Author's Note: I actually had 29 out for a long time but never knew I never posted it here, lol, sorry about that.
The sun rose from it's slumber, covering the city of Magnolia with it's glimmer of sunshine.
Inside the mansion, laid Erza on the couch with bags under her eyes. Ever since her encounter with Jellal, she couldn't let her guard down, even if it makes her lack sleep.
Slowly dosing off, blink by blink, she heard footsteps coming towards her. "WHO'S THERE!?" She jumped off from the couch, immediately with a battle stance.
"Whoa there!" Natsu held his arms over his head, yielding to her response.
"Oh sorry…" Erza apologized for her sudden out burst. "Had an unwelcomed guest last night, thought he came back."
"An unwelcomed guest?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Was it a paparazzi?"
"I guess you can say." She sugarcoated the truth. She couldn't bare to tell the man she loved the actual truth.
Natsu walked over to his window toward his right, peeking as he slightly moved a bit of the curtain out of the way. "Have you been awake all night?" He asked, seeing the street view.
"Sort of." She yawned, stretching her whole body.
"Do you want some coffee?" He turned to look at her once more. "I make a mean brew, ya know?" He gave her smile.
"You don't say?" She chuckled.
…
"I miss her so much doc." Laxus said, laying down on the patient couch. Right next to him was Lucy Heartfilia, the psychiatrist appointed to him to help him cope with the loss of his wife.
"I know detective, I know." Lucy jotted down some notes.
"You know my boss wants me to talk to her killer." Laxus said, with a hint of an angry tone. Who wouldn't?
"So I've heard," she knew of the predicament he was in. "I can see why it'd be difficult for you. Seeing the files both the FBI and the CIA have on her, Minerva is a complete delusional psychopath. You talking to her would be a bad idea, especially with the fresh wound that is your wife."
"It would only end badly, and not just on her." He crossed his arms around his chest.
"I already advised them that you still need time to cope properly," she revealed to him. "I know she won't talk to anyone but you."
"So I've heard." He groaned. Minerva had the sick delusion of being the "right" woman for him.
"But," Lucy continued. "One of these days you have to confront her."
"And it's not one of these days, that's for sure doc." He turned to look at her, still jotting down stuff on her small notepad.
"Well let's continue with your session today." She finally let go of her notepad, placing it on her lap.
"Right," he unfolded his arms and began to sit properly. "So what's on the menu today doc?"
"Well for starters, you've been progressing really good," she skimmed through her notes. "Safe to say we're now on the fifth stage of grieving."
"And what's that?" He asked.
"And that is, the upward turn." She answered.
"The what?" He asked, with a confused face.
"The upward turn," she began to explain. "Meaning 'trying to live without your significant other.'"
"Oh."
"So tell me, how have you been at home?" Lucy took her notepad once more, now jotting down the conversation.
"Lonely, what else?" Laxus answered.
"No, I mean, how are things at home? Like, what has changed ever since Levy died?" She explained further.
"Well, truth be told, she was the one to wake me up every morning," he began to answer. "Hearing her voice in the morning was the best thing in the mornings."
"Okay," she wrote down. "What else?"
"And…"
…
It was a lazy day for both Natsu and Erza, as they both just sat down on the couch watching TV, well only Natsu. Erza had finally fallen asleep with her head on Natsu's lap.
Nothing was particularly on. Natsu had seen a bunch of coverage on his return to his campaign and all other sorts of political crap. "Crap, crap, crap." He said as he skimmed through each channel. "Crap, crap."
His stomach now turned, making noise as it signaled for it to be fed. "Dang."
He stopped tuning in on the channels and gently manage to put Era comfortably on the couch. He now made his way to his kitchen.
Fridge was unfortunately empty with nothing but some stale food from about a week ago, expired milk and a tray with no eggs. "Guess this is what happens when you get kidnapped and have no time to restock on goodies." He sighed. As each minute passed, his stomach continued to be bothersome.
"Well I might as well go out and get some stuff I guess." Finally made up his mind, Natsu began to change into something more suitable.
He had trouble changing, as his wounds from his fight with his captor, started to ache. "Freaking bastard…" Reminiscing his days with the man.
"But the thing is, you would've been dead long ago if she didn't fall head over heels for you!"
Once again, those words echoed in the back of his mind. Goddamn bastard! Natsu shook his head, knowing that man was just playing tricks with him.
Nonetheless, Natsu finally got dressed properly, now going for the supplies he needed for a good meal.
Just as he was about to open the door, a voice from the living room called out. "Natsu?" It was Erza's gentle voice.
He turned around to face her and seen that the woman had gotten herself up from her position on the couch. "You're finally awake, Erz?" He called her by the nickname he had given her.
"Yeah," she could she that he was dressed to go somewhere. "Where you headed?"
"I was just going to buy some supplies to make some dinner," he explained. "My stomach was growling and my fridge is really empty."
"Let me go!" She exclaimed.
"You sure? I was just gonna let you rest, this is menial work that I can easily do, even with my wound." He told her.
"It's not safe and considering you got kidnapped just about a 2 weeks ago, I'm not taking any chances." She explained to him. Especially with him around! The back of her mind knew she wouldn't let Jellal touch not even one finger on her beloved.
"So you're just gonna go by yourself then?" He asked her.
"Yes and that's final." Erza didn't want to argue with him about it.
"Alright then," he gave in without much of a fight, rather easily. "Let me make you a list of what I need from the market then."
No longer than five minutes and Natsu had come back with his list compiled. He handed it to Erza.
She quickly glanced over at the list. "Hmm, alright, I could get all of this."
"Great!" He smiled. "I shall wait for you here then."
She got out and turned to look at Natsu from the doorway. "Lock the door."
"Got it!"
…
"And that's about it I guess doc." Laxus had finally finished.
"Wow, a lot has changed then?" Lucy jotted the last thing the detective had said.
"Like I said doc, she was my other half," he told her. "She did things, I did things that one another appreciated."
"Well first things first," she placed her notepad right on her lap once more. "I suggest you should put Levy's stuff in some boxes."
"And take them to some storage unit?" While he didn't like the idea of putting his loved ones stuff in a box, he wasn't entirely imposed of it. "I don't know if I can do that yet."
"We've made it this far, detective." She gave him a reassuring smile.
"We?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously, wouldn't be much effort if I didn't put in some kind of work on my end now wouldn't it?" The psychiatrist letout a small laugh.
"I guess but like I said doc, don't know if I'm able to do this…" Laxus looked down onto himself. "If I do that, it just makes it real…"
She placed right hand on his left shoulder. "Trust me detective, putting her stuff in boxes would lead you one step closer to finally accepting everything that has happened so far too you." She explained. "While it may come easy for others, others like your self take a steady time in doing so."
"That makes sense I suppose." He didn't seem to oppose the idea like he had earlier.
"If you need help in doing so, I can certainly help." Lucy gave him another reassuring smile.
"Thanks doc I appreciate it."
Just as their conversation seemed to have ended, a timer on Lucy's desk rang; the duration of their appointment had finally finished.
Both of them stood up.
"I'll guess I'll see you soon then, doc." Laxus reached out his hand for a goodbye.
Lucy gave him a better gesture with a hug. "Likewise detective," her action had caused the blonde detective to give out a small blush around his cheeks. "My next appointment should be here now."
"Alright."
…
"So it's this… and this… and…." Erza had gone all over the market for the specific ingredients.
She had a small basket that she held with her right wrist and while the other continued to find the rest of the stuff.
"Now on to the meat produce." She looked around the market and saw that the meat produce was all the way towards the back of the market.
Not many people were there.
She grabbed her ticket. Number 507, she thought to herself, waiting for the sign to turn into her number.
Several minutes passed and her number was now bright red on the monitor above the place.
She took no longer than a minute to get what she wanted.
Finally compiling all of the ingredients for whatever concoction Natsu was gonna make for them, she headed to the cashier aisles, which was back all the way to the front of the market.
Now heading back home, her new phone that she had gotten after breaking her old one, started to vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out, she saw the caller ID, Natsu, followed by some heart emojis. "Yes?" She answered.
"Hello Erza." Her heart shuddered, goosebumps made her spine tingle and her bags all fell to the floor. Eyes widened, body shaking, all these things with a reminder of a certain voice.
"Jellal!" She yelled into her phone. "What did you do to Na-"
"Relax, I stole his phone, back when I saw you yesterday, you know, to play my game with you." As soon as she heard those words, Erza sighed in relief, her heartbeat back to normal.
"What do you want?" Those wered the words she knew he wanted to hear.
"Like I said Erza, the game has just begun."
…
"What do you mean?" She was on speaker.
The man simply known as Jellal walked around what seemed to be an apartment room.
Dim lighting, window open and a man, tied up to a chair, bloodied. That man, was the opposing contender for the presidency. "JELLAL YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"Who the hell is that?" Erza heard the man's screams.
"Oh, just my dear friend Asuma." He smirked.
"THIS WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!" Asuma continued to struggle in his chair. "WHAT GIVES!?"
"
A change of pace my friend," Jellal told him. "And a message."
"I ASKED YOU TO KILL THAT PINK HAIRED BASTARD! WHY ME!? I'M THE ONE WITH THE MONEY!" He continued his struggle.
"What do you mean by message?" Erza still had no clue what this conversation was supposed to be.
Jellal grabbed his phone and finally took Erza off the speaker. "I'm just letting you know Erza, no matter where you and your precious boyfriend are, I'm gonna kill you. Wherever you're hiding, I'll find you."
"No one leaves the organization and humilates the way you did," Jellal continued. "When you let your guard down, when you're at your lowest, I'll strike. And when I do, I'll make you suffer. I'll kill the pinkette, slowly in front of your eyes and there will be nothing you'll be able to do to stop me!"
"Listen here you bastard-"
"Oh sorry Erza, looks like I ran out of time," he cut her off. "Tune in on the news to see my message." Jellal had finally hung up.
"What are you gonna do to me!?" Asuma had asked. There was nothing he could do to get out of Jellal's grasp.
"I told you," Jellal kicked Asuma through the windows, hearing the man's scream as he fell from the highest point of a hotel. Jellal stared down, simply smirking as the man fell to his death. "You're my message."
…
"Message? What message?" Erza had no clue to what Jellal meant. Ambigous as ever that man was. "Tune in on the news?"
Erza gathered her belongings that she had dropped and finally went back home.
Right in front of the doorstep, Erza took out her keys, longing to see her beloved after hearing the man Jellal and his threats. "I'm home."
"Breaking news! The candidate for the Republican face, Asuma, has been identified as the man that fell from the sky!"
Erza diverted her attention to the TV. It can't be…
"Both Police and FBI are on the scene! We don't know much about what happened but they haven't concluded wether this was a suicide or a murder…"
"Holy shit." Natsu couldn't keep his eyes away from the TV.
"Hold up, we're are now getting reports that the man had been tied to a chair! The FBI and the Police are now marking this as an open murder case."
This was the message you were talking about? Erza's eyes furrowed. She knew Jellal had finally made his first move. Bastard…
…
"Agent Gildarts!" An unimportant agent had called out to his superior.
"Yes?" Gildarts speed walked through the agency with the agent. He had been given the case of the presidential runner up and he was already stressful enoughas it is with the assassin. "I'm kind of busy, so make it fast."
"The Interpol agents said that Minerva is finally speaking, sir."
The red haired man stopped amidst his tracks. "For real?"
He quickly made his way to interrogation room where he saw the two female Interpol agents and an irritated CIA agent, outside of the interrogation room where Minerva was held. "Has she finally spoken!?"
"Yes!" The women answered together.
"I hardly call what she told us anything noteworthy." Mard Geer, the CIA stooge, said.
"What she say?" Gildarts awaited an answer.
"She talked," the pinkette known as a Melody asnwered. "Well, she just asked for you."
"What for?" Gildarts now raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know," Ultear, the other Interpol agent, said, while looking through the 2 way glass. "But I don't like the look on her face."
"Well if it's important, then I'm going in," Gildarts was about to proceed in. "Keep an eye on her from here."
"Yeah." The Interpol agents said, about to observe the man's questioning.
"Whatever." The CIA agent didn't bother.
Gildarts closes the door behind him, slowly making his was to the seat in front of Minerva, who gave the man a smirk. "I'm here, what is it?"
Her smirk turned to a grin, a meek one at that, seemingly holding back a laugh. "Oh Mr. FBI, how nice to see you."
"Yeah, yeah, enough with that, tell me what you want from me." He wasn't playing her stupid games.
"I've heard you're working on another case." She meeply said.
"Yeah? What about it?" Word spread fast.
"What if I told you I know- knew the person that killed you're runner up candidate?" She chuckled.
Everyone's eyes widened as she took those words out of her mouth. Gildarts, slightly nervous as a single drop off sweat, dripped down the side of his face. "What could you possibly know about my case that I don't know, huh?" He scoffed at her question. "I think you're bluffing."
"I am not," Minerva put on her best face. "Do I look like someone that could lie?"
"I don't know, but you believed in your delusions so badly that it almost killed a dozen of citizens, almost ended the career of a cop and killed the wife of a renown detective, so it's safe to say that you're not the most honest person you make yourself to believe," Gildarts was now getting up from his chair. "It seems you're still useless after all."
"Your runner up, the man has a tattoo on his hand, specifically on his pinky," she said, which manaed to get the man's attention once again. "A ring tattoo, with a scar right in the middle of the skull's mouth."
"How did you know? That information wasn't released to the press." He turned to look back at the assassin.
"That man had always covered that shit with his ugly glove," she laughed. "Well, that tattoo has a meaning. It's an oath, only give too a few who have made a deal with a certain devil I know."
"Hmm…" Gildarts sat there quietly, taking in the information she has given him. "Who is this person?"
"You must take me for a fool to answer the question without a bargain first." She smirked.
"No." He knew the deal, and that was to speak to the detective.
"Oh?"
"I know what you want, and you're not speaking with him, not after all the shit you put him through." Gildarts exclaimed at her.
"Well then, we're both at an impasse then," Minerva laid back on her chair. "I don't see him, you get no name."
"
Tch."