Fire, Blood and Stars

Chapter 13

Natsu was officially stumped.

Lucy was a very diligent student. She did whatever exercises he told her to do without fail. In fact, Natsu's usual teaching methods did not work on her at all.

On one rare occasion, the Master had assigned him as a trainer to some of the more promising bunch of his guildmates, namely Gray, Erza, Laxus, and at Natsu's request, Lisanna. His approach was simple.

To most people dependent on magic, their physical power didn't matter as much as their stamina. So, he simply made them work till they physically couldn't do more. More colloquially, he made them 'work till they dropped' Those who lasted an hour did the work for one hour and fainted. Those who lasted five hours worked for five hours. Simple, effective, and cruel. Just how he liked it.

Maybe the opinion that Erza and Gray had of him was well deserved after all.

Lucy was a different case. As stated earlier, she did everything he said, to the point it shocked him. A long, long time later, he told her to stop. She was unconscious before he finished the sentence.

Performing a scan of sorts on her, he could see that her muscles were under severe stress. Logically speaking, she should have been unable to continue several hours ago.

Was she motivated to impress him? How much motivation would a person need to work so much past their body's ability? Natsu seriously had no idea.

After that, he had made an interesting discovery. Probing a little further, he found out that, somehow, she had absorbed some of his fire. It wasn't having any adverse effects on her, as far as he could tell. It was just there, inside her.

Natsu had carried her to her apartment and laid her down on the bed. Right now, he was strolling about in the market district, wondering what sort of weapon would suit Lucy. Nothing too heavy, of course. Not too long to handle, but with some level of range. Something flexible, easy to handle. He was looking at a shop, the wall filled with weapons, when he caught sight of one that was perfect for her.

To the inexperienced eye, it didn't look like much. But to the eyes of someone who had come across nearly all kinds of weapons, he knew a good whip if he saw one.

It was made out of a kind of condensed spandex, making it sting like rubber would. It also meant that it could extend just around a couple of centimeters if swung hard enough, giving it more bite. The rubbery but ropey handle made it much easier to grip. And, was that silver running along the top?

In other words, it was badass, and would complement Lucy perfectly.

Lucy was really, really tired. Why did I want to impress him again? She couldn't move any of her muscles without pain shooting through her body. Am I crazy?

Lucy could feel that she was in her bed, even though she couldn't confirm it. Her neck was too stiff and sore to move.

It reminded her of her home a bit. Not in a good way, though. More like, the injuries and bruises she got from her father's whippings.

Hush, Lucy. Don't think about things like that. You are a Fairy Tail Mage now. Act like it.

With great effort, she managed to put one leg on the ground. Then another. She got up slowly and hobbled over to the fridge. She was hungry. The first thing she saw was a squirrel that had been unceremoniously shoved inside.

Her eye twitched.

It must have been Natsu. She thought about teaching him what other people did or did not do, but dismissed it. Such an endeavor would take years.