One Choice

Chapter 22

"Na...tsu?" 

Lucy stared at him with wide eyes, her lips trembling as his name escaped from her lips. Her cold, brown eyes shook as they laid themselves upon the person that stood before her. That salmon pink hair, that scar on his right cheek, and most of all, that pair of sharp onyx eyes...it was undeniably him: Natsu Dragneel. 

He equally stared back at her with the same expression, his face mixed with shock, relief, and confusion. Even if you were to line up all the people in the world who looked like her, he would never be able to mistake her for anyone else. That long, silky blonde hair which never seemed to get tangled, those honey-chocolate brown eyes, those fair, luscious lips, and that voice which called his name each time with such clear distinction, he would never ever confuse it with anyone else's. It was definitely her. The girl who he had spent the most time with and the girl who he trusted would have his back at any given moment. The very girl who he saw as his partner: Lucy Heartfilia. 

"Lucy," he stared at her. "You-"

He snapped his attention towards an incoming smoke bomb and he quickly shielded his face and eyes but still kept his eyes peeled. However, he widened his eyes, rocked by what he saw. There, a fox-masked man took her into his arms, her head buried into his chest as he firmly held her with no intention of letting go. Even without seeing his expression, he could feel the murderous glare that was sent his way before he quickly disappeared and faded along with the smoke. 

He stood there, dumbfounded, his bangs covering his eyes. He dropped his hand back down to his side but it wasn't loss he was facing but rather, anger and fury. He didn't know who he was or where he came from but to take her from him, he was asking for death. 

Lucy, he balled his hands into fists.

The smoke was clearing up fast and recognizing that the government was involved in this, there was nothing more that he could do. His mission had been to secure the goods but if it meant being caught, then he might as well abandon it. After all, what good would it be for him, an assassin, to be caught? Clicking his tongue, he quickly set off and didn't stop until he was a good distance away. He looked back at the building and narrowed his eyes. 

That was definitely Lucy. There's no way that wasn't her, he said, sure of it. If she's here then that means that she's also been let out.

Thinking that, he heaved a sigh of relief. When he first woke up, he didn't how much time had passed but all he was sure of was that it was a miracle that he had been able to survive that attack and most of all, he was sure that the others had survived, too. He could sense it. Waking up in a cold, dark room resembling that of a lab with no visible windows or doors, he was greeted by Shiro and as a member of Fairy Tail, there was no way he wouldn't know the name of Yanagisawa Kotaro. Fairy Tail was in their debt and this time, too, it was due to him that they were able to survive. He heard that the others were still in critical condition and that it would take time and of course, he was willing to do anything to repay him for his kindness. Menial jobs such as killing people and erasing highly classified information were nothing to him and for Shiro, he would do any task and job that was given to him — regardless of morals. If his actions were deemed inhumane and wrong, Fairy Tail would still follow through and as a member of that guild, he took it upon himself to follow their decisions. Even if his actions were to one day harm Fairy Tail, they would still comply with his wishes for that was what they owed him and even more so, what they owed him now. Their lives were saved by him and thus, were meant to be thrown away by him. 

He had thought that he was the only one who had woken but it seemed like that wasn't it. He reasoned that Shiro must've had a good reason to hide it for the excitement of seeing a partner again after so long might interfere with their missions.