The next installment of 'Cuffed' is here!

Are you ready for the fun to begin?

~•*Lucy*•~

I turned from my conversation with Erza to a dazed looking Natsu. He seemed somewhat lost in his thoughts, his eyes seeming to look nowhere but the wall he was gazing at. "Natsu, hey are you alright?" I ask gently at first. When he didn't seem to register that I've spoken, I tried again.

"Natsu! Hey, answer me!" I snap my fingers in front of his face, but he still seemed deep in his own world. I sighed and brought my hand up to connect with the back of his head, jerking him out of his thoughts and shaking him up a little.

"Shit, what the hell was that for?" he mumbled, his hand reaching up to rub the spot I had whacked him in. He looked around momentarily before his gaze focused on me again.

"I was talking to you and you weren't answering." I tell him, a slight pout taking residence in my features.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." He muttered his response and I jumped at the chance to ask about it. It had obviously been something important for him to have been that lost in his own head.

"'Bout what?" I cocked my head to the side slightly out of my own habit. I was more animated than most of my co-workers, and sometimes it wasn't such a good thing.

"Well, I was just thinkin' that you and I should be partners. You don't really know anyone yet, well besides Gajeel, and we get along pretty well." He rambled off and I felt a small weight lift off of me. He had done the hard work for me; I was prepared to slowly get him to trust me so I could wiggle my way into working with him. Now here he was, talking about me being his partner. "So you wanna be my partner in crime?" He ran his hand through his hair almost nervously.

"Sure, I'd love to be your partner." I smiled largely, though I couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt. He seemed so innocent, but from what I had seen from his argument with Gajeel, he didn't put up with anyone's shit.

"Awesome!" He cheered and threw his fist up, grinning like an idiot. But as soon as he said that, the doors shook and rattled as they where shoved open. Cold air seeped over us and washed away the bright mood. The air settled, but not before it brought over a very pungent odor that made my skin crawl. Blood.

Natsu bolted upright from his seat, the chair clattering the floor and leaving a small break in the silence. "Where's Wendy?!" someone shouted, but then I recognize that someone as Gray. "Move outa my way! Where is Wendy?!" he yelled, everybody scampering out of the way. I could finally see who it was that was producing the smell of blood. It was Gray's partner, Juvia.

I gasp and my hand flies to my mouth. "She's out on a job." Mira responded to his question, her movement leaving her hair flying behind her as she motioned for Gray to take Juvia up to the infirmary. Everybody was still quiet, the footfall's of Mira and Gray's rushed steps upon the metal stairs to the second floor the only sound in the room.

I watched after them as they made their way up, my eyes not leaving them until they where out of sight. Once the infirmary doors were shut, the guild burst into murmurs and speculation.

"Who the hell did that to Juvia?"

"What happened to her..."

"Nobody messes with Fairy Tail!"

"I hope she's alright."

"Whoever did that is going to pay!"

Natsu glanced at me for a moment before he made his way up the steps. He went right up to the door, but right as he was about to enter, Gray stepped out. They talked for a moment before walking out of sight. My hand numbly fell to my side. Questions whirled in my mind as I tried to pull up all the information I had on this gang and their enemies.

I leaned on the table and mentally went through all the information. This gang had a surprisingly low number of enemies, but the ones they did have where pretty powerful. The one that had stuck to me the most was my father. He had targeted Fairy Tail, along with the other gangs like them around the time I first wiggled out of his grasp. It was short lived, but it was still on MPD records that he had targeted his enemies.

My face twisted in anger at the thought. My father could somehow be caught up in this, and if he was, well that just spelled nothing but trouble for me. I had to hope that somehow it was just a rival gang, which made perfect sense. I took a deep breath and straightened up to see Natsu coming back down the stairs. I couldn't quite read his emotions as he reached his fingers to his mouth and whistled.

"Happy!" He called out, and I looked at him puzzled. Then a blue flying cat headed his way from behind me. I stood awe struck for a moment before recovering myself. The pair made their way over to me where I was by the table. Natsu stopped beside me and Happy was hovering over the table.

"Lucy, this is my best friend, Happy. Happy, this is my new partner, Lucy." Natsu introduced us and I smiled. I recognized Happy to be an exceed, similar to Pantherlilly who was Gajeel's exceed. It made me wonder how Natsu even managed to get one. They normally where only ever found beside Dragon Slayers... I paused at my own thought. This guy couldn't be a Dragon Slayer like Gajeel, could he?

"Hi Lushie!" Happy greeted me with a large grin and I smiled at him before I gave a small wave of my hand.

"Luce, I got us our first job. We're going to track down and find the bastard that shot Juvia." Natsu folds his arms over his chest and I look at him baffled for a second at the name he called me, but I recovered myself and nodded. It seemed a bit quick to be going out, but the sooner we went searching, the more likely it was we would find him.

"When do we leave?" As soon as the words left my mouth Natsu had his hand on my wrist again. Happy was already in the air and had begun heading for the door. Natsu's face settled into a serious one that was different from the other's I had seen out of him. I swallowed a bit nervously as his intensity had increased, even though it was slight I could feel the shift. We where out of the warehouse doors quickly and walked to his car which was parked close by. We all climbed in quickly and he peeled out, making me clutch the black fabric of my seat like my life depended on it--which it did.

He nearly killed us on the way to the area where Juvia had been shot. It was a back way through the shipping and warehouse district. Shipping crates and trailers where stacked upon each other to create walls around us, and the occasional warehouse would peek out between them. Natsu began to slow the car and he pulled it off to the side before yanking the keys from the ignition. I turned to look at him just in time to see the light of a nearby lamp catching in his dark eyes making them flash. I jerked my eyes away and fumbled to unbuckle my belt. I heard him chuckle softly and reach down to release it for me. My face burned in embarrassment as I rushed from the car, brushing some of my hair back as a chilly breeze blew past to unsettle it.

I had been able to see the blood before I even got out of the car. When I did get out and turn from slamming the door shut I took a sharp intake of breath. The amount of blood was more than I had first expected...There was a pool quite obviously marking the place Juvia had fallen. Spatters of the crimson liquid had fallen before that, indicating she had stumbled backwards before falling, no doubt injuring herself further. I turned to see a smaller trail leading away, meaning that one was our target's blood.

Natsu sniffed the air before hurrying to follow the blood trail. Happy and I followed close behind him, our feet pounding a smooth rhythm on the concrete. The cold air and burning sensation it brought as we ran against it reminded me of the night I escaped under the cover of dark to become a member of the MPD. The stinging of my eyes and the desperation, the need to do something different. This time though, I wasn't running away from confrontation, but straight to it.

Natsu came to a stop and I halted my feet beside him. The trail continued, but his eyes narrowed and he stared between a few rows of the shipping crates. I was regaining my breath when he looked back at me and looked me over. He looked back down the isles and then he exhaled heavily, leaving a puff of steam that floated away and dissipated quickly.

"Lucy, I want you to keep following the trail. I think he might have doubled back once his wound was closed and come through here. His scent is strong, it's suspicious. But just in case," he pauses and runs his hand through his hair much like he did before asking me to be his partner, "don't confront him. I've got a feeling he won't hesitate to shoot you too."

I don't respond for a moment as I process what he said. Was he worried about me? I bite my lip before nodding to him.

"Okay, I'll hurry back if I find him." I start to move to follow the path of blood, but he grabs my arm to stop me. He spins me around to look at him and I see anger, resentment, and something else lurking in his eyes. I recognized that look from my own reflection, except that other emotion I couldn't quite detect.

"I'm serious Lucy. These guys don't play around." My heart jumps a little and I don't know if it's from fright or something else, but I forced a second nod.

"Yeah, alright. I'll be careful," my words where rushed, but I still meant them. Natsu released his hold on me before sharing a look with Happy, who soared high into the dark sky. I assumed it was to scout for us, but I didn't have time to sit and dawdle. I weaved through the rows of metal boxes, they were labeled with various companies and markings I didn't have time to take in as they flashed past me. The trail of blood began to thin out, that meant he was closing it up, and soon I wouldn't have much of a trail to follow.

I stopped for a moment to listen and catch my breath. I heard nothing but distant cars and a dog barking that was so faint it might have been something else entirely. My heart stopped pounding so heavily and I picked up on tiny shifts of movement over the rough concrete surface. It was starting to get a bit gravelly, rocks making an appearance here and there.

I reached for my keys just out of precaution as I inched towards the sound. I peeked my head out past the containers slightly and saw no one. I kept walking with non-existent footfalls through the rows as the droplets began to thin more rapidly. My grip on my keys tightened as I got closer to the sound. I didn't have any other weapons on me, so if I were to run out of magic power and/or failed to find Natsu, well I was pretty much screwed.

I stepped out past the corner again slowly, this time finding the source of the noise. It was a piece of balled up paper shifting about under the indulgence of the gusty air. I leaned down and picked it up, uncrumpling it to find it blank except for a symbol that chilled me to the core. The Heartfilia family crest. I quickly tore the paper to pieces before letting them scatter in the wind to get blown between the walls of metal boxes. I turned to begin following the trail again, but as I rounded the last corner, I immediately scampered back after catching sight of a man clutching his side with a bloody cloth, accidentally colliding with the nearby metal crate which created a loud metallic thump.

My heart started racing from adrenaline as I steadied myself. I needed to get to to Natsu, but I'd have to fight this guy if he got too close. I pulled Taurus's key from my holster as I heard the man's footsteps. This was my first time disobeying anyone's order's but my father's. But there are first times for everything I guess. I took a deep breath and prepared to summon Taurus.