Lucy Heartfilia (1) Part I

-Flashback x779-

I was currently outside of the Heartfilia mansion after I travelled to the current timeline. I had just finished settling Anna and Layla at Tenrou Island and so I came here to fulfill my promise to Layla. At the moment, Lucy is twelve years old. It has been two years since Layla 'died' and even though I could have come in contact with her just a month or so after that event, I decided not to do so.

The reason for that is not anything complicated. Layla was loved by the staff of the mansion and so was Lucy, after all they helped Lucy escape from the place in the future, so they would be keeping a close eye on Lucy. And if I had moved in to contact her at such a time, things would be complicated for me since they would be suspicious of me and so I wouldn't be able to move around freely.

So I decided to let things settle down first. After two years have passed, Lucy would have come to terms with her mother's 'death' and so would the rest of the people in the mansion. Not to mention, her father would be the same as in the canon and so she won't be having a good relationship with him, let alone the fact that she would grow up in a huge mansion without any friends of her age. And after hearing about the truth of the guy, I could care less about him.

So here I am, observing the mansion from the top of a tree branch. While I knew how to interact with Lucy, I don't know how I should come into contact with her. She rarely leaves the mansion and even when she does, she is accompanied by some servants. So I was at a loss at what to do when fate helped me out again.

At around noon, I saw a little Lucy sneaking away from the mansion. She looked like she was running away if the duffle bag on her shoulder is any indication. Since the chance had appeared before me, I decided to take it. After changing to my twelve-year-old self, I overtook Lucy and waited for her to arrive near me.

When she reached where I was, she looked around for a bit before she suddenly entered the forest that was surrounding the mansion. Well, it seems for a runaway, she at least had some idea on what to do. Since she could be caught on road, she seems to have decided to go through the forest. But, being smart would only apply if it was done by a grown adult. When it was done by a twelve-year-old, it was just stupid.

But again, since the opportunity has come to me on its own, I decided to take it. Just like what I did with Mira when she was around Lucy's age, I followed behind her as I watched her enter a wolves' den. While they are nowhere near what a monster is capable of, to a normal person who didn't know magic, it was enough to warrant death.

I watched as, unknown to Lucy, the wolves who sensed someone enter their territory, circled around her and then soon closed in on her. Soon when the wolves made noise because of the bushes they crawled out of, Lucy finally realized the situation she was in. she was frozen in place as she watched the wolves stalk her like the prey she was to them.

But that was the moment I decided to enter the frame. I jumped down from the tree in front of Lucy as I stared at what seemed to be the leader of the pack, who growled at my sudden intrusion. I ignore that in favor of turning towards the adorable version of the sexy Lucy, who was now looking at me with surprise.

"Close your eyes. Only open them when I tell you to." I spoke to her and watched as she gave a nod before she closed her eyes and put her hands on them for added assurance. After seeing that, I turned back to the wolves and gave a smirk in their direction.

Since they were normal animals, it wasn't a surprise that I basically mauled through them. I didn't use any magic and instead used my physical prowess to grab them by the throat and swung them around. But since they had helped me make a good first impression, I decided not to kill them. So when they started to run away after a few minutes of wasted efforts from them, I didn't chase after them and instead just watched them leave.

"Okay, you can open your…" I turned towards Lucy while saying that but I saw that she was already looking at me with stars in her eyes. What happened to not open your eyes before I say so? Well, this was fine as well since I was able to show my cool side to her.

"How did you do that?" Lucy, having stood up from the ground, ran up to me and asked that with a huge smile and shiny eyes. It was like she wasn't just running away from home and then suddenly got surrounded by a pack of wolves just a few minutes ago.

"Training. Lots and lots of training. I can even do magic but since they weren't that strong, I decided to not use it." In response to her question, I acted in a slightly childish way, as I put my hands on my waist and puffed out my chest. Ugh, acting like a twelve-year-old again is gonna be hard.

"Woah, can you teach me? Ah, my name is Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy overcome with her excitement from hearing me talk about magic grabbed my hand as she asked me to teach her in the way of greatness. Is it just me or is the current twelve-year-old body affecting my thought process? Why am I acting like a chuunibyo?

"I'm Ray. As for teaching you, I can't. I can train you physically but not in magic. By the way, what are you doing here out in the forest? If I wasn't there, you could have gotten killed by those wolves." I gave her my name before I asked her for her reason to be here to quickly divert her attention, even though I already knew why she was here.

"Ah, well, I ran away from home." Lucy who was despondent at hearing my refusal to teach her magic suddenly gave an awkward laugh as she nervously replied while looking at the ground. She also knew how dangerous her situation would have been if I wasn't there today so she didn't know what else to say.

"That's stupid." I said what any normal person would say in a situation like this. I wasn't gonna hold back just because she was a child. I f I hadn't come to this exact timeline and instead came at a later date, meaning in the future, because, you know, since I would be… anyway you get what I am saying. If I had come late, she would have probably died. Or maybe not since she would need to survive this for her to join the guild in the future.

"Guh! Oh yeah? Then what are you doing here?" Lucy flinched a little at what I said but soon regained composure asked me that in return with what she assumed would be a fierce expression. I repeat, what she assumed would be one.

"I can be here because I can protect myself. That is not the case with you now is it?" I threw the ball right back at her. While all of this was happening, I noticed a presence approaching here quickly and finally realized how she would have survived this if it weren't for me.

One of the guards of the Heartfilia mansion was coming here. Since that was the case, the wolves might not have attacked Lucy right about now since it has been a while since she was surrounded by them. could it be they decided to play around their prey before pouncing? Well, no use pondering since it didn't happen.

"Anyway, looks like someone is looking for you. Someone is coming this way. You should head back home with him if it is someone you know. Running away from home without knowing how to protect yourself is dangerous. I'll be staying around here for a while so see you around. Bye!" speaking till here, I suddenly disappeared from her vision as I teleported away. Lucy still looked like she wanted to talk but since I already left without letting her speak she started stomping with her foot while pouting. Cute.

From a short distance away, I watched as the guard came to where Lucy was and soon took her away. Lucy looked back before leaving though, probably to see if she could see me. And so kids, that is how I met your moth*cough* Lucy. How I met Lucy.