Clink. Clink. Clink.
Natsu had been running for hours. Rain poured down, dripping through his hair and running into his eyes. His clothes clung to his skin, soaking him to the bone and every time his foot slapped against the wet ground, water sloshed from his sandals and droplets sprayed out in front of him. But he didn't care.
Nothing could make him care anymore.
His whole body was numb, his mind moved sluggishly, not fully comprehending where his feet were taking him.
The streets that he passed through were deserted, bare from their usual bustle and activity, all the residents taking shelter away from the pouring rain.
He didn't even notice.
He barely noticed the rain as it was.
It was as if the sky was crying for him. Crying the tears he could not bring himself to shed. Crying over his loss and pain. Pain he did not feel. Pain he pushed away. All that remained was the numbness that slowly spread from his heart and spread outwards, reaching towards his toes and fingers. Or maybe it was the cold doing that to him.
He really didn't know.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The shops blurred past, their lights flickering together in a whir of confusion. A convenience store. A hobby store. A grocery store. They whizzed by in a long chain.
He hadn't realized he had slowed down until the rain was coming at him almost completely vertical. His mind only comprehended why when he saw that the lights of the shops had ended. He was at the city limits.
Darkness swathed him like a cocoon and his slow steps squelched beneath him. His head drooped to avoid the water that ran into his eyes and his attention was drawn towards the puddles that pooled around him. A new feeling bubbled up within him and kicked viciously out at them.
Why? Why did this have to happen?
A strangled cry escaped his throat as he thrashed through more puddles.
"Now, did those puddles really deserve that?" A cool voice broke into his fury.
"Er-za?" He slowly looked, his voice breaking.
"Natsu," she said softly. "You can't run away from this."
After another violent splash Natsu was able to grind out his next words. "Of course I can. And you can't stop me."
He made to shoulder past the clouded form of Erza. She reached out to grab at his arm, but a different hand grasped his elbow.
"This isn't the answer, you need accept this. You're in denial."
Natsu yanked his arm out of the strong grip of Gray. "You don't get it," he snarled. "Neither of you understand! How can you be so calm? You disgust me!"
He pushed Gray hard and the darker-haired boy stumbled back in surprise at the contact. "You want to play rough with me? I'll show you rough!"
Gray lunged at Natsu, but was stopped by Erza's palm, placed firmly on Gray's chest. "Both of you, calm down!" she barked.
"Calm down? Calm down! How can you tell me to calm down? She's gone." Natsu's voice cracked on the last word. "Gone!"
Suddenly the world was spinning around him and his legs shook uncontrollably.
"Go see her," Erza said gently as Natsu collapsed to the ground, cold water splashing around him.
"I can't," he choked out, staring at the ground. "I failed her, I let her die. She's gone."
"No, you didn't. You couldn't have done a single thing. Now get up."
A hand was offered but he didn't take it. He didn't want to take it.
"You can't keep avoiding it. Face it like a man."
He couldn't face it. He couldn't face her. It was all his fault. How could he face her when it was his fault? He was going to run. Run long and hard and never look back, never look back to see his failure.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
He was brought violently back to reality when two hands roughly pushed him up. He swayed groggily, staring dazedly at two pairs of defiant eyes. There was a long silence that was only broken by rain dripping around them.
"Go." Erza finally broke the silence, pointing in the opposite direction in which Natsu had intended to go.
A light push to the shoulder sent Natsu stumbling away. His feet had started moving sluggishly again and he continued towards… her.
The sheets of rain had lessoned, even if only by a tad, but it still had Natsu blinking water out of his eyes. Or were they tears?
No. Natsu violently pushed the thought away. He would not allow his pain to overcome him. He must stay strong.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
He trudged on though the wet world that surrounded him. All the anger had escaped him and all that was left was the same lost feeling he had been feeling for a while.
The grass squished under his feet as he walked slowly past the stones that lay on the ground. Some names he recognized, others were unfamiliar to him, but even if he knew who they were, he only cared about one person.
He finally reached her. The stone was relatively new, but dirt and leaves marred the cleanliness.
Natsu stared at it for a long time before he drooped and collapsed to ground in front of it. He carefully brushed away the soggy leaves and grime away to reveal what the stone fully read.
Lucy Heartphilia
X767-X786
A loving friend and daughter
Images of cheerful blonde flashed before his eyes, her chocolate brown eyes twinkling with laughter. Her defiance in battle. Her anger when she found him in her apartment. The first time that she had seen Fairy Tail. Her compassion towards her comrades. Her blood arching through air. Her body, limp on the ground.
Natsu thrust his fist at the grass next to him and his head drooped toward the ground. He was weak. He hadn't been able to save her. It was his fault. All his fault.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The clatter of metal on metal brought him back to reality as he blinked stupidly down at the keys that he had attached to his belt. His fingers fumbled at the clasp, but at after a few attempts he was able to pull it away and up to his face. The assortment of keys clinked together as he studied the little intricate patterns on each of them.
Lucy…
A stab of pain laced through his heart and he brought the beautiful keys to his chest, slouching over.
"I'm… sorry," he whispered to keys. "Luce, I'm sorry."
He sat there for a long, clutching at his last remaining connection to the girl, before he uncurled himself and looked up.
Grass swayed around him and a golden glint caught his eye. Looking down, he saw the keys shining below him. The sun was peeking out from behind the clouds, shedding light on him and the keys. A small smile graced his lips.
It was as if she had heard him and was sending a message to him.
Forgive and forget.
Natsu slowly brought himself to his feet and reattached the keys to his belt, a new fire in his eyes.
He may be forgiven, but he would never forget the beautiful girl that he had once known that went by the name Lucy.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Love it? Hate it? Want to throw it a dark alley and come after me with a very sharp knife? Let me know! CC is lovely. It was something that I thought of while I was bored, based loosely on my favorite song in the whole word, "Lucy" by Skillet.
Edit: I just realized how off the years were on the stone, so I had to change them. Not sure how accurate they are now. Sorry.
-Jay