The Love of Nekos

Chapter 2 - Nekos

"Natsu" I heard Lucy's voice and being shaken. "Mm five more minutes Lucy" I replied as I turned over. "Natsu wake up!" Lucy shouted and slapped me awake. "Ow Lucy~" I whined as I rubbed my sore cheek then I noticed something strange about her. She looked shorter and had blonde cat ears and a tail. Her chocolate brown eyes looked more cat-like and she was wearing her normal clothes but her breast looked smaller. Around her neck was a brown leather cat collar.

"What happened to you Lucy?" I asked as I stood up, "look at yourself" she replied. I looked down at myself and noticed I was shorter too. I felt my head to find salmon coloured cat ears and a tail coming out of my tailbone. I felt my neck and felt a cat collar like Lucy's underneath my scarf. "Who shrunk my scarf!" I complained. "Natsu, I think the real problem is WHY IN EARTHLAND ARE WE NEKOS!" Lucy shouted at me. "Oh yeah" I replied and then looked at our surroundings.

We were in a dark cell with the only light source coming from a small barred window high on the stone wall. The bars of the cell crossed virtually and horizontal probably to make sure we won't be able to slip through. In the corner of the cell, laid a single black blanket and a black bowl with water inside. What's with the colour black?! "Wait where's Happy?!" I asked as I looked around the whole room for him but I couldn't find him. "He wasn't here when I woke up" Lucy said.

"Ah, finally awake I see" we heard Zan said before coming out of the shadows with a smirk. We were the size of a kitten compared to him. "Where's Happy?!" I demanded. "Oh the blue exceed? Don't worry he's fine, I've sent him back to your guild along with Ms Heartfilia's gate keys" he replied. Lucy sighed in relief knowing that her keys and Happy were safe. "But don't expect him to come to your rescue. I've got one of my lackeys to wipe his memory of this place" he added.

"Why did you do this to us?" Lucy asked and then I stepped in front of her. Even in this new body, I'm going to protect her with everything I've got. Without her keys, she defenceless. "For business. My business is creating nekos out of dark wizards and selling them on the black market because lets face it the magic council won't care if a few dark wizards went missing, but I got a special request to change some light wizards into nekos, or more specifically you two" Zan said. "Who?" Lucy and I asked in unison but Zan turned around. "You'll see. He'll be coming around tomorrow to pick you both up" he replied with a devious grin before disappearing into the shadows.

"Natsu, I'm a bit scared. What would someone want with us?" Lucy asked with her hands together against her chest. I took her hands away from her chest and held them in my own. "We'll get through this. I won't let anything happen to you" I said honestly. She smiled and nodded. "Thanks Natsu" she replied. "Besides, I believe our friends are out there right now trying to finding us" I added to reassure her which worked. "You're right. I hope they find us soon" she replied and then I hugged her.

As we were hugging, my eyes couldn't help but follow her tail swishing from side to side. Without letting go of her, I tried to catch her tail. "Natsu, what are you doing?" Lucy asked, "nothing" I replied but I kept trying to catch her tail. "You're trying to catch my tail, aren't you?" she sighed. I stopped trying to catch her tail after hearing that. "No..." I replied, innocently.

"Anyway, how are we going to get out of here?" she asked as we separated from our hug. I looked around and got an idea when I saw the bars. "I could burn it" I said while running to the bars. "Fire Dragon Roar!" I chanted but when my flames disappeared, the bars were unaffected. My flames were ten times smaller than what theynormally are. "The bars must be made out of seal stone" Lucy said as she felt the bars. "Hmph no fair" I complained as I sat down on the floor and pouted. "Don't worry, we'll find another way out of here" Lucy said and then patted my shoulder.

Suddenly we heard a door bang in the shadows and a buff man with a black knight insignia on his shoulder. "I recognise that insignia" I heard Lucy mumbled in thought. The man unlocked the cell door and threw a fish inside the cell. "Oi food" he said bored and then locked the cell door again before walking out of the room. "I think I have an escape plan" Lucy said while I focused on the raw fish in front of me.

"Food!" I cheered and ran to the fish. I took a bite out of the fish and Lucy looked at me with disgust. "That's a raw fish Natsu. You're going to make yourself sick" she complained. "We're cats, we can eat raw fish. Anyway, it tastes nice. Try some" I replied and offered her some. She sniffed the fish and then took a bite. "Mm this is nice. Maybe transforming into a neko changed our tastebuds" she said before taking another bite. "Maybe" I said with my mouth full.

After we finished eating, Lucy clicked her fingers. "I remember where I've seen that insignia!" she exclaimed, "where?" I asked. "They're the dark guild Dark Knights" she said. "So you've heard of us?" Zan said as he appeared from the shadows. "How did you keep yourselves hidden for so long? The Magic Council couldn't even track your whereabouts" Lucy asked. "Hiding in plain sight" he replied, "wait you don't mean" Lucy said with a surprised expression on his face. "Yes Ms Heartfilia, this whole town is the Dark Knights" he replied. What?!