Team Natsu arrived at the Fairy Tail guild hall as the sun was setting. "We're back! Where's Gramps?" Natsu was still holding the blonde girl, who had stayed unconscious the whole journey. Her condition didn't seem to worsen, which relieved the group, but she hadn't improved either.
"Welcome back! Master's upstairs. You can meet him now if you'd like." Mirajane called to them from the bar, the white-haired mage smiling as she waved.
Erza nodded her thanks as she turned to address her team. "I'll go with Natsu to take the girl to Master and see if he can help. Wendy, Gray, would you mind fetching Porlyusica? I know she can be a bit prickly, especially when it's getting late, but tell her it's an emergency." Wendy and Gray nodded before turning to leave. The Exceeds decided to follow the sky dragon slayer and the ice mage, rather than stay at the guild.
Erza followed Natsu up the stairs, watching to make sure he didn't lose his balance or the grip on the girl. They found Master Makarov sitting on the railing of the second floor, watching the guild go about its activity below. He turned when he noticed Erza walk up.
"Oh, Erza, Natsu! You guys are back? I hope the job wasn't too much of a problem. I had better not get a bill for repairing some damage you brats caused at the town!" The old man flashed a cheeky grin that Erza couldn't help but smile back at.
"Everything went fine. But actually, on the way back, we found this girl on the side of the road. She seems to be ill, but Wendy's healing magic didn't work on her. We don't know who she is, and she was alone when we found her." Natsu laid the girl down on a nearby table while Makarov turned to inspect her.
"...I see. Did you call for Porlyusica?" He looked up to see Erza nod an affirmative. "Good. For now, we can keep her in the infirmary downstairs. Put her in one of the beds, Natsu."
"Got it." Natsu picked the girl up again, bridal style, and walked her downstairs, Erza and Makarov following.
After Erza changed the girl into a clean set of robes and tucked her in the bed, she took a seat nearby to monitor her condition. Natsu couldn't help but frown at certain features he noticed playing on the girl's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed, indicating the strain the sickness was putting on her body. Her cheeks were flushed, making her fever more obvious. A couple stray drops of sweat were slowly rolling down her face as she unsteadily breathed in and out. Hang in there..
Natsu's thoughts were interrupted as the infirmary door opened and Porlyusica strode in, looking less than amused at being summoned at that time of day. Wendy and Gray followed the healer in, the former trembling slightly, and the latter hung his head a little lower than usual. It was obvious that it took an outstanding effort to convince the old healer to come with them to the guild. Before Natsu could even begin to feel sympathetic for the two, he caught eye contact with Porlyusica, and he instantly knew to back away from the bed.
Erza got up as well, to give the old woman some space. The healer huffed, and immediately got to work, setting a small kit of tools to the side. As she worked, she mumbled to herself, cursing "Makarov and his kids," and how much they "demanded such ridiculous things" of her at the worst times of the day.
Despite her quiet cursing, Porlyusica worked deftly and efficiently. The four mages could only watch as the woman took out various potions and tonics to try getting down the girl's throat. She also took out some diagnostic medical instruments to be able to get a better idea on the girl's condition.
After a few more minutes, the healer finally stood up, stretching a bit to loosen up her stiff back. She turned to address the four mages that were waiting in anticipation for her announcement. She gave a small sigh, and began to speak.
"I can't heal her. At least, not right now." She didn't react when she saw the shock and worry spread over the group's faces.
"What!? But if you can't even heal her, what'll we do? Is she just going to die!?" Gray couldn't believe that even Fairy Tail's private healing specialist couldn't treat the girl. However, before he could continue, the woman held up a hand.
"Let me finish before jumping to conclusions, you brat! While it's true that I can't do much right now, the girl's life does not appear to be in danger. Her condition has stabilized in a way that prevents her from improving or worsening. This sickness... I've never seen its kind before. I can give her some potions to help with the fever, and I patched up some injuries I found around her body, but there isn't much else I can do. And you lot are all aware of the fact that magic doesn't work on her, which complicates the whole healing process." Porlyusica picked up her things, ignoring the still-stunned faces of the other people in the room. "I'm going now. Watch her, and call me if she gets worse." With those last words, the healer left the room.
Natsu sighed as he walked over to the bed. "So what should we do?"
"Exactly what Porlyusica said. We watch her. We can take turns monitoring the girl's condition. I'll go first." Erza pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down. "Could you guys get me a slice of cake? I just remembered that we haven't eaten anything since coming back." Natsu's belly growled as he remembered that he was actually starving. They all giggled for a moment, and Gray turned to the door.
"Come on, let's go. We'll be sure to bring you something, Erza."
"Thanks." After the other three mages left the room, Erza sighed and faced the blonde girl. To her relief, the girl's fever seemed to have gone down a little bit, and her breathing seemed to have normalized as well. Still, Erza thought. We sure are going through quite a bit more trouble than expected for this girl. I hope she gets better soon. The redhead sighed and put her head down at the foot of the bed, wanting to get a few moments of rest before Gray came back with her cake.
Before heading home, Porlyusica paid a visit to Makarov in his office. She opened the door, and the old man looked up in slight surprise before gesturing for her to take a seat. She sat before him, giving a brief sigh as he studied her face.
"Well? Were you able to heal her?"
"No."
"No?"
"She's a special case." She paused before continuing, taking Makarov's raised eyebrow as the cue.
"She's not actually that sick, to be technical about it. Her body's mostly exhausted. Something tells me that she used up most, if not all of her energy before they found her. She had some bruises and scratches around her body, too." The guild master's closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"But what about the whole thing about her rejecting Wendy's magic?" Porlyusica's face darkened at this question.
"To be completely honest, I can't really tell. I ran a standard diagnostic test on her, and I found very little out of the ordinary. Her body gave no readings of magic power, suggesting that she isn't a mage. I guess magic doesn't seem to bode well with her normal human body." Makarov twisted his mustache, clearly not satisfied with the explanation. Still, he thanked the healer for all that she had done, and saw her out of the guild hall.
Lucy panted as she ran deeper into the woods. I need to get out of here, fast. She cursed as she tripped over a stray tree root, momentarily losing her footing. She glanced back to see if her pursuer was still behind her. Need to reach safety...
Lucy woke up with a start, breathing heavily as she tried to calm down from the rush of adrenaline coursing through her body. A dream... What exactly was I doing though?
"Oh hey, you're awake!" Lucy shifted her gaze to see a boy smiling at her. He was sitting at the foot of the bed, grinning so widely that Lucy was amazed his face didn't just break. He was wearing a black waistcoat with a sleeve on his left arm, a pair of baggy white pants, a scarf of a similar shade to his pants, and sandals. His exposed right arm sported some sort of tattoo on the shoulder. What caught Lucy's attention the most, however, was the boy's pink hair. The boy's smile faded as he noticed that she was just staring at him.
"Hey, you alright?" Lucy snapped out of her daze to attempt a small smile.
"Y-yes, I think I'm fine. But... where am I exactly? Who are you?" The boy seemed to relax at the positive response, and his bright smile returned.
"You're at Fairy Tail, the number one magician's guild in Fiore!" The boy proudly pointed at the guild mark on his shoulder. "And I'm Natsu, one of its members!" During Natsu's introduction, Lucy noticed a few more people enter the room. First, there was a redheaded woman clad in armor, followed by a shirtless young man, and a little girl with long blue hair taking the rear.
"Oh, she finally woke up. That's good to see." The redhead took a seat beside Natsu and smiled at Lucy. "Welcome to Fairy Tail. I'm Erza."
The shirtless one walked up behind Erza. "Yo, I'm Gray."
"And I'm Wendy!" The little girl ran up to the other side of the bed, brightly smiling at Lucy. Lucy smiled back, and introduced herself to the group.
"Nice to meet you all. My name's Lucy." Erza nodded, but wasted no time in getting to her point.
"So, are you a traveler? Do you mind telling us how you ended up on the side of the road, sick and injured?" Lucy looked down, shifting uncomfortably at the sudden pressure placed upon her. Wendy, sensing Lucy's discomfort, spoke up.
"W-wait, she's still recovering! We shouldn't push her so harshly minutes after she woke up..." Erza backed down, apologizing.
"I'm sorry. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, it's just that your presence and condition are both rather... strange."
"No, no! It's fine. I'd be happy to explain myself," Lucy paused before continuing. "That is, if I could.." She winced at the confused faces around her.
"Eh?" Natsu asked. "What do you mean?"
"I-I don't really know what I was doing there either. All I remember waking up in the forest nearby, and walking for a while before I passed out on the road." Lucy shut her eyes. She couldn't take all of the expressions of disbelief sperading over the mages' faces. They'll never believe me. They'll think I'm crazy. What if they think I'm a spy? I'll get kicked out right away!
"Well then." Lucy snapped out of her thoughts at the words. "It seems you have a case of amnesia." Makarov and Porlyusica walked in the door, somehow aware of the conversation that had just passed. The master continued to talk, ignoring the still-stunned faces of everyone in the room.
"You can stay with us if you'd like, at least until you've recovered your memories." As he spoke, Porlyusica was already doing a checkup on the blonde, examining her more closely than last time.
"Either way, you're in no condition to move around on your own. You should stay in bed for at least another day, to finish fighting off the fever, and letting your body rest up. These four will continue to watch you. Let them know if you need anything."
Lucy nodded lightly. "Thank you for your hospitality. I'm sorry to be such a bother. You don't even know me. I don't even know much about myself either. Erza shook her head as she gently smiled again.
"Fairy Tail would never leave anyone behind like that, whether that person was an ally or an enemy." The rest of the group only nodded in agreement with the requip mage's statement.
Porlyusica stood up and turned to leave the room. "I'm done. She should be well enough to move around tomorrow." She left with Makarov.
Gray stretched and turned to leave as well. "Well, it was nice meeting you, and I'm glad to know that you're better. But I'm starved. I'm gonna go out for some food. Anyone wanna tag along?"
"I do!"
"Sure." Wendy and Erza stood up to follow Gray.
"I'll hang around, to watch Luigi." Natsu stayed seated, oblivious to the red spreading across the blonde's face at his mispronunciation.
"It's Lucy!"
"Oh. Whatever." Natsu shrugged and flashed that same cheeky grin from earlier. Lucy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling a little bit herself. Natsu turned back to the group of mages at the door. "Hey, grab something for me though, would ya? The hotter, the better!" Erza nodded before closing the door behind her. Natsu sighed, laying his head down to rest at the foot of the bed.
"Sorry, Lucy, but I'm a little tired. Gonna take a nap here..." He was snoring after a few more seconds.
Amazing. She thought. That was fast. Lucy stretched and yawned, falling back to the pillow. She was pretty tired, and decided that getting some more sleep wouldn't be that bad.
"Makarov."
"What is it?" The old man turned to Porlyusica, who had a rather grim expression on her face.
"That girl... I found something out in the second checkup."
"Hm?"
"I found a magic seal inside her body." Makarov's eyes widened at the statement.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. The seal is cutting off her memories, and her magic. She's a mage of some sorts, but she's been... isolated from herself." The old man grew tense. No one has been able to perform such magic in a long time. Countless mages have attempted mastering such techniques, only to face extreme disappointment.
Porlyusica continued. "The seal is also what causes her body to reject outside magic so violently. It's a cautionary measure for the possibility that someone try to undo the seal." Makarov sighed. Poor girl. But why and how was she afflicted?
"However, as powerful as the seal seems to be, it doesn't seem to be permanent." The guild master's eyes brightened at the news of hope.
"When I was checking on her, the seal seemed to be fading, even if only a little. I can't guarantee that it really will disappear on its own, so she should be monitored for some time." Makarov solemnly nodded.
"Thank you. You've done a huge amount for us these past couple days." Porlyusica turned and started heading out.
"Tsk. Just keep me out of your brats' business for a while." The master gave a small smile as he watched the old healer walk down the road towards her home.
Lucy felt like her lungs were about to burst. She didn't know how long she had been running, or where she was even going, but she knew she couldn't afford to stop. All around her was darkness. She felt something closing in on her. A dark laugh, from nowhere in particular, echoed throughout the shadows.
Lucy's legs suddenly gave out, causing the girl to fall into a tumble. Pushing herself up, she could only turn about frantically as the laughter steadily got louder.
"I finally caught you, child of the stars."
No... No...!
"NO!" Lucy screamed as she shot up, tears running wildly down her cheeks.
Natsu snapped up and got on the edge of the bed, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he tried to calm her down.
"Lucy!? What's wrong!?" He flinched back as the blonde began to sob, still unaware of her surroundings.
"O-oi..." Natsu's adrenaline rush quickly died down as he took in the scene before him. He was a little flustered, not really knowing how to deal with the situation. Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in, letting her head lean on his chest. Lucy automatically grabbed his vest for support, and continued to cry on the dragon slayer.
"Hey... You're fine. I'm here. We're safe. Shh.." Natsu continued to whisper words of comfort as he held her, waiting as her choked sobs died down. She soon only hiccupped every now and then, and after a few more minutes, her breath had steadied again.
When she had fallen back to sleep, Natsu gently laid her head back onto the pillow, and got off the bed. He sighed and plopped back down into his chair, exhausted from the burst of emotional stress. Watching her might be harder than I thought.
A/N: Hi! First, I'd like to thank you dear reader, for making it this far! It really means a lot to me that my story has interested you enough to read at least this much. I'm still struggling to pull everything together, so I'm sure it's a pretty big struggle just to read it xD
I apologize for the lack of action so far, I'm trying my best to get through the beginning as quickly as possible! But there are a few questions I'd like to ask. Are you a shorter chapter/faster update kind of person, or a longer chapter/less frequent update kind of person? What kind of story are you expecting? What character interactions are you interested in (i.e. Ships? Should I go sailing? More of that last scene I just threw in for this chapter?) Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I am genuinely interested!
Sorry for the long note! I sincerely thank you for reading this far, and no matter what, a new chapter should arrive within a week!