ass!" Natsu exclaimed as he ran.
"I'm ahead of you, idiot!" Gray shot back, already having lost his shirt so early in the day.
"Both of you shut up or else I am sending you home," Erza said with complete seriousness. She gave off a deadly and threatening aura.
"A-Aye, sir!"
The four of them had been running for what seemed like forever. They had no destination in mind until Erza finally came up with a plan.
"I have an idea," she started as they neared the train station. "Since Sabertooth can't help us look around Crocus and the small towns surrounding it, we'll start there. Maybe Princess Hisui has an idea of where Lucy is considering she is a celestial mage as well. Perhaps they are connected or something through their magic."
"I don't think that's likely but what the hell," Gray said, unbuttoning his pants before being slapped by the red-headed mage.
"Wait, why are we heading towards the train station?" Natsu asked, his face turning green and his tone letting them know he knew the answer to his question.
"It is the quickest way to get to Crocus," Erza answered.
"Not if I fly with Happy!"
"Master told us to stick together and that is what we are doing!"
Erza then decked Natsu square in the face to get him to shut up, effectively knocking him out in the process. She ignored the looks strangers were giving her as she dragged the unconscious boy onto the train. It was much easier to get him on unconscious anyways. With that, the four were on their way towards Crocus, the regal city full of good and bad memories.
Natsu woke up just in time as the train came to a stop somewhere in Crocus. He quickly got off the bus and collapsed onto the ground, practically kissing the ground in content. The four then found a small café to eat in while Erza pulled out a communication lacrima. Connecting it to Mira's, they were instantly met with the white-haired mage herself along with Makarov and Levy.
"Hi, guys!" Mira greeted. "Are you guys in Crocus?"
"Yeah," Erza answered, "we figured that if Sabertooth couldn't help us then we would check ourselves. We just got here."
"It's a good thing you guys have such great intuitions! Jason hasn't picked up any of my calls, which is strange because he always picks up. I think he knows something. He works in Crocus somewhere, you just have to find him!"
"I can do that for you right now!" Levy announced as she skimmed through some articles from the eccentric journalist. "By the way, I haven't found anything from Lucy or a possible penname, so I think that is a dead end. Here it is! OK, Jason works a couple of blocks away from Sabertooth in some building named 'Cool Publishing.' Can't miss it!"
"Thanks, Levy!" Natsu said with a wide grin. His heart was becoming more and more relieved as they got closer to finding Lucy.
With that, they ended the call on the communication lacrima and were on their way to finding a strange blonde guy that overused the word "cool." Levy was right, it was pretty much impossible to miss the building when there was a huge lit up sign that said "Cool Publishing." Did he really name his business that? Natsu barged into the place, practically oozing fire with each step.
"Oi, Jason! Where are you!?" he screamed, effectively scaring everyone else in the room.
Erza punched him upside the head as she shouted, "Idiot! There are other people here, do not disturb them while they are working! Anyways…" The girl cleared her throat and then yelled, "JASON COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"
Natsu, Happy, Gray, and everyone else in the room covered their ears as their bodies shuddered from the volume of Erza's voice.
"Didn't she just tell me to be quiet?" Natsu asked absentmindedly.
"Yep," Gray answered.
"Oh, cool! Fairy Tail members coming to see me in the flesh!" the group heard. Jason walked towards them with a notebook in his hands. "Are you guys here for an interview or something? Cool!"
"Shut it with the word 'cool' already!" Natsu exclaimed. "Does Lucy work here?"
"Lucy?"
"Yeah the blonde one with the big boobs. She used to model here."
"Nope! She doesn't work here anymore!"
Natsu could hear Jason's heartbeat getting louder and could faintly see sweat rolling down his face. It was clear he was either lying or hiding something.
"You know," the pink-haired mage started, "it's impossible to lie to a dragonslayer." The boy then let out a breath of fire to get his point across.
"W-Wait, let's be cool about this! OK yes she works here, but she is out on a long journey to write her own article about the country Alverez. She won't be back for a long-"
"Stop lying!" Natsu yelled as he grabbed Jason's collar. He was about to punch the guy but was quickly pulled away by Erza.
"Is it alright if we stay here until she comes back?" the requip mage asked, taking a seat before Jason could answer.
Jason had no choice but hope they would leave before Lucy's shift started. "Thank God she has a late shift today."
Hours passed and there was still no sign of Lucy. It made the group wonder what exactly she was doing, and then the sad truth dawned upon them. Cool Publishing had already released articles of Fairy Tails revival that had streamed all the way to Magnolia, meaning that Lucy knew they were getting back together and chose not to come back. How were they going to get her back when she actually wanted to stay in Crocus?
"M-Maybe she's just packing everything still," Gray said, trying to cheer everyone up. I mean, it was a possibility, though not likely.
"She would've contacted us if that was the case," Erza sadly replied, keeping her hands folded in her lap.
"She should've contacted us either way," Natsu hissed. How the hell could Lucy just ignore all of them like that? Like they were nothing? Finally, the boy caught a familiar scent and he whipped his head towards the door. "It's Lucy! I can smell her!" He was about to run towards her when Erza pulled him back into his seat.
"We will wait here," she demanded with a deadly glint in her eye. "We can't annoy her or else she'll never come back. Stay here and be calm. Do not get angry at her."
"How can I not get angry!? She's choosing to stay in this dump instead of coming back to Fairy Tail where she belongs with her family!"
"I'm sure she has her reasons."
With that, they waited for Lucy to arrive in the terribly awkward room. Finally, they could hear footsteps approaching them and the look on Natsu's face told them it was no doubt Lucy. As expected, the busty blonde entered the room with a bright smile on her face, not seeing her old friends at first as they were in the corner that she never needed to look at before.
"Jason!" Lucy greeted as she put her things down on her desk. "Is it just me or is it really hot today? Oh that's weird, now it's cold! It feels like… death in here. And why do I smell fish?" Noticing the worried look on her boss' face, she followed the direction his finger pointed in until her eyes landed on a group of people she hoped she wouldn't see anytime soon and she let out a shriek. "W-What are you guys doing here!?"
"We could be asking you the same thing," Natsu hissed back with an angry glare, only to be harshly nudged by the red-head next to him.
"It's good to see you again, Lucy," Erza said with a small smile though it was obviously fake.
"L-Lucy," Jason started as he stood by the girl, "do you want me to call security on them?"
Natsu was about to burst into flames at the journalist's remarks before he saw Lucy shake her head.
"Sorry, Jason. I'm going to have to take a day off…"
With that, Lucy led the way to her apartment, insanely aware of the people staring at her. The girl was proud of herself, however. She managed to fight back tears and keep a steady voice, even after looking Natsu in the eyes. She didn't even let her anger towards the boy take control of her, which surprised the girl. The walk was silent and terribly awkward, making Lucy relieved when they approached her apartment complex.
"W-Well guys, this is my new home," she awkwardly said as she stepped inside.
Gray cleared his throat and replied, "Nice place. Bigger than your old apartment."
"I like your other one better," Natsu announced, keeping his gaze locked onto Lucy, trying to trap her into eye contact. "Why the hell aren't you back in Fairy Tail, Lucy? You know we are back together."
Lucy stared into Natsu's eyes, tears threatening to fall once again. Just as she predicted, it was too hard being around him right now. Part of her wanted to summon Loke to help calm her nerves. Her body began to tremble as she fumbled with the hem of her tank top. Erza noticed the girl's nervousness right away and saved the day.
"Natsu," she started, pulling out a sharp sword, "you, Gray and Happy need to leave for a moment. I will talk to Lucy."
"What!? No way!"
A sword was then mere inches from Natsu's neck, gleaming at the boy dangerously. "Natsu, I will give you alone time with her, but first I need to discuss something very important with Lucy. So leave." The way she said the last word scared the boys in the room. "And go far enough so that you cannot hear, do you understand?"
"Fine," the grouchy dragonslayer muttered, "you get an hour." He then gave Lucy one last glare before following Gray and Happy, slamming the door on the way out.
"I'm sorry about Natsu," Erza calmly said after putting away her sword. "He's just been really excited to see you again, we all have."
With that, Lucy broke into a fit of tears, sobbing uncontrollably after tackling her dear friend into a hug. Everything was too much to take in; Natsu's angry glares, Ezra's kind words, her friends actually finding her. It was too much.
"I missed you too," the girl finally said, sniffing cutely. "I'm sorry, I just can't come back, Erza."
"Why not?"
"I-I can't be around Natsu without breaking down. Hell, even thinking about him makes me cry."
"...Can I ask why Natsu? He was your best friend, what happened?"
Lucy attempted to wipe away her tears though her efforts were futile as crystalline tears continued to stream down her face. "I thought he was my best friend, but he just left without saying goodbye!"
"Lucy," Erza started, stroking the blonde mage's hair, "his father died, I'm sure he just needed some time alone."
Something within the celestial mage snapped and she became furious. "I'm tired of hearing that as an excuse! He still could've said goodbye! When my dad died I wanted to be alone but I still went on jobs with them because I didn't want to leave them alone! And he's not the only one that lost someone! Gajeel and Wendy's dragons died but they didn't leave! And I lost somone too…"
Erza's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall someone else that passed away in the battle with Tartaros. Perhaps she was close to one of the civilians that died from the Bane particles.
Lucy ignored Erza's silence and continued, "I wanted to talk to Natsu because he lost someone too, but all that was waiting for me was a pathetic note with like ten words." She then pulled out part of a gold, broken key and Erza's eyes widened as she recognized the symbol on it. "…I wanted him to comfort me… She's gone, Erza…"
With that, the girl broke into an even worse fit of tears, it was almost as if she was screaming. Erza continued to hold her friend, rocking back and forth in an attempt to soothe Lucy. Eventually, she did calm down, though she was left hiccupping due to all of the crying.
"Lucy," Erza started with a sympathetic look on her face, "I am truly sorry about Aquarius. Just know that you can talk to me about it whenever you feel comfortable doing so. I can understand your anger with Natsu for not saying goodbye. However, everyone handles loss in their own way, try to be more understanding of his actions. I'm not telling you to forgive him, I am simply urging you to try understanding him. Also, the way you are going about this is both foolish and selfish. Natsu isn't the only one that cares about you in Fairy Tail. We are your family, Lucy. Not saying hello to us during our revival was just as bad as Natsu not saying goodbye. We were worried sick about you."
Lucy fought the urge to cry again as she nodded. Erza was right. She should've contacted them at least, even if she wasn't planning on coming back to Magnolia.
"I'm sorry, Erza," she said, feeling pathetic with herself.
"I forgave you long ago," the requip mage replied with a gentle smile as she wiped away the last of Lucy's tears. The red-head then let out a sigh. "It's not me you should be worried about. Natsu and the others should be arriving any minute now. Are you ready to face him?"
Lucy swallowed loudly, noticing in that instant that her throat was terribly dry. Nodding her head, she answered with fierce determination, "I am."
AN: Sorry the chapter is a little short! And I'm sure that you are all disappointed Lucy and Natsu weren't the ones to talk first after finally seeing each other, but they both needed time to calm down! :) Next chapter for sure, so stick around! :D
Alexa: Thanks for another sweet review! :D
Raepan2010: I know exactly what you mean! Like sure, they showed a hint of her anger when she was explaining that Fairy Tail disbanded but that was so not enough! And while that idea certainly sounds amusing, I can really only picture her being mad at Natsu and not the whole team! Thanks for the review! :D
J.C: Thank you so much! And I don't think I'm that good at writing tbh, I think I just have good ideas! And believe me, it certainly took a lot of practice to get to this point! I re-read my first fanfic the other day and was dying from laughter because of how terrible it was haha! If you ever write a story, just know that I would be more than willing to check it out and encourage you with some nice reviews :)
Guest: Haha so sweet! Thanks for the review and I hope I didn't keep you waiting that long!
Court818: Well, now you know! :D Thanks for the review :)
Mavis Chase: I actually don't read manga besides Fairy Tail! I was told to watch the anime but I never got around to it! Maybe I should this summer! :D
Dark Shining Light: No it will not be easy ;) Thanks for the review!
Kyouya Sata: I always reply to everyone :D And doesn't it!? I can't believe it's not a canon thing!