A Valuable Lesson!

Sora stepped out of the makeshift wooden house, muttering to herself:

"Why can't I get used to his routine? Every day, it's like he's always earlier than yesterday."

She followed the sounds of digging and hammering, her eyes fixed in the direction. As she approached the giant hole in the ground, the sounds intensified, and she used a nearby vine to descend into the hole.

The hole resembled a mine tunnel standing vertical on the ground, but unlike a mine, it only had one person in it – Lucy, holding a giant claw hammer as he violently thrashed it against the ground. Sora watched him with admiration, picking up one of the picks on the ground with clear resolve in her eyes.

'I too must work hard, just like him! I want to beat the record I set yesterday!'

With all her might, she swung the pick against the rock surface, but the result made her body vibrate all over. Undeterred, she grinned and repeated the action until a fist-sized hole was left on the ground.

"I did it! I beat yesterday's record!" she exclaimed, ecstatic despite being drenched in sweat.

As she looked at Lucy, she couldn't help but sigh in comparison. He was already making a second hole, and his first hole was big enough to fit someone of his height. Sora's admiration for Lucy grew, and she walked over to his position, leaving enough space to let him work. She stared at him with her head resting on her palm.

As Lucy's head started sinking into the hole, Sora decided to strike up a conversation with him for the first time, hoping she wouldn't get ignored like the rest.

"She must have been pretty?"

Lucy halted his movements, staring at Sora in surprise. Although her behavior was masculine, everyone had come to accept that she was a girl who preferred to dress and act like a man.

Noticing Lucy's gaze, Sora heaved a sigh of relief that he was even giving her the time of day.

"I'm talking about the girl you're desperate to go back to. Don't deny it; the determination in your eyes could only be gathered up by a person who wants to go back to someone special."

Lucy raised a brow at her words, as bitter memories played in his mind.

There was indeed a girl, but she's someone out of his world. All he knew about her were words written on a piece of paper he couldn't read.

He just sighed, and threw his hammer to the side of the hole.

"Her looks are quite average, actually; you're even prettier than her."

Sora's cheeks turned bright red, and she couldn't help but roar in Lucy's direction.

"As I keep telling everyone, I am not a girl! I am a boy! How can a boy be pretty?"

Lucy stared at Sora for a few seconds before ignoring her and walked out of the hole.

"Are you moving to dig another hole?"

Lucy shook his head as Sora's question. "I'm done for the day."

Sora's eyes widened as she checked the sky, wondering if the sun was already at its mid point, but it wasn't. She shrugged it off, thinking that even a hard worker like Lucy needed rest.

She followed him up the tunnel, and when they reached the surface, they were met with a familiar sight. Faction Tsukino and Faction Shinji were at odds, their leaders exchanging vicious words.

"The only thing you're good at is carrying that useless worm with you every day!" Tsukino spat.

Shinji sneered. "How do you know it's a worm? Maybe it's because you've seen a dozen other snakes and know the difference!"

Tsukino's hands gripped the hilts of her katanas, but before she could unsheathe them, Lucy stepped between the two leaders.

The only eye catching thing about him was height and his red hair, maybe with muscles all the boys were developing. However, his presence was enough to calm the tensions, and the two factions hesitated, rethinking their decision to fight.

As Lucy and Sora walked away, Shinji turned to his group. "Listen, woman, this isn't over."

He looked at his henchmen and began to recite:

"In darkness, find the light

Together, we'll ignite

Our hearts, our souls, our might

We'll rise, and shine, fight!"

The group cheered, their resolve clear in their eyes. They descended into the hole, receiving hate-filled gazes from Tsukino and her group which followed behind.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Tsukino and Shinji exchanged glances at the sight of two rectangular-shaped holes in the ground. Lucy had left them, just like he did every day. The only difference was that he had made only two holes, a rare occurrence.

The two leaders didn't care about the reason behind Lucy's actions. They split the two holes among themselves, leaving the hard work to their henchmen.

Although Tsukino did things for the greater good, she had come to terms with Shinji on taking the holes Lucy dug. The hard work was getting to her, and this was the only way she could rest.

As they jumped into the holes, they stuck their makeshift picks into the ground. But unlike previous days, they finally penetrated the rock surface. Hot, pink blood came rushing out, filling their faces with horror.

"Lucy! He set us up!" Tsukino exclaimed.

Shinji's complexion turned ashen. "Don't blame anybody! This is all our fault. We wanted to take the easy way out and feed on someone's labor."

The two were quick to cry out for help, since they couldn't get out of the holes on their own, but the group on the surface cheered, thinking it was a motivational song.

However, soon, they too suffered the same fate, as the pink blood gushed out like a volcanic eruption, filling the entire tunnel.