In-Between

Chapter 17

"Come on guys is this really necessary?"  Poor Natsu had been strung up with special ropes that kept him from using his spectral powers by the angered Sting and Rogue who were demanding that he pay them back for borrowing money and causing damage. "Just let me go please! We can discuss this later!"

"No way man!" Sting said. "You'll pay up or you'll hang there for the rest of your afterlife!"

"I don't have time for this! There's a little girl I'm supposed to be watching right now and lord only knows what kind of danger she could be in! Let me go so I can find her! Please!"

"You expect us to fall for that excuse?"

"It's the truth!"

"Yeah right! Now cough up the money."

"The thing is I don't have any with me at the moment."

"Oh what a shame." Rogue said. "Looks like we'll have to find some way for you to earn that money back."

"I got it! Let's sell his body parts!" Sting suggested.

"What?! No! You can't do that!" Natsu cried. 

"What should we sell first?" Sting said rubbing his hands together deviously.

"I say we start with his head." Rogue said. "I know a guy who's willing to pay a lot of dead man's coins for an ugly ghoul's head that he can make into a mask."

"We'll this guy's mug is definitely ugly enough to be a mask." Sting said.

"Hey! I am not ugly!" Natsu protested. "My looks are flawless and I have the creepy letters of my ex girlfriends to prove it!"

"Maybe we should sell his head without the mouth." Sting said." It's so annoying."

"Agreed."

Suddenly someone whistled for their attention, they turned in the direction of where the whistle came from and they saw a woman's leg sticking out from behind a corner. 

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Sting asked looking at the leg in a lecherous manner. "Looks some lady ghoul wants to get a little naughty with us tonight. Hey Rogue why don't we introduce ourselves huh?"

With their attention being drawn to something else, the two left Natsu alone. Right away Lucy came from the shadows and started to untie him.

"Lucy?" Natsu said.

"Shh! Keep quiet!" She hushed. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly.

"Saving your ass." She said in irritation. "And by the way you owe me big time."

"For what?"

He then noticed that Lucy only had one leg attached to her body at the moment.

"Whoa. You mean that's your leg over there?" 

"Yes and I hate it that I had to use one of my body parts for such a disgusting display."

As she finished up untying Natsu, Sting decided to be slick and run his hands over Lucy's detached leg. Needlessly to say she didn't like that so she willed her leg to kick Sting right in the groin.

"Ow!" He groaned.

"Serves you right." Rogue told his friend. "You should never touch any part of a lady without her consent."

The leg then came out from the corner, revealing itself to not have a body at the moment.

"What the-" Rogue said startled by this.