Chapter 1

So, guys, as I promised, a new story! Sorry I was so late out with it though, had to read the whole Kuroko no Basuke manga (just about 275 chapters plus a few), on top of handling preparations to the three examish-tests, it just didn't go as fast as I had hoped ._." And the fact I was a lazy cow too, didn't help anything either, didn't do anything this summer XD

Anyway, it'll be much different from AMCF (Acnologia, my Childhood Friend), not only because it's a crossover, but also because- know what? I don't wanna spoil it :3

Oh yeah, I decided to try experimenting a little, so I'll be writing in third-person this time around, hope it's to your liking!

I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read & Review!
Disclaimer: SLOWPOKE (Hiro Mashima) HAS RETURNED! - Still being stingy about his story. And so is Tadatoshi Fujimaki (Aka Abra), the owner of Kuroko no Basuke, in case you were wondering~ Yes, Abra wrote Kuroko no Basuke and started on a second season, but then he just disappeared from the face of the Earth O.o

At the Guild Fairy Tail~

"Lucy." Someone called from behind Lucy, making her jump in surprise. She was sitting at the bar, lost in thought, mainly wondering how in the world she was supposed to pay her rent this month.

The blonde woman slowly turned in her seat and looked up at the red-headed knight in front of her. Lucy's face lit up in a bright smile as she recognized the one in front of her. "Hi, Erza!" She greeted Erza. It was a wonder the heavy armored mage could sneak up on her like that, but apparently she could.

The Requip mage returned the blonde with a gentle smile. She just couldn't help it, not with the bright one directed at her. "Hello, Lucy." She greeted back. She held a piece of paper out to Lucy. "I found a mission I thought Team Natsu could go on." She informed the blonde.

Lucy looked from Erza to the job-paper and back again, before she reached out and gently took it, turning it to face herself. It wasn't one she could recognize from the board, was it new? She quickly realized why she hadn't seen it, when she saw the red stamp at the top right corner of it.

Erza crossed her arms and smiled, already aware that the Celestial mage had figured out what kind of job it was. "It's S-Class." She said anyway, just in case she'd been wrong, somehow.

The blonde's head whipped up and she stared at the mage in front of her in shock. Not long ago Team Natsu had gone on an S-Class job, since Erza had thought they could handle it. And they could, they cleared the job, but because of Natsu and Gray's destructive… Tendencies, most of the Jewels from their reward went to repairs of the town. Lucy had thought that they'd wait with taking another one until the two boys had matured a little - if that was even possible.

Erza only shook her head at Lucy, before the blonde could begin raising the protests the redhead knew were coming. Lucy always was a cautious one, especially regarding S-Class missions. She always ridiculously underestimates herself, for absolutely no reason. "Don't worry, it's not as difficult as the last one." She reassured Lucy as she gestured to the piece of paper with her iron-clad hand.

Lucy glanced up at the woman in front of her, before looking down at the paper again, this time really reading it over.

HELP NEEDED!
A group of bandits are wreaking havoc in our town! Please save us!
3-6 bandits!

At least one S-Class mage acquired!
Destination: Acacia Town
Reward: 1.000.000 Jewels

Lucy looked up at Erza with furrowed eyebrows. She knew Acacia was a little town lying in the middle of Fiore, surrounded by wildlife and big trees. There was no doubt it was a beautiful place, but because it was so closely hidden between the many trees, it was also very easy to attack. But that wasn't what bothered her. "Not that I'm complaining, but isn't the reward ridiculously high?" She asked the Knight. After splitting it in four, she'd still have 250.000 Jewels, that would be enough for three months, and a little on top of that too.

Erza smiled at the Blonde and nodded, proud that the young mage so easily noticed that. "That's exactly why I picked it." She told her. "You've been mentioning that you have been lacking Jewels for your rent lately, so I thought excess Jewels would do you good for once." She said. Since Erza was an S-Class mage, she never had to worry about rent. Fairy Hills was extremely cheap to live in anyhow, it was a mystery to the Knight why her adopted little sister hadn't moved in over there yet.

Lucy looked up at Erza with a radiant smile, practically jumped off the chair and threw her arms around the other woman with her exaggerated tears of joy flying in every direction. "Thank you, Erza!" With this many Jewels, it almost didn't matter what Gray and Natsu did to the place, it would still be enough for her to pay her rent.

Erza was completely baffled with Lucy's sudden burst of tears, immediately thinking something was wrong. She quickly realized it was tears of joy the Celestial mage was spraying all over the place, and wrapped her arms around the blonde, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm glad I can help you out, Lucy." She told her. It always made Erza happy when she could help the people around her.

With Erza's heavy and strong arms squeezing her to Erza's literally iron-hard chest, Lucy quickly found it a problem to breathe. She weakly tried pushing the other mage a little, but it didn't seem to work. "Erza…!" She somehow managed to breathe out. Unfortunately, the redhead was too caught up in her happiness at being able to help her friend to hear a single thing, so Lucy figured she had to try again. "Can't… Breathe!" She warned her friend, but still, Erza didn't react. Gradually, Lucy began feeling light-headed, faintly registering the blood leaving her head.

Mira looked up from the glass she was polishing as she heard Lucy's muffled cries for help. She began giggling when she saw Erza's happy expression. Ever since Lucy had joined, somehow the guild had seemed happier, especially Erza. Before Team Natsu existed Erza would go on missions alone and her smiles would be few. But that had changed completely since the bright beacon of light Lucy was, had shown up and wormed her way into everyone's hearts.

"Erza." A gentle, yet kind of firm voice called out at the Requip mage's right, pushing her out of her stupor and looking up at the one talking to her. "You're choking her." Mira told Erza with her usual bright smile as she gestured to Lucy with the rag she had been cleaning the glasses with.

Lucy heard a gasp before the arms that were squeezing the consciousness out of her - and the only way for her to stand on her feet - disappeared and she fell to the ground in a panting heap. She didn't have time to catch herself before she tilted backwards, her head hitting the ground and the black spots of unconsciousness quickly possessed her sight.

A bright white light appeared behind Lucy's eyes, as bright as if she'd been standing right in front of the sun, staring into the globe of fire without blinking. It was completely silent, except the faint whispers on the wind. "Akashi... Help…" She faintly heard it say, before the whiteness disappeared and she regained her consciousness.

Erza quickly fell on her knees next to Lucy, placing her hands on the blonde woman's shoulder and gently shaking her, when she saw her friend fading into unconsciousness. "Lucy!" She called for her friend and shook her a little harder, making the brown orbs flutter open, much to the redhead's relief. "I'm so sorry Lucy!" She quickly apologized to her, already feeling her conscience gnawing at her. "Are you all right?" She asked her friend worriedly, hardly giving her any time to reply.

Lucy giggled at Erza and nodded reassuringly at her. "I'm just fine, Erza. I just lost my balance for a moment there." She told her and accepted the hand she was offered, using it to pull herself up. "Thank you." She said gratefully and dusted herself off. The floor of the guild wasn't exactly what you would call clean. No matter how many times you actually cleaned it, people would always drag dirt in as they arrived, there was just no helping it. As soon as Lucy was finished, she looked up at Erza again. "About the job, when are we leaving?" She asked.

Erza gave the blonde a relieved smile, happy that she hadn't actually hurt the girl. She wouldn't forgive herself if she had. "In two hours." She announced, feeling a hint of excitement bubbling in her at the prospect at going on a mission, which would maybe be a bit more difficult than usual. She turned around, towards the current brawl in the middle of the guild with her hands on her hips and a determined expression. "NATSU! GRAY!" She yelled at her two team mates.

The two almost teleported out of the dust ball of people and stood in front of Erza with a salute, beat up and all. They knew never to ignore that woman - everyone did. "AYE SIR!" They said nervously, fearing they had somehow done something to enrage the redhead.

Two hours later~

As usual, the team had decided to meet up in front of the fountain in the middle of Magnolia, since they all passed it when they went to the station from their homes.

Lucy had been the first one to show up - as usual - so she sat down at the ledge of the beautiful fountain spraying with almost turquoise water behind her. She closed her eyes and reveled in the fresh midday air and enjoyed the feeling of the small, cool droplets of water from the fountain hitting her bare arms. She smiled as she heard the happy talking from the people around her. Magnolia had always been such a happy city, the polar opposite of the Heartfilia Konzern almost.

Natsu had easily packed what he needed - which was nearly nothing - and quickly ran to the fountain with his best buddy flying right next to him as he ran to his destination. When he saw the blonde sitting at the ledge, he couldn't help the wide smile that made its way to his face. "Oi, Luce!" He called out to his partner. "What'cha doing?" He asked her, wondering if maybe she could have been sleeping.

Lucy cracked an eye open and smiled at him in return. "Just enjoying my surroundings." She told him earnestly. As if a light bulb had turned on above her head, Lucy suddenly remembered something quite important. "Oh, that's right!" She said to herself as she quickly dug down into the bag she had brought with her. Without much trouble, she found what she had been searching for wrapped securely in food-paper. She began unwrapping it and held it out towards the blue Exceed when it was all cleared. "This is for you, Happy." She told him with her usual radiant smile.

Happy's face lit up quickly - even though he had also been happy before - and he fast-forwarded to the blonde's hand and grabbed his gift in his paws, holding it up in front of him. "FISH! Thank you, Lushy!" He thanked the woman as he landed on the ledge next to her and began munching on his fish in a state of bliss.

Natsu quickly made his way to the other side of his partner and threw an arm around her shoulder as his butt landed on the cobblestones. "Ready to kick some bandit-ass, Luce?" He asked her excitedly, already looking immensely forward to the upcoming job. "I'm all fired up!" He reassured her, lighting his fist on fire for emphasis.

Lucy sweat dropped at him, remembering their last S-Class mission with the team. "Yeah, I'm sure you are. But please don't burn down a sacred forest filled with threatened animals this time around, okay?" She asked him, giggling a little at the memory. It really was ridiculous.

"If he does, I'll make sure to give him the proper punishment." Erza reassured them as she approached. She'd just caught the last of their conversation, before she saw her opportunity to make her presence known. They looked up at her with surprise, and Natsu with a hint of fear, probably wondering how she could manage to sneak up on people with that big cart behind her. She looked around for the last member of their team. "Where's Gray?" She asked, demanding they know.

Natsu grunted, not entirely feeling like talking about the Ice Queen. "That idiot probably got lost." He said, already getting annoyed just talking about him. "Can't even find around in his own pocket." He said with - fake, even though he would never admit it - disgust lacing his voice.

"Oi, Fire Breath! I heard that you bastard." Gray said with a scowl, before he quickly shot off the ground, flashing past Happy and Lucy, and landing a solid hit in Natsu's face, sending him whirling away. As he ignored Natsu's insults, Gray turned to Erza. "Tch, I didn't get lost." He told her. "Only that Fire Breathing Moron would do something as stupid as that." He grunted in disgust at comparing himself to that guy. "I was held up." He simply said and gestured behind him with a single nod, before getting a hit in return from Natsu, starting a fight between the two.

Ignoring their usual banter, Erza and Lucy both turned to look in the direction Gray had gestured, and sweat dropped at how obvious it all was. A little, blue head peeped out from behind a building, watching with hearts in her eyes as Gray threw his clothes away.

Lucky as Lucy was, those exact clothes landed right on top of her head. She sighed and took the clothes off, gently folding them over her arm, knowing he'd forget the articles otherwise. Right about then, she felt daggers were slicing into her back and a shudder forced its way up her spine. She could hear a distant 'Love-Rival' being hissed at her and shuddered again, already fearing Juvia's wrath.

Erza looked down at the blonde, catching the last of her shudders and looking at her with a worried expression. "Are you not feeling well, Lucy?" She asked her, wondering if they should take the mission some other day.

Lucy looked up at the Knight and shook her head with a smile, trying not to be too affected by the daggers being thrown at her from behind. "No, I'm perfectly fine. Thank you, Erza." She reassured her, the best she could with the daggers being thrown at her.

Erza nodded at her, reassuring herself that was the truth, then strode to the two boys, who were already exchanging fists. She grabbed their heads and smashed them together, effectively stopping their fight as they fell to the ground. "We're leaving." She announced as she grabbed her cart and continued forward, not paying any mind at all to the two bumps she encountered. It seemed they needed to check the roads around here, maybe she would contact the major when she returned.

Lucy giggled at the sounds the two made as they were rolled over, knowing it wasn't anything serious - since it wasn't the first time - and approached them as they got up. She held Gray's clothes out to him when she stopped up in front of him, since Natsu had already run after Erza with Happy flying around head, still not done with his fish. "Here you go, Gray." She smiled at him, once again feeling another wave of daggers thrown at her.

Gray looked down at the clothes she was holding, wondering what she wanted him to do with those clothes. It didn't take long before he had an idea though, and as he looked down his bare chest, his suspicions were confirmed. "HOW THE HELL?!" He asked himself loudly, once again wondering when he'd discarded his clothes. He sighed to calm himself down and smiled at Lucy, pulling her into a sideways hug. "You're a lifesaver, Lucy!" He told her gratefully and took the clothes, beginning to dress himself. How he'd survive without Lucy taking his clothes with her when he threw them off, he'd never know.

Meanwhile, Lucy just stood stiffly, feeling her impending doom lurking behind the building with blue, curled hair. She carefully glanced back at Juvia, seeing the Rain woman hissing like a snake and being surrounded in a worse atmosphere of death than what Mira sometimes had. Lightning was practically shooting at Lucy from her eyes, and it made Lucy sweat a little in fear of the Water mage actually killing her.

Gray quickly grabbed Lucy's wrist and pulled her after him, when he was fully clothed, aiming to catch up to Erza, Natsu and Happy as quickly as possible. "Come on, don't want the demon angry!" He said to Lucy, referring to the other woman of their team.

Lucy let herself be dragged after him willingly, knowing Erza was much gentler than Juvia at this point. Besides, she knew the crazy - but lovable - Rain woman would follow them. Maybe even board the same train as them and stalking Gray throughout the whole mission. It wouldn't be the first time…

Gray and Lucy quickly caught up to Natsu, Erza and Happy, and while Lucy fell into pace with Erza, Gray began arguing with Natsu again, although none of them dared go into a full-blown fist-fight with each other since they'd only just been broken up from one.

Both Erza and Lucy walked in silence, as the noise of the people in the background lulled them into their thoughts.

Lucy didn't know exactly what it was, but something in her told her that the day would be special. How, she had no idea, the only thing she knew was that something revolutionary would happen. Maybe… Did it have something to do with those two words she'd heard when she was unconscious? 'Akashi' and 'Help'? Akashi… Was it the name of a person or a city? Lucy hadn't heard of a city or town in Fiore with that name, but maybe it was on another continent. Maybe it was a whole third thing. She couldn't help wondering how in the world she could help whatever or whoever it was.

She got the feeling she would find out before she was back at Fairy Tail again and wondered if it had something to do with the mission. Speaking of the mission, that reward was still ridiculously high. For those 3-6 bandits they were supposed to fight, that was way too much. It was understandable if there were 12 or if they were mages, but because they were just bandits… Well, actually it could go for a mission on the 'ordinary' board. It would be one of the harder ones, no doubt about that, but it was definitely not S-Class. What could they be hiding?

Lucy was pulled out of her thoughts when suddenly her whole body jerked and something heavy landed in her lap to stay there. She shook her head and looked around, only now realizing she was already sitting in the train and a motion-sick Natsu had dropped his head on her lap, looking and feeling like he could barf any moment.

She smiled gently down at him, earlier topic completely forgotten, as she began gently combing his spiky hair with her finger, massaging his scalp a little as her fingers passed through. Natsu almost immediately felt the effect of Lucy's hands releasing all the tension he'd had as he struggled to keep his breakfast indoors. He never said it to anyone, but when she ran her fingers through his hair like this, his motion-sickness disappeared completely, and he simply lay there because he loved the feeling of her small hands rubbing circles in his scalp.

While Happy was happily munching on at the fish Lucy had given him earlier - it was a big one - Gray and Erza discussed the details about the mission. It didn't take long before Lucy decided to tune in on the conversation, hoping that this was the way they would prevent destroying half the town and losing just as much of the reward.

Later, right outside Acacia~

Acacia wasn't at all the beautiful town it had once been. Team Natsu found that out when they arrived there. It had been a quaint, little town before, in the middle of the woods with wildlife crawling up houses and animals passing peacefully through, but now… Barely any of the big, ancient trees which had decorated the town were left sanding and several of the houses were heaps of wood and bricks on the ground. It almost looked like Gray and Natsu had broken into a fight there once before.

The Team didn't get much out of the major either. He was the one who had requested their help. Unfortunately he knew no more than what was written on the job-paper. He told them every time the bandits attacked, they'd come from every side of the town, so he didn't know where their base was either.

So with that miniscule information, all five went to search for their base, deciding they might as well get it done and over with as fast as possible. So far they'd let Natsu take the lead, letting him follow what he heard and smelled, hoping that it'd somehow lead them to the HQ of the bandits.

Currently, the Dragon Slayer was on all fours on the ground, sticking his nose and ear further down alternately as he figured out where the enemy might be hiding. He was so focused on his work, he didn't even care about the comments on how stupid he looked from Gray, so it didn't take long before the Ice Make mage gave up taunting him.

Suddenly, Natsu stopped up and raised his head to the side and scrunching his face up in concentration. He felt like he had found a lead, their scent was strong here and fanned out in many directions towards the town, only to collect here, as if they'd walked in a group the rest of the way. He faintly heard Erza stopping the other three from moving any further, waiting for him to figure it all out before advancing.

Natsu glanced back at his team mates and nodded with a determined expression, facing forward again, in the direction he figured the base would lie in. "I think I found them." He said in a low voice and sped off in the direction he looked.

Lucy watched as Natsu crawled over the ground like some kind of deformed dog with a slightly stunned expression at his speed. "You've got to wonder how he does that." She commented as she followed the other three as they followed Natsu trying their best to keep up with his insane speed.

Before long, a dull blue, completely squared building of some kind of metal - probably aluminum - came into sight between the trees. Natsu looked back at the other four with a grin and a nod, he'd indeed found it. Not that the other four had expected any less, even though some of them - namely Gray - would never admit it.

Natsu got up on his feet and punched his own palm, fire erupting around his hands. "I'm all fired up!" He commented with fire bursting out of his mouth.

Gray nodded, as he absentmindedly threw his jacket and shirt all over the place. "Let's go kick some ass!" He agreed with his rival, for once not fighting with him. The temperature dropped to a comfortable coolness around him and a little steam appeared where Natsu's heat and his cold met.

Erza nodded and materialized one of her swords into her had. "Yes, let's rid the world of these evil-doers." She also agreed - even though they would never kill anybody - as she pointed forward with her sword and sent the boys to quickly charge the building, magic floating intensely in the air around them. She quickly joined them, her sword ready to beat a bandit or three.

Lucy stood a little behind, sighing as she didn't get a chance to say they had an advantage in the element of surprise, but quickly finding that advantage destroyed when Natsu released a loud battle-roar loud enough for the people back in Acacia to hear it.

Since she was pretty sure that building wasn't isolated from sound, she knew the bandits knew they were under attack and were likely to erupt from the doors at any time. She pulled out her newest Gold key and swiped it in the air. "Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!" She chanted.

Accompanied with a golden light and the sound of bells, Loke appeared in the smoke. "Your knight in shining armor has appeared, Princess!" Loke reassured Lucy as he swept her up in his arms, before she could say anything. And just because he wanted to.

Lucy smiled at the orange-haired Lion Spirit, already somewhat used to his flirtatious way of showing his affection. Which was more often than not misunderstood. "Hi Loke, if you'd put me down-" She started out but was cut off as bandits actually began erupting from the building. Which, by the way, now was half on fire, half frozen over and had swords sticking out everywhere. It looked like it could crumble to the ground at the gentlest of breezes.

She pulled out her whip, still in Loke's arms, and lashed at the ground, drawing the bandits' attention. The three bandits who were already outside of the building quickly saw her and ran in their direction. Those were three out of the maximum of six… Well, either way, they wouldn't be a problem, especially not when Lucy had Loke with her too.

But Loke could already feel the magic oozing from the approaching three men, wondering what Lucy had gotten herself into. Deciding not to dwell on it, he put the love of his long life down on the ground and took a protective step in front of her. He couldn't help it - it was in his nature, both as a Spirit and a Lion.

Lucy had known the major was hiding something. A town couldn't just be destroyed like that, if it hadn't been with the help of magic, she didn't believe his words for one second - when she'd seen the town. And it was with good reason obviously, as the three men began charging their magic.

Their magic swelled around them, revealing what kind of mages they were. They were all Casters, one with the Fire magic, one with Water and one with Lightning. This would most likely be a difficult match for the two, but still they believed with everything they had that they could win this.

Loke crouched down a little, following each and every move the three men made to harm the woman who had saved him from death, like a predator watching his foe. He knew that the best deal he'd have was to let these men make the first step. Luckily they didn't seem too smart.

When Lucy cracked the whip once again, it acted as a mark to start, as the men all quickly charged their magic at the same time. The Water mage sent a wave of Water at the two, probably aiming to wash them away. What he hadn't expected was for the two to have faced much worse - Aquarius.

Loke simply used his ring magic to smash a hole through the weak wave, big enough for both Lucy and himself, and smiled challengingly at them all.

This seemed to piss the Lightning mage off, as he jumped into the air, a fist crackling with his magic aimed at the Lion Spirit. Loke let the enemy come in close, before reaching out to push at the guy's arm, redirecting his route and then a second later jabbing a knee right into his stomach, making the air wheeze out of him painfully.

Just as Loke looked up, he saw a flaming foot approaching him too quickly for him to could react in time. Right as he braced himself for the impact, which never came. "Don't you dare forgetting about me!" He heard Lucy said behind him as her whip wrapped around the mage's ankle. With a single flick of her hand, the mage was set flying into tree.

Loke smiled back at Lucy gratefully, before turning back to the battle in front of him. He let Lucy take care of the Fire mage for now, fully confident that she was strong enough, while he took on the Water and the Lightning mage. He growled lowly at them, determined not to let them through.

Lucy backed a little, so she stood back to back with her Lion Spirit. She knew he was letting her off easy, leaving her with only the Fire mage, while he took the other two on. While it was true she wasn't exactly hiding behind him, she wasn't entirely fighting with him either. And she didn't like that. She knew he wasn't underestimating her - he never would - but it still irked her. Either way, it just meant she would have to get rid of this Fire mage as quickly as possible, so she could help Loke.

The Fire mage quickly steadied himself from the rough meeting with the tree and grinned when he found out who his opponent was. The blonde woman. Ah, well, that wasn't entirely true. The smoking hot blonde woman. This was sure to be an easy fight, he had no doubt about that. Maybe he could have some fun when he was all done with her.

Lucy watched as the man's eyes turned lecherous right alongside his smirk and could only internally roll her eyes. Why did she always end up with the perverted ones? She snapped her whip with a sigh and quickly lashed at her opponent. The whip tore a hole in his shirt and left a red mark running down his stomach, blood slowly forming at the long line.

The guy grunted at his lack in attention and charged forward at the girl, his fist lit up in reddish orange flames. Lucy tried to deflect him with her whip, but he only hissed at the new wound as he continued to hit Lucy's stomach with his fiery fist, making the bottom of her clothes burst into flames. She quickly padded her own stomach, to stop the fire, seemingly ignoring the pain she'd gotten from his punch. Both much to the guy's dissatisfaction.

Lucy looked up at her opponent with a glare. "I've been hit by flames much worse than yours! This is nothing!" She promised him as she once again lashed out with her whip.

The guy quickly evaded the leather strap and looked back at the girl, his lecherous smirk still in place. "Oh yeah?" He asked her challengingly, once again lighting his fists on fire, aiming to do the same trick once again.

Before he got too close, Lucy wrapped the whip tightly around his ankle and pulled, making the guy trip forward. He wouldn't get her with the same thing twice in a row. He couldn't do anything to save himself and banged the back of his head into a sharp rock, diving into the darkness of unconsciousness almost immediately.

Lucy looked down at the man, seeing he'd banged his head into the rock and breathed in deeply. "I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized with a high pitched voice, before pulling her whip back and turning to the fight behind her, only to see Loke being hit with a combination of Lightning and Water. "LOKE!" She screamed when her Lion Spirit was hit with the Lightning enhanced by the Water. He exploded into a golden light with a roar, leaving Lucy alone with the two.

Before she had any time to react to anything, the two mages sent another combo of Lightning and Water at her, hitting her spot on, sending shockwaves of electricity through her. A black smoke coming from the flesh they burned rose and soon after revealed her still standing. That should have knocked her out, how was she still on her feet?

Lucy glared at the two men in front of her through the black smoke, not at all paying attention to her burned flesh and tattered clothes. Those two had dared hurting her Spirit right in front of her, now there was hell to pay for them. She knew with that combination of theirs, none of her Spirits would be able to withstand it, so she had to take care of them herself. Which was also what she'd had in mind.

The two mages felt a chill run down their spine at the look she was giving them, almost feeling like their death was standing in front of them, in the form of that single girl. Suddenly, that chill turned into yet another of their smirks. They had something in mind, and it was a sure-shot at defeating that girl. "Sweetheart, what makes you think we came alone?" He asked her.

Lucy realized in an instant that she was standing with her back to the destroyed building. She whirled around when she felt a presence behind her, only to come face-to-face with a wooden club, which sent her shooting into unconsciousness for the second time that day.

The now three men grinned at each other, before approaching the blonde, who had fallen forward, landing on her stomach with her head facing to the side. The man with the club knelt down and was about to push her over, so she was lying on her back, but just as his fingers grazed her, she disappeared in a flash of golden light.

All three widened their eyes at the sudden disappearance of the girl and looked at each other, hoping for answers. "You all… Just saw that, right?" The one with the club asked the others hesitantly. They just nodded silently.

They were all quickly brought out of the situation, when they heard someone behind them. "GRAY-SAMA! Juvia will help you!" a blue-haired woman screeched as she sent a sharp half-moon of water at them. "Water Slicer!" She yelled.

At Earth, Tokyo~

Akashi and Midorima were walking silently home after a long day of basketball training at Teiko. Midorima pushed his glasses up and looked down at the redhead walking next to him with the forever cunning expression. "What are your plans now, Akashi?" He asked his fellow basketball player.

Akashi looked up at him with a smile playing in his red eyes as he threw the basketball from one hand to the other and back again. "I was thinking of playing some basketball at the street-court further down this street. What do you say, Midorima?" He asked the green haired guy.

Midorima nodded with his usual scowl, unnecessarily pushing his glasses up again. "In fact, I think that's a good idea." He agreed, looking forward, where he could see the court Akashi had mentioned.

It was only a few week ago the first year of their middle-school lives had begun. Of course, they'd immediately moved up to the first grade players of Teikou and as it looked they had a pretty big chance at playing with the third years.

They were the first ever to move directly up in the first grade as a first year among the ones who played basket on their school, so they were a hot topic at their school. Of course, the two of them weren't the only ones, there were two others, Atsushi Murasakibara and Daiki Aomine. Those two names, Seijuro Akashi and Shintaro Midorima would be known many years into the future. They'd make sure of that themselves.

When the two closed in on the court, they noticed someone sleeping on one of the benches. Something about the person piqued Akashi's interest and instead of walking to his original destination, he stopped up the few meters before the court, where the bench was.

He'd first thought it was some kind of drunkard, who had fallen asleep there, but that certainly wasn't the case. Instead of some old man, a beautiful - to say the least - young woman lay there. She had long, golden hair, which seemed to reach just below her shoulders and very feminine features. But then… what caught his attention was that what had previously been nice, soft skin was marred with burns and wounds. I looked like she'd been fighting against flames. Her clothes were also tattered and torn, so much so it was inappropriate. Was she really sleeping or was she unconscious?

Midorima glanced at Akashi, after having finished studying the woman on the bench. "Akashi?" He asked the smaller redhead.

Akashi looked down at the woman in front of him. He would never be able to explain it if anyone asked, but a dominating part of him was telling him he should help this girl out. Without even acknowledging Midorima's question, he threw the ball to his companion. "Hold this." He told him as he shrugged his blazer off and laid it over the woman. Even though it was much too small for her, it covered what needed to be covered.

Just as he thought he'd done the good deed of the day, and he could return to practicing basket with Midorima, the woman sat up with a jolt, before falling down again with a pained moan.

Lucy looked around confusedly, flinching when the movement sent an intense pain through her head. She had absolutely no idea where she was. One moment she was in that forest right outside Acacia being knocked down by three men, the next she was there, at a bench somewhere she had never seen the likes of before. The buildings were much, much taller than what was normal in Fiore - even among high class - it was like they were touching the clouds. Big posters hang all around, seemingly advertising their own products. Big screens sat on some of the big buildings, flashing advertisement after advertisement with stuff she hadn't seen before, and she couldn't see any Lacrima anywhere.

She felt someone touching her shoulder and jumped, almost falling off her seat. Right there in front of her stood two boys, seemingly about 13-14 years old.

One had green hair, stopping right above his eyebrows, a few shades darker than Bisca's and had eyes the same color, if not a little lighter, and was wearing glasses and a scowl. The other had hair as red as Erza's, hanging in long bangs over his forehead, and two red eyes similar to his hair in color. Somehow his eyes reminded her of snake's eyes, the way they were slit.

Midorima looked at the confused woman with a raised brow. He didn't know exactly what to make of her, she seemed weird to him. As if she'd dropped down into another world. Maybe.. Had she been drunk and then fallen asleep here, not remembering anything at all? It definitely was a possibility…

Akashi examined the girl in front of him with a curious eye. There was definitely something special about her. First of all, she didn't seem to be from Japan at all, judging by the color of her hair. Anyhow, first of all, how had she gotten all those wounds? He wanted to ask her, but he didn't know how to ask.

Lucy tore her gaze away from the boys and only now noticed a blazer she didn't recognize was thrown over her, covering her torso and the top of her thighs. She smiled a little inwardly at the kind of little size of it, then realized she was probably dirtying it with all of her wounds. She sat up - slowly this time - and picked it up, holding it out to the red haired boy, seeing he wasn't wearing one, like his friend was. "Is this yours?" She asked him with a smile.

Akashi was momentarily struck in awe at the radiant smile the woman was giving him, but quickly came to his senses again. "Yes, it is." He confirmed for her and held his hand out. "Please use it to cover yourself." He asked of her. His upbringing just didn't allow him to let a lady walk around so inappropriately.

Lucy looked from the blazer to the boy and she gave him an unsure expression. "Are you sure? I'll just make it dirty." She reminded him.

Akashi gave her a curt nod. "Yes, please do. It can be washed once we find something else." He told her earnestly. He didn't know what was coming over him, but he just had a need to help this woman.

Lucy beamed brightly at him in gratitude. Without the blazer covering her, she could feel the cold air brushing her skin places where her shirt and skirt should have covered her. "Thank you so much…?" She trailed off, realizing she didn't even know the boys' names.

Akashi nodded, also realizing he hadn't introduced himself, which was a breach of his manners. "I'm Seijuro Akashi, you can just call me Akashi, and this is Shintaro Midorima." He introduced himself and Midorima.

Midorima pushed his glasses up, letting the sun reflect in them. "You can also call me Midorima." He told her, getting a little curious about this woman, who seemed to be of some interest to his friend. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?" He trailed off, urging her to introduce herself, just as they had done.

Lucy nodded and smiled to both of them. "Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia!" She introduced herself, already gushing inside like a mini-Mira at the cuteness of the two boys. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" She said as she gave them a handshake, sitting properly on the bench.

Even though he had seen it before, it once again hit him just how injured this woman was. He looked up into her smiling, warm chocolate eyes. "I don't live very far from here… Would you want to take care of your wounds there, Lucy?" He asked her, not even realizing how out of character it was for him to suggest. She wasn't like anyone else he knew, none of them would urge him to use their first name from the very start.

Midorima did notice though. While he had only known Akashi for the duration of a few week, he had a somewhat firm grasp on who the boy was. And helping people out like this sure didn't belong to his usual behavior. And it only added to his already steadfastly growing interest in this lady.

Lucy looked at the boy in surprise. She honestly hadn't expected anything like that from him, but he had let her borrow that blazer, the easiest would be if she went with him. It made sense, when she thought about it. She nodded and flashed him yet another grateful smile. "I would very much like that." She told him.

Midorima and Akashi stepped back as they gave her the space she needed to get up from the bench. Judging by the injuries she had already sustained, Midorima doubted she would be able to stand - at least at first try. And he was proved to be right, when her legs shook as she stood. A hand quickly flew to her head as she scrunched her face up in pain.

Lucy hadn't realized how severe her injuries had actually been, but it made sense, if she took a moment to think about it. She'd been hit by a fire-punch in her stomach, and had afterwards been hit by a combination of water and lightning. Remembering back, she faintly remembered seeing those two's expression being one of shock. Had she been supposed to get knocked out by that?

She gently shook her head and pulled herself together. After the kindness these two boys had shown her, she didn't want to look weak in front of them. She calmed herself and steadied her legs, standing straight as if nothing had ever happened to her. She swung the tiny blazer over her shoulders, which hardly even reached and did what she could to cover her bare front with the little size of it.

Akashi watched with a raised eyebrow and a form for respect for Lucy, as she calmed herself and didn't look like her injuries affected her at all, even with how grave they were. Akashi took a step in the direction of where he lived. "It's this way." He told her, knowing Midorima already knew.

Midorima fell into pace with the two, walking in the direction of where Akashi's house lay. He glanced up at Lucy as he walked next to her. She was special… Different from any of the women he'd met. That he was sure of.

Lucy walked with Akashi on one side and Midorima on the other, while she once again found herself getting trapped in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if all of this was a dream. It was impossible for screens like the ones on all these buildings to exist without Lacrima, and there wasn't a single building in Fiore half as tall as these ones, so it couldn't be anything else. She could barely feel the Eternano in the air, but it was only very little. So little it was basically nothing.

Whether it was a dream or not, Lucy figured that in this world, magic didn't exist. It basically couldn't with how little Eternano there was. So, just because, she also chose to not show any hints of magic, even though her whip and keys were dangling by her belt, although you wouldn't notice them with how the blazer hung over her shoulders.

She looked down at Akashi and smiled brightly. Again. "Thank you so much, Akashi and Midorima, for helping me." She said, when suddenly her mind clicked. Akashi and help. Those were the words which got stuck on her mind, when she fell unconscious back at the guild. What did all of this mean..?

Midorima looked up at the woman, who seemed a little far away at the moment. He didn't let it bother him though as he nodded and faced forward again. "It was the only right thing to do." He simply said.

Akashi nodded in agreement as he turned the corner and arrived at the familiar street, where he lived. "I live right down here." He informed them.

Lucy felt a twitch of familiarity when Akashi stopped up in front of a big house, which seemed way too similar to the one she'd grown up in herself. It was big, first of all, not tall like the ones back where they came from, but more broad and spread out. That and the garden around it was big too. Not as big as what she'd lived in - but apparently that was ridiculous to compare to anything, if her team's reaction was anything to go by.

Akashi pushed the gate open knowing that their butler had a day off that day, which in his eyes was convenient, given the circumstances. Although the maidens would still be present, the house was hardly ever completely empty. It'd be all right either way, they were always busy doing other things.

All three of them walked up through the front yard and up to the entrance of Akashi's home. Lucy hadn't thought she would ever be back in these kind of surroundings, she'd run away from it all after all, but here she was. Well, it was different this time, but she was still there.

Midorima glanced at Lucy from the corner of his eye while pushing his glasses up. Lucy's posture had changed, she was standing completely straight and with an almost completely blank expression. Her whole body seemed stiff and tense though, as if it was uncomfortable for her. Was it her first time coming to such a rich family's house?

Lucy looked down at Akashi and smiled a little smile. "It's a very beautiful home you have, Akashi." She complimented him, feeling like she should say something to ease the slight tension in the air.

Akashi looked up at her and nodded. "Thank you, Lucy-san. I hope you feel welcome." He said as they all reached the front door. He pushed the button on the remote hanging on the wall, calling one of the maids. "Open the door, please." He said.

After only a second, the handle was pushed down and a maid in a dress similar to Virgo's - but longer - and brown hair opened the door with a smile and a bow. "Welcome home Akashi-sama." She welcomed Akashi, before seeing Midorima and Lucy as she straightened up. "Oh? You have guests?" She asked him.

Akashi nodded, seeing the weird look the maid was giving Lucy, probably noticing the wounds she'd somehow acquired. "Thank you and yes, I do." He told the maid, giving her that little, forced smile he always gave them.

The maid smiled, although eyeing the blonde woman a little, wondering why the young master would bring someone like her home. First of all she was much older than Akashi-sama, but she was also so… Messy. Either way, it was not for her to decide who the young master brought with him. "I will prepare something for you, then."

"I would appreciate that. Please bring it to the small living room." Akashi replied as the maid hurried off towards the kitchen. He glanced back at Midorima and Lucy - who was now looking very uncomfortable. Was she uncomfortable with an environment such as this? Most were in awe at it, what was with her? He decided to save it for later and gestured for the two to follow him.

Lucy could recognize the conversation Akashi had just had with that maid from way back when she was his age. Although she was much more familiar with her father's employees, it was similar to how she would speak to them, when he was around. Even the big rooms, much higher than necessary, the long hallways, the color of the floor, ceiling and walls, the big windows, the many paintings, sculptures and whatever other kind of artworks decorated the house. All of them, she could recognize from the Heartfilia Konzern.

Akashi opened the two doors to the little living room, which wasn't far from his own room and the kitchen, and held the door for his guests. "Please make yourself comfortable, Lucy-san." He told her, gesturing to the couch in the middle of the room. As she slowly walked towards the couch, she took in the whole room, as if she could recognize it all. He stopped Midorima from getting too far by placing a hand on his shoulder, still standing by the door. "Please wait a moment as Midorima and I fetch the bandages." He said, drawing her attention from the room once again.

She turned around and gave him a gentle smile. "Of course. Thank you, Akashi." She thanked him sincerely. She couldn't remember meeting anyone his age as helpful and kindhearted as she'd gotten the impression that he was. Usually the aristocratic children would be rather egoistical and arrogant.

When the door closed, leaving Lucy alone in the room, she once again went back to examining the room. Much of it was quite similar to what she'd been used to. A way too big room - especially if Akashi called it small - with three floor-to-ceiling windows, long curtains hanging down the sides, portraits of a man, woman and child, probably Akashi and his parents hung on the walls above the shelves. A big, brown, leather couch and two comfortable-looking chairs filled the space in the middle, a little coffee table in front of it and a thick rug underneath it. What had first caught her attention though, was the black grand piano standing towards the windows. That had been her only escape back then…

She shook the thoughts away and placed herself on the couch, feeling how she completely sunk down into the softness of it. She took off Akashi's blazer, remembering it was still hanging around her shoulders, and folded it on her lap. She leaned back and waited for the two to return, staring at the weird, black screen in front of her.

Suddenly sleep attacked her, and she barely stifled a yawn, as she fell back in the couch. Her eyelids grew heavy and she blinked constantly in a vain attempt at staying awake. Finally she gave in and let them close, figuring that she'd wake up when they returned.

Akashi and Midorima went to the adjoining room and walked directly to the cupboard where he knew the bandages were hidden. He'd decided to bring Midorima purely because he knew he couldn't reach it himself. He went to the cupboard and opened the doors, looking up at the first aid kit, then turning to the green haired boy beside him. "Can you reach that, Midorima?" He asked him.

Midorima glanced at Akashi, before he nodded and stood on his toes and only just reached the kit, taking it down from the shelf. He turned to Akashi. "Akashi why did you bring her back here?" He asked him directly, figuring beating around the bush wouldn't make any sense.

Akashi looked up at Midorima with slight surprise at the suddenness of the question. "Going right to the case, I see." He commented as he tried to figure out what to reply. Saying it was because he felt there was something special about her wouldn't satisfy Midorima, he knew that much. "Can't I do a good deed for once?" He asked his friend lightly sarcastic, while he still considered what to say.

Midorima stood still and watched as Akashi turned to leave the room. He followed the red head with a sigh, pushing his glasses up. "There's more to it than that." He said knowingly. That was a too weak reason and not one Akashi would do anything based on.

Akashi smirked as he turned to his friend again. "Of course there is." He said, walking out the door, hearing the other boy's footsteps behind him. He turned the corner and looked at the barely open door to the living room. "She'll have- What's that?" He asked as Midorima stopped up next to him, seeing a bright, golden light flashed inside the living room.

The light faded as quickly as it had come, and the two stared at it for a good second, before Akashi began moving towards the room, opening the door somewhat roughly. Midorima quickly followed and looked around the room, quickly realizing what was missing. "She's gone…" He muttered, staring down at the couch, where there were obvious traced of someone having sat there just a second earlier.

Aaaaand that's it! What do you think, guys? Worth following? Ah, and what did you think of this different writing style?

Just like before, I plan on uploading a chapter every week. But I don't know how this year will be, regarding homework and such, but for now that's how it's going to be.

Either way, I'm not doing the long thank you-thing I did in AMCF (Acnologia, my Childhood Friend), it's just gonna be nice and simple this time around: Thank you everyone for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! - although you haven't yet.. Eh, you get what I mean XD

~ Line464d