A/N: Alright, another chapter up and done! I had the itching feeling that if I posted the previous chapter without Lucy's 1 month adventure, people might start asking about that. Well, in my plot, she fights with some bad guys who had connections with a certain guild. She was about to "interrogate" them but they managed to run away. I thought that it would be a waste of time and its also a filler. Who likes fillers anyway(I don't. I apologize to those who love them.)... Anyway, this chapter might make you go Yey! or Hey!. So... enjoy~~ Don't forget to review! suggestions will be taken into consideration too~
Chapter 16(Natsu): Who is it?
After taking his brother, Gajeel, away from the Devil's Mansion, Natsu sought refuge in a near-by forest to recuperate from their injuries. Gajeel wakes up and Natsu pinned down his brother just in case he is under the influence of mind control magic. Gajeel did not show any resistance. Natsu did not put his guard down.
"How shameful," Gajeel said, "I was supposed to be the one to protect you but instead, I ended up being the one causing more harm to you."
"Tell me Nii-chan! " Natsu growled at Gajeel, "Why did you let someone of lower rank control you?"
"I didn't have a choice, Natsu." He replied. "I thought that by allowing that person to control me, I could protect you and Wendy."
"Who controlled you brother? Tell me so that we can give this bastard a piece of Dragon Slaying!"
"Brother, we can't." Gajeel interrupted. "If we do that, Wendy will not forgive us."
"Hold on, I don't understand what's going on. What do you mean Nii-chan?" Natsu stood up. "Wendy died didn't she? Why-"
"You heard it, Natsu. Wendy is still alive" Gajeel lowered his voice. "She joined Grimoire Heart. I tried to change her mind but she wouldn't listen. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want you to know the truth so I made up a cover story for you to believe in. Natsu, I'm sorry."
Natsu fell on his knees. His mind went blank and emotions going haywire. How could this be? His brother promised him that he would never hide anymore secrets from him. Natsu punched the ground. His frustrations were vented out by his roar.
"You bloody fool, Gajeel!" Natsu roared as he stood up and punched his brother on the face.
Gajeel took in the punch despite his injuries. He knew that he was in the wrong.
"I'm trying my best to understand why you did that, Nii-chan." Natsu murmured. "No matter how much I force myself to believe you, a part of me refuses to listen."
"You don't need to force yourself to believe me, Natsu." Gajeel replied. "I can understand how you feel. It's not easy to take this in but we have to. We need to move on."
"You have yet to answer my previous question, who controlled you, Nii-chan?" Natsu growled to his brother.
"He is-"
Suddenly a bright flash of light accompanied by the loud roar of thunder interrupted their conversation. The place became covered by dust and smoke. When the smoke settled down, Makarov and Laxus stood in front of the Dragon Slayer brothers.
"Natsu, where is Lucy?" Makarov asked Natsu.
"I sent her back to Fairy Tail together with Happy." Natsu replied.
"Good. Laxus return to Fairy Tail and inform Erza and Gray about the situation. They must not let Lucy leave the guild until we return." Makarov ordered his grandson.
"We can teleport back to Fairy Tail. Why are you going to take the long way back?" Laxus replied.
"Natsu's 'Brother' is a Metal Dragon Slayer, you will only fry him instead of teleporting us back to Fairy Tail, you moron!" Makarov barked at Laxus.
"Sheesh, you didn't have to shout at me." Laxus cleared his ears. "Fine, I'll return back by myself. Hurry up and don't take too long to return. Lucy is capable of doing a lot of things."
With that, Laxus disappeared in a flash of lightning. Makarov turned to face the Dragon Slayer brothers. His facial expression changed from cheerful to serious.
"Now, there is something I need to tell the both of you." Makarov said.
"What is it, gramps?" Natsu asked.
…
As I rooted my entire body in the asphalt ground, my mind was blank. I knew that Ojou-chan might be kind and gentle enough for her not to leave the guild and I behind. I was wrong. She left. As much as it hurts me, I will not leave my place. Not until she returns. The other guild members tried to change my mind but I refused to listen to them. They tried to pull me out forcibly but I retaliated but covering my body in flames. Nii-chan stepped up and told everyone that it would be best to leave me alone. The old man agrees with him too.
I did not know how many days have passed I knew I was getting weaker. Lucy has not returned. My body started to tremble and my body temperature dropped. Gajeel tried to persuade me to forget about her but I shoved him away by glaring at him. Nii-chan knew that I was serious about this. He backed out and walked away. More days and nights passed and still, no signs of Lucy anywhere around me. A strong wind blew my direction, I caught Lucy scent but I knew she was still far away. Happy tried to feed me but I refused.I could tell that this made my partner very upset.
"You moron!" Happy shouted angrily at me before he flew away.
I bit my lip, trying to swallow the pain that she'll never come back. Soon, my mind went in and out of consciousness. My mouth was dry and my body as fragile as glass. It would not be long before I enter my zombie mode. Before I move on with the story, my zombie mode is a mode in which I start to do something weird unconsciously. The most frequent was my kissing parade. Guys were not spared from this parade. From what Erza told me, the entire guild had to pin me down. It sounds weird but I had to believe them.
Moving on with the story, it was a hot day. I was on the verge of entering zombie mode. As I was about to faint, I caught a strong scent. It was Ojou-chan's. I was happy but I could not remember anything after that. I hope I did not do anything explicit. I just have to wait until I wake up. I wonder how long has it been since I lost consciousness? I could smell Lucy around me. I could feel her warm hands and finally, I opened my eyes.
When I saw Lucy's face, I was greeted by a hard slap to the face. Startled, I looked at her while I placed a hand on the cheek she smacked.
"Idiot!" She shouted at me.
"What?" I asked.
She gave me another slap on the other cheek and stormed out of the room. I looked around and my body was bandaged. I looked at a mirror beside the bed. I lost some weight. As I continued to look at myself, my stomach growled. Alright, I guess it is time for me to munch on something. I got off from the bed and walked towards the door. As I was about to reach for the door knob, my brother, stood in front of the door and he was munching on some metal.
"I saw Lucy storming down the corridor just now. What did you do? Love quarrel?" Nii-chan asked me, grinning.
"I don't know and it's not a love quarrel!" I replied.
"Well, hurry down to the lounge, everyone's waiting for you." He said as he walked away.
My weak empty body could not keep up with my brother's pace. At least he could have helped me down. Jeez, it's great to have him back. As I made my way down to the lounge, the old man's words kept on resonating in my mind. "Lucy's problem has connections with Grimoire Heart, your sister and the disappearance of the dragons." This could be my big break. I've been searching for Igneel for so long and finally the answer to my prayers. By helping Lucy, I could eventually find Igneel but at the same time, I would be using her to achieve what I want. I do not want that. I think it is wrong. I have to find another solution.
As I opened the doors to the lounge, a huge table with a mountain food welcomed me. Lucy sat at the bar and she was busy talking to Mira. Happy was the first to greet me.
"Natsu, we prepared a lot of food for you to eat!" Happy chirped happily.
"All of the food is for me?" I asked.
"Yep!" Mira shouted from the bar. "All of it is for you!"
I was starving and I was only thinking of one thing and that is, eating! I ran towards the table and pounced on my food. Goodness, the food tastes so good! I continued to munch on the food like an eating-machine and then, I remembered my manners.
"Everyone, let's eat together!" I called out to everyone.
"I thought you ain't gonna say that, Natsu!" Elfman said as he rubbed his hands and helped himself with a chicken wing.
The other mages joined in but only Lucy remained where she was. I do not know what was going on so I asked Elfman.
"What happened to Lucy?" I asked.
"Oh, you kissed her remember?" He replied.
"What?" I exclaimed.
I wiped my hands and made my way to Lucy. I just hope that she is not angry. I sat down beside her. She looked at me for a short while and then, looked away.
"What do you want?" She growled. She sounded annoyed.
"I'm sorry about-" I paused, "you know."
"What?" She replied.
"I mean, I'm sorry for-" I paused again.
"Look, if you are not going to say anything. You are wasting your time and my time too!" she barked at me as she jumped out of her seat and walked out of the lounge.
I just watched her walk away. God, why is it so hard for me to say something to her? I turned around and asked Mira for a Bloody Mary.
"Love quarrel?" Mira asked.
"It's not a love quarrel, Mira." I sighed. "I don't know. Did she say anything about me?"
"I told her about your 'zombie' mode and she suddenly turned red." Mira replied, grinning. "I think she likes you!"
"I don't know." I said to myself as I gulped down my drink.
I as I was about to leave the lounge, Mira called my name.
"Take this, Natsu!" Mira shouted as she threw a huge fireball at me.
"Thanks for the meal." I said as I turned around and ate the flame.
I walked out of the lounge and walked towards the back of the guild. As I walked down the corridor, I caught the scent of someone I know. I did not know who but, I sense trouble. Lucy was there and the other person…
Wendy.
A/N: Is this for real? The enemy, Grimoire Heart's Wendy, is in Fairy Tail and Natsu denies his feelings for Lucy? How is Lucy's problem connected to everything? What is going on? Find out in the Next Chapter... Chapter 17: Why?