Fire, Blood and Stars

Chapter 7

"Why, what's the problem if he gives me his blood?" Lucy was confused.

Erza, who hadn't taken part in the conversation, said, "Even though his blood has healing properties, it means that he's bonded to you. I don't know all the details myself. You should ask him."

"That's okay, I'm just glad to be alive."

Natsu wondered to himself, how is this girl so damn cheerful all the time?! Is it all a complete act?

Remembering what he had overheard in the train, he looked at her eyes. Yes. He was right. Despite her cheerful exterior, her eyes hid pain deeper than even his.

When they reached the station, Natsu looked at the train with so much distaste that Lucy saw it recoil visibly. Then they realized that the train hadn't recoiled, but started.

"Catch it!", yelled Erza, running towards the train tugging her personal mountain of luggage. She got on the train, and Gray jumped in after her. Lucy was trying desperately to reach them, but the train was steadily gaining speed. She stumbled and saw the ground zooming towards her face.

The next second, she felt herself being lifted by something. Recovering from her surprise, she found herself inside the train, Natsu's arm around her waist.

She turned to thank him, but stopped, seeing his face scrunched up in intense discomfort. She giggled a bit and patted his head. Gray looked at her like she was crazy. Well hello! If you have been abused, then there comes a time when you won't be scared of anything. You die, then you die. Simple as that. Not that she saw Natsu as something to be scared of, but still.

Natsu was mad at himself. He hadn't shored up his defenses against his motion sickness. He had acted on instinct, pulling Luigi (Lucy?) on the train. That was what shocked him the most. Normally his instinct would have been sitting back and watching. He had known that giving her his blood would have some effects, but this much? That wasn't possible. Unless she was....? No, that wasn't possible. He was jerked out of his train of thoughts with a bump, causing his stomach to lurch.

In that state, he could almost feel his motion sickness laughing at him. He told it, "I'll get you next time." He could clearly see it giggle, as if saying, "Good luck".

Natsu felt something in his hair. It wasn't bad. In fact, he quite liked it. Whatever it was, it played with his hair, until it jerked away. He heard a slight cry of pain.

Lucy was absentmindedly stroking Natsu's hair, when Gray, with a horrified expression, grabbed her wrist violently and pulled her hand away from Natsu. His grip was tight enough to hurt her badly and leave a mark, causing her to cry out.

In Gray's defense, his intentions were completely noble. He didn't want Natsu to hurt her. But he probably should have been more worried about himself.

Natsu sat up from his position and shot Gray a look that made his blood run cold. He looked at Lucy's wrist and took it in his hand. Gray relaxed. He touched it with a finger until the mark faded. Then, without warning, he grabbed Gray's head and slammed it into his fist.

Gray sank down to the floor. Erza immediately pulled him up and looked fearfully at Natsu. She was going to say something, but the look in his eyes made her think twice.

"Thanks for healing me." He looked at her, his expression changing. He couldn't figure her out. What made this girl tick? "I didn't know that you knew healing magic."

"I do have healing powers, but I didn't use them on you."

"Huh?"

"I just controlled the blood flow of your body. A bruise forms when your capillaries split open and blood flows out inside your body. I just reversed that."

"Oh. That must come handy."

They talked for a bit, to the horror of Erza and Gray. When the train came to a stop, they dragged Lucy out from the train.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?! That guy is dangerous! Don't ever do that again! Stay away from him!"

"He healed me, he saved my life, and brought me to the guild I'd always wanted to join. He hasn't ever done anything to hurt me, and you have! And now you have the nerve to tell me to stay away from him?"

Normally Erza wasn't a quiet person, but seeing them argue, she hesitantly tapped their shoulders. "Um, guys? Speaking of him, he's still on the train."

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