The guild hall had been really silent ever since the end of the war.
Anyone would think that after such victory, the building would be trembling with party. But the loss had been far too great for everyone. The members tried to act as if everything was fine, of course, and after a month, people seemed to be turning back to normal. But sad eyes didn't lie, and even if they spoke and acted normal, all remembered that this hole could not be covered. It had been, after all, Natsu's death.
Even if many members hadn't been at the scene, the pain had struck them all equally, clenching their hearts whenever they thought about it. No one would have ever imagined such turn of events. After Natsu's final strike, ending Zeref's life with one last blow, everyone cheered in the happiness that came afterwards. However, all of them suddenly frozen in shock when the pink haired boy fell to the ground. And no one could believe that the end of the war had been the demise of both the Dragneel brothers.
But the ones who took it the worst were two special people. Lucy and Happy had dashed through the crowd until they had found Natsu's body resting on the floor- no one had dared to take a step, waiting in a circle around him, a deafening silence across the field. But Natsu's two closest friends fell on their knees next to him, not caring about everyone's stares as they cried out his name.
He was still alive, yet barely. Grasping onto the remains of his consciousness, he knew better than anyone that nothing could be done. Zeref's death had brought his own, but as long as everyone was safe, he would never regret any of it. "Don't cry. Everything is fine."
Happy cried nonetheless, while Lucy hugged Natsu, as if trying to keep him with her. "Lucy," he called her, "please take care of Happy and everyone- I know you'll do a great job." He gave her a faint smile, which would have been one of his famous grins if it weren't for the pain of keeping death at bay. Then, laughing and hurting, he recalled Lucy's words.
"I wanted to go on more adventures."
Ever since that day, her eyes had grown duller, lost in thought while Happy stared at her worriedly, yet as sad as her. She had tried her best to be fine, but nothing could be done about it. No one had mentioned his name, fear of disappointing any of them, since Happy and Lucy were hurting more than anyone. That was until one day, both of them had showed at the guild early in the morning, carrying backpacks and faint smiles.
"We're leaving," Lucy had announced. "We don't know how much it'll take, but we promise we'll be back as soon as we can."
"Take care, you two," Erza replied, along with everyone's agreement. "We will be waiting."
Everyone knew it was something they both needed to do, so no one refused to let them go by themselves. However, Wendy spoke up before they left, asking politely what everyone was wondering. "Where are you going, Lucy-san, Happy-san?"
And Lucy smiled widely before saying goodbye.
"We're off to find Aquarius' key."