More than friends, less than lovers. (A NaLu fanfic!)

Chapter 6 - Awakening

(Unknown POV)

I walked slowly down the halls of my red bricked castle. Light from the windows shone on the floor, and I created shadows as I walked down the hallway. It has been a long time since I have been this small, and in such a small place. The guards that dwell here are of my own creation, mere ghosts. But they get the job done.

I had a lot of things on my mind. So much to do in such little time. And I would be seeing my son soon. I was ready to see him again; and ready to test his strength. The only thing that was stopping his growth is now in my possession, so it shouldn't bother him anymore. I smiled to myself.

Soon, I would have nothing to worry over.

~

(Lucy's POV)

I opened my eyes slowly to see....nothing. I was in a cell where no light shone. The only light was the dim glow of a torch far down the hallway. And that was unreachable; blocked by the bars of my cell.

I sat up, feeling strangely tired. Where am I? I noticed through the gloom that the entire place was made of red brick. I thought that should ring a bell, but nothing came to mind. I was too sluggish to figure it out. 

There was a single guard outside my cell, and no matter how much I tried to talk to him, he never answered me. Not even when I tried to attack him. And while we're on the subject of attacking, there was some kind of spell preventing me from using my magic! This is infuriating! 

I slumped back down and sighed. I wondered what I was going to do next, and I worried about everyone in my guild. I wondered if they were in this place too. And somewhere deep inside of me, I wondered if Natsu would find me.

He's always been the first to come save me, would that still be true?

~

(Natsu's POV)

It's been about a week since the explosion of the arena. The council has been searching for the ones who did it, but I have a feeling that they won't be finding anyone anytime soon. But honestly, I could care less. Every day that goes by I get more and more frustrated. I just want to go and find Lucy.

The guild has been keeping a close eye on me, though. They seem to be determined to make sure I stay.

I was standing in the rubble, in a spot that Fairy Tail had claimed as their own little campsite. It wasn't official, but no one was stopping us.

"Ah, Flame-head."

I turned around to see Sting approaching me. Great. What could this guy want?

"I've been looking for you. I have something very important I need to tell you." He said.

Suddenly, he grabbed the front of my shirt and brought his face close to mine. He looked serious, now. He said without smiling "If you think the bet is off just because the arena is gone, think twice. It may not seem like it, but I really am serious about this."

He let go and I stumbled back. My eyes were narrowed in fury. "Then what are we going to do? Our guilds can't win the Games if there is no arena." I said.

"We simply re-word the bet. Lucy will join the guild of the one who rescues her."

"How did you even find out Lucy was missing?" I growled at him. The guy is so full of himself!

He shrugged. "I have my sources."

"And.....How can you possibly be so serious about a girl you barely know?" I faltered here.

"....I can tell that she's different. Every other girl freaks out as soon as they see me, but when I first met Lucy, she couldn't care less about who had walked into the room. She was concerned about her guild member." Sting said, and for a moment he had a strange look in his eyes.

Then he left. He said over his shoulder "The bet is still on, right?"

I hesitated before answered "Yes."

I didn't see it, but I'm pretty sure he smiled.

I don't have to worry. Because I know I will find Lucy first. It's not even a question

~

Finally, as the sun was starting to set, Master called out to the guild. "We have had time to recover, and we have gathered our strength and gotten over the shock of the explosion! Now it is time to search for our lost family member!"

Cheers from the guild went up. I smiled.

"I'm splitting you all up into groups so you can cover more ground. If we have to, we will search the entire world for Lucy!"

I listened as he listed the names of the people in groups. Master kept reading, and then he got to my group.

"Now we have our usual group. Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Gray. And because she is a close friend of Lucy and Natsu, Lisanna will be joining their group!"

"WHAAAAAA?" I called out, suddenly alarmed. I had been trying to avoid Lisanna.

"Oh come on, Natsu~! Be more mature! And this way, we can see each other more!"

Lisanna tried to cling to my arm, but I shook her off. I won't have whatever this is getting in the way. Lucy comes first.

Master finished announcing the groups, and we all went to discuss how we would start the search. I said "Well, the first step is easy. I'll use my Dragon Slayer magic to follow Lucy's scent!"

I didn't wait for everyones' answer. It took a matter of two seconds before I had Lucy's scent; a familiar mix of vanilla and strawberries. I was after it, trying to imagine Lucy on the other end.

I could hear my group following behind me. "Slow dowwnnn~" "Slanty-eyes, stop for a second!"

I had no intention of stopping. I'm going to run until I get to Lucy, and that's final.

~

Of course, that strategy didn't work out for the entire way. I lost her scent, due to some unknown reason. It makes me furious.

Where the scent ends was a small village. I couldn't see if anyone was still living there.

"I wonder if they have seen Lucy..." Said Erza, pondering whether it was safe to go to the village or not.

"I would say it's our best bet. If Flame-brain's special smelling powers brought us here, then they must know something." Said Gray with a shrug.

Lisanna didn't say anything. She was too exhausted from running, and so was Happy (even though he can fly). I looked at the village again, and after a closer look I could see people. I started running towards them, yelling back at my group:

"The longer we stand here, the longer Lucy has to wait for us! So let's get going!"

We all entered the village, out hearts full of hope.

~

A/N

Well, I didn't really answer too many questions. :P But if I did, the story would be over so fast!! xD The search for Lucy begins! Come on Natsu, I know you can find Lucy before Sting does! This time I'm setting an official number fo reads before I update again:

20 READS!!!

It's really not that bad. Just recommend this story to your friends, and read it yourselfs, vote comment, all that stuff <3

Bye bye