Woohoo guys! We reached chapter 40 of 'her protector'. Shout out to all the guys still reading this book! I love you <3

Longest chapter of this book here xd.
_______________________________________________________________
Children who have never known peace have different values than those who have never known war.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~Lucy's POV

"Come on, Gray. Run!" I yelled. It was already the 6th part of the games, and we're doing great. If you forget the accidents that happened.

One time, we had to fight in groups of two, one member of onw guild and another member of another guild working together. Laxus was partnered with someone of Raven Tail, and of course Laxus's partner tried sabotaging Laxus. So instead of a two versus two battle, it became three versus one.

No wonder Laxus won though.

Now Gray was in a race with nine other persons. Ten lanes, having to run 8 rounds. And of course Gray was chosen to get the lane on the outside, not even having a head start. So now he ran behind everyone else.

Magic isn't forbidden, so every guy made a wall with their magic, so that Gray couldn't run farther. You just can't attack people with magic. So in that kind of perspective they're noble, if you compare it to their other actions.

A vein popped in his neck as another wall appeared. He pushed his hair back that got in his face, immediately blue marks appearing on his body. His demon slayer appearance. Looks like he's done playing.

He froze every lane, people falling here and there, giving Gray a chance to catch up. He was fast, catching up with the first and second.

"Get lost, Fullbuster," a guy sneered and pushed him to the side.

This was the final round.

"If you don't come second, I'm gonna kick your ass," Natsu yelled, pointing a finger at the number two.

The dark guilds were humble, if I can say it so. They promised to attack us, even the audience, but they didn't do much. And every single time when they did, Natsu blocked the incoming attack. He may be disqualified, but he sure isn't giving up in protecting us.

I haven't played in a single round. I don't know if I even want to or not.

Gray came second. Good enough. We rank second now of all the 10 participating guilds.

"And the winner is Snakey!" the presenter said. I snorted, I still couldn't believe how stupid some pseudonyms were. Snakey doesn't sound evil and dark at all. Almost everyone had a pseudonym.

"Second is him." The presenter pointed at Gray with a glare.

"And third is Deegee."

See? Those names are stupid. I narrowed my eyes as I saw a girl from a sky box having an arrow pointed at the people playing, and I think was aiming at Gray right.

She pulled back her elbow and shot the arrows. Those arrows seem familair. Some events of the sleepover were still a blur, but I do know we were hit by something.

"Gray! Dodge!" Natsu yelled from the sideline. He roared towards the arrows, fire destroying them.

"She again," Mira said, glaring at her.

"Who's that?" I asked.

Laxus leaned against the railing. "Eagle. She turned you guys into stone."

Natsu's fire destroyed yet again another part of the arena. The referee sighed. "Alright, I'm done. Your whole guild is disqualified."

Time stopped for me right there. My eyes widened as I felt numb. You can't mean that. We worked so hard to become second, no way we will be backing out right now.

Eagle smirked, high fiving someone behind her.

"You have got to be kidding me," Makarov said and face palmed.

Lisanna stood behind Natsu and sighed. She slapped his back head, shaking her head. "Can't you not destroy something for a second?" she asked frustrated. He laughed nervously and showed her a small smile.

I just stared at them, expecting jealousy to rise up in me but it didn't. I got no reason to be jealous right now. Natsu hasn't even said something to her. Plus, his toothy grin is mostly kept for me.

"Back off, Lisanna! He's hers!" Mira called out from the sky box. Mira's shipping habits could be a pain in the ass, but right now I smiled. I know she will have my back in the relationship.

"I know," she answered back.

"Leave," the referee said.

We all were silent, shadows falling over our eyes. I saw Gray cracking his hands slightly, ready to fucking murder him.

But Natsu smirked. He actually smirked right now. "Why would the guild be disqualified if I caused it?" he asked innocently.

I tilted my head, not understanding him right now.

"Because the rulebook says that if a member destroyed something five times, then his guild would be disqualified."

Natsu showed him his right arm. At first I didn't see something, but then I noticed the empty skin. My eyebrows shot up and my jaw dropped to the ground.

His guildmark was gone.

"I'm not a member anymore," he spoke loud and clear. Every member except me yelled, demanding the reason for that.

My heart sped up, and I actually feared the truth for once. Why did he erase his mark?

"I read the rulebook," Natsu continued. Happy put his paw on his heart and fake died. He fell on his back and stayed still as a skelet, his eyes wide open but not moving.

I actually wanted to laugh at his audacity right now.

"I'm not a member so you can't disqualify Fairy Tail. I destroyed parts of the arena on my behalf."

Gray came in the skybox again, a shadow over his eyes. He stood next to Erza. They lifted their head up. Both a smirk on their faces as the tension eased. "That smart bastard," Gray whispered.

Wow, probably one of the only times where Gray compliments Natsu.

Erza shook his head at him with a smile. "I'm both surprised and impressed.

Same, Erza, same. What Natsu did was actually smart. He knew that if he continued protecting us, that he would destroy the arena along the way. So in order for the guild to not have consequences, he erased the mark.

Still, that doesn't justify erasing the mark. He did it so easily, having no doubt, even if if was for only today. He can't just do it without having some guilt or shame. We're family.

The referee looked lost right now, browsing through the rulebook. He cursed under his breath, probably realizing Natsu was right.

"Fairy Tail will not be disqualified. However, seeing that one person destroyed 5 parts already, he isn't allowed to take a step in the arena anymore. So leave."

Please, Natsu, don't leave.

If I'm going to fight, I want Natsu's support.

"With pleasure," Natsu remarked with a sneer.

I watched with sadness as he left the arena. He didn't even make eye contact with me. But before he entered the exit hall way, he grabbed Happy and made the Fairy Tail sign with his hand. Doing the sign isn't new to me, but what was his reason for doing it now?

He stood still before the exit as his hand still had the thumb and index finger sticking out.

I looked closely at his index finger, only now noticing it wasn't pointed up directly. I followed it, turning my head up. The roof of the arena didn't exist, it was open. He pointed directly at the edge of the wall.

Wheels turned in my head as I figured it out. He won't be leaving at all. He will be watching us from above, directly sitting on the arena. A smile appeared on my face.

"Understood," I said. Gajeel raised his eyebrow at me, but I ignored it. I only saw half of Natsu's face, but I saw that he nodded. He lowered his hand and walked to the exit.

He heard me with his super-hearing. I looked deadly at his face for as far as I can see. "Once this is over, you won't ever pull that stunt from erasing your guildmark again."

For a second he stopped in his walk, a foot almost touching the ground. He slowly bobbed his head, and then he left.

"Final round!" the presenter announced and looked to his piece of paper. "The above ranking team chooses a fighter, and may choose against who he or she want to fight. Number one versus two, three versus four and so on."

They really love to fight, huh?

On a cue we all looked at number one. The same man of the street was in that team. He looked straight at me, a dare in his eyes. Number 1, 3, 5 and 7 had to answer who of the opposite team they'll fight against.

"Lucy Heartfilia," the man spoke.

"Lucy Heartfilia?" the presenter said, tilting his head. He looked at his paper, scanning if I was in the team.

"Since when did she participate in the team?" he asked, confused.

"Since I was disqualified, idiot!" Natsu screamed. I looked above me, where he sat. He grinned at me. I responded with a small smile.

"You aren't allowed in the arena," Eagle said, clenching her hands.

"Can you look?" Gajeel asked, sounding bored. "He isn't in the arena, he's on it."

Eagle gritted her teeth, knowing we were right.

"Alright. Icarus versus Heartfilia."

Levy crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Icarus, huh?" She turned to me, a smile on her face. "You know the story of Icarus?"

I shook my head. I have heard of the name, and I think it was in the Greek myth, but I don't know for sure.

"He wanted to fly, but he couldn't fly too high or too low. Eventually, he flew too high and his wings burned. He fell and died." Levy snorted. That name wasn't smart at all.

I closed my eyes, calming myself down. This was the final round, and every pressure is on me.

I went to the battle ground, Icarus followed my movements.

Natsu's strategy he showed me flashed through my head; figure out his magic, then how he fights, then his weaknesses etc. It isn't really a strategy, but he said it.

But I know I can't use them. The fight is my own, and his rules don't apply. My opponent wasn't as big as Elfman, a little like Laxus but more broad.

The bell rang, signaling the begin of the battle.

I held my hand on my keys as I watched him. He came to me withtin a second, swinging his arm back and throwing a punch. Oh damn, he's quick.

"Open. Gate of the Lion, Leo. Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio." I summoned Loke and Scorpio and dodged the punch.

"What? You let others fight for you? That's your magic?" He looked really down on me.

"Who says I'm not gonna fight?" I asked. I grabbed my Scorpion key and changed into his Star Dress.

Scorpio came from behind and engulfed him into a windstorm. In one second I moved along with the windstorm, hitting my opponent several times. Icarus growled and punched the ground, cracking it. Scorpio lost his balance and so the storm disappeared.

"What the hell are you doing, Icarus?" I heard someone yell, probably his teammate. "Get serious."

Icarus spat on the ground. "I was going easy on her. She's a girl, you know?"

He disappeared in front of me. I whipped my head around, looking for where he is. Loke disappeared the next second, and before I know it they were fighting in front of me.

Scorpio went on all fours, pointing his stinger at the middle of the battleground. Immediately a tornado of sand went flying towards Icarus. He clicked his tongue and disappeared again, being too fast for Loke to follow him. I changed into Loke's Star Dress.

I felt his magic source behind me and grabbed my arm. It lighted up with Loke's caster magic. I turned around to punch him, but all I hit was air. What the?

I felt a shiver run through me as I felt him behind me. "You have to be faster than that, Heartfilia," he whispered as he threw a kick in my back.

I was sent flying forward and hissed in pain. I closed Scorpio's gate and opened Capricorn's.

I jumped back, distancing myself from him.

He made a magic circle, as big as the battle ground. Rocks lifted up from the ground, small to big. Earth magic? The rocks moved swiftly as they all went flying towards me with incredible speed. I have no time to avoid them.

I changed into my Virgo Star dress as I heard my name being called. I made a hole for me to escape the rocks. I dug through the ground and appeared above the ground again.

Loke and Capricorn came beside me.

"This is not fair," the guy sneered. He made some movements and two figures appeared, made by earth material.

Capricorn ran forward, throwing a punch to the material. It didn't break to my surprise and he threw a punch back. Capricorn dodged it swiftly and their fight began. I got a feeling it would keep him busy.

"Loke, you get the other one," I ordered.

I saw him nod as I focused back again.

Icarus smirked at me, lifting up his hand. The ground under me began to lift, and it cracked open. I jumped back. Two large hands appeared on either side of me and they closed me in. All I saw was black.

Shit.

"Lucy!" I heard Erza call, but the sound was shallow.

I punched the wall of rock before me. It cracked open and enough for me to see light again. But then a layer of rocks covered again. I punched and punched again and every time more layers blocked it.

And suddenly I was trapped, the space getting smaller and smaller. I felt myself inhaling more quickly.

I changed into Taurus's Star Dress. I heard Icarus's laugh, taunting me. I focused most of my energy on my hand. I got one chance to crack it open, then 2 seconds to make an escape for it. The punch had to be so hard that it couldn't restore it for a while.

I punched as hard as Natsu taught and jumped up. I escaped! But then another wave of rocks came and hit me before I could defend myself. Icarus appeared above me while I was blocking the rocks. He tightened his fist and punched me in the stomach, and I flew to the ground.

I coughed up the sand in my mouth from the fall. The audience went wild.

I looked up, squinting my eyes slightly. Icarus jumped to me, ready to pounch on me.

I rolled to the side, and he made a hole just right next to me that caused me to fly backwards. Somewhere in the air I managed to stand again. I grabbed my whip. "Earth wave!" I swung my whip before the ground of him.

He was a little caught off guard, so I sprinted forward. I jumped and swung my leg to his side. He blocked me with one arm and tried grabbing me. I put my other foot on his face and flipped backwards before he got the chance.

I tried advancing again, but couldn't move my feet at all. I looked down, and I saw my feet stuck in the ground. Hands of rock appeared again and held my hands captive.

Shit again. I couldn't move anymore.

He smirked, cracking his knuckles. "I had fun fighting you, Heartfilia. You weren't as weak as I first thought. Though, you aren't on the same level as them."

Stop offending and complimenting me at the same time, you bastard.

He ran towards me, his fist glowing with a yellow light. The pressure of his magic is insane now. If I get hit, I would get serious problems. I tried wriggling out of these hands, but I couldn't.

He was so close now. I closed my eyes. Is this the end of my battle?

No. I can't let this be the end. No was I'd be that easily defeated.

"Lucy!" Loke said, punching the figures. They keep appearing, no matter how many times he destroys them.

"Move!" Natsu roared. And I couldn't let Natsu's actions go to waste either.

I put all my strength in my right arm. I swung it forward, breaking free. I have to work on my physical strength, I really do.

I grabbed another key. A yellow glow coming from the center.

"Don't," Loke yelled again, noticing what I wanted to do. "You don't have the energy for it, Lucy."

Energy or not, I don't have a fucking choice now. I need to summon my friend. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus," I shouted. Light shone from the key, and it grew bigger and then smaller.

Come on, Lucy. Almost. Open his fucking gate.

"Taurus!" I yelled out desparately as Icarus appeared in front of me, ready to punch.

I closed my eyes tightly, preparing myself for the punch. I didn't feel anything.

I opened my eyes as I saw Taurus's axe blocking the punch. The intensity of the punch was enough to cause a gust of wind and drew me back. I scraped the ground with my hand to stop me from flying more back.

Pride swelled up in me. I did it.

I really did it. I summoned three spirits. To say I didn't feel tired was an understatement. If I keep all these three spirits up, I wouldn't last long.

"Close Capricorn's and Loke's gate, Lucy!" Erza ordered out of the blue. I looked at her from my eye corners. "Those figures they are fighting against only exist because of your spirits."

What?

I widened my eyes. Why didn't I think of that earlier? Icarus said it wasn't fair, so he made it fair. "Thank you, Loke and Capricorn," I whispered as I closed their gates.

Taurus flew over me head, flying out of the arena itself! "Taurus," I yelled.

Icarus came flying towards me, rage in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes as I threw him a punch. He dodged it, grabbed me by the arm and pushed me to the ground. He sat on my torso, preventing me from standing up.

He threw a punch to my jaw. I put my hands defensively in front of me, while he punched me again and again.

Shit, I see black dots appearing in my vision. If this continues any longer, I will black out.

"Come on, Luce. I believe in you. Stand up!" Natsu shouted. I heard rage in his voice, but also fear, and anticipation. But the meaning behind his words was what touched me. I could hear it. He was proud of me, but he won't be satisfied if I lose.

I closed my eyes, feeling myself weaken. I saw darkness and I felt pain.

Do it for your family.

For Natsu.

For yourself.

Suddenly I saw a flash of red appearing in the blackness. A huge energy source coming from it. I also saw myself before that flash. It grew bigger and bigger.

I felt myself getting hot. And it felt so familiar. "Grab it, Lucy," I heard Aquarius's voice in my head. "It will unlock another power of yours you didn't know you had."

I grabbed it, feeling celestial magic coursing through me. And not only that, but also Natsu's magic.

This is his Star Dress. I opened my eyes.

The ground around me started getting hot, and Icarus stopped his punch midway, also feeling the sudden magic.

I punched him in the jaw and sent him flying back. I stood up and looked at my hand. Natsu's old key form appearing on the front.

"Star Dress..." I whispered. My clothes began shifting until my whole attire changed. "Natsu Form," I ended as the transformation was complete.

My hair was still loose. I wore a dark red, almost brown, strapless top with a heart neckline. The buttons were black and the top was trimmed with white. I had a white skater skirt on, around my waist a dark red cloth held by a leather belt. I had knee high boots of the same color, long black socks sticking out. A fire crest shaped on my left chest. I wore a choker with a fire emblem. And I got a dark red hand sleeve on my left arm.

Oh god, I love this, this was Natsu's Star Dress. It looked a lot like his daily outfit.

I looked at my opponent with a new found confidence.

I got this, I said in my head and advanced forward.

_____________________________________________________________
I'm actually pretty happy how this chapter turned out, knowing writing fighting scenes isn't my thing.

Vote and comment would be much appreciated ;p

This are all the tablets I used to make this single chapter!!!!! Like hell😂😂😂😂 I had to know the names of everything, and I used sm time searching it up T^T

By the way, the way I haven't made up how Natsu's Star Dress looked like. Well I tried, but found myself inspirationless. So I found a picture on google, and it looked awesome. Natsu's star dress if Lucy had one made by: jkiethly on Deviantart. I don't know if I can describe his art work. There stood you can't reupload, edit or alter it. But I didn't post the photo... so... I'm sorryy. So credits to the outfit to this amazing person. I'm sorry if I wasn't allowed to.

(I didn't desribe it exactly as the photo...)

The quote in this chapter... I find it really deep, y'know? It's really true. And I think more people should really be grateful they haven't seen war.

My brother is an anime fan too, and he ordered a vest online, with Luffy from One piece on the back and his symbol on the front. I loooveeeeee him. And it's soooooo soft. And he got cups too, where if you put hot water on it, the figures appeare. It's so cool.

Do you got anime stuff home?