Fight for you || Fairy Tail

Ch 2

"Hi, I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you," Lucy introduces herself as Natsu and Naruko chow down on their food. "Aye!" Happy chimes in, but Natsu and Naruko are too busy stuffing their faces to respond. Lucy sweat drops at the mess they're making. "Umm, Natsu and Naruko, right?" she asks, glancing between them.  "Mhm. You're really nice," Natsu replies, his mouth full of food. "I'm here too, Lucy," Happy says, gnawing on a fish.

"Yeah, thanks. You know, you don't have to rush; the food isn't going anywhere," Lucy mumbles, trying to dodge the flying bits of food. "So about that creep... that Salamander guy was using a charm spell, a type of hypnosis spell. That kind of magic can make people attracted to you, but its sale was banned years ago. He'd go that far just to be popular? What a creepy jerk. But thanks to you barging in, the charm was lifted, so this is my way of saying thanks," Lucy explains. "No problem!" Natsu replies, cramming more food into his mouth.

"I'm a celestial wizard, but I haven't joined a guild yet. I'm actually looking for one, but there are guilds all over the world, and it's really difficult to get into the popular ones," Lucy rants, making Naruko look up at her.

"Sorry, I'm ranting; I tend to do that a lot. But I'm definitely going to join a guild. I bet I could get a bunch of big jobs and earn lots of money," Lucy says, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands.

"Oh yeah?" Natsu asks, his mouth still full. "You talk a lot," Happy mumbles. "Oh right, I kind of forget you guys came here to find somebody, right?" Lucy asks. "We're looking for Igneel," Naruko replies, finishing her ramen.

"I heard a rumor that a salamander was going to come through this town, so we came here to see him. Turns out it was somebody else," Natsu explains, devouring the rest of his pizza. "Yeah, that guy didn't look like a salamander at all," Happy says, looking pointedly at Natsu. "No kidding! I bet that poser can't even breathe fire like a real dragon," Natsu grumbles. Lucy raises her eyebrows in surprise. "So your friend Igneel looks like a dragon?"

The group looks at each other, confusion written on their faces. "No, you got it all wrong. He doesn't look like a dragon; he is one," Natsu says, his mouth half full. Suddenly, an image of a dragon fills Lucy's mind. "Eh?"

"Aye, Igneel is a real-life fire dragon," Happy adds. "Huh? And you think a big fire dragon would show up in the middle of town? Seriously?" she asks incredulously, watching as both Natsu and Happy freeze, speechless. Naruko bursts into laughter.

"That's totally ridiculous!" Lucy exclaims before sighing. She places money on the table and starts to walk away. "Well, I should go. Enjoy your food. Hopefully, I'll see you around." A nearby waitress greets her with a smile. "Thank you, come again," she says, but suddenly freezes with shock. Lucy turns around, also freezing.

Natsu, Naruko, and Happy bow their heads to the floor in front of her repeatedly. "Thank you for the food!" "Thank you!" "Goddess Lucy!"

"Cut it out! You're embarrassing me!" Lucy yells, flustered. "Look, it's fine, okay? You saved me back there, so we're even now, 'kay?" she dismisses, waving her hands. Natsu and Naruko exchange concerned glances. "I feel bad, though, because we weren't even trying to help her," Natsu says.

"Aye, we owe her something," Happy agrees, nodding. "Maybe we should buy her ramen," Naruko suggests, her eyes brightening. Then a light bulb goes off in Natsu's head, and he digs into his backpack. "Oh, I know!" he says, slamming his fist into his palm. He holds out Salamander's autograph with a big smile. "This is for you!"

"I don't want it!" Lucy yells with distaste.

...

Hours later, Natsu, Happy, and Naruko finish their meal. "Hehe, that was quite a meal!" Natsu says, patting his stomach. "Aye," Happy agrees. "Yeah, I'm stuffed," Naruko adds, holding her stomach.

"Hey, look! Is that the boat where that Salamander guy is having his party?" Naruko points at the boat sailing away. Natsu immediately looks queasy at the mention of a boat. "Gonna hurl," he mumbles, clutching his mouth and stomach "Aw, come on! It's not like we're going aboard or anything," Happy says, but he gets cut off by some fangirls nearby.

"Look at that! That's Salamander-sama's ship! I wish I had gone!" one of them exclaims, making Happy glance over at the gathering of girls.

"Who, Salamander?" another girl asks, clueless. "Whoa, seriously? You don't know him? He's the famous Fairy Tail wizard that came to town!" another explains, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

Natsu and Naruko react in shock, and Natsu's expression shifts to one of concern. "Fairy Tail?" he mumbles, while Naruko hums thoughtfully. He looks over at the ship with growing unease but quickly turns away again, feeling nauseous. "So he's in Fairy Tail, is he?" Naruko ponders aloud, watching the boat sail away.

"Natsu, I think we should—" Naruko begins, but before she can finish her sentence, Natsu has already vanished.

"Seriously!" she groans, chasing after him to the deck.

...

Meanwhile, on the boat with Salamander and his crew, Lucy struggles against the restraints holding her down. "If this is what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard, then I don't want it! You guys are the worst kind of wizards—you're scum!" Tears stream down her face as she fights against her captors.

Suddenly, Natsu and Naruko drops from the sky, smashing through the ship's roof and landing in superhero pose behind Salamander. Lucy's eyes widen in relief. "Aye! I know you!"

As the boat shifts beneath them, Natsu's motion sickness kicks in, and he falls to the ground, trying not to vomit. Everyone stares at him in disbelief. "I knew this was a bad idea," he groans.

"Way to ruin the heroic rescue," Naruko says, sweat-dropping at his state. "Hey! What are you doing here, Lucy?" Happy calls out, floating in midair. "Long story—wait, since when do you have wings?" Lucy asks, her confusion evident. "I'll explain that later!" Happy replies, flying off with his tail wrapped around Lucy's waist to carry her with him.

As the crew recovers from their shock, Salamander barks orders at his men. "After her! It'll be trouble if the council gets wind of this!"  Lucy suddenly remembers Natsu still on the ship. "Wait! What about them ?" she asks, panic rising in her voice.

"I can't carry three people!" Happy says, pulling farther away from the ship. "Prominence Whip!" Salamander shouts, unleashing multiple streams of purple fire toward the two flying above him. Happy dodges each attack with swift maneuvers, causing Salamander's flames to explode in bright bursts, which elicits cheers from his crew. "Nice dodging!" Lucy cheers, feeling a bit of hope.

"Um, Lucy?" Happy says hesitantly, breaking her momentary joy. "What is it now?" Lucy asks, looking up at the cat, sensing something was off about his tone. "My transformation's up," Happy admits, and Lucy's heart sinks.

"What?! Stupid cat!" Lucy screams as Happy's wings disappear, and they both plunge toward the water below. With a loud splash, they smash into the sea, sending up a spray of water.