"The pain of being alone is not an easy one to bear." Naruto Uzumaki, Chapter 138.
Lucy noticed some gatherings that were taking place by the window, her curiosity drew her towards it, not to mention the whisperings of 'Makarov' the Fairytail guild master and of her own. When she peered through the glass, she saw the guild master from Fairytail, and was surprised to find that it was a short little old man. Another whisper about the two legendary figures, 'The Titania' Erza, and Natsu 'The Salamander'.
The huge creature suddenly sprouted from the smoke. Others that were near her murmured some of their thoughts, their worries, but generally with some guild masters right in front of it, it was agreed upon that it wouldn't be much of a problem.
If people weren't so calm and if her idol wasn't down there, she would probably be running from this demonic thing, even now she felt nervous from looking at it. Except, her one armed guild master was outside along with other mages. She ran from the window, ignoring the murmurs from the people she ran past, down the stairs and found the nearest exit.
When she got outside, the being from the smoke had easily tripled in size that towered over the large building. She panicked, and took a few steps back, but soon found her will and ran towards the group that had formed in front of the mountainous creature.
She found her way beside her guild master Naruto, ready to help him…Somehow. It spoke, about its hunger for their souls. Apprehension filled her from its comment, but with the Titania around as well as the Salamander, perhaps there wasn't much cause for worry, hopefully.
"Makarov, let me handle this okay?" Naruto had said. Staring with a focused gaze on the creature.
Her eyes landed on her fellow blond, and there she saw it again. He eyes practically shone, before his palm glowed with a spinning orb, it quickly grew as spinning blades formed that felt and sounded like it ripping apart the air itself.
He whispered the name of his magic, wearing a little smile as he did so. "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken."
Then he threw the fucking thing, and dear god did she not expect such an explosion from a small thing that made her land on her well-shaped ass. Truthfully, she probably screamed if her ears heard was of any indication. Maybe it was someone else, but it was probably hers.
Others beside her that she hadn't yet focused on had prepared such a response, so she was the only one that had been knocked down. Then came the pregnant silence after the climax, blinking at now non-existent upper half of the creature.
"Ah fuck!" Naruto stated, breaking the precious silence when he realized where the legs were falling. She picked herself off the ground, and recoiled from the crashes.
"Ah, oops?" Was his magnificent reply, another pause.
"What the hell was that?!" Lucy yelled.
"Lucy? When did you show up?"
"Like, right before you threw that thing," She replied, before she was drowned by the sudden commotion.
"Blondie! Fight me you coward!"
"Job well done."
"That was some powerful magic you possess."
Her attention focused on the others, and from what she heard from the other people that started crowded outside. The Titania! Was that actually her? More comments about The Titania came forth that confirmed that it was her. She was a beautiful, a pretty face with silky crimson hair clad in armor. She was shocked into silence, so much that she couldn't even form coherent sentences especially when she remembered that the Salamander was there too. Her idol was standing right there, staring in interest at her guild master. Her heart fluttered, she was in the presence of Fairytail guild members. Which guy was the Salamander? It was too much, she had to recover and gather her courage before they left.
The Titania looked exhausted, like she might collapse. The others she was with seemed in a similar state, a small blue cat rested on the head of a pink haired guy. Who kept shouting at Naruto and waved him off.
"I must say, I assumed that it would be the ones from my guild that would cause the destruction. It's liberating, and one that that I'll always remember because I'll never experience such a miracle again" Makarov added.
"Yeah? Does something usually happen with your guild?" Naruto asked. Which was received with a nod.
"Ah, excuse me but with such a destructive team I really need to talk to them quickly, ahhem," She swore his head and entire body grew in size as he yelled at the three of the Fairytail members, "You three better get the hell out of here before this mess gets turned on us!"
The trio recoiled from the yelling, panic swelling from the trio of Fairy's. Even The Titania seemed slightly panicked.
"Okay!"
"Fine!"
"But we already destr- Ow! Never mind."
"What? don't go, no don't leave me," Lucy cried after them with their retreating backs. She should have just taken the chance when she had too, now she was devastated. She would never have another chance to talk to them again. She bowed her head as her master and the Fairytail leader continued to talk.
"Makarov," Naruto started. "I wanted to talk to you about something before things get too hectic."
Lucy looked around, people outside, inspecting the wreckage and looking to see if anyone was injured. They would soon turn to them.
"Is there something that you require Naruto? If I recall, you haven't really talked to anyone in the guild meeting." The old man replied.
"Heh, yeah I know, Well I guess you can say what I'm going to ask will make up for that."
"Oh, and what do you propose?"
"I was hoping if our guilds could come together for a mission, you know, to build our ties." He replied.
Suddenly, Lucy's mood fired back up. "What!? That would be amazing!"
Naruto looked at her with a brow poised at her sudden change in mood. "Right, Makarov this is my one of my members, Lucy. Lucy this is Makarov, The Fairytail guild master."
"Hi, nice to meet you." She said. Suddenly nervous that Naruto would reveal that she failed to apply for Fairytail.
"I can say the same, Are you sure Naruto? You're likely to be paying some in damages if you want to do a joint job."
"It'll be fine."
Makarov seemed very pleased.
"Ah, as you wish, it slightly lessens whatever debts we'll owe, nor can I deny such an earnest request and from a neighboring guild no less. To be so careless with jewels, I wish I was young again."
"So that's a yes then?" She asked, Makarov nodded and gave a delighted clap of her hands and jumped in excitement.
"I see one of you are very excited for this, but you won't know what you're getting into Naruto," Makarov replied.
"Well, I think it'll be worth it," He said as Naruto gave a cheerful smile. They soon exchanged connections with their communication lacrima crystals, Makarov excused himself with a wish to celebrate a destruction that wasn't caused by his own guild.
Her new guild master turned his attention to the building, and she couldn't hold her question off her lips anymore. "How did you do it?"
"About what?"
"Not freaking out about The Titania and The Salamander being here, and Makarov the Guild Master of Fairytail, and I'm pretty sure The Titania was checking you out too," She said in reverence, nothing less would be suitable.
He rolled his eyes, "You're imagining things. I just don't see them the way you do, and they're just regular people and trust me I've met some pretty weird people. Except for bob...He's the weirdest." He shivered at the last word.
"But, they're definitely not normal people. These guys are legends."
"Sure." Then he shrugged, he wasn't agreeing.
Lucy opened her eyes, the sun snuck through a partially open curtain. She stretched in her bed was content to just lay on the comfortable mattress for a while. She had met one of her idols, The Titania a couple days ago who she swore she saw checking her master out despite what her master thought. The Titania and Naruto, it was a cute couple that she wanted to see!
Their trip back had to be cancelled when a train had been derailed and a station had been attacked. Naruto had suggested that they sleep outside but she vehemently decided no. She was able to charm him into grudgingly getting a hotel to stay, a cheap one and being a gentleman he was, offered her the bed.
Right now however, she was in the comfort of her own bed. Hmm…
Finally getting bored enough to warrant the trek out of bed, she sauntered in their living room to find Naruto still crashed out on the couch. To think that she thought she was lazy sleeping for nine hours. She really only remembered because he had fallen asleep as soon as they got back yesterday.
She grabbed a bit of coffee as she watched a bit of a movie. Something about- well she didn't really care. She sat on the floor seeing as Naruto was taking the entire space on the couch. When she finished, she decided on taking a shower and getting ready for today. Her first mission was today!
When she walked out from her room garbed in simple black pants and an orange shirt, she was surprised to find Naruto still asleep. "Wow, you sure like your sleep don't you?"
Instead of him tiredly responding, she got a twitch and more light snoring. She would have to wait. Hopefully not long.
Shrugging, she deciding to make breakfast, but through midway she also wanted to be nice and made breakfast for Naruto as well. Seeing as it was his food, and his place, and his guild, and his Jewels… Lucy had to get a place of her own.
While she wasn't a magnificent cook by any means, she could at least prepare basic meals and follow instructions off cook books. Okay, she wasn't a cook at all. At least she looked good doing it.
Despite the smell and the noise that she made in the kitchen and after she had cooked what needed to be cooked, Naruto was still out like a light on the couch. She wasn't about to let his food go cold, and she was tired of having meals by herself all the time.
She poked him with a fork, singing out his name. "~Naruto~"
"Hm, what?" He said drearily, he sat up and yawned mightily. She blinked in surprise, it didn't take much to wake him.
"Uhm, there's breakfast on the table."
"Nice," As he walked over to the table, his eyes barely opened as he took a sip of his coffee.
"You know you slept for fifteen hours right?" She asked.
He shrugged indifferently. "It's normal for me."
"I don't think that's normal."
"For me it is," As he began to take a few bites of his breakfast with his eyes lazily closed. So she began to eat too, paying some mild attention to the blond in front of her. As if his mind finally starting to awake, "Hm, this isn't ramen."
"Ramen isn't breakfast."
"For me it is."
"Is it lunch and dinner too?"
"Nope."
Thank goodness.
"Snacks too," He replied happily, one of his eyes were finally open but the other stayed shut. No way. Deciding that she asked enough about his ramen eating habits, and also she didn't want to know how far his obsession went.
"How does the breakfast taste?" She asked. Looking for a compliment about her cooking, she was disappointed because it wasn't what she was looking for.
"It was good," He yawned again. He stretched as he finally seemed to have completely woken up. If not, self-slap that he did to his whiskered cheek would have.
He stood up and walked down the hall to his room, she rightly assumed that he would complete his daily morning rituals. So more waiting would happen…She finished her own breakfast when he finally got back, dressed in t-shirt and sweats as he laid down in the sizable living room.
Lucy was impressed when he began to do push ups with his arm, so she cleaned up and sat on the couch and continued watching another Lacrima crystal as he continued doing exercises. The few sneaking glances she sent at his stomach and arm seemed to indicate that he kept very well in shape.
He had said something about not staying often, but he seemed to enjoy the movies, or liked to keep them as back ground noise. Eventually, it too became background noise for her as she got her own book to read. It was very tame book, not something to be embarrassed by. Time to wait.
After some time, she closed her novel as she stared at the blond, who was not moving at all. He had been in the same motionless position for the past twenty minutes, even calling out his name didn't seem to have any affect.
Her reading was suffering; the fault lay in her own nerves. Several times she had to reread a paragraph before she understood it.
The blond stood suddenly, more stretching as he yawned. Lucy stared at his retreating form without saying anything and was dismayed when the shower started. She waited. And waited. Did the clock actually go back a minute?
She no longer tried deluding herself that she was reading a book, as she discarded the book on the couch. What chapter was she on again?
Hearing the shower stop, and the closing and opening and closing of doors before once again it opened. Naruto entered the living room, letting out a refreshed breath.
"Hey, you rea-"
"Yes! Oh my god yes!"
He recoiled. "Geez…"
She quickly found her shoes, and followed Naruto through the streets and into building where the mayor was, for some reason that particular word was lost on her.
"So here's the mission board," Naruto said.
"Seems pretty…empty," A small amount of missions were settled on the board, some were divided into S-class, but there were only a few others below that rank.
"Yeah I know, I've seen some of the other guilds and most of them were pretty filled up."
"You can go to another guild's mission boards?"
"I ask if I could get a job from them, sometimes they don't mind. Others can get pretty pissed."
She idly thought about it, they probably just flat out said no. Fairytail might be one of them, being a famous guild and all. They might want to keep their own jobs to do.
"Anyways, there are normal jobs and all the other ones we can't do," He explained.
"Why not?"
"Because you have to be S-class to take them," It was clear that he was not an S-class mage then, but then again he had that powerful attack that impressed even The Titania.
"Can you become an S-class mage?" Lucy voiced.
"I have other things in mind than being an S-class mage. The pay would be good but Jewel's don't matter that much to me."
Lucy wondered what he wanted more than being identified as S-class.
"Seeing as we're in debt and we have bills that need to be paid, I think we should pick the ones with a bigger pay."
"That house we destroyed put us under?"
"It isn't too much, the magical council helps contribute to damages, but we are expected to pay a portion. I also didn't expect anyone else to join the guild so the debt is under Fireshadow and seeing as you're a part of it you're in debt too. I guess."
"And when I first saw you I thought you were somewhat well off."
"Nah, that key spent plenty of the jewels I had, not to mention I spent a lot on a few artifacts before you came. Of course you don't have to help, I'm fine if you don't want to pay for the mistakes that I did," He replied with a shrug.
Great, he wondered if he was being completely manipulative or he was just being nice. Nonetheless, her conscious couldn't let him pay by himself. She was a part of a guild now; she couldn't just let him deal with it himself. Despite that it would no doubt delay her apartment finding. Was this how things really ran in a guild? Maybe because it was a tiny guild with no other means of obtaining Jewels. Lucy recalled reading that Fairytail had their own bar to create additional Jewels.
"No, I'll help, this is what being independent is about right? Paying bills and things like that."
"I think the world would be a better place if we didn't have to pay bills," Naruto replied, which she had to agree, he dug inside his coat bringing out a small book. "Anyways, once you accept a job, just write it down and your name in this ledger and it'll inform other guilds that it had been taken. Date and all so as to solve 'disputes' as they called it."
Lucy looked at the request board, some requested female participants, and some were mundane while others got riskier, like to dispose of a creature. Her eyes glazed over the S-class missions before they bulged open at one in particular.
"Wow!" She ripped off the paper stuck to the board, "This one is offering a golden celestial spirit key!"
"A golden key… You said there was only a dozen right?"
"It's not fair! It's an S-class mission, that's mean we can't do it!?" Lucy looked towards him, and he nodded dumbly.
"Ya." He said plainly.
She fell to her knees, looking in despair at the paper. The world crumbled.
"Twelve in the entire world, what are the chances you randomly find one?"
"Don't rub it in."
He frowned, and took the piece of paper that promised a dream accomplished for her. She was even hesitant to let it go. Naruto took a quick look at before job offer before placing back on the board.
"Well you're shit out of luck, "He replied. Any hope that he would suddenly forgo any rules set out and whisk her away to get the precious key suddenly died. Her mood suddenly dipped. "Of course, there are a few jobs that aren't posted on the board that you can find. I can get lucky and find some of them that pay just as good as the S-class missions"
"Aren't some them, I don't know, illegal jobs?" She voiced quietly.
"Do I look like someone that would do some of those stuff?"
"No, not really," She voiced truthfully, he exuded an aura of being somewhat cheerful and all the little jokes he gave didn't give him a serious vibe. Naruto gave a surprisingly disarming smile. She sighed and finally stood up.
"The trick is to find them before they post the stuff to the board, and besides I don't want the infamy those kinds of things bring or the attention of being S-class." He voiced.
He doesn't like attention was something that Lucy learned from him, no wonder she hadn't heard of the Fireshadow guild. Maybe if she went through the older issues of the sorcerers' magazine she might find something about Fireshadow and Naruto. There was a column of newly stated guilds at the end of each month.
"Hey you two at the board!" Was a voice that no doubt referred to the two blonds, as they both faced there was a click of a camera as an individual took a picture of the two of them. "Nice, this is a great picture, thanks you guys."
A journalist? Damn, she didn't have enough time to pull off a sexy pose.
"Who was that?" She asked, curiously.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that was one of the photographers from that magazine you read, but I'm not sure why he took our picture," He explained, scratching his head in puzzlement.
She gasped in amazement, in excitement. "That might mean that we might be on the cover of the magazine!"
"I think you're being too wishful or…Never mind."
"It's a possibility."
"Well you joined the wrong guild if you want to be famous, Fairytail might have been better choice."
"Th-That's low!"
He laughed, "Anyways, some girl had tried a few times to get a picture of me before she gave up, since she couldn't get a good one and I guess my mysterious gimmick wore out."
"Do you think this is about what happened at the meeting?"
"Probably but whatever."
Lucy had a few thoughts, were they going to be a part of a column? Maybe they would even be on the front page, which would be the dream. She would have to wait another week or two until the issue released. She didn't know how the journalism industry worked.
"Hey let's choose this one, it's located in Tsume town," Naruto suggested. "Hmm, south of the capital, by the rivers…Write it down will you? There we go… accepted by Naruto Uzumaki and Lucy Heartfilia. By the way, I'll leave this book on the table in the apartment."
She felt a surge of pride soar within her, and of excitement that she would go on a complete her first job as part of a legal guild. It was tempered by the loss of the golden key.
She couldn't believe that he had wanted to walk all the way to the Tsume town that would take two days at most. He had relented to a carriage ride, he had a small frown on his face but otherwise said nothing. He stayed like that for a while before he was snoring a little later, confirming that he really liked to sleep.
"My guild master is a weird."
As she continued rereading through the older issues of Sorcerer's magazine, Naruto had said that it only become legal only about a month ago. So she dug into her stash of magazines that she had brought with herself during that time.
She kept several of the issues, most often she discarded them if they weren't exciting enough. Lucy brought two that was very near the date when he said Fireshadow was formed, she was able to find a small column on new guilds that had been formed.
Two others alongside with Fireshadow, the others had pictures of the guild masters with the slight exception of Fireshadow. Naruto had blocked his face from the picture, as well as several comments about the new guilds and she read the one that interested her.
It seems that Naruto is a little camera shy, my photographer tried but will eventually get a decent picture. Make no mistake, he is actually a handsome looking guy, both his cheeks have three whiskers marks that you almost can't help but pinch them. He is a young bachelor, nineteen years of age, and a guild master at that. He is also missing an arm but he replied that it didn't disrupt at what he does, he disarmed me with a cocky smile and it told me that he was very confident in his abilities. He was rather evasive or gave vague answers to my questions, signaling that he liked his privacy. Who will be the lucky woman to break down this 'Distant' exterior? Or maybe he will come around from out of his shell. Nonetheless, I'm sure that we might hear about him sooner or later.
There was other information that she already knew about but she hoped that the photographer that took their picture earlier would be a good one of her.
The carriage stopped, and Naruto's eyes plopped open when she poked him.
"We're here Master Naruto," It rolled off the tongue a bit weirdly, how close in age they were might had something to do with it.
He stretched his limbs, hear a rather disturbing popping in his neck. "No need to call me master. Naruto is fine."
"Oh, alright, Naruto."
"We're equals."
If that's how he decided to manage his guild then sure, she couldn't argue, but she smiled all the same. They stepped off from out of the carriage and looked at the town they arrived in. When she had looked at the map it had said it was just a simple small town with a population of several thousand people with a small mall. She might have to find some local fashion. It apparently acted as an epicenter for the tiny towns that surrounded it. It didn't seem too large; the buildings didn't reach more than several stories.
Naruto pulled out the assignment. "Say's here to find someone named Pyrrha at the municipal building."
"What do we have to do exactly?" She hadn't even looked at what their first assignment was.
"Some bandits are disrupting merchant and supply chains, while they haven't done anything drastic. They're concerned about how much further they will go, if it keeps going it might cause problems later on for the surrounding towns. There isn't much information about the bandits, but they are sure there are no one who can use magic."
She was given the assignment. She looked at the requirements of the jobs to be fulfilled. A small summary of the situation as well as to ask for more information from Pyrrha. The suspected count of bandits was no more than ten.
It gave a nice sum of jewels, seeing as it was just the two of them and not like the 3-5-person team that was usually comprised of. It would give a healthy amount, but not enough to settle their debts when she was reminded by Naruto.
They saw the municipal building; Naruto began to talk again. "So do you want to take the lead in this, you're gonna be asking all the questions and making the game plans."
Before she could answer, Naruto stopped suddenly and pulled out a lacrima orb, a low pitched voice called out but she couldn't see. "Naruto Uzumaki I presume? Care that we speak privately?"
"Alright sure, give me a sec," Naruto replied. "I'll be right back Lucy."
"Okay," She voiced as he left and disappeared into an alley way, she was left awkwardly standing in wait. Idly thinking about what kind business he was in. Naruto returned not too long after, which she was thankful.
"What was that about?" She asked, and was given a shrug.
"Just the magical council."
"Do we gave to stop or-"
"No, I actually had it already done," He said, seemingly amused by this." As I was saying before that shit came up, you wanna take the lead? Everything will be in your hands, even my life."
"If you say so, but yes, sure!" She replied, eager to prove her worth to him as she walked past him and led the way to the municipal building. She seen a pleased smile on his lips, perhaps it was her eagerness that got him into a good mood. People walked by in the hall on their own business. It was modest, not that she expected the most luxurious décor in a small town. Lucy walked to the receptionist at the desk. "We're here to see Pyrrha, we're a magic guild that had accepted the job she had for us."
She was thankful that it didn't come out as a question.
"Ah, I've heard that our job had been accepted yesterday. Her office is located on the second floor, room B-07."
She gave her thanks as she went up to the second floor, Naruto closely trailing behind. No doubt he was checking her out! She knew had some good physical qualities.
The building had a pretty simple layout, four hallways were letter from A to D. She knocked on the door that Pyrrha's office was located, and only a moment later a brunette almost as tall as Naruto answered.
She held up her hand where her insignia was located. "Hi, we're from the Fireshadow guild, I think we're here to accept the job?"
That came out as a question, and she even saw a smirk on Naruto's face. Damn him, was it his intention to embarrass her? Pyrrha either didn't notice or was gracious enough to not draw attention to it, unlike someone else.
"Yes, come in and please take a seat, water? Tea? No? Okay, let's begin. A few weeks ago we've gotten reports that parts of shipments had been stolen, or smaller caravans of supplies. While normal, these had been happening too frequently as of late. Witnesses had had reported that a group of thieves had set up shop nearby and looting cargo that go to the surrounding towns. We want Fireshadow to apprehend these thieves for us. We wish to settle this problem as cleanly as possible so the conclusion was to hire a magic guild. So if you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them."
She felt Naruto look at her as he rested his chin on his hand, waiting for her reply. She apparently had to say something that Naruto wanted her too. But… what?
"Ah…" She searched her brain to ask a question." Uh. Well… Ah-"
There was a knock on the door to save her life. 'Thank god'
"Excuse me, but I must answer that."
Naruto leaned in next to her and began to whisper. "You have no idea what to ask do you?"
She shook her head; she couldn't lie her way out of it. "No, I mean, saying that your life is in my hands? That's too dramatic."
"It could be true, then again maybe not. So you never done something like this?"
Lucy could only reply with a no.
"Not even something similar?"
She shook her head once more, feeling more embarrassed by the second. He seemed slightly amused and expected some mocking to come from him, but she received none. Naruto looked at her with his blue eyes, his lips formed into a small reassuring smile. "How about you listen and pay attention to the sort of things I ask? Then you'll lead the next one?"
"Okay," She sighed, disappointed in herself.
"No worries Lucy. That was the point, we all have to start somewhere."
She would not reveal her mood to the stranger that was Pyrrha. She was thankful that Naruto didn't mock her like she expected, perhaps his amusement stemmed from something else? Another minute passed before the woman returned from outside.
"Sorry, but that was important."
Naruto shrugged and pulled out one of the small maps when they arrived. "Anyways, four other towns surround Tsume town, which was the last route that was attacked? And When?"
Pyrrha didn't seem concerned about the change of leadership, but looked pleased. "The road to Olia town, that was two days ago."
"When's the next cargo supposed to leave? Is there a schedule?"
"It's been delayed, as for the cargo's schedules I can get that for you after we are finished with your questions but they leave at certain days of the week. The larger and expensive cargo are ignored because most often there is some security detail."
"Hmm, Cool, one last thing, think we can borrow a carriage for tomorrow?"
It was the next morning when Naruto found himself sitting on the carriage acting like he was a merchant. He hadn't done something like this in a long while, it was actually entertaining. If he had been alone, he wouldn't have bothered with all the questions or this plan in particular. He would have found them, rough them up a little and then take them in.
He was going to take the longer way around, Lucy was with him and was apparently as sheltered as one of those movies about princesses. Now that he thought about it, how were people raised in this place?
Whatever, it seemed more peaceful than the elemental nations, so he couldn't fault them. He wanted Lucy to gain more experience, so it was a decent way to attain it.
"Do we have to dress up in these terrible looking clothes?" Lucy replied.
"It makes us look the part, we're supposed to delivery people, I don't think they're the richest people who dress in expensive clothes." Naruto looked at the plain looking clothes she wore, it was a contrast to the sight of the vibrant colors she wore or the tight fitting clothing, and this time she wore no skirt.
That was one thing he noticed, this girl like to show off her assets. Apparently she had to wear something that accentuated a part of her body. Breasts, bare back, legs, or ass, or mixed in a combination with one another. Well, he was still a healthy guy, so he couldn't lie as he very much liked it. She alone decided what she wanted to wear, that just coincided with his appreciation of women. Of course, he wasn't obvious with his leering as she had yet to catch him. He probably would have been caught if she were a kunoichi.
Naruto could practically hear the gleeful cries of the Perverted Sage in the afterlife, especially when there wasn't a whole lot to do in Fiore other than trying to find his way back home. So in that time he did a whole lot of staring at women, discreetly of course, and nothing like looking through the girl's side of the hot springs like what his late master used to do.
He could admit to himself that Lucy was a pretty girl. Hell, he had a slightly risqué dream the other night about her. He reasoned it was only because she was the only girl that he knew here, it also didn't help that she lived with him. Of course he had other dreams about girls on his own world, some of which will go unnamed, but their appearances as of late had been becoming hazy…
On that note, Lucy was inexperienced in many ways in comparison to the struggles of the other women he knew, but she was just a product of her time. This place wasn't anything like the violence of his own dimension. So no, it wasn't her fault at all. Great, look how far he got off track thinking about women. Still, he couldn't deny the opposite sex had been really fascinating as of late. Really, really fascinating.
He had been told he was a man of action, but nothing really happened here. He trained, he wrote, and he tried to find a way back home. Ah! He had to get back on track, which was about Lucy. Not her body, but what he had in store for her, which was what they were doing right now.
He saw Lucy finger the key-ring where her golden summon keys where. It was definitely a weird medium to summon, rather than seals. Other than that, the golden keys each held unique summons and there were only twelve of them.
One of them was held on Galuna Island, and a place he had quickly passed through but nothing noteworthy that was relevant to him. It seemed especially important to Lucy, and she had such a cutely sad face when she noticed that it was an S-class mission. It looked really important to her that she have it. The key would likely help Lucy in the long run…Well, guessed that settled it then, wonder why he spent so much time thinking about it.
Naruto casted a quick glance over to Lucy before settling on the path before them.
So the plan he came up with about them acting as merchants was just for the benefit for Lucy, to help her gain some experience. Just beating them up by finding them with his sensory abilities wouldn't help her in the long run.
Lucy sighed, "This is a decent plan, but I just wished we looked better."
"This is just something I thought on the spot," Lucy looked at him. "Eh, there are probably faster and shorter ones out there and I probably forgot to ask some more questions. I knew a guy who could think of like four different plans and each stage of it having a backup plan, he would also know the advantages and disadvantages of each one."
He was a lazy bastard though, when a mission wasn't involved.
"Well I couldn't think of anything."
Naruto could see that easily depressing mood she suddenly put up. It was kind of funny when her mood would suddenly lighten. "You were nervous, so don't worry about it Princess, once you experience more things it'll come easier."
"I know I'm a beautiful princess but I don't like the way you say it," Lucy whined.
He chuckled, she was vain when it came to her appearance that's for sure. At least it didn't reach her attitude. She had a good heart from what little he'd seen.
Their talking came to an end as they continued waiting for the thieves to show themselves. He knew they were close, he had sensed them earlier to make sure they were on the right road so it wouldn't take unnecessarily longer.
This was the usual detail of missions that he had been taken since he begun. Nothing that would attract any sort of huge attention, or any mission that hadn't been officially posted, but that was only if he was lucky enough. There were also some well-paying missions for some easy work, those were really good to find. He got screwed from payment a few times, but things happen. It was the main reason why he made a legal guild, so that payment could be made easier as they would answer to the big boys. He got into some trouble before about it, but luckily he had been in a transformation technique.
"Hey Lucy?"
"What?"
"Do you want to take combat lead when the thieves come?"
"Are you sure?" She asked. Naruto could see the eagerness in her eyes, to prove herself again. Hmm.
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have asked." Although he felt that information gathering and combat roles were different from each other. Let's see how she could perform under different circumstances.
Plus, he didn't feel like leading. It may or may not the bigger reason.
"I won't let you down Naruto!" She said excitedly.
Huh.
Naruto continued waiting for another half hour before he could hear small commotions up ahead. It was something that he was looking for, but Lucy hadn't been aware just yet. He was curious to see if she could before they shown themselves.
By the constant noise they made and some of the fresh tracks that went off course into the treeline they weren't exactly professionals or well organized. So it was safe to assume they were just a rag tag group of thugs. He was sure that this mission would suddenly blow up and raise the stakes. Like they would stumble upon some diabolical plan and have to save this community from-
"Naruto, those thieves are here." His train of thought broken by Lucy's comment. 'Not so helpless'. He gave a nod of confirmation, and she saw Lucy take in a deep breath.
"Just, uh, follow my lead and wait until all of them show up, make them believe we're harmless," She whispered.
A carriage rolled up suddenly with poorly armed people standing on top, and others appeared from behind them judging by the commotion they were making.
The leader stepped up, judging by the nicely kept sword he held, while the others wielded farming tools or rusty daggers. Depending on what they decided to do, Naruto might completely obliterate them. Not kill them, but break them. Otherwise he would let Lucy have the limelight.
"Alright, step off the carriage and hand over everything and we'll make sure not to hurt ya. I wouldn't want to hurt a cripple and a little girl," The thick accented person spoke, it seemed they were starting to get used to this sort of thing as a threat rolled off his tongue. "But we're not afraid to get rough."
As he pulled out the sword for a show of intimidation, the others did the same. Naruto made a half-hearted effort to show fear, when was the last time he felt actual fear? In the war.
Naruto gave an acted look of worry to Lucy.
"O-Okay, we'll just step away, just please don't hurt us!" Lucy said nervously, fearfully even.
Wow, either she was a good actor or maybe she was a bit intimidated. No, that couldn't be right, perhaps she was nervous from the responsibilities he placed on her. He decided to be optimistic and say she was a good actor.
Following the lead from Lucy as they stepped off the carriage, she grasped his armed tightly as in fear and he nearly blushed as he felt her large bust against his arm. Okay, now he was fully convinced that she was acting. He was impressed really. And Lucy felt soft, her hands were smooth and delicate with a gentle grasp around his arm. Of course her boobs…well, he enjoyed that.
The leader of the thieves began barking orders as four of the thugs surrounded them as they were led a small distance away from the carriage, the ones behind them acting as rear guard and look outs for any activity down the road.
A total count of fourteen thugs. Some of them began to relax, an indicator that they were getting used to it. Most of them dug into the carriage and started to pack it into their own.
"You take the ones behind us while I take the two in front, then cover for me as I summon." He nodded. Waiting for her signal.
"No talking!" One of the thieves barked out.
He noticed an opening when one decided to look at the progress behind him and wasn't disappointed in Lucy when her grip lessened as she whispered a 'now'. Huh, she had a whip, he never noticed that. Witnessing a rather skilled display with it as she disarmed one of them.
Naruto turned to the two behind him, who barely took a step forward to meet their disobedience. He stepped to the one to his left, a brief look of shock before it turned into pain as he landed a punch to his stomach, with it a sweep at his legs he was tripped to the ground. Before the other thug realized what happened to his buddy Naruto lifted him by the collar of his shirt before slamming him to the ground and giving him a good punch. They were down.
With both of them out he turned his attention to Lucy, one of her opponents was writhing on the ground while the other came charging. There was a loud crack of the whip she held.
Holy shit! Did-did she really just hit him in the nuts! He couldn't help but feel bad for him. Lucy finished him with a surprisingly forceful kick to the face that sent him flying. The other thugs finally gathered their bearings, several of them looked apprehensive as they picked up their weapons.
Lucy reached for her keys as the leader charged with a roar, his shiny blade hanging above him as he prepared to strike. Naruto surged forward, landing a simple push kick that sent him reeling to the person behind them and crashing them to the ground.
"Just a cripple huh?" He couldn't resist saying, walking back to the side of Lucy.
He heard Lucy's fancy words about her summoning end, just like back at the train. 'I wonder if she has to say it like that."
The whiskered blond looked back and what Lucy called the Taurus appeared from a gate like thing he saw earlier. This time, it was bipedal bull in appearance. Nonetheless, it instilled fear in the simple group of men from the appearance of mage. One of them was already running towards the brush of the forest.
"Get him, I'll handle these jerks." She commanded.
Before the man even reached to the safety of the forest, he appeared in front of him and kicked him back into the road. The blond then witnessed Taurus easily smack around a duo.
"Don't worry Lucy! ~I'll protect your perfect body and supple breasts from these lecherous men~" Her summon sang as he easily dropped the other thugs, Lucy looked embarrassed from these comments, and he could see her resisting to look to where he stood.
Naruto felt his hand slap and cover his face before he could think about it. "A perverted bull, seriously?" There just had to be another pervert around him.
Taurus easily thrashed the thugs around, some of them unconscious or clutching their minor injuries. Those that weren't, quickly surrendered when they realized they had no hope of winning.
Lucy stood triumphantly, giving her perverted summon, a fist bump. "Ha! Easy as pie!"
For some reason, he thought that this mission would end up going to shit. Well, she didn't freeze up like his first mission. That was a good thing, she also trusted him too. Guess she wasn't entirely helpless.