You're Part of My Crew Now, Princess

The Vision Was Right

"Keep the tip of your sword up."

Lucy was glad her hand and ankle were back to normal. Well, in a way she was courtesy of Wendy of course. Now she didn't have anything to use as an excuse to not have to spar with Natsu. It was really hard work. That and she didn't have any pants. Just miniskirts. Now to think about it that was all she had seen Erza wear as well, that and her armor top. A combination that shouldn't make sense let alone look good, but Erza, of course, pulled it off so well.

Lucy was pretty sure there was a crowd behind her just waiting for the right opportunity, the right gust of wind. Perverts. Sighing internally she weighed her sword and stared down her opponent, Natsu.

His lips were pulled into a constant smirk and his eyes held a somewhat dangerous glint to them. If it had been anyone else Lucy would have been slightly scared. Natsu was somewhat intimidating. Especially when he was wearing his toque. The pink hair made him seem less so. Honestly...it was such a girly color it was hard to take him so seriously. Maybe that was part of his battle strategy.

He launched at her and she hadn't expected it. She brought the sword up in a mad flail managing to deflect Natsu's sword somehow.

"Good! Those reactions are good to have. Sometimes enemies will attack you with what looks like no warning." He laughed to her. Although she had blocked his attack she had let out a little 'eep' that would have made anyone chuckle.

"I still don't know why you are teaching me all this! Someone should always be around to protect me, if not then why wouldn't I just use my gun?" She yelled back at him as he got into another stance. The only gun she had was in her room, forsaken in her drawer. "I should be practicing with that!"

"Because unexpected things happen and there will probably be a time when you have nothing but a sword. You have to build up the skills you don't have first." He countered, lunging again.

Angrily she shoved her sword forwards, the shock wave from the clashing swords made her teeth chatter and slam together painfully.

"Keep your mouth shut too, you don't want to be biting off your tongue in the middle of a battle," Natsu observed her painful face. Enraged that he had noticed such a small detail she used all her strength and pushed him away. It only succeeded in making him take a small step back. Not two, just one. That made Lucy feel downright weak.

"If all else fails and you find yourself up against a swordsman that is of greater skill than yourself, step into their swing." Natsu ignored the blatant shock on Lucy's face and continued. "Momentum is a big part of sword fighting, if you step into their swing the sword hasn't gained much momentum and is a weaker blow."

Lucy stared at him.

"That makes sense and all but who in their right mind would step towards an enemy during a fight? I don't think I would have enough willpower to." Lucy confessed.

"You'd be surprised what kind of things you can do, especially in the heat of battle."

"How many battles have you been in? It sounds like you've been fighting in them your whole life." Lucy lunged this time, hoping to catch him off guard. His arm swept his sword around quickly, the tip of her blade abruptly getting stopped by the flat of his own. He leaned over the scratching blades so she could hear him.

"A princess like yourself wouldn't be able to even begin to imagine the life many children are thrown into."

Was it just her or did his words come out rather distasteful?

"A princess like me understands a lot more than you think and if you keep treating her like a princess she's gonna kick your ass." Lucy scoffed shoving her sword forwards, hearing a satisfying screech as her sword left a deep scratch along his.