Chaos & Salamander

Chapter 43 - A Hard Decision

Lucy's POV

It's been a week since our battle with Phantom Lord. Since then, I haven't left my apartment while my friends have been busy rebuilding the guild. Guilt was eating me up inside because everything that happened with Phantom Lord was because of me. If I didn't join Fairy Tail, none of this would've happened.

After the Rune Knights arrived on the scene, they rounded everyone up and took us to a military post for extensive questioning. They said their interrogations were going to take a week but thanks to Natsu, my interrogation took less than a few hours. Everything seems to have blown over now. Through the Rune Knights' investigation, all evidence, including eye witness reports, clearly shows that Phantom Lord were the ones to attack us first. Gajeel, Juvia and I even explained to the guild why Jose and Phantom Lord were mad at us in the first place. Thankfully they were all really understanding.

Currently, I was writing a letter to Igneel about everything that happened and even asking a recurring question that pops into my mind. 'Should I leave the guild?' I thought as I wrote the sentence and then stopped. It was my fault that all this happened and who knows if other enemies from my past might show up like Phantom Lord. Even Ignia might decide to attack the guild one day if he's bored of waiting for me to get stronger. I know my friends wouldn't be able to handle a real life dragon on their own. Especially when he's the son of Igneel, the Great Fire Dragon King.

With those thoughts weighing on my mind, I decided the best option for my friends would be to leave the guild. I hope they would understand. Just in case, I decided to write a letter to my friends explaining my decision. Hopefully they will understand once they read it. I considered going to tell them face-to-face, but I felt that if I did then my resolve would shake.

When I finished writing the letter for the guild, my mind wandered to Natsu and Happy. They were my best friends in the guild, and it broke my heart to leave them but it's for the good of the guild and them. I decided to write two separate letters towards Natsu and Happy specifically. Inside the letters, I apologised for leaving them and thanked them for all the great adventures we had. By the time I finished writing their letters, I realised I was crying. Personally, I didn't want to leave because I love being in Fairy Tail, but as much as it pains me to leave them, it would hurt me more if they got hurt or even killed because of me.

I wiped my tears away and then stood up from my desk to start packing. All I really needed was the essentials and a few important items. Luckily, I haven't been in Fairy Tail long enough to have too much to take with me. I quickly packed up my suitcase and prepared to leave. With one last glance around my apartment, I shut the door. I gave my landlady this month's rent and thanked her for letting me stay there. She was a little sad to see me go but wished me all the best on my journey.

Knowing Natsu, he will eventually come to check up on me, I ran as fast as I could to the train station. I needed my scent to fade as soon as possible. When I reached the train station, I looked up at the list of train stops to see where I would like to go. 'Maybe I could go North and train in the mountains for a while?' I thought to myself. I decided to take a train North to Oshibana Station and then walk North to the mountains. Even though I hate taking the train because of my motion sickness, it's the fastest way to travel halfway across Fiore.

With a set destination in mind, I walked over to the ticket desk and ordered one ticket for the next train to Oshibana Station which leaves in three minutes. I rushed to the train and fortunately got on board before it was about to leave. Luckily, I found an empty four-seater compartment and sat by the window, so I didn't bother any other passengers with my motion sickness. As the train whistle blew, signalling the train departing, I prepared myself for what was coming next. Immediately after the train moved, my stomach decided to do somersaults. Hopefully this train ride feels shorter than it was...I was completely wrong.

The hour and a half train ride felt like three hours. Fortunately, I was able to move after the train stopped at Oshibana Station so I wouldn't have to ride the train twice. The last time that happened, I ended up riding between Clover to Hargeon twice. It was horrible!

Once I was on solid ground, my stomach went back to normal which I was relieved. There should be a more Dragon Slayer-Friendly modes of transportation. Anyway, now that I've reached Oshibana Station, I need to walk North to find a good training area in the mountains. 

I grabbed my suitcase handle and then noticed my pink Fairy Tail insignia was still on my hand. I inwardly groaned at my stupidity as I facepalmed. "I should've seen Gramps" I scolded myself. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now and on the bright side, I think of it as a memento of my family in Fairy Tail. Gildarts and Mystogan rarely show up at the guild so it's not much different than what I'm doing. Settling with the thought, I grabbed my suitcase and walked through the city towards the northern forest. I kind of wonder how long it's going to take Natsu, Happy and the guild to realise I'm gone?