Author's Note: Yuuki~desu! Hey guys! This chappie has been long overdue and in the light of popularity of this story, I think it'd be more beneficial for both parties involved that I post this story as often as I can, making the chapter extremely short. Why, you might ask. I'm trying to experiment, in a way. See if I can make the story more emotional by making the chapters short. Hope it'll work out ;) Read and Review!

Chapter 5: The Pain

"Lucy?"

The blonde girl in question seemed to shake herself, as if whatever she was thinking about was so important, her whole existence just seemed to shut down, tuning out everything and everyone around her, despite the destruction and noise her guild mates were causing all around her. Slowly smiling, though a bit solemnly, she turned to the one who called her and came face to face with a pair of worried deep brown eyes.

"Sorry Cana, I wasn't exactly listening..."

The brunette scoffed and put her customary barrel of liquor on the bar beside her, leaning closer to her friend and placing her palm on her forehead.

"Geez, I'm okay, Cana. I don't have a fever or anything." laughed Lucy happily, but with an edge that Cana, nor Mira could ignore.

Retracting her hand reluctantly, Cana bit her lip in worry, nodding at Mirajane.

"Lucy..." started the overly kind bartender, taking the hint from her friend. "We know there's something bothering you. Perhaps, if you told us, we could help you." she finished gently and caught the stellar mage's hand between hers.

Heartfilia heiress, however, simply pried her hand from the elder woman's grasp and placed it on top of the bar, where she kept looking at her hands in silent, and obviously forced fascination.

Cana sighed, scratching her head. This was the second day that Lucy acted this way, locking herself up in her own bubble, ignoring even her teammates. The one thing she could be grateful for was that she at least came to the guild and didn't stay holed up in her apartment.

"Lucy..." she started again, not sure what she was supposed to say. She had read her cards regarding Lucy yesterday and though she did the readings with hopes of finally being able to help her friend break out of her depression, the unthinkable happened – her cards turned out blank. All of them. It was a sign she couldn't stop worrying about. It was almost ominous in its simplicity.

Tapping into that inner strength she rarely used outside of fights or bets, Cana took a deep breath and gripped Lucy's shoulders, turning her whole frame to face her.

"Lucy, we've been friends for more than a year now and I can tell that something big is bothering you. You haven't eaten a single thing since yesterday, haven't beaten up Happy for being stupid and today you haven't spoken a single word, not even when Erza asked you to help her, until I practically yelled out your name for the whole Magnolia to hear just to get your attention. I am seriously worried about you." she finished, giving her blonde friend look so sincere that the other woman in question had to turn her gaze away.

"I'm sorry, Cana. It's just..."

Feeling like she was finally getting somewhere, the card mage listened intently.

"It's just... I don't like this time of year. It reminds me of... things." Lucy almost whispered the last word and before anyone could question her further, she turned on her bar stool and marched out of the guild with quick strides.

Her heart beat faster than it should, making her gasp in pain and clutch her chest tightly as she lowered her tired body to the ground.

Kneeling on the sidewalk wasn't exactly something she should be doing if she didn't want to attract any unwanted attention, but the pain was almost unbearable and somehow she knew it would only increase.

Three more days, only three more days, she repeated in her head over and over, clenching her teeth in determination. She could do this. She wasn't that weak. She'd pretend it was nothing and then she would search even more fervently. She had to.

Her hand still clasped over her heart, she stood up and supporting herself with one hand on the wall, she made her way home.

With the walk up the stairs proving more difficult than she originally thought, the one thing she had energy left for was to throw herself onto her pink bed and hope the pain would not come while she slept.