I groaned as Levy, Lily, and I took our seats on the train. I hated trains. I hated any form of transportation, actually. I had severe motion-sickness, and nearly died every time I rode on anything mechanical. Okay, I don't nearly die, but it feels like it.
"What's wrong with you?" Shrimp asked, sitting beside me. Lily had offered to sit in the seat across the isle from us with our bags, since he was the smallest. For some reason, Shrimp had agreed to share a seat with me.
"Nothing," I said, crossing my arms. As soon as the train lurched forward, I collapsed against the window. Everything was spinning, and my stomach churned uncomfortably until I felt as though I would be sick. If only I could throw up. I told myself if I could just throw up I'd feel better, but I never could. I simply had to ride with the dizziness and nausea the entire ride. Every time.
"You get motion-sick," Shrimp observed with a smirk. "That's kind of sad."
I tried to tell her to shut up, but when I opened my mouth the only sound that came out was another groan. Ignoring her giggle, I closed my eyes and pressed my head against the cool glass of the window. Eventually, I began to feel less sick, and I convinced my body to go into a sleep-like state. I was still sick, so resting was impossible, but as least I could zone out until the end of the train ride.
Suddenly, I felt a soothing warmth on the right side of my head, causing me to sigh. I leaned into whatever it was, grateful for the way it helped chase away some of the nausea. The warmth soon spread to the left side, as if someone were stroking my hair. Wait a minute--
My eyes shot open, and I bolted upright, realizing where I had been. Somehow, my head had ended up in the Shrimp's lap. Was she petting me? Like a damned cat?!
"What the hell were you---ugh." I fell against the window before I could finish, all of my former nausea returning.
"You fell asleep about an hour ago. When we went around a curve, you fell over into my lap. I didn't want to wake you, since it seemed you felt better when you were sleeping, so I just left you there," she said. She looked a little pale herself, and I assumed it was a side effect of my own sickness she was receiving through our bond.
"Oh," was all I could manage. This damned woman. What the hell is her problem? I wasn't exactly sure why I was mad at her. The thought of her doing something as simple as stroking my hair--and it actually making me feel better--infuriated me. Someone so little shouldn't have that much power over me. What the hell is going on?!
"Would you like to lay in my lap again?" She asked.
I was so shocked that my motion-sickness momentarily disappeared as I gaped at her. "What?"
"It seemed to make the ride more bearable for you," she shrugged. "I can feel how awful it is, and I don't mind if you do." She smiled at me, as if it weren't a big deal to have a man laying in her lap.
"No way--" The train hit a bump in the tracks, causing me to fall over. Nausea getting the better of me, I stayed put, allowing my head to rest on her legs. Although I hated to admit it, I felt a lot better as she continued aimlessly stroking my head. Damned woman.
~Levy~
I watched as Gajeel put his head against the window when the train began moving. I could feel how sick he was through our bond, and my own stomach clenched a little. After a while, the sickness on my end went away. I glanced at Gajeel again, who was breathing deeply. He must have fallen asleep.
As the train shot around a curve, Gajeel's sleeping body fell over, his head landing in my lap. I gasped in surprise, but decided against moving him when he didn't wake up.
"Lily, could you hand me the assignment file?" I asked, turning to the Exceed.
"Here," he said, handing it to me. "What does it look like we have to do?"
I opened the file and quickly read through the documents Master Makarov had placed inside. "It seems we have to take out a powerful demon that has been destroying a small island village. According to this, the islanders speak their own language, so other hunters that have gone haven't been able to get a lot of information out of them. Because of this, they could never locate the demon." I frowned. "That's odd. If it's on an island, the hunters shouldn't have had any problem locating the demon."
"Communication with the islanders will be crucial, then," Lily murmured. "From what you've just told me, only they will be able to lead us to the demon--or be able to give us any information on it."
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Should we wake Gajeel and tell him?" Lily asked, looking down at the sleeping dragon slayer in my lap.
"No. We can tell him once we get off the train. We'll have to find a boat once we get to Hargeon, so I can explain everything while we're searching."
Suddenly, Gajeel's eyes shot open, and he sat up. "What the hell were you---ugh." He fell against the window before he could finish. I could sense his motion-sickness returning, and my stomach clenched again.
"You fell asleep about an hour ago. When we went around a curve, you fell over into my lap. I didn't want to wake you, since it seemed you felt better when you were sleeping, so I just left you there," I said.
"Oh," was all he gave me as an answer.
"Would you like to lay in my lap again?" I asked. I didn't know why I was, honestly. Some part of me felt bad for him, and didn't like to see him looking so miserable.
His eyes widened in shock as he gaped at me. "What?"
"It seemed to make the ride more bearable for you," I shrugged. "I can feel how awful it is, and I don't mind if you do," I said as I smiled at him.
"No way--" The train hit a bump in the tracks, causing him to fall over. His Nausea must have gotten the better of him, because he didn't try to move. Instead, he relaxed his shoulders and closed his eyes.
I aimlessly stroked his hair, having nothing better to do. I was amazed by how soft his hair was. The long black spikes looked rough, but they were incredibly soft to the touch. I saw him grin a little in his sleep, so I giggled. He likes being comforted just like everyone else. He can't be too bad, then.
"Levy," Lily said, bringing my attention back to him.
"Yes?"
"We're here." I looked out the window, surprised to see the train had come to a stop.
"Gajeel," I whispered, shaking him, "we've arrived."
He yawned, sitting up as he rubbed his eyes. "About damn time," he grumbled. We grabbed our bags and got off the train. The small port town was a flurry of activity as people went to and from the parked train. I could smell the sea from where we were, and took a deep breath.
"I'll find someone with a boat while you fill Gajeel in," Lily said. He summoned his wings before flying off over the crowd.
"A boat?" Gajeel asked, following me to an empty bench. I patted the wood beside me, waiting for him to take a seat. "Don't tell me we're getting on a boat next."
"It will be a short ride," I reassured him. Before he could protest, I held up my hand. "We're going to a small island just off the coast here, so we should only be on the boat for about ten minutes. I read over the file Master gave us, and this mission might be a little tricky. The citizens in the small village we're going to speak their own language--and are the only ones who can help us find this demon we were sent to kill. With any luck I'll be able to understand them and translate for us. The other hunters who have gone on this assignment could never find the demon because they couldn't speak with the villagers, so I assume that means they know something important about the demon's location."
"What if you can't translate?" He asked.
"That's where it gets tricky," I frowned. "If I can't speak with them, we might have to do what the other hunters have done and just search the island for it. If Master chose me for this, I assume that means he believes I'll be able to speak with them, so I'm crossing my fingers."
"How much does it pay?"
"Oh, I don't know." I hadn't ever looked at the payment, so I had no clue. When I did, I nearly dropped the files.
"What?" He asked, noticing my wide eyes. He grabbed the files, and I heard him give a small gasp in surprise. "Thirty million?!"
"That's how much the assignment was to hunt you down," I noted, wondering how powerful this demon really was.
"Only thirty million?" He asked, sounding offended. "That's it?"
"Don't be so full of yourself," I snapped, my shock wearing off.
"I'm worth at least fifty million," he smirked.
"That's debatable," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"You--"
"I found the boat," Lily said, flying back to us.
"Great! Let's go!" Not waiting on Gajeel, who was grumbling curses under his breath, I took off after Lily.
"There are boats for rent over there," Lily told me, pointing to a plump man standing in front of a few paddle boats.
"Excuse me, sir," I said, smiling at the man as I approached. "What are the rates for renting your boats?"
"Five thousand Jewel a day," he said, rather unfriendly.
"We would like to rent one, please," I told him, "for three days." That rate was cheap, so we had been lucky.
He frowned, looking behind me at my companions. "They goin' too?"
"Yes," I frowned, confused as to why that mattered.
He turned away, walking back to his boats. "Sorry, lady. I don't rent to demons."
My mouth opened slightly in shock as I stared at him. As the shock ebbed away, anger replaced it. I started forward, angry that he would treat Gajeel and Lily that way. "Wait just a minute--"
"Don't," Gajeel said, putting a hand on my shoulder to stop me, "we'll go somewhere else to get a boat."
"No," I snapped, brushing him off, "you and Lily are hunters, the same as me. I'm not going to stand around and do nothing while he treats you like that!"
"I'm used to it," Gajeel frowned.
"You mean, that happens a lot?" I asked.
"You must've been pretty damned sheltered to not know how it is out there for demons--even the good ones. We get turned away from all the time, and there's nothin' we can do about it."
"Please try not to let it bother you," Lily smiled, patting my leg with his paw.
"But--"
"Come on," Gajeel said, walking away. Instead of following, however, I turned and stormed towards the rude man.
"Listen up," I snapped, slamming my hands down on top of an overturned boat he was standing behind, "you will rent my companions and I a boat."
"To hell I will," he growled. "Ain't no way two demons are getting in my boats. How can I trust you'll even bring it back?"
"We are members of Fairy Tail, and are here on an assignment. As hunters, I give you my word--"
"Hunters or not," he frowned, "no demons are getting on my boat."
"Listen here, you bigot," I fumed, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him across the boat to to glare at him, "how well do you think the hunters council would take the news that you are deliberately withholding services from hunters while on an assignment that came straight from them? With a short phone call I could have your entire business shut down, so you'd better think this over carefully. Either you rent my companions and I a boat, or I--the human--will just take one and report to the council what you've been doing here. So, are you going to rent me a boat, or not?"
"Th-three days, you said?" He asked, looking quite shocked that I had threatened him so outright.
I released him, smiling, "that's right. Your fifteen thousand Jewel will be left before we depart. Please ready the boat." With that, I returned to Gajeel and Lily, who were both staring at me in bewilderment.
"What the hell did you just do?" Gajeel asked.
"I merely reasoned with the kind gentleman," I said, innocently. "The important thing is, we have a boat."
We gave the man his money before getting on the boat once it was ready. You could see the small island from the shore, so we didn't need a guide to reach it. Lily transformed and rowed the boat, since Gajeel was incapacitated as soon as he got on it. After a few minutes, I noticed something off about the way we were floating.
"Are we sinking?' I asked.
"I'm not sure," Lily frowned. "The waves appear to be getting higher on the sides, so it is possible." He rowed faster, just in case my suspicions were correct.
After another minute, we both knew they had been. Water began sloshing into the boat, and it sank even faster into the water.
"We'll have to swim," Lily said, grabbing Gajeel and throwing him from the boat. I dived in after him, while Lily summoned his wings and flew above us.
"Why'd ya do that?!" Gajeel asked, coughing up water.
"The boat sank!" I snapped. "Damn him! He sabotaged the boat!"
"Don't get so upset about it," Gajeel sighed, grabbing my arm.
I yelped when he pulled me closer. "What are you--"
"Get on my back. I'll be able to swim faster if I don't have to wait on you," he instructed.
"I can swim just fine on my own," I frowned, pushing him away.
"If you want to be in this water with god knows what, then have it your way. I'm not waiting," he snapped, swimming towards the island. I followed, though the distance between us grew with each stroke he he made. My bag was heavy in the water, and made it hard to swim very fast.
"Whoa!" I gasped as I was lifted out of the water.
"You're both being stubborn," Lily sighed, carrying me with amazing speed towards land. We reached the beach the same time as Gajeel did. All of us were soaking wet, and our supplies were pretty much ruined from being dunked in the ocean.
We sat on the beach as I went through my bag. "If I lay this stuff out in the sun to dry, it might not be damaged too badly," I murmured.
"Who cares about a bunch of stuff?" Gajeel asked, throwing his bag onto the ground. "Just leave it here. We can come back and get it after the mission."
"Yeah, you're right," I sighed. We walked into the thick jungle covering the entire island, and I immediately began sweating.
"Damn, it's hot," Gajeel cursed. My face grew even hotter than it already was when he took off his shirt and tied it around his head to keep the sweat from his eyes. His bare chest was covered in salt water and sweat, which occasionally ran down his muscular torso in small trickles.
"Levy, would you like some water? I managed to save some from my bag," Lily said, holding a bottle of water out to me.
I tore my eyes away from Gajeel, hoping Lily hadn't noticed my staring, and graciously accepted the water. I took a large gulp, sighing. "Gajeel?" I asked, holding it out to him.
He stiffly shook his head, never taking his eyes off the path in front of us. I frowned, wondering what his problem was.
"I can't believe what that man did," I said, thinking about it once more. The saltwater covering me had begun to dry, making my clothes and hair stiff, so I was even more angry at the man for purposely ruining our boat.
"Get over it, Shrimp," Gajeel sighed, sounding annoyed, "it's not a big deal."
I stopped walking, frowning down at the ground. "How can you say that? He's never even met you, so how can you be so calm about him treating you like that?"
"As demons, we have come across others like that man," Lily explained. "Some humans hate all demons, and there's nothing you can do to change their minds. We must accept that fact and move on, otherwise we would only ever be able to worry about those who hate us."
"It's not right," I said, not sure how to put my frustrations into words.
"I don't know why you're getting so bent out of shape," Gajeel said, "it's not like he was against you or anything. You'll never have to deal with any of that, so--"
"You shouldn't have to, either!" I snapped. "Sure, there are bad demons out there, but you two aren't them. Exceeds have lived peacefully with the humans for years, and dragon slayers were once humans themselves!"
Gajeel sighed, patting me on the head, "you're too soft for your own good, Shrimp, ya know that? Just forget about it. If we say it doesn't bother us, then it doesn't bother us. Let's focus on our assignment so we can get out of this hot-ass jungle."
With a nod, I followed him. I was still upset that they were so alright with being treated like that, but I didn't say any more about it. Gajeel and Lily weren't just demons--they were my friends, and I hated to see them treated so unfairly. I bet it really does bother them. They're probably just acting all tough because I'm so frustrated about it. If that really was the case, it warmed my heart a little, because it meant they cared about my feelings.
What are you thinking, Levy? Gajeel's too blunt to give a second-thought to your feelings! If he says it doesn't bother him, then it probably really doesn't. I sighed to myself. Well, Lily at least might care about my feelings. I shouldn't get my hopes up that Gajeel does.
I frowned. Why should I care if Gajeel cares about my feelings or not?
~Lily~
I watched as Gajeel comforted Levy, and couldn't help but smirk to myself. Although I had been with them only a day, I could already tell that Gajeel cared about the small bluenette. Her words had touched me, because I had never heard a hunter speak so fondly of a demon before, and it was obvious that Gajeel felt the same way.
I walked behind them, observing the two of them for a long time. Levy's face was red, and she was trying desperately to avoid looking at Gajeel's naked upper body. Gajeel, however, was shamelessly stealing glances at Levy every chance he got. I know that isn't just the bond. The large dragon slayer seemed almost... gentle when he was around her, which amazed me. Levy certainly has an effect on people, doesn't she?
~Gajeel~
"This must be it!" Levy exclaimed, sounding exhausted. We had been walking for over an hour, and had run out of water halfway through the trip, so I knew how she felt. Before us stood a large wall made of wood, separating the village from the rest of the jungle.
"Hey! Anybody in there?!" I shouted, pounding on the closed doors leading into the village.
"Gajeel!" Levy gasped. "Don't do that!"
The doors suddenly opened, and a tall, thin, old woman stood in the now open doorway. She said something in a language that I couldn't understand, so I looked to Levy. She smiled up at me before stepping forward. She spoke in the same language, and I saw the woman's eyes widen a little in surprise. That's a good sign. If Levy can speak with them, we may be able to wrap this up faster than I thought.
"She wants us to follow her inside where we can talk," Levy said as the old woman walked into the village. We followed her, and two muscular guys closed the large doors behind us, returning to what I assumed was their guard duties.
We were led into a large tent where another old woman was sitting. Her silver hair hung loosely around her, and nearly touched the ground as she sat with her legs crossed. She wore a purple robe that was decorated in gold, spiraling thread, and had on matching gold sandals. She looked up at us when we entered the tent, saying something to the woman leading us. She bowed before leaving, telling Levy something as she went.
"She told us to have a seat," Levy whispered. We all sat down, with Levy the closest to the old woman. She spoke to her in that weird language again. The woman answered in a low, tired voice, speaking slowly. She went on for about five minutes, so Lily and I waited patiently while Levy listened to the story.
Levy gave her a quick reply before turning to us. "I know why the other hunters couldn't find that demon now," she said. "This is Chief Sonya. She told me that none of the villagers have ever seen the demon in person. It comes to them in their dreams, and uses their fear to posses them. Every night a new victim is chosen, and every night that victim goes on a rampage destroying the town and harming the other villagers. Some were so bad that the warriors of the village had to kill them, even though they were possessed. They have tried meditating before sleep to ward off the demon, but nothing seems to work. The chief is afraid she will be next, so she has remained awake for three whole nights.
"If she were to be possessed, and had to be killed, the village would fall into chaos because there is no one to take her place. The ceremony to choose the next leader is in two days, so she says it is crucial for her to remain out of the demon's grasp until then. That's why she has been so desperate for the help of the hunters."
"If this demon only shows itself in dreams, how are we going to capture and kill it?" Lily asked.
"I read about demons with this kind of ability once. The book said that in order to capture the demon, you must first break its hold on you. Apparently, they enter your dreams, and turn them into nightmares, feeding off your fears. The more afraid they can make you, the more control over you they have. If you can conquer your fears while inside the nightmare, you will force the demon out into the open where it is vulnerable."
"How can we do that?" I asked.
"The demon will see us as a threat, so I can almost guarantee that it will try to possess one of us as soon as we go to sleep," Levy said.
"If we're all asleep, how will we know which one of us it will attack first?" Lily frowned.
"I've considered that, and I think I have a plan," Levy told him. "You two are going to stay awake tonight while I go to sleep. From what Sonya told me, as soon as a person is possessed, they begin acting as any other person would whom is having a nightmare. Because you're both physically stronger than I am, you will be able to prevent me from harming any of the villagers while I fight against the demon's control from inside my nightmare. As soon as I have defeated it in there, you two can kill it when it shows up here."
I listened as she explained the plan she had come up with, growing more and more uneasy the longer she spoke. "No way," I said as soon as she had finished.
"Gajeel--" She began, but I cut her off.
"You're not using yourself as bait for this thing," I growled, crossing my arms. "It's too dangerous."
"Do you have another plan?" She shot at me.
"I could--"
"Do you want to risk you getting possessed?" She asked, angrily. "If you do, do you think we would be able to restrain you for very long? As I'm the physically weakest, but the mentally strongest, it makes sense for me to fight the demon from the inside while you two handle things out here."
"She has a point," Lily nodded. "I see no flaws in her plan. This way, if she fails to defeat it, no one gets hurt, and we can try again tomorrow night."
I cursed, hating that they were both right. "Fine." I didn't like the idea of her going up against some unknown demon alone, but knew I was outnumbered. I'll be able to sense her through our bond, so I'll know if anything goes wrong. I just have to trust in Levy this time.
Thank you for reading chapter 9! Chapter 10 is also finished, so I'm going to post itin a few minutes! :D Just a warning: chapter 10 is REALLY long, and kind of gorey... so you've been warned. BUT it's full of pervey Gajeel, and a little glimpse into Levy's mind, so I think that makes up for the gore a little bit. ^_^
Anyways, thanks for reading! <3