The Fate of the Four Elements

Chapter Seven: Until Somebody Gets Hurt

After I finished eating, Natsu had introduced me to everyone. I met Lucy, the pretty blonde from yesterday. I also met Gray, who had a stripping problem, and also had a problem with Natsu. Natsu returned those feelings, and they liked to bicker and fight a lot. I met Elfman, who was MiraJane's sibling. Then there's Erza, who everyone seemed a little afraid of, but I actually thought she was really nice, and had a love for strawberry cake, which I could relate with. I also finally met Levy, whom I immediately got along with because I loved books almost as much as she did. I also noticed that she had a soft spot for Gajeel, who I at first saw as an asshole, but realized he was one of those guys that acted mean but really was a good person. Natsu had basically introduced me to everyone in the guild, and before I knew it I was sitting at a table with Lucy and Levy, talking about anything and everything. Poppy was with Carla, Happy, and Pantherlily (who was Gajeel's cat). I hadn't realized how many Dragon Slayers were out there. As I was talking to Lucy and Levy, a fight suddenly erupted and the guild turned into a war zone. I immediately panicked, thinking we were being attacked. Then Lucy explained that it was normal for fights to go on between guild members. I was confused and shocked, and asked why everyone hated each other enough to get in fights on a regular basis. She laughed and explained that no one hated each other, it was just how they were. They were one big family, and families got in fights. I noticed the dragon slayers and how they used their attacks, wondering why theirs differed from my air and water dragon slayer magic. I'd have to ask Levy about it another time, but right now I was caught in the middle of Natsu, Gajeel, and Gray. Lucy and Levy had managed to escape and were currently snickering at me as I nervously looked at the three boys, who didn't even seem to notice I was there. I quickly tried to escape the dangerous triangle, but was sadly hit by some ice. I got sent flying into a table a little ways from Lucy and Levy, and they quickly came and helped me up.
"It's getting dark, maybe we should go home before we get hurt." I glared at her. She knew that I had already gotten hurt, and seemed to be mocking me. She stuck her tongue out at me, and I did the same. I smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time.
"You're right," Levy said, giggling at our behavior, "we should probably go."
"Uhhhhh," I said, realizing something, "I don't really have anywhere to go." I scratched the back of my head, a little embarrassed that I hadn't thought about that before.
"You could stay with me," Lucy said, giving me an excited grin, "you could even help pay the rent!" I smiled widely at her, trying to look excited.
"Sure!" I said as we walked out of the guild. I wish I could stay and help her pay rent. I went and got Poppy before we left the guild. Lucy, Poppy and I parted ways with Levy, but not before she gave me a note book.
"Here, it's not a lot, but it's my notes about Black Ashes. I want you to read it so you can get a good idea of who they are. Just remember to give it back tomorrow so I can continue to put notes down!" She said, handing me a small leather notebook.
"Thank you!" I said, hugging her tightly. I'll have to leave it somewhere for Lucy to find in the morning so she can return it. As Lucy and I walked into her apartment, I took in everything I could. There were several windows I could escape from, so thankfully I wouldn't have to try and use the door, and risk waking her up.
"There's an extra bedroom that you could sleep in." Lucy said, leading me to my bedroom.
"I'm going to go take a shower, you can make yourself at home, read that notebook and go to bed. Goodnight!" She said, walking out of my room. I took my still damp clothes off, hanging them up on clothing hangers to hopefully dry overnight. I slipped on one of Lucy's black t-shirts, it being slightly oversized on me since my chest area was notably smaller than hers. I wouldn't say I was flat chested, but compared to her I was. I sat on the bed, pulling the covers over my legs as I began to read the notebook. Poppy plopped down on my head, also taking a look at the notebook. It basically covered everything Natsu told me, but there was something extra that really caught my attention. According to rumors, Black Ashes had been searching around for Dragon Slayers that knew at least one of the four elements. The rumors said that they needed the elemental dragon slayer magic to power something, but that something hadn't been revealed. My eyes widened. "I knew that they didn't just want me to join their guild! They want to use me!" I said to Poppy. I had to leave. Thankfully Lucy would be easy to sneak past and out one of the windows. Poppy was another story, but she slept pretty deeply so hopefully I'd be able to get past her without waking her. Just as I was thinking of how to get out once everyone was asleep, I heard Lucy yelling from the main room of the apartment. Poppy jumped off of my head as I ripped the covers off of me, running into the main room. Lucy was still in a towel, and she was kicking someone in the gut. I was ready to fight when I realized it was just Natsu and Happy. Thank the gods this shirt barely covered my pantless bottom.
"What are you two doing here?" I said, putting my hands on my hips. Since meeting everyone, my whole polite act had gone down quite a bit, especially around Happy and Natsu, since they'd already annoyed me several times. I'd grown quite comfortable around them, along with Lucy, Levy and Wendy.
"We got bored, so we thought staying the night here would be more fun!" Happy chimed in. I face palmed, panicking on the inside because I had no clue if I would even be able to escape now without waking Natsu up. I definitely couldn't even think about using the door. Lucy just groaned.
"Fine, but you're sleeping on the couch! And don't even think about sneaking into my extra bedroom, because from now on its Rini's room." She said triumphantly, as if she had thwarted his plans.
"Alright!" Him and Happy said in unison, fist bumping the air. After everything had calmed down, I had gone to my room to find Poppy already asleep. Maybe if I just sat and waited until I was sure everyone else was asleep, I wouldn't even have to worry about getting out of bed. I sat in the corner of the room, my mind swimming and my chest starting to hurt from what I was about to do. There was a window by the dining table, far enough away from my bedroom, Lucy's bedroom, and where Natsu was sleeping that I wouldn't wake any of them. Soon enough I heard Natsu's snoring, and I grabbed the notebook, along with my still slightly damp clothes and backpack. I slipped on my dark green skirt, and crept out into the main room to find him passed out on the floor. I then walked to where my escape route was, setting the notebook lightly down on the dining table. I opened the window, thanking the gods that it didn't creak or make any noise. I lifted myself up, crouching in the window. I took a deep breath, getting ready to ju-
"What are you doing?" I froze, turning my head to see Poppy hovering just above the dining table. I saw pain in her eyes, hurt because I was leaving her behind.
"I'm protecting you." I said, looking at her pleadingly. I heard Natsu shift and crouched even further.
"What'sh goin' on?" I heard him mumble, knowing he probably heard Poppy.
"Please, for your own safety, let me go." I said, my voice cracking slightly. I turned away from her, jumping out of the window. It was a farther fall than I though, so I had to roll when I hit the ground. I heard Poppy fly out the window, so I turned around and did something I thought I'd never do.
I used my magic on her.
I made an air ball and sent it shooting at her, causing her to be pushed back into the apartment. The window also slammed shut due to the sudden gust of wind. I knew that that would probably alert Natsu and Lucy that something was wrong, so I turned around and sped up. I never looked back. I knew if I did I wouldn't be able to keep on running. My chest ached, knowing that I'd just broken Poppy's heart, but I didn't have any other choice. If she ever got hurt because of me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I had to leave her behind, with the rest of the Fairy Tail guild. Maybe they could truly be my family one day, but right now I had to focus on getting stronger so I could defeat Black Ashes. So I ran, like I'd always done.