Guild Secrets

4 ~ suspicions & curiosities

Natsu POV

Not long later, Lucy and I headed out. It was late afternoon and we'd decided to explore the town a little before scoping out the guild's base tomorrow.

Makoto had invited us to have dinner with him tonight. He lived in a house next door with his son named Kenji. We told him we were going out for a while first and we'd head to his in a few hours.

"The guy seems nice." I stated as we sauntered down the quiet street outside the Inn.

"Yeh, I wonder what his son is like." Lucy replied. "Why wasn't he in the Inn with his dad?"

"Maybe he has his own job. Or maybe he's just a kid" I shrugged.

We walked for a while. The town was quite small, consisting of the same grey stone houses over and over; some with two floors, some with one. There were shops dotted around, however were all shut.

The further we delved, the darker the town seemed to get. Lucy and I knew we were heading closer to the guild. Windows appeared broken on some of the houses and shops, the streetlights were knocked over and unlit. The town literally was dead.

"It's a shame, it's such a pretty place" Lucy sighed as we turned back to head to the Inn.

"We can get this place back to normal. No doubt about it!" I said, a genuine smile spread across my face.

Lucy POV

Natsu always brought the needed optimism in situations like these. He's always positive, never worrying. I liked that about Natsu.

The walk was quickly finished and we were once again walking the street of the Inn. We had decided to change, before heading to Makoto's house. Natsu staying in his usual attire, whereas I slipped into a small purple dress, tieing my hair in a high pony.

Before we knew it we were heading back down own the stairs, through the dark Inn, and towards the front door of Makoto's house.

Natsu knocked on the door loudly.

"Hello? We're here!" He called at the door.

The door swung open, there stood a boy. The boy looked around mine and Natsu's age, with dark black hair, dull grey eyes and pale skin. He wore all black.

"Uh hi, I'm Kenji. I'm guessing you two are the people who are occupying a room at my father's Inn?" The boy asked, his voice deep. Makoto musn't have told him he hired a guild.

"That's us!" Said Natsu, pointing his thumb towards himself proudly.

"Hey, I'm Lucy, this is Natsu." I said sweetly, my face holding a smile as I gestured towards Natsu and myself.

"Come in, Mako- I mean my Father is just cleaning himself up." Stumbled Kenji, slapping on a quick smile before taking us inside. I gave Natsu a quick glance, to see him with a questioning face. I pushed Kenji's 'mistake' aside, and followed him in.

The house was a complete contrast to the Inn next door. The rooms were well lit with plenty of space around. We were led into a dining room. The walls were painted white, meeting with the dark, oak wood floor below. In the centre stood a small table with four chairs neatly placed around. To the side was a shelf scattered with old books and ornaments. Other than that, the furniture was sparse, with not much else around.

We sat around the table, Kenji sitting opposite Natsu and I, who were side by side.

"Where's the old man I'm hungry!" Said Natsu, being his usual childish self and banging his knife and fork on the table impatiently. I giggled by his side, he never failed to amaze me.