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Hey, Readers! So I'm exhausted...Like literally, I'm done! Not just with freshman year, but with, like EVREYTHING! Is there a college major in lazology? Like please....That would just be magical...Anyhoo, here's Chapter 10, ENJOOOOOOY!

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Lucy P.O.V

I decided not to wear any traditional clothing today. I clothed a pair of high-waisted shorts, my old teal tank-top, and some sandals I found in a closet. I stared at the mirror and looked at myself in discomfort. I had just gotten used to my old accustomed attire, and now that I was back in my non-tribal clothing, it just felt so weird. My stones were so visible that I had wished I had brought something long-sleeved. I put my long hair in a braided pony tail and walked out to the front of the hut.

The first thing I saw was Natsu.

Lately, it's been hard to not stare at him. His skin practically glowed in the sun, and his hair was long and spiky. His arms were so muscular as if they were chizzled by some genius of an artist. His body was no exception at all. I couldn't stop staring until I felt a presence right next to me. I looked and saw little Shira and Happy smirking at me. I could feel my face burn up. "W-W-What are you two looking at?" I stuttered.

"The question is, who are you looking at?" Shira asked.

"She liiiiiiiikes him," Happy rolled his tongue.

"Can you guys shut up!" I hissed. "Natsu and I are friends...Really good friends," I said, trailing off as my eyes wandered back to Natsu. I could hear them snickering even more, and I gave them a death glare. Happy shrieked and flew over to Natsu's side. I looked at my sister and asked, "How long should this journey last?"

"If you don't hit into any trouble, it should only take a day or two...And please, don't be frightened by the shaman...his ways are a little unorthodoxed."

"How unorthodoxed," I asked, raising one of my eyebrows.

She laughed awkwardly. "You'll see. Now go, before the sun rises even higher. May the gods be with you Traana."

"And with you as well, Truuna," I smiled. Shira smiled as well and embraced me with a kiddish hug. I rubbed her head and gently kissed it. I looked up and saw Natsu smiling over towards me, nodding at my approval of my sister-like-action. I smiled back, slightly blushing. I think you're denying your feelings, Lucilia, Hana suddenly spoke.

Not you too, I groaned from within.

Lucy, just think about it-

Not now, Hana...please... I walked up to Happy and Natsu and watched their sweet goodbye. They gave each other a high five and Happy said, "Save the world again, Natsu! And get a fish for me while you're on it!"

Natsu laughed. "Anything for you pal! And don't worry, with Luce by my side, we'll definetely save everyone!" My eyes softened, and as did my smile. I had almost forgotten how much of a caring person Natsu was towards Happy. And towards me. Happy flew off by Shira's side, and the two of them waved their hands goodbye. "Good luck!" They exclaimed in unison. And together, we began our journey.

After a few hours, we were already reaching the base of the supposed mountain we were supposed to climb. This would've been easier for me to just call out Hana and fly up, but according to Shira, there's a certain Dragonite seal on the mountain that keeps me from using my powers. As we continued to climb up the mountain, I was getting more exhausted step by step. Natsu must've noticed, because he said, "Let's take a little brake."

"N-No, I'm perfectly fine," I attempted to say without puffing breath. As I tried to hike up the mountain, Natsu stood in front of me with his arms spread wide. "Five minutes aren't going to hurt us, Luce. Let's just take a quick rest." I would've protested even more, but I was too tired to fight back. I fell to the ground and took out a canteen of water. The higher we had gotten, the hotter it got, which was very odd. "We're almost there...," I sighed.

"Yet still so far," Natsu finished for me. "What kind of man lives in this kind of heat?"

"I don't know...It's like a hundred degrees right now," I gasped, panting for air.

"Yeah, I know," Natsu growled, ripping off his vest. No, don't do that...I'll end up staring at your body....I couldn't believe what I was thinking! This was my best friend I was thinking about. I shouldn't fantasizing about how gorgeous he looked with no top. What made it even worse was when he poured some water on his body. "Why are you even hot! You're a fire dragon slayer!"

"Doesn't mean I enjoy it!" He sat beside me and stretched his arms out, as if getting ready to take a nap. He looked at me dead in the eye for the longest time, making me feel a little uncomfortable. "Stop looking at me."

"Why?"

"Because it's weird," I muttered. Natsu smirked and leaned closer. "I do this all the time."

"And you think I enjoy it?" He chuckled and leaned back on the tree on the other side of the path.  I tried to take another sip of water from the canteen, but at that moment I couldn't handle it and just simply spilled it all over my body. I sighed with relief as the cold water dripped down my body.  I looked over at the sweating Natsu and said, "Tell me more."

"More? More what?"

"Secrets of yours," I said. "You've already sucked me dry of mine, but I feel like you have a few more secrets for me to hear."

He smiled. "You really wanna know more about me?"

I nodded. He combed his fingers through his hair, and sweat dripped off each end. He took a deep breath and said, "You know how Gajeel and Wendy have been with their dragons since birth."

I nodded. "Yeah, at around six months. What about it?"

"Well...with me, he picked me up when I was around eight, maybe even nine." My eyes widened.  This was something new. Natsu seldomly talked about Igneel, and when he did, it was all how he  would soon return when Natsu was at his greatest. "Are you for real?"

He nodded. "I don't remember a single thing before that. Igneel told me I was in a huge accident and almost died. Igneel even told me that I almost lost my arm." I covered my mouth, absolutely horrified. The heat had almost completely disappeared once I was getting hooked into Natsu's back story. "W-What about your past family? Parents? Do you even know where you were born?"

He shook his head. "I do have one thing though." He shoved his hand down his pocket. In his hand was a golden pocket watch, looking a little rusty and old. He handed it to me, and it was strangely cold by my touch. I opened the watch, and the clock was ticking back and forth. Forwards, and then backwards. I noticed an ingraving. " 'To my beloved. Let time be your advocate, not your opponent'-K.D....K.D?"

"I don't know either. I'm assuming that's my mother, or my sister, or whoever the hell was in my family. It's not really a big deal anyways. I had Ignee, I've got Fairy Tail, Happy, you-"

"Me?"

"Yes, you," Natsu smiled. "I consider you more as my best friend...Actually, you're more like my family."

I smiled and playfully kicked his leg. "I feel the same way. Now lets finished climbing this mountain before I roast like a pig." I got up and lent Natsu a hand. He smiled and grabbed my hand. I pulled him up with all my strength, and he came flying up on his feet. As Natsu began to climb the mountain first, he came to a stop. "Luce, you okay?"

It took me a while to realize that I was still holding his hand. I quickly let go and tried to laugh as a last resort. "S-Sorry! I'm just at a daze."

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"No, I'm good," I assured him. He shrugged and continued to hike up the mountain. As I was hiking behind him, my heart was racing more and more and more. There was more to the story now, and there was no way of denying it. I liked Natsu. No, it was more than a simply "like". I wanted to touch him. I wanted him to touch me. It was passion that I wanted to share with Natsu. No, I didn't like Natsu.

I was deeply, madly in love with him.

Natsu P.O.V

When we finally reached the top of the mountain, I think we were expecting a tiny hut with animal bones and ceremonial crap. Oh boy, we were far off. What we were witnessing was a palace. Not a literal palace, but it was just really, really big. It was made of some kind of red stone and camoflouged with the mountain. It was boiling hot in the tip of the mountain, and if it weren't for the fact that Lucy and I were together, I bet we were willing to rip our clothes off and just be naked. "Natsu...it's so...hot," Lucy panted, looking a little dazed. She half dragon, but most certainly not a fire one. She looked as if she was going to pass out soon enough. I quickly got down on my knees and said, "Hop on."

"W-what? No...You're not...strong enough."

"Luce, I've slept in oven heat. I can deal with this. Now hop on."  She gave in, but it was more like falling on top of me than hopping on. "Whoa, Luce, you alright?"

"Need...water," she gasped. I got up and jogged to the front enterance. There was a giant door that looked to seem ungaurded, so I quickly knocked on it and yelled, "Hello? Anyone in there? Hello! Kind of need help out here!" Silence. Lucy's body was slowly burning up more and more. I pounded on the door even harder, getting more and more anticipated. "Please! I have a girl with me! She needs water now!"

Suddenly, the door made a low, deep rumbling noise. I backed up as it began to open outwards. I could feel a sudden of fresh, cold air touch my skin, as if someone had just eaten a piece of mint gum and blowing  air. Then, I saw an old man, tall and pretty wrinkly, present himself. He yawned and growled, "What is with all the comotion. Can an old man not sleep?"

"Please, Gramps, my friend here is very dehidrated! Can you help us please?"

His eyes widened when he got a better look at us. "You wouldn't happen to be an aquaintance of Shira, would you?"

I nodded. "I am! And this is her sister! Please, she's getting hot flashes!" The old man looked at the two of us and sighed. He furrowed his bushy white eyebrows and moved to the side. "Quickly, get her out of the heat." I rushed her inside and paused for a moment in shock. Compared to the waste land outside, this place was an oasis. Palm trees, mini waterfalls left and right, and it felt as if the place had a giant air conditioner, because the temperatrue dropped around fifty degrees the minute I stepped in. I quickly rushed Lucy to a pile of soft-looking leaves and laid her down. She had red patches of skin all over her arms and legs. She continued to gasp for water and whimpered in pain. "Sh, it's alright. You'll get better soon, I swear," I assured her, gently brushed her hair with my fingers. The old man brought over a bowl for the water and a plate of cream for her hot flashes. I quickly took it and dipped the bowl into the glistening water. I held up Lucy in my arms and slowly poured the water into her mouth. She gulped down hard, almost choking. "Slow down Luce," I said gentley. After finishing the whole bowl, I put her back down and started with the cream. When the mysterious cream touched her skin, she winced and hissed. She squeezed my wrist tight, pinching her nails into my skin. I tried to calm her down as I applied more mystery cream into her skin. After applying the last bit of cream, Lucy was still a bit tense, but soon calmed down and rested her eyes. After I was assured that Lucy was at peace, I got up, looking for the mysterious old man.

The house was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. I reached the balcony and saw a whole different world compared to the outsde world. Everything was a lot more green and warm, and there was a lot more...well, what ever nature could do. I turned around to check up on Lucy when the old man was right behind me. I backed up in defense, but saw how weak-looking the old man was. I calmed down and let my muscles relax. "You are a very caring person," the old man suddenly spoke.

"Huh? What you talkin' about?"

"The way you treat that girl...it's almost as if she's some sort of lover."

I laughed at that comment. "Lover? Nah man, she's just a really good friend."

"Really? Does a good friend stroke their hands all over their head and hair with so much care?"

"Um, I believe so." The old man chuckled and walked past me, touching the edge of the balcony. I looked at him and asked, "Who are you exactly?"

The old man turned around, rubbing his long white beard. "Goro...Goro D. But you can just call me Goro."

"Well, Goro then, Shira says you're the guy who can help us with our predicament."

"She is correct. You've come to the right place."

"So you can help us defeat the Shlavek?" I asked, a little bit of excitement spilling out of my question. 

"I can...but not today." 

I cocked my eyebrow up in disbelief. "Not today? Why not today! Today is the perfect day!"

"Son, you just woke up a four-hundred year old man from slumber, and you immediately expect me to pop out in fresh young trainer."

"Um, yeah? Isn't that how they do it in the movies?"

"Which is what you watch too much apparently, boy. Now, I promise that the both of you will get the training you deserve tomorrow. As of now, let me rest."

"Wait, the both of us? I thought it was going to be just Lucy doing the kick-butt action?"

Goro chuckled. "Boy, don't you know? You have a major role in this whole plot as well."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Now, go off to your girl. The fumes from the cream might make her a little loopy." He walked right past me, continuing to giggle to himself. What a strange old man, I thought to myself. I left the balcony and returned to Lucy's side, who was still asleep. At least, kind of asleep. She would be giggling, then crying, and then growling like a little dog over and over again. I sat by her side and couldn't help but chuckle. "You're a busy sleep, aren't you?" I whispered. I suddenly found my hand grabbing onto her wrist with security. I could feel my cheeks slightly burn as I snatched my hand away. "Get your shit together, Natsu. This is Lucy we're talking about...This is Lucy..." I looked back at Lucy, who was sleeping soundly now. Her face looked so calm...peaceful almost. Her body was almost perfect, and the way she smiled in her sleep. She was perfect.

Perfect.

Perfection. 

I found myself hovering over Lucy's face, who was talking in her sleep. "Books...Hot...Pancakes..." I chuckled at her strangeness. I gently touched her face and leaned in closer and closer.

My lips gently touched hers, and suddenly, I felt something strange surging within me. It was as if electricity was flowing within the contact of Lucy's lips and my own. I was slowly getting succumed into my own kiss, and quickly pulled away. I covered my mouth and stood up with shock. Lucy didn't wake up at all. She was still passed out. Before she would notice, I quickly dragged my ass out of there, my heart racing and my face burning up. "Oh God...What the hell did I just do?"