"You want to hold your shoulders high," Natsu said, stepping towards Lucy and adjusting her stance. "Knees bent slightly. Hold the knife steady in your hands."
Lucy had her face messed up into a frown, focused on every piece of advice he was giving her. "Okay."
"You don't want to rush anyone—you aren't experienced enough. That will come with practice." He explained. "For now, evasive moves and defense is what you want to focus on."
Lucy nodded.
They'd spent the day travelling from the old base—the beautiful mansion, ironically dubbed by the brotherhood the bridge—to the new base: a ratty, small, old brick building nestled in the shadows of the forest with a 180 room bunker hiding below it. The bunker wasn't anywhere close to the beauty of the mansion, but it was impressive. High tech kitchens, plain yet accommodating bedrooms, a massive gym and training area for the thousands of brotherhood members arriving.
Brotherhood members from all of the different branches and bases gathered at the new base. Gajeel had informed Lucy that this particular base was called the iceberg—he didn't explain why, but the small little house and the looming bunker beneath it made the visual pretty clear.
The thousands of men had convened at the iceberg in order to set a retaliation plan in motion. The brotherhood wasn't going to simply sit back and allow the shadows to attack—the brotherhood intended to act first, to get the shadows on the run. They weren't going to be passive about this. They were going to strike first.
Salamander had insisted on training Lucy upon arrival. She was exhausted and her energy was depleted, and she just wanted to go to Salamander's room and crawl up in his bed—she didn't get her own room; the higherups of the organization took offense at the idea of a mere hostage getting guest treatment—but he hadn't let her. He'd warned her about the dangers of what was coming, of what they would have to face—the shadows coming in full force—and she'd grumpily agreed.
They'd gone to the gym in the bunker. Lucy didn't like it—it was a gym straight out of an 80's movie. The lights were too dim and the walls were all brick and it stunk like men and sweat. But Natsu had pulled her into the boxing ring, made her take out her knife, and had started to teach her.
Gajeel watched from the sidelines, shouting out some advice to her as the lesson progressed.
When they'd first began, she could barely hold the knife properly. By the end, she was wielding it like the weapon it was—and dodging some slow punches Natsu threw her way.
"Great job, champ!" Gajeel had shouted at the girl, clapping from the edges of the ring.
Other brotherhood members in the area gave them strange, suspicious looks. Salamander and Gajeel training that girl they'd taken from the shadows' bar? It was a recipe for disaster. Still, the others said nothing. They wouldn't dare—not to Salamander.
Lucy couldn't help but grin at the black haired boy, turning her determined glare back to Natsu.
He'd been different with her, here in the training ring. She'd thought he would've reverted into that cruel, brotherhood-created monster that he seemed to become when weapons and violence were at the forefront—but he didn't. In fact, he was...gentle.
There was a tenseness in his muscles, but watching her learn to grip that delicate blade...there wasn't any anger in his expression. And when he got to the gritty parts of the lesson—like how to hold the blade so it would slash an enemy's stomach more directly—he was soft spoken, not pushing her too far.
Lucy would listen to his words, and he would slowly walk her through the move; then, she would practice it on him at full-speed.
"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, hesitating. She didn't exactly want to stab him. "I might hurt you."
Salamander had laughed—Gajeel could be heard snickering from the sidelines—and his eyes were warm. "You can try," He began, still chuckling, "But you won't."
Lucy raised her eyebrows, grip on the knife tight. "Maybe I'm better at this than you think."
"Maybe." He seemed impressed with her ferocity. "Try it."
Lucy held her breath, adjusting her hold on the weapon. She gave him a look, raising her eyebrows, giving him one last chance to back out, but he grinned and waved her onwards. Shrugging, Lucy gave in; a look of determination flickered into her eyes.
She lunged forward, swiping the knife at his stomach like he'd so expertly shown her how. To her surprise, Salamander stepped the tiniest bit to the left, easily dodging her strike.
Lucy frowned. "I missed."
"It's okay," He responded. "Remember—you'll only use these moves defensively, so you're opponent will be charging you. If I were an enemy, that would've been a direct hit."
She gritted her teeth. "Again."
He smirked. There was fire in her eyes. It reminded him of when he was young, when he first started to train. "Okay."
Lucy got in place again, sucking in a deep breath before she dove back into movement. She lunged forward, striking at him again; this time, she attempted the move Salamander had taught her, but doubled back again directly after, twisting her wrist over and slicing the knife backwards. It was a dirty move, she admitted, but holding a weapon so close to someone, knowing you could hurt them—it was a thrill.
Mostly, she just wanted to get one single nick on him. Just to beat him. Just once.
Salamander didn't even glance down at her wrists to know what she was attempting. He sidestepped her first attack like he had the first time, flicked his own wrist down and caught her hand easily as it came back for a second swipe. Within a split second, he had disarmed her, the knife now held lightly between his fingers.
Lucy's jaw dropped; Gajeel laughed in the distance. "How'd you know?"
Salamander smirked at her, trying to stop the small expression of emotion from growing into a full-fledged smile. "You've got a terrible poker face."
Lucy crossed her arms, a stubborn pout appearing on her lips. "Show me how to disarm someone."
Salamander's head tilted slightly, his eyes cautious. "You should only focus on defensive moves."
Lucy sighed. "A good offense is the best defense." She ignored Gajeel giggling behind her. "Besides—what if someone charges me with a weapon? Defensive strikes aren't going to do much for me."
Salamander struggled for a moment, clearly fighting internally as to what to do—but she was so small, and her eyes were so brown, and the idea of someone running towards her with a knife made him angry. And so he sighed, rolled his eyes, and gave her a nod.
"Yay!" Lucy squeaked, eagerly stepping closer to him so he could instruct her properly.
Salamander handed her the knife. "Pretend I'm you."
"Okay," Lucy said, nodding.
He stepped in close to her, his hands slowly reaching down and grabbing hers. And maybe he was explaining things to her, explaining how he twisted her wrist this way, then that way, or how his thumb touched there on her because the pressure made her fingers go numb—but she didn't get any of it. Because he was standing so, so close—close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek, the heat radiating from his torso—and his rough hands were so gentle on hers.
Lucy swallowed, peering up at him. She'd never been so close to him before; she never noticed the green in his eyes. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.
It was strange, how soft his touch was. She could feel his hands—they were rough, dry, cracked—but the carefulness he used was shocking. It was like he was being careful on purpose. Careful not to grip her too tightly, careful not too put too much pressure on her skin. It was like she was made of glass, and he was a bull in a china shop.
"Got that?" He murmured softly, meeting her eyes.
Lucy blinked, suddenly very aware of how close her face was to his, how close her body was to his. She glanced down, clearing her throat. "Oh. Um. Run through it again?"
The tiniest little smile touched his lips, and it was like the skies had cleared. Everything about him in this moment was so warm, so lovely—Lucy smiled back, and it was genuine. "Okay," he said, and there was a little laugh in his words. "One more time."
Such a short time ago, the sight of him made her want to vomit. Funny how things changed so quickly. Now...he was kind. Teaching her to protect herself.
He ran through it once more, and Lucy forced herself to pay attention; she repeated each step, trying to cement it in her brain.
"Okay. Try on me." He held the knife, pretending he was coming towards her aggressively.
Lucy stepped forward, her hands slipping onto his easily, mimicking the moves Natsu had just displayed; she pressed on his wrist, twisting with her other hand. Her fingers tangled into his, gripping the knife, pulling it from his grasp.
"Very good," He praised.
Lucy pouted. "It was slow. Not as fast as yours."
"You'll get faster," Salamander said. "It takes practice. I've been doing that since I was two and a half."
"Two and a half?" Lucy questioned, eyes going wide in shock. She blinked, shaking her head once. "They were teaching you that as a baby?"
He shrugged. "Yeah."
"Why would a two year old need to know how to disarm someone?"
Salamander went quiet, eyes flickering down to the knife in her hands. He looked at her again. "So I could be better than the rest of them."
Lucy felt pity rise in her stomach. "Are you better than the rest of them?"
He swallowed, and she knew what his response would be—it was clear in his eyes. Yes. Yes, of course. Because he was the best in the brotherhood, like Gajeel had said. He was the brotherhood's best asset, as the intruder had mentioned. Salamander was the best there was—because the brotherhood had made him so. They'd manipulated him and warped him and stole every ounce of his goofy childhood and turned him into a killing machine.
But he didn't get a chance to answer her—someone else was talking before he had the chance.
"He's not," A deep voice spat from Lucy's right. "He's mediocre at best."
Both of their heads turned to face the voice; Lucy let out a gasp once she realized who was speaking to her.
Igneel.
He was walking towards the ring, a horrible kind of fury in his gaze. He looked at Lucy with anger, then at Salamander with disgust. He stepped closer and closer, his gait slow and relaxed, despite his intimidating aura. He made his way up the steps, grabbing a pair of boxing gloves from the crate beside the ring, and then ducked into it, joining the younger folks.
Lucy couldn't help but stare. This man...he was the most evil man in Fiore. Leader of the brotherhood. Ruthless killer of hundreds, thousands. Crime boss. Murderer. Absolute insane psychopath badass. The one man everyone knew not to fuck with.
She'd researched him for months and had come up with zero information on him. Rumors, stories, myths...but no facts. There had been a few rare photos, but that was it. This man was somehow a mystery and the most well known person in Fiore all at once.
He was tanned, more than she'd expected. He was fit, too. Handsome, even. But the years of being in the brotherhood were apparent on his body—scars down his arms and neck, lumpy and old but still very telling of his past. Tattoos littered his body randomly, but his brotherhood tattoo was the most prominent.
Everything about him was wicked.
Lucy looked at Igneel, her shoulders brushing with Natsu as they both turned to face him. Something touched Lucy's back; out of the corner of her eye, she realized Gajeel had joined them in the ring, standing between the pair.
Igneel's dark eyes flashed to Gajeel's, and he spoke one single word. But that word was enough to write an essay; the implications were extremely clear. There was fury and anger and disdain in his tone, spitting and biting as he growled the word out.
"Out."
Gajeel didn't say anything in response; he laid a hand on Lucy's shoulder, very quickly wheeling her the opposite direction and shoving her quickly, tailing closely behind. He pushed her to the edge of the ring, lifting the ropes so she could duck under it easily.
Lucy was confused, but didn't question it. She ducked under the rope and jumped out of the ring, her eyes looking at Gajeel for any sign of what was happening. But there wasn't a sign—there was only a strange form of fear across his face.
Gajeel hurried her out of the gym as quickly as possible.
Lucy looked around on the way out, realizing that the entire gym had emptied without her knowledge; she'd been too caught up in Salamander, in his hands and his teaching, to realize that every single brotherhood member had hightailed it out of there once Igneel had arrived.
As Gajeel turned the corner, forcing Lucy out of the gym, she glanced back.
Igneel chucked the boxing gloves to Salamander, who caught them easily. Igneel raised his own bare fists, a ferocity burning in his gaze. Natsu slipped the gloves on, any ounce of life bleeding out of his expression.
Once they turned the corner, Lucy spun to face Gajeel. "What are you doing?" She whispered, horrified. "You can't just leave him in there alone with Igneel!"
Gajeel gave her a look, responding in the same yell-whisper tone Lucy had used. "Hell yes I can!"
"He'll kill him!" Lucy spat.
"He's not gonna kill him!"
"I read a lot about Igneel," Lucy whispered back, horror and fear in her voice, "And I know he doesn't mess around. And he sounded angry, and you guys are just gladiators, and if you made him mad then Lord knows he won't spare you, and Salamander—"
Gajeel rolled his eyes. "He'll be fine."
Lucy was shocked by how little Gajeel cared. The leader of their gang—notorious for being no bullshit, killing anyone who dared to piss him off—had just confronted his best friend—alone—and he wasn't worried? "How could you say that?" Lucy spat, still whisper yelling. "How could you leave your best friend alone in there, defenseless, without backup, against—"
Gajeel lifted an eyebrow. "His dad?"
Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, mouth still open from the sentence she failed to complete. She was stuck there for a few long seconds, eyes narrowing. "His what?"
Gajeel crossed his arms. "His dad."
"Igneel is..."
"Natsu's dad." Gajeel let out a breath. "Yep."
"But that—" Lucy cut off, shaking her head. "That makes no sense."
Gajeel shrugged. "Doesn't have to—it's true." He looked back at her and put a finger to his lips, signalling that she should be quiet. Very slowly, he peeked his head around the corner; he instantly cringed, turning his gaze back to Lucy.
Lucy didn't understand his expression—so she opted to peek into the gym herself.
She was horrified at what she saw.
Salamander, on the floor of the boxing ring, tucked into a ball; his hands were over his head, the big gloves protecting his skull. Igneel was throwing punches to him with his bare hands. A punch to the boy's ribs, a punch to his head, a punch, a punch, a punch.
"You're distracted," Igneel said. "I can't afford distractions."
The brotherhood leader spared no effort—all of his energy was being focused onto the boy on the ground. His knuckles were bloody and cracked from the hits.
"Get the fuck up!" Igneel shouted, the words coming from his chest. He grabbed Salamander's wrist, lifting him. "Look me in the fucking eyes!"
Salamander stood, his entire face already beaten to a bloody pulp. His eyes, his lips, his cheeks—swollen, black and blue. His ears were bleeding and his lip was split and his right eye was barely visible due to the swelling.
"You pissy son of a bitch," Igneel hissed, raising his own bloody fists again in a defensive block. He danced around, stepping closer to the boy. "You swing back or I'll kill you."
Salamander stood there, wobbling as he faced his father, not bothering to lift his gloves.
Igneel shouted, his voice booming through the gym. "Fight me!" He stepped forward and threw a hard blow to Salamander's right cheek.
Lucy flinched, hands flying up to cover her mouth; she watched as the boy staggered back, his back hitting the ropes.
"He isn't trying," Lucy whispered to Gajeel. "Why isn't he trying?"
Gajeel was leaning in, peering into the gym, his head above hers. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Igneel was furious. The blood dropped from his knuckles to the ring's floor. "Give in!" He shouted, the words echoing through the building. "Or is this what you are, now? You're weak? You meet a fucking girl and all of this work, years of work, she ruins it?"
Salamander didn't speak, didn't protect himself, didn't fight back.
Igneel hit him again, then again and again. A punch to the throat, to the left cheek, to his right eye. A punch to the stomach, to the ribs, to the kidneys. Over and over, father destroying son.
Breathing heavily, Igneel stepped in close, spitting words at his son's face.
"I always knew you were weak," He growled. "That you'd be nothing. I knew you were a waste, Natsu."
Those words seemed to be the ticket; they seemed to get a response out of the black-and-blue Salamander. He grunted, pushing himself, forcing himself to stand straight; he pushed his back off of the ropes, lifted his arms, bringing his gloves to his face. He stepped forwards, eyes on Igneel.
"That's more like it," Igneel said with a nod, stepping back and giving the boy some space. "That's it! Now, show me!"
Salamander stepped towards Igneel, still just staring.
Igneel was impatient. "Come on, you fucking pussy!" He snarled. "Show me you aren't weak!"
Salamander snapped.
Salamander dove forwards, twisting to the left and avoiding an immediate strike from Igneel; he kicked his legs out, sweeping the older man's feet from under him. Igneel was fast, though, and was up in an instant as if it had never happened. Igneel hopped on his feet, danced around the ring, grinning to himself.
Salamander followed him, although his approach was different than his fathers. Salamander didn't hop, didn't dance; there was something horrible in the way he held his arms—his beaten, bruised arms—like he was a predator searching for a kill.
He seemed to be waiting for something. They faced each other, twisting around the ring. Waiting, waiting...and then he found what he was waiting for.
Salamander threw out a sharp right hook, cranking Igneel's left temple. Igneel stumbled back slightly, and Salamander didn't hesitate; he dove forwards, throwing punch after punch. He threw a sharp blow to Igneel's right cheek, his left ear, his left ear again. Over and over, he went absolutely maniacal on Igneel, essentially beating the man to a pulp.
Except he wasn't.
Igneel blocked some of the blows, sure, but when they landed he smiled. It was like he was immune to pain, like it didn't register with him. Salamander hit him again and again, and Igneel just grinned.
Salamander was screaming now, as he forced a crazy upper hook, taking his father to the floor. He dove upon the older man, resting his knee on his shoulder, and continued to throw furious, angry punches at the body. Over and over, nonstop. Slowly, bit by bit, his onslaught of punches began to lessen, to slow as he grew tired.
And finally, with his last bit of energy, he threw one last hit, cracking Igneel on the nose.
Salamander fell off of Igneel, collapsing to the floor. Igneel slowly pulled himself to a standing position; he paused for a moment and than spat the blood pooling in his mouth on Salamander's limp body.
"Your left hook needs work," He muttered, before slipping from the ring and exiting the gym from the side entrance.
Lucy looked at Gajeel for a sign of when they could re-enter the gym; he waited three long seconds after Igneel disappeared before murmuring, "Go, go, go." He pushed Lucy forward, running alongside her.
Lucy practically threw herself through the ring ropes, sliding to Salamander's limp body on her knees.
"Oh god, oh god," Lucy whispered, afraid to touch him. His entire face was unrecognizable; it was so swollen, bruising purple and black and blue. Blood trailed from his face, seeping out of him furiously; his head was laying in a pool of blood on the ring's floor. "Oh god, is he dead?"
"No," Gajeel murmured. "Breathing."
Lucy lifted the boy's head, letting out a gasp at the horrific scene before her. She placed his head in her lap, not caring that his blood was soaking into her pants. She absentmindedly touched his hair, petted his hair. "Salamander, salamander, wake up, come on—"
Gajeel touched his friend's shoulders, observing his wounds. "Take his gloves off," he instructed. He ran his hand over Salamander's side, the bruising beginning to blossom over the boy's bare torso. "Talk to him."
Lucy pulled the gloves off of his hands, horrified by how bloody his hands were despite them. "Salamander," Lucy whispered, voice cracking and breaking. She stroked his forehead, his hair. "Please, Salamander, wake up."
Gajeel's voice was dark. "I'll go call a medic."
Lucy gave him a nod, turning her attention right back to the broken boy on her lap. "Wake up, wake up..." She let out a breath. "Natsu, please."
His little eyelashes fluttered, and he seemed confused; his dark eyes peered up at Lucy, head still carefully placed on her lap.
"I'm not weak," He said, but the damage to his throat muffled his voice.
Gajeel returned quickly, two medics by his side—the medic centre must be located close to the gym. The medics dashed to Natsu's side, immediately turning him and placing him on a board. They pulled his head away from Lucy's lap.
She watched as they hauled him away, bloody and beaten.
She'd never hated the brotherhood more.
A/N: Two chapters in one day? Yes yes yes! Please review and rate and critique :)