Fairy Tail: This Little Chickie

Inner Conflicts

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail® by Mashima Hiro

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"I want to get into the thick of it!" Lucy heard Natsu slam his head against the supposed invisible wall that held him and the Master in the guild. "What is this?! Like some kind of invisible wall!" he declared for what had to be the tenth time. Even though his voice was no more than an echo that seemed to be seeping into her dark inner world, it still managed to grate on the blonde's nerves.

Not long after Laxus had vanished with his group of goons, practically all of Fairy Tail charged from the guild with the intent of finding and beating the lightening mage up. The only ones remaining were Lucy and the other statues, the Master, Natsu and Happy. Luckily the boys talked a lot, so she was able to hear about Freed's Jutsu-Shiki power and how he had set up a rule that no one over the age of eighty or a stone statue could leave the guild. It would be no surprise to the girl if Freed left little traps around town as well. The part that confused everyone though was that Natsu couldn't leave to join the fight either for some reason. As far as Lucy knew, he wasn't over eighty or a stone statue; perhaps it was because the type of magic he used was ancient...?

"If you got into the thick of it, then what, you fool?!" the Master's gravelly voice growled out bringing the girl from her thoughts. It was obvious he was deeply disturbed by the current situation; why wouldn't he be?

"It's a tournament to see who's the strongest, right?!" The Dragon Slayer replied and the girl could only assume that he meant that he planned to participate in the fights.

"Where does anything say 'tournament'? These are duels between friends..." At that moment, the normally energetic and strong guild leader sounded his age...it broke Lucy's heart. Natsu however, still did not get it. Was it so hard to understand that what was going on was in fact a bad thing?

"It's just a bunch of fights. We do that all the time!" the clueless boy stated as if his logic was the most flawless thing in the world.

"This is nothing like normal!" the Master's sudden shout would have caused Lucy to jump if she had been able to move. As it was, her inner self did become alarmed. "The lives of friends are on the line! Everyone is going all out! This isn't a situation that can be grasped using normal thought process! If things go on as they are...those who are stone will crumble into sand...and we will never see them again!"

He explained what was going on as simply as he could...well, he attempted to. Lucy hoped that the pink-haired boy would grasp the seriousness of the situation, but was instead startled by his sincere and trusting response.

"I don't care how bad Laxus acts, he'd never do that! He's pretty annoying, but he's still in our guild! It's just a bluff, right?" Her friend's words made the girl wonder why everyone couldn't be as innocent as him.

"Natsu..." the old man said with disbelief evident in his tone indicating that he shared the same thoughts as the stone Celestial Mage. Meanwhile, the object of their fascination had already gone right back to trying to shove himself through the spell that kept him trapped in the guild (she could faintly hear the sound of his skull ramming into something).

Geez...talk about simple...

"This is just a fight festival...but why can't I get into it?"

"I can go right through!" Happy's voice informed Lucy that the cat hadn't left the guild with the rest, even though it was the first time he'd spoken for several minutes...which Lucy realized was a record for the little guy.

"So I'm older than eighty years old then?" the obviously young mage wondered.

"I very much doubt that, but-"