Mermaid Tail {A NaLu AU}

Chapter 4: Sword Fighting and Siren Hunting

Mermaid Tail by Cryptic_Eyes, All Rights Reserved, © 2015

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Disclaimer: These characters will be as close to the personalities of the original characters, but some moments will be OOC, to fit the story. I hope you enjoy!

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Sorry for the wait, minna! I'm at my dad's so it's interesting trying to write here. But I got the chapter up, yay! This one was very fun to write indeed, and I hope you guys enjoy it! The dedication is given to miss Angelvt! Thank you for reading this story and commenting, it means so much~! Please comment and vote on this chapter, I'd appreciate it very much! Until next time, everyone; love you all!

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"You ready, Luce?"

Lucy smirked, nodding. "Yes!"

Natsu lunged, and she dodged for the first time, determined to prove that the books she had read would come in handy. She may not be able to beat Natsu on the first try since experience was key, but she would hold her ground longer than the pinkette thought she could. She wanted to surprise her friend and get that cocky grin off his face.

Natsu sidestepped and slashed diagonally, and Lucy parried the blow with a block and spin. Their swords connected roughly, and some of the crew watched as captain went against mermaid, the best swordsman on the ship versus the newest. The blonde began to panic, however, as she began to get pushed back towards the wall. To try and find a way out, Lucy only dodged at the last second, dropping to her knees and rolling out of the way and back into the open.

Natsu turned to face her as she got to her feet, a secretive smile on his face. "I'm surprised, you've held your ground better than others."

"Shows you that books are actually pretty useful, aren't they?" she asked, smirking herself.

Natsu answered with another lunge, and Lucy parried it quickly. However, as he brought a swing up from underneath him, it knocked her slightly off balance. The fire dragon slayer took the chance and dropped to the ground, swinging her legs out from underneath her. With a yelp, Lucy began to fall back, her feet coming out from underneath her and her sword clattering to the ground. But Natsu jumped back up fast enough to grab her wrist and wrap an arm around her waist, steadying her balance.

"T-That was cheating!" Lucy pouted, and the captain smirked now.

Letting go of her, Lucy picked up her sword and twirled it thoughtfully, thinking of what went wrong there in that single parry.

"Aye, you may have gotten knowledge from books, but experience is the best way to learn. Enemies can fake their swings to exchange them for different ones, so it's imperative one can read that in order to see it coming."

"And how do I do that?" Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows in question.

"Watch their feet, their eyes, whichever is quicker. If they are looking forward instead of up like their attack, they are changing. You see?"

Lucy did, and she nodded, thinking that Natsu had changed his footing at the last second. There was a lot more to remember in swordsmanship than she had originally believed, and it made her admire Natsu and the others more to be so good at it.

"May we go again?" Lucy asked, turning to the captain.

He nodded, his face serious during this lesson--well, most of the time.