Fairy Tail: Falling Towards the Chaos

Chapter 31

"Lu, it's okay, it's over now," Levy said, attempting to comfort the crying blonde in the rickety hospital bed. The Celestial mage writhed in the bed, almost jerking away from the soft glow of Wendy's healing magic; the young girl almost moved to tears.

The room was filled with members from the guild, Gramps stationed at the bottom of the bed with his head lowered as he listened to Lucy's muffled cries. The B Team lined the opposite wall, expressions filled with concern and remorse.

"My poor child, I'm so sorry," Gramps whispered pitifully.

"Please, I-I just w-want Natsu..." Lucy whimpered when Wendy backed away, tears streaming down her face at the girl's visible pain.

Natsu stormed in, flanked by Gajeel. He took one look at the state of Lucy, pausing only for a second, before he rushed over. Her eyes were puffy, the left one swollen and turning a disgusting purple colour, cheeks patched up by large pockets of gauze. She could barely see.

She continued to cry out despite Natsu standing right next to her until he grabbed her frail hand in his own. Her whimpers slowed, and she turned, gently cradling the hand close to her face, breathing heavily.

"She is incredibly weak, her body has sustained a lot of — " Porlyusica trailed off, "I believe the seizure occurred because of overexertion due to her medical history as well as emotional stress, but her life is not at risk, she is expected to make a full recovery however, I have advised Master to pull her out of the games to allow her to focus on resting." She concluded, voice slightly wobbly. It seemed even the stone-cold healer could sympathize with a human.

"Yes, that seems like the best option," Erza spoke quietly.

Natsu felt relief overtake him at Porlyusica's words, and he took a deep breath, focusing on rubbing soothing circles on the back of Lucy's hand with his thumb.

"Alright, let's give them some space!" Erza cleared her throat and while many wanted to stay with their injured comrade, they knew better, and began silently filing out of the room; throwing well-wishes over their shoulders and promises to visit later.

With the room cleared and Porlyusica venturing to the next room to check on the patient, Natsu allowed himself to fall to his knees at her bedside. The most broken croon careening itself from his chest. Lucy's body jolted at the sound, and her hands shook around his.

When Natsu looked up at her face again, he felt the tell-tale signs of tears forming in his eyes.

"D-don't — " Lucy coughed slightly, "d-don't be sad, Natsu. I p-played t-the game and I-I lost."

"Just don't," Natsu scoffed a bit harshly, turning his head away, blinking away the tears rapidly, "you didn't lose! You didn't lose." He reaffirmed strongly.

"D-don't get all a-angry on m-my behalf,"

"Lucy, I feel like destroying this whole kingdom for what they did to you,"

"Well, d-don't do that!"

"But look at you, Lucy! Look at what they've done! Humiliated our fucking guild and hurt you in the process!" Natsu shouted, standing up, and backing away from the blonde. He felt so angry. So furious with everyone and everything: her, Gramps, the guild, the damn tournament, and himself. She wanted to enter this stupid festival and look at what it'd costed her.

He was snapped back to reality when Lucy had flinched at the sound of his voice, moving to get away.

His chest rose and fell rapidly with every bated breath he took. He willed himself to calm down for Lucy's sake, the last thing he wanted was for her to be scared of him right now.

"This stupid tournament," he cursed under his breath.

"C-come here," Lucy called softly, eyes swollen shut. Natsu was quick to kneel at her bedside again, grabbing her hand to let her know he was here. His chest rumbled softly, and he knew it was worth it for the little giggle she produced. Faintly, Natsu's ears picked up on one of the announcer's voices from above.

Fairy Tail's Natsu and Gajeel versus Sabertooth's Sting and Rogue!

Natsu's nostrils flared and suddenly, a wicked, unnerving grin slithered onto his face.

He squeezed Lucy's hand to catch her attention.

"Hey, you still want to win, right?"

"U-um, y-yeah," Lucy responded, slightly unsure, but it was all the confirmation Natsu needed.

"We'll win." Natsu said firmly.

A promise.

-----

Natsu had never been more excited in his life. His body felt light and the adrenaline rushing through him was electrifying. Face-to-face with the so-called twin dragons, Natsu almost couldn't pick which one to stomp out first.

"I've been waiting for this moment," Sting drawled, a cocky smirk on his face. Natsu decided he was the one; he'd give the other one to Gajeel.

The two Fairy Tail dragons shared a quick glance as the bell went out before they struck simultaneously. Suddenly, Sting had a face full of Natsu who was grinning so widely, it was nerve wrecking. He didn't hesitate as his fist connected with the blonde's face, knocking him back.

The assault was relentless. Natsu gave no opportunities for him to get on his feet or bounce back; just kept striking as images of Lucy's swollen face appeared and rebounded in his mind.

At some point, it seemed, the two baby dragons found their footing shakily and tried striking back in various ways, but Natsu and Gajeel wouldn't let it happen.

Gajeel's roar sent Rogue flying back, and Natsu roughly grabbed the collar of shadow dragon's cloak. One sniff and Natsu had known. This man had imprinted on Minerva. So, Natsu didn't spare him any mercy, dragging the boy along as he charged towards Sting with speed, giving him no time to react.

He allowed the dark flames to engulf his body and felt his scales poking through on his temple. He slammed Rogue into Sting, knocking them both back, circling his hands as the fireball he created gradually increased. The swirls of flames struck out and Natsu growled lowly.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"

It was so satisfying to see them stumble back onto their feet. They hadn't even felt an ounce of the excruciating pain Lucy had been put through, but Natsu would make sure justice was served.

Sting's out of breath chuckle cut through the air.

"I-I can't believe it, all this because of some weak Fairy," Sting wheezed, doubling over in laughter.

Natsu's growl was loud enough to rock the stadium.

"Watch your mouth when you talk about my mate," Natsu warned lowly.

"Mate, huh?" Sting scoffed, "baggage is what imprints are."

"How would you know? Your mate wouldn't even look at you," Gajeel sneered, "mates are sacred, only for dragons. We are supposed to hold the upmost respect for them yet both of you throw them away like trash."

"Sacred? Respect? What a bunch of bullshit," Sting laughed again, "I feel nothing for that girl, just an insane urge to — "

Natsu flew forward, kicking Sting straight in his chest, seething.

He could hardly believe it. Did these two know nothing? A dragon's mate was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, hell, many dragons had never even met their mates. Imprints, mating, bonds — they were all incredibly precious.

Lucy was incredibly precious, and Natsu felt like his world would crumble without her.

To be continued...