The Huntress

■Chapter Thirteen-Lucy's hammer■

"Luce!" Natsu yelled as he charged into the scene. When he arrived he was shocked to see Lucy's yellow hawk eyes that his mother mentioned. She wielded her bow and arrow but now two feathers poked out of her blonde hair and a tail whipped at her feet, it's tip sharper than a knife. She glared at him. "Get out of here you idiot!" 

He shook his head. "I am not leaving you!" 

Jackal frowned and took this as an opportunity since Lucy was distracted. He reeled his arm back and punched her in the gut, causing her to stumble back and kneel to the ground. She jerked her head up, an intent to kill in her citrine eyes. "Seems little Lucy-Luce's distracted!" he cackled. 

Natsu ran to her, pulling her frame into his chest. He scowled at Jackal, angry that he had the audacity to hurt her in his presence. Lucy hit his chest and pushed out of his arms, swiftly grabbing her arrow and dashed towards her brother, jabbing the arrow into his shoulder with a harsh force. Natsu inwardly winced, not used to seeing something so morbid. She pulled the bloody arrow out of him as soon as she stabbed him, and jumped back, knowing better than to just assume he was down. 

Jackal cried out in pain, wriggling around on the floor. A few seconds later his body laid still as a stone and his breathing stopped. Lucy narrowed her eyes and crouched like a monkey, waiting for her prey to strike. Her ears twitched when she noticed an irregular breath in his respiratory pattern and growled when she noticed his annoying smirk planted on his resting face. Then in a millisecond Jackal was in front of Lucy, grabbing her waist and shoving her into the ground. 

"Luce!" Natsu cried out, reaching towards her. 

Jackal snapped his head in his direction and cut his eyes at him in jealousy. In a swift motion he was behind Natsu, twisting his arm behind his back. He smirked and whispered into into the little prince's ears. "Deep down she's insane just like me....maybe loosing you again will make her finally realize that..." his vindictive voice made Natsu all the more angry. 

He grit his teeth together, struggling against Jackal's strong hold. "Get your dirty hands off me you bushy haired freak!" Natsu shouted. 

Lucy quickly bounced back to her feet and growled proprietorially. How dare he wound his arms around his like that! How dare he touch him! She narrowed her eyes as she tried to control her rage. She did as she always did when she felt like killing someone, think back to what Romeo always told her when they were young. Running into a battle angry, is running into a battle blind. Natsu cried out in pain and  she realized that Jackal broke his arm. Great, another thing to worry about. Though he did have fast healing so maybe she didn't have to pay too much mind about that one. Jackal tightened his taut grip, causing Natsu to clench his jaw. Lucy glared at Jackal.

"Let him go you savage!" she shouted, her eyes showing intense anger and possessiveness. 

"What're you gonna do princess? Beat me? Your own brother?" Jackal taunted. 

She narrowed her eyes at him, "A brother that's obsessed with me." 

Jackal tsked and gripped tighter, his long claw like nails digging into Natsu's tan skin. Natsu cringed in a mixture of discomfort and disgust. Jackal was obsessed with Lucy? Like, in a brotherly way or sensual way? Because to be completely honest, the first one sounded better than the last. Why was he obsessed with Lucy anyway? Didn't his mother say that the Heartfilias had tons of sons and daughters? Why Lucy instead of all the rest?

Wait.....where's Romeo?  Wasn't he supposed to be helping Lucy fight Jackal? He looked pretty ready for a fight last time he saw him. He stifled a laugh. Did he seriously get lost?

"Face it brother, I don't see you that way." Lucy said, crossing her arms and giving a look that said she thought this was ridiculous. Natsu thought that the whole day had been ridiculous. He sulked. Why couldn't the universe just let him have a nice day when he kissed Lucy? Was that too much to ask for?

"Never! If it takes harming your little prince to make you understand that you're just as messed up as me then I'll gladly take his life!" he bellowed, moving his fingers from his arm and slithered them up to his throat. Natsu widened his eyes and clawed at his hands, trying to free himself. 

Lucy felt her overprotective senses kick in and she felt a new kind of rage come over her. Her yellow bird eyes glowed in the dark shade of the pine trees, and her clothes burst with light, the shining hue dimming down and revealing a sleek black suit lined with gold. In her hands were a gun and her bow, her quiver remaining on her on her back. Her long blonde hair was pinned back, keeping it out of her face. "You touch my Natsu and I'll kill you like the last woman who tried!" she shrieked and pointed her gun at Jackal, her fierce glare staring him down. 

At any other time Natsu would blush at Lucy calling him hers and revel in how carnal she looked, but right about now all he felt was fear for his life and relief at Lucy's recovery. She swung her hips as she walked up to them, her demeanor being deadly and easily skewed. Her suit gleamed under the starlit sky and her face shined like the moon, her intriguing appearance causing Natsu to pause and stare at her. So beautiful...I can't help but want to stare at her all night...

"You leave me no choice!" Jackal yelled, squeezing Natsu's neck like a stress ball. Lucy ran towards them, knocking his head with the butt of the gun. Jackal fell to the ground from the force of her hit and let go of Natsu to get his bearings back. Natsu fell to his knees, wheezing from almost suffocating. Lucy walked over to Jackal and shot her fist into his chest, rocketing his body into the ground and creating a crater. She repeatedly did this and then jumped into the air using her tail to boost her. She raised her hands into the air and a sludge hammer the size of a metal bat materialized in above her. She grabbed it and dove towards the ground, holding her hands high over her head. 

"Lucy no!" Jackal screamed. 

"I'm sorry.....brother..." she whispered, a single tear falling from her hawk eyes. 

She bashed the sludge hammer into Jackal's skull, making sure to hit his weak spot: his scar. Jackal screamed out into the skies, his cries of pain echoing throughout the hallow bunches of trees in the forest. His screaming quieted down until there was no sound at all, his mouth simply hanging open with his eyes screwed shut. The air around them whipped around dangerously from the energy of Lucy's attack. She stared blankly down at what she used to call her loving older brother. Memories of them together compiled into one small montage, their childhood moments making her smile at her brother's beat up body. 

"You were such a good brother, before it all happened...I'm sorry." she kissed his forehead and slowly backed away. Her sludge hammer dissolved into thin air and her suit whisked away like the wind. She suddenly felt a wave of fatigue hit her and she staggered, her balance wavering like an indecisive child. Natsu gasped and ran forward, catching her before she fell. He looked down at her tired little face and leaned down, planting a sweet kiss on her nose. She opened her eyes, a hazy sheen shielding her yellow orbs. Natsu chuckled, shaking his head. "Dummy,"