(Natsu's POV)

Today's the day.

The Day of the Taking.

"Yo Gray!" I yelled, walking over to him. "You excited?"
"Hell yeah!" He smiled. "I'm gonna catch a girl before you."
"Haha! In your dreams you ass!" I retorted.
"It's on pyro." He smirked.

"JUST BECAUSE MY HAIR IS PI- not pink, SALMON! Yeah, it's salmon. DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN MAKE FUN OF ME!"
"Dude, it's pink." He laughed.
"Is not!"
"Is too."
"Is not!"

"Jeez, do you two ever shut up?" Laxus came over with an angry look on his face.
"Well I would if he wasn't such a prick." I mumbled.
"You wanna repeat that hot head!?" Gray yelled back at me.
"Honestly," Laxus sighed, "You're like children. Children can't catch women."

"Speaking of that..." Gray changed the subject. "You were there yesterday, seen anyone you like?"
"There was the one holding the stones who looked alright." Laxus smirked. "I think I'll go for her."
"She looked pretty tough." Natsu sweat dropped.
"That only makes it more fun." He smirked, then walked off.

"It's about to start!" Someone yelled. We looked over our shoulders and saw the gates opening.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Hell yeah." And off we went.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

(Lucy's POV)

Today's the day.

The Day of the Taking.

Let me explain exactly what happens:

The participating girls (well you don't get a choice, it's every 15 year old girl) all line up in front of the gate, and everyone else runs inside. The houses are off limits, so everyone else goes in there to hide. The rest of the female territory is fine for the participants, but you can't go out the boundaries or into the male tribe territory.

The girls are all lined up, and then the hunters walk in and stand in a line. The girls all yell out their name, and then the hunters say the name of who they're gonna hunt.

After that the girls are given 10 seconds.....

Then the hunt begins.

"Lu-chan!" Levy called out to me. I turned round and saw her and Juvia waving for me to come over.
"It's about to start." Juvia said.

My heart was racing.

I was terrified.

Me, Levy, Juvia, Erza, Wendy, Mira, Lisanna, Yukino and Kagura all stood in a line outside the gate, and then it opened.

There were 9 hunters; three of them were Natsu, Gajeel and Gray. There were 4 that I recognised from yesterday, and 2 I'd never seen before. They all stood in a line, and I saw Natsu smirk at me.

"Men and Women!" Yelled Makarov. "Here is the 74th Annual Day of the Taking."
"Let's introduce the women participating." Mavis gestured to the person closest to her in the line.

Which was me, wasn't it.

"Lucy." I yelled.
"Levy."
"Juvia."
"Erza."
"Wendy."
"Mira."
"Lisanna."
"Yukino."
"Kagura."

Then Mavis spoke again, listing our strong and weak points. That drags on, so I won't spare you the details.
"Well one thing's for sure," Makarov began. "Erza and Mira don't look like they'll be going down easy!"
"Did you know Mira and Lisanna are sisters?" Mavis added.
"Kagura doesn't look like she's going to waste time either." Makarov smirked.

"Right then!" Mavis yelled. "Hunters, take your pick."

"My name's Sting!" This was the guy who yelled out the other day. "I'm picking Yukino." He smirked.

"I'm Rogue, and I'm picking Kagura." This Rogue guy looked miserable; I think him and Kagura would suit each other well.

"Laxus. I'm picking Mira!" This was the big guy from the other day who had a yellow scar on his face. I looked over and saw Mira scowl.

"I'm Jellal." This guy looked like a little bit of a joke. Oh wait! It's the guy with blue hair from the other day. "And I pick Erza." WOAH! Him!? Going for Erza!!?? He's got some balls, I can say that.

"The name's Gray." Gray said. "And I pick Juvia." I called that one; it was kinda obvious.

"Romeo!" This guy didn't look 15 at all. "I pick Wendy!" But, neither did Wendy, so I guess they're all right.

"Bixllow's the name!" That's the guy who's tongue is constantly out. "I pick Lisanna!" Poor Lisanna, she'll be scared shitless.

"Gihi, I'm Gajeel." Gajeel smirked. "I'm picking shrimpy." Shrimpy? Who's that? Oh wait, it's-
"MY NAME'S NOT SHRIMPY YOU ASS!" Levy shouted. "IT'S LEVY! GET IT RIGHT!" Someone's not in the mood today.

"I'm Natsu." Here we go. Well, there's no one left to pick, so...
"I pick Luce." I wish he'd stop with that weird nickname. It doesn't suit me.

"Alright then." Mavis smiled. "Let The Taking BEGIN!"

And I ran as if my life depended on it.

Word Count: 786