Back to the Start(nalu)

32- Learn Something

"You always run right into the battle, Natsu. You need to stop and breath. Give yourself a moment to think about what it is that's in front of you."

I don't look up from my food, seemingly disinterested.

Lucy sighs ands props her head up on her hand. She looks to the side, her eyebrow slightly furrowed as she mumbles to her herself.

"Otherwise you just might end up becoming amusement for someone else. There's more to a fight than just brute force..."
-
-
-
A frown settles on my face as I jog through the trees.

That conversationwith Lucy is all I can think about after that farce of a fight in the forest. They made a complete fool out of me.

A twig slaps against my face and I stop in my tracks and let out an angry breath.

They threw an acorn at me. That's just how serious they took our fight...if you could call it that.

Why don't I ever learn?

My thoughts cut short when the sounds do people walking along the Grass travels to my ears.

I smirk to myself and instantly forget about my self doubts.

They're close.

I start walking at a slow pace and tread lightly to keep my footsteps silent.

Recklessness won't win you the game Natsu.

Running up there screaming with flames spewing everywhere isn't going to do anything. At least not for the forest wizard.

Figures appear not too far in front of me and I walk closer, but still hidden behind scenery.

There's four of them. Three guys who I recognize from the shop and the last one stands between two of them with a long coat on that goes down past their knees. Their hood is up making me unable to see any detail but it has to be the person from the forest. The one who was simply toying with me.

I clench my jaw at the thought of it.

I can't wait to shove my fist in their face.

I quietly walk forward through the cover of the trees, leaves keeping me hidden from their view if they were to look my way.

Think Natsu.

You don't know their strength. You don't even know your own strength anymore. Switching between past and present keeps switching everything up and I'm not sure what I'm capable of.

Analyze it, Natsu.

Watch them and learn something.

That's what Lucy would do.

I follow quietly after them, hiding behind bushes and trees.

"Nice job keeping things quiet. We could've been caught because you were toying with some wizard."

I'll listen...figure out who they are and what roles they play in a fight.

The transformation mage is the one who speaks. He says it to the hooded figure with malice.

The hooded figure ignores him, but the guy on the other side of them steps up to the loud one.

"That guy was not to be taken lightly. If she hadn't kept him busy the way she did who knows if we would have gotten out of there with the money or even at all."

So it's a girl.

The girl steps up next to him. She lifts her hand up to quiet him and keep him in place.

"Stop, Jay. I don't need you to defend me."

My eyes widen.

That voice...

The hooded figure turns to the side to look at the loud one. Her face becomes visible, the moonlight casting down onto her features.

My whole body stills and a weight drops into my stomach, keeping me in place.

No...

Every hope and happiness that had been coursing through my after this morning completely fades away in an instant, everything I had believed shriveling into nothing.

The image of Lucy from earlier appears in my head, the smiling, bubbly girl making conversation with the old lady at the shop. I wince, causing the picture to switch to the one before me. I strain to bring it back, the happy girl with the bright smile, but it only flickers in my head slightly before withering away just like everything else in this moment.

It's Lucy's face.

Hard and stone cold.

She glares at the man and her voice comes out cold.

"If you wanted to keep things quiet like I planned you would have used the key that I had stolen. I'll be having a word with the master when we return about your recklessness. You won't be a part of these jobs anymore."

The guy seethes in anger, his hands turning to fists. A metal coating starts to cover his arms starting from his fists just like when he punched the glass at the store.

My eyes can't take their eyes off the scene, of Lucy's passive face staring at the man who seethes in anger. My body starts to shake as I piece together what it all means.

No...

No. No  No!

When I saw her at the shop...she was scoping the place out, planning the robbery tonight...stealing from them. The smile on her face, what I thought was happiness...it was a lie. Fake.

She's with these people. The group I'm here to stop...the dark guild...

Lucy's a part of this dark guild.

"Did you hear that?"

I snap out of my thoughts only to realize that I had taken a step back and stepped on a stick in the process.

I look over at the four of them from behind the cover of trees and they all stare off into this direction without seeing me. I watch Lucy, her gaze scanning the trees around me.

My eyes are wide with fear. Fear that Lucy will see me...fear for what she would do if she did.

How?

My hands tremble.

How did this happen?

It can't be real. It can't.

I slowly take a step backwards while my gaze is stuck ahead of me at her.

She moves her gaze along the trees once more before turning around and motioning to the guy called Jay.

"It was nothing. Let's go."

They all turn and start to walk the way they were originally heading.

I blindly walk backwards until the four of them are out of my sight. As soon as all that's left to see is trees and leaves I turn around and sprint through the forest.