Aim

A/N: Hi! Back with another Chapter and my holidays started. So hope you like this chapter and look forward to faster updates during the next five weeks.

Childhood Friends won in the poll with 10 votes. Second was What started out as Friends with 8 votes and third is Hatsune Miku-Kaichou and the Vice-President with 1 vote.

The next morning Sting woke up and looked around to see Lucy on the other side of the fire, sleeping. He got out of his sleeping bag and folded up the blanket he brought along since it could get extremely cold on the mountain at night. He stood up, stretched himself and walked over to Lucy. He sat down next to her and shook her a bit.

"Lucy, it's time to get up." He was still shaking her.

"Mm... Get off me, Natsu." She said in her sleep.

A small vein popped up on Sting's head: "Oi, I'm not Natsu, it's me, Sting and you need to get up."

"Sting?" She started to open her eyes.

"Yeah, it's me so hurry up and get up, so that we can go down and eat something." He walked over to his side.

Lucy got up and stretched herself like Sting: "Okay so how am I going to change up?"

"I'll show you something first." He began to move a stone wall in the mountain.

There was a small gap there leading down and Lucy followed Sting through it. They soon came to a halt and Lucy looked around. There was a big lake there, in the cave.

"The water here is clean so this is where we'll get water from and where we can clean ourselves so you can go up now and change while I clean myself down here. When you're done you can come down and I'll go up." He explained.

Lucy nodded and went upstairs. She got her clothes from her bag and started to change into them. Then she put her hair up in to the usual two pony tails. After she was done she opened the passageway and went back down.

Downstairs Sting washed his face and drank some water and soon enough Lucy came down. He went back up to change up and once he was done he went back down to get Lucy.

"Oi, I'm finished already, are you?" He asked her.

"Yep, I am. So let's go, I'm actually starving." Both of them went back up.

When they reached the top they left the cave and saw the sun rising. The sky was blue with no clouds so the sunrise looked extremely nice. The two took a moment to enjoy the view and then they started to walk down the mountain.

"Okay, so let's run down this thing, try to keep up if you can. I won't run so fast... Or at least I'll try not to do so." Sting said, he laughed after that and began to jog.

Lucy tried to follow him remembering that she was here to train: "Hey, wait up!"

Sting was about halfway down the mountain when he decided to take a look if he could see Lucy. Well, he couldn't, so he decided to sit on a nearby rock to wait for her. As he sat down he remembered that she called him Natsu this morning. 'Mm... Get off me, Natsu.' Sting hated that fact, hated the fact that Lucy called him Natsu. It didn't matter that she was still half asleep, it mattered that he totally hated Natsu ever since yesterday. No, actually deep inside him, he hoped that he wasn't being used as a replacement for Natsu. Lucy isn't that type of person... right? He was lost in thought.

"H-hey what are you doing here *huff* *huff*. Taking a break sitting here on this stone. *huff* *huff*." Lucy knocked him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I was just waiting for a certain someone who is super slow when it comes to running." He answered her and stood up.

"Well, sorry for being slow. By the way you seemed to be worried about something, what is it? You can always tell me you know, we're friends right? Well, only if you want to." She told him.

"Yeah, but it's nothing really. Just that I'm feeling super hungry and I was thinking of what we should eat." He said. Biggest lie ever. He thought.

"Oh... okay. We can always decide later. Let's get going again before you collapse of hunger." She laughed and started running, Sting just followed her.

When they reached the town Lucy asked: "Hey, what's your favourite food Sting?"

"Umm... Omelets." He answered.

"Great mine too! So let's go eat omelets." She took his arm and dragged him into a random restaurant that sold omelets.

"Two of these omelets please." Lucy ordered pointing at one of the omelets in the menu.

"So what's the plan for today, trainer?" Lucy asked him.

"Very funny. Well, we should probably practice your skills with throwing stars first since you're just starting to use them. So we'll run up the mountain again to train your stamina in the progress and then train your throwing stars skills, but I think I should mention that I've never used them before... well, once, I think." He explained.

The waitress came with the omelets: "Here are your omelets. Hope you enjoy it." And then she left.

"By the way is it so important that I train my physical stamina?" Lucy asked Sting.

"Oh you didn't know? Training your physical stamina also increases your magical stamina, in other words the amount of magic your so called container can hold. Then if you train your physical strength your magic power will also increase, which will make your spirits stronger." He told her eating his omelet.

"That's great, I didn't know that." She said.

Natsu opened his eyes and remembered the event of yesterday. He got out of Lucy's bed and left her house, heading towards the guild. He still didn't know if he should really tell everyone where Lucy was and what she was doing. He was so scared that everyone would start hating him, or already did, but then again it was his entire fault to begin with. Why did I even say all of those things...

When Natsu was in front of the guild hall, he took a deep breath and entered the building. The guild looked miserable. Mirajane was at the bar wiping the same glass for who knows how long. The Raijinshu and Laxus were all sitting at one table also staring off into space. Both Master and Cana were not drinking for once, Cana was not drinking. Macao and Wakaba were sleeping on the table. Gajeel was sitting at a table in the corner eating noodles and not iron. Levy and Wendy were fighting. Juvia was standing on one side of the building while Gray was on the other and she wasn't even looking at him, not to mention that Gray was wearing clothes. All in all, the guild members were not themselves anymore.

Natsu himself just headed towards the bar and sat down on one of the chairs: "Hey Mira." Was all he could say.

"Oh hi Natsu. Didn't notice you coming in, you don't look too well, want something to drink?" She offered with a fake smile as she was still wiping the same glass.

"Tell me about it. The whole guild doesn't seem too well." He told her and placed his head onto the table.

"No, I don't mean that. You seem to be extremely worried about something. You're not worried that we hate you now, right? 'Cause we would never do that Natsu, we're all family have you forgot?" She told him.

"Yeah well, something like that, I mean my worries and I forgot, yeah. Well so Lucy told me something in the letter and I don't know how to tell you guys. So well, see for yourself." He handed Mirajane the letter with his hands shaking.

He watched Mirajane as she read the letter and then she said: "Thanks for showing this to me Natsu. Should I tell the others for you?"

"Yeah, that would be nice. Well, I'm going out probably taking a mission or something with team Natsu. See ya later." He got of the chair and went to Gray.

"Oh, okay. Have a save trip." She watched him walk over to Gray.

"Hey Natsu." Gray told him as he came closer.

"Hey Gray, feeling cold for once huh? Wanna go on a mission?" Natsu asked him.

"Funny, no I'm not feeling cold. And I don't mind going but Erza left for one already, though I think she's with Jellal or something, so don't go thinking she hates you." He informed Natsu.

"She just left or something?" He asked.

"Yeah, early this morning." He told Natsu.

"Okay, so let's go chose a job. I'm all fired up now!" Natsu said, but everyone who heard their conversation earlier would have noticed something was definitely wrong with the two. Why? Because they usually start fighting the minute they see each other.

Erza was sitting on the train with Jellal opposite her. Jellal had just joined Fairy Tail after the Grand Magic Games, after the Magic Council declared him as not guilty for what was done at the Tower of Paradise and after Erza and everyone else told him to join over and over again. The Master had made him an S-class mage since he was once one of the Ten Wizard Saints and his counterpart, Mystogan was also an S-class mage when he was in Fairy Tail. So right now he and Erza were doing an S-class mission.

Also since he wasn't hiding anymore he was wearing the same clothes as he was wearing at the Tower of Paradise when he was defeated by Natsu and Erza. He told Erza that if she really wanted him to join Fairy Tail, he would wear those as a reminder to him of what he did to her and everyone else. Also, after Urtear disappeared he and Meredy decided to go their own ways, but stay true to Urtear's last words to them.

"Sorry for asking you to come along on this mission, but the client wanted it to be at least two people and I don't think Natsu and Gray are okay at the moment." Erza said and the 'Not like I'm okay either.' was left unspoken.

"It's okay, I'm not busy or anything and the council is not after me anymore." Jellal reassured her.

She smiled at him: "Thanks."

"By the way to which town do we have to go to?" He asked her.

"It's called Holy Hills because it's surrounded by some hills and it's know for Weisslogia living on a mountain near the town, or so the townspeople believe, I mean that he's dead now but he really lived there." She said as she was looking at the paper with the mission details on it.

"Breakfast was great!" Lucy said as she and Sting were walking down the road towards the mountain.

"It really was, looks like you choose the right restaurant." He told her while laughing.

"I'll just take that as a compliment." She told him.

They reached the base of the mountain: "So, ready to run again?" He asked her.

"You bet." And they both started to run.

After a while Sting turned around, walking backwards and said: "Hey, I thought you said you were ready to run."

"Yeah I was." She complained.

"I don't see you running that fast though." He said.

"Oh yeah, how 'bout now?" She sped up and ran past Sting.

"Much better, keep it up!" He shouted after her and sped up as well.

When they were half way there, Lucy couldn't run anymore and stopped, trying to catch her breath: "I-I *huff* *huff* can't *huff* go on *huff* anymore."

"Hey, you know what Weisslogia used to tell me?" He asked her.

"No, what was it?" She asked back.

He looked up to the clear sky thinking back and said: "He used to tell me that once you say you 'give up' it's all over. If you don't, and just keep trying harder there's a large chance that you'll get further and only stop once you're on the verge of falling unconscious or you reached the goal. I know the part with the 'falling unconscious' is not that good, but well, his point was that you should keep trying to reach your goal." Lucy watched him and listened carefully.

"That makes sense, I mean if you think about it, you can use that phrase in so many situations. These sorts of phrases, I think they mean the most if someone close to you tells you that, so thanks for telling Sting." She smiled brightly at him.

"Yeah, I think so too, and no problem, Lucy." He smiled back.

Haha, she calls me 'someone who's close to her', but only because she has no one else. Never mind I'll just go along with it. Sting thought.

"Okay, so let's get going!" She tried to run again.

"Still have to be careful though!" Sting ran after her.

When they reached the top Lucy asked: "So how're you going to teach me how to throw stars properly?"

"Well… The important things to using throwing stars to fight are your throwing speed, aiming skills and of course reaction speed. I heard that if you're skilled enough you can even control your aim and throwing speed with magic." Sting informed her.

"That's cool, I hope I can do that someday." She said.

"So let's see how your throwing skills are in general. Umm… How about you try aim at tree's trunk for starters." He pointed at one tree which was about ten meters away from them.

"Okay, wait, so how should I hold it?" She asked him.

"Well, it's actually up to the user, whatever is comfortable. Oh, but you should probably wear gloves, in case you accidentally scratch yourself. Why don't you wear mine first and then we'll buy a pair for you after lunch. Oh and when you throw it you should swing it back first and then in front. Also, it's up to you if you want to swing it from the left or from the right. Anyway it'll be something… like that." He showed her the movement and then he took off his gloves and handed them to her: "If you want you can also try to move it in a circular movement."

"Oh okay, thanks." She put them on.

So, she took one star with her right hand and tried to find the best way to hold it. After trying around a few times she decided to hold it like holding a Frisbee. She looked at the trunk of the tree and aimed for the middle. She swung the star in a circular movement to her back on the right with her wrist bending to the front, and then she bent it back and swung her hand back in front. Once she was almost in front she bent her wrist to the front again and then she threw it towards the tree. The star went flying and then it hit the trunk…

… The trunk from the tree that's about one meter apart from the one she aimed at.

"What?!" She shouted out loud.

"I've gotta say, that that wasn't so bad for the first time. I mean come on of course you need some practice, everyone needs it. It'll take some time but your throwing speed wasn't bad at all, for the first time." He tried to reassure her.

"Well, I guess so…" She was still looking a bit depressed.

"Anyway, now we know that we have to train your aim." He told her.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" She asked him.

"First you should try going nearer and throw again." He told her.

She walked seven meters nearer: "Is this enough?"

"Yeah, so try again." He answered.

"Okay, trainer." She said.

She aimed at the trunk again and took another star. Still looking at the trunk she moved the star in a circular movement back, like before, and then to the front. The star flew at about the same speed and hit the right trunk this time, though if it flew a bit more to the right it would've missed the trunk.

"I did it!" She said, with a satisfied look.

"Don't forget that there was only a three meters difference between you and the tree. But well it was much better than before, for now, just keep trying." He also had a satisfied look.

"Yeah!" And she continued.

"Yes! I can hit it from five meters distance!" Lucy said.

"Congratz! Well, it's soon noon, so should we go eat something?" He asked her.

"Yeah, let's go." She answered and the two of them started to jog down the mountain again.

"Great, you're getting better in running as well." He complimented.

"Hehehe…" She smiled at him: "Well, it's because you're helping me. I'm really grateful, Sting."

"It's okay, not like I actually have something to do anyway." He told her.

Faster than the first time, they reached the town and started to look for some nice place to eat.

"Hey, how about we go there and eat some pasta?" He pointed at a restaurant which was called 'Pasta Paradise'.

"Yeah, let's go!" She said and they went to the restaurant.

"A table for two, please." Sting told the waitress who brought them to a table near one of the windows.

She gave them the menu and then she left. Lucy took one and looked at the main courses. After thinking for a while she decided what she was having.

"I think I'll take this Spaghetti Carbonara. What about you?" She said.

"I'll go with a Spaghetti Bolognese." Sting told her and then he called a waiter over to take their orders.

Faster than they thought the waiter came again and served them their lunch. Lucy took her fork and mixed the sauce with the noodles. Then she twirled some around her fork and ate it.

"Like it?" He asked her.

"Yeah, this town seems to have nice places to eat." She smiled at him.

"It always had." He smiled back.

But inside him Sting was still worried, worried that he was a replacement for Natsu. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like that. I was stupid idea to begin with, but he just couldn't help it. He didn't know why, but he really came to like Lucy. He didn't see her as some weakling like he did during the Grand Magic Games. Over the past few days he noticed how strong willed Lucy could be, she could do anything as long as she set her mind to it. So that's why he really didn't want to be a mere replacement.

"So we're going to buy gloves later right?" Lucy snapped him out of thoughts.

"Y-Yeah, we are." He replied a bit late.

"Hey, is everything really alright?" She asked him.

"Yeah of course. Do you know what kind of glove you want?" He asked her.

"No, not really. What kinds of gloves are there anyway?" She questioned him.

"Well, all kinds. There are a lot which can boost some stat, like your aiming. They have some magic power in them which allows them to do that but like once in a while it runs out and you have to refill it. Then of course there's the material. There are ones made of all different kinds of wool and of course leather. In your case I would buy a leather one since it's thicker and you should wear gloves so you don't cut yourself with the stars."

"Hmmm… I guess I should get those which boost my aiming. And I agree with you on buying ones out of leather. And also, should I buy another pair, which doesn't boost anything for training? Because I should still try to get my aiming skills to be as high as possible right?" Lucy suggested.

"Yeah, that's right, I think they sell ones which don't boost anything at all also." He agreed.

Once they were done they left the restaurant.

Erza stretched herself as she got off the train: "That was a long train ride. But we're finally here."

Jellal just got out and told her: "Yeah that was really long. Luckily they served lunch on the train or else I would have fainted." They started walking around town.

"Hey, isn't that Sting Eucliffe? Maybe he knows where Lucy is! Let's go after him." Erza said.

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter.

I'll be writing more about Childhood Friends, and on and off about this, though I'll still try to write more on this than I usually do. I wrote this chapter finish first because I was soon finished with it anyway, since the holidays started. Childhood Friends should take at most three more days.