Welcome to the Mafia Family

Chapter 26 - Explanation

Soon we arrived back at Dragneel Inc. and the silver ninja was taken down to the dungeons by Loke and Gajeel. I was a little surprised that this building had a dungeon too but this is a mafia headquarters. Who knows what else is hidden underneath Dragneel Inc. Natsu, Gray and Laxus took me up to Natsu's office to give me an explanation.

The whole situation at the park was a roller coaster of emotions. Happy, to spend the day outside with Natsu. Terrified, when I watched him get shot and thought he was going to die. Shocked to see a ninja jump out of a tree and charge at me. Surprised when Loke appeared to block the other ninja. Worried, when I ran to Natsu's side. Relief, to know he was unharmed when he showed me the bulletproof vest. Annoyed, to know it was all an act and he teased me with that cheeky smile of his. Relaxed, after the silver ninja was captured.

As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, I spoke up. "So, what was the plan?" I asked. It did hurt my feelings a bit that they left me out, but I believe they had a reason to. Both Gray and Laxus turned to look at Natsu, pressuring him to tell me. "Well ah, where do I start? Remember when I told you about your father hiring the Silver Lion to watch you?" he asked, and I nodded in response. "Well the Silver Lion was behind the shooting at the Aquarium and we needed a way to capture him. So, we used you as bait" he explained hesitantly.

It hurt to hear him say they were using me as bait. Was he generally having fun with me during our coffee date or was he pretending for the sake of that plan of his. It wasn't just him though, Laxus was in on this as well. It was twice as painful. I took a deep breath to keep my tears from falling. All three boys noticed how upset I was. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked the question that weighed on my mind. Why couldn't they have told me instead of making me go through that emotional roller coaster?

"We needed the Silver Lion to believe that he had an opportunity to kidnap you, Lucy" this time Laxus spoke up. "It wasn't fair though. Do you realise the fright you gave me?" I replied as I wiped a stray tear that fell down my cheek. "I'm not getting involved" Gray mumbled before walking off towards the minibar to get a drink. "Sorry Lucy, we needed your reaction to be real but just so you know, I didn't just invite you out for the plan" Natsu said and Laxus gave him a glare while my heart warmed slightly. "I knew you needed a break from worrying about your father and needed a day out that doesn't involve work so this killed two birds with one stone. I honestly had a really good time with you" he continued, ignoring Laxus' glare. A smile grew on my face. It warmed my heart to know he was thinking about me and not just using me as bait.

"So, what are you going to do with the Silver Lion?" I asked, now that the tension is cleared. "Same thing we do to all our enemies" Gray commented as he came back from the minibar with a glass of Brandy in his hand. "Which is?" I questioned and then Laxus spoke up. "If they don't give us what we want to know then we torture them" he answered my question. My eyes widened for a moment when he mentioned torture, but I shouldn't be surprised since this is a mafia.

"Speaking of torture. I need to go help with the interrogation. Gray, you're coming with me" Natsu ordered and Gray nodded. Natsu then turned towards me and Laxus. "You two can go home early. I'm sure you're tired from today's events, Lucy" he added with a bit of concern.

"You sure you don't need me here?" Laxus asked. It sounded like Laxus really wanted to be involved with this interrogation and I didn't want to be a bother. "If you need Laxus, I can wait with Levy until you're done. I wanted to talk to her about something anyway" I suggested. Natsu gave me a look that said 'are you sure?' and I nodded to reassure him. "Ok then. Laxus, you're coming too. Let's go" he said before walking towards the elevator.

Laxus leaned over to my ear and whispered, "thanks Lulu." "You're welcome Laxy" I whispered back with a smile as he leaned back and then we walked into the elevator together. Gray took one last swing of his drink before putting down his empty glass on the coffee table and stepping into the elevator after us.

Once I stepped out of the elevator on Levy's floor, the boys took it all the way down to the dungeon. I felt a little sorry for the Silver Lion because I know how scary Laxus can get when someone targets me. "Hey Lu!" Levy greeted and gave me a big hug as I walked into her office. "Hey Lev" I greeted back. "Did you get hurt at all?" she asked as we separated the hug. "Wait, you were watching?" I questioned with an eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I was in charge of shutting off the security cameras around the park before the guys put up the signs" she replied but it raised more questions. "Woah woah woah, slow down. Start from the beginning" I said and then sat down on my chair across from Levy's desk. She sat down on her chair and explained the whole plan that the boys forgot to mention.

According to Levy. Gajeel and Gray came to the park earlier today and put signs up to detour the public away from the park, so the civilians didn't get in the crossfire or filmed the whole thing. Loke hid in the shadows until he spotted the Silver Lion and then followed him in secret using his ninja skills. It was his job to intercept the Silver Lion when he attacked and then lead him to a part of the park where Gray and Laxus were waiting to ambush. She told me the coffee date part of the day wasn't part of the plan which made me smile.

"Oh, I see that smile. You've got to tell me what happened" she said with a smirk. I immediately blushed, "it wasn't anything that special Lev" I replied. "Come on tell me" she whined desperately. "Ok, ok, well first he got us to sit near the window and he offered to pay for my food, but I just stuck with only having my hot chocolate. Then as we were ordering, he whispered into our server's ear something, but he wouldn't tell me what. It turned out he ordered a slice of strawberry shortcake for me as a reward for doing well in my first training session" I told her, and she quietly squealed so the whole floor didn't hear. "I told you it wasn't anything special" I said slightly embarrassed. "But it's so cute. It's clear that you two like each other. I've known Natsu for years and I've never seen him as happy as when he's with you" she replied. As she said that I realised something, I have a crush on Natsu Dragneel.