The Man Who Can't Be Moved
It was five years after the city of Magnolia had been demolished by the Tartoros attack. Fairy Tail's guild hall had been destroyed, but had since been rebuilt bigger and better than any could ever remember. The guild itself had also been reestablished. Makarov had officially retired as master of the guild, naming Gildarts as the next master in his place. It was spring, the sun was shining brightly on the rebuilt city, the birds chirped as they flew about, teaching the young ones to fly and catch bugs for food. The city had a bright, happy feel to it.
But none of that mattered to him. His heart had just been ripped to shreds. Three years ago, Natsu and Lucy had finally acknowledged the feelings they had for each other. For three years, they seemed quite happy. But today, Lucy told him to meet her under the Rainbow sakura tree. The tree's leaves and petals were gleaming beautifully. Lucy's eyes were gleaming too, but not in their usual fierce love for her guildmates. Today, they shined with tears. Her chocolate eyes were darkened by what looked like heartbreak, masking fear. That's what had worried him. But when he asked her what was wrong, what was scaring her, her only answer was that she was leaving, and that it was for the best of both of them. He'd denied it, saying how could hurting them be the best for them. But she insisted, giving him back the promise ring he had given her on their first anniversary. The gold and fire opal was ice cold in his hands. It only seemed to grow colder as she walked away from him.
So here he was, walking home numbly, still too much in shock to feel the pain yet. The numbness gave him time to think though. He began to think of ways to prove to her that he was worth staying with no matter what. Should I just wait in Magnolia for her to come back? He asked himself. It would show I'm loyal and devoted and that I love her. But then he thought of how no one in magnolia would let him do that. So he began to think of places to wait. He sat on the floor of his living room, just thinking of places and shooting them all down. The time passed faster than he thought it would, and it was well into the night when he decided where to go. He grabbed his bag, and packed up all the clothes and food he could find and fit. He then tied his sleeping bag and tent onto the top of the bag and, after scribbling a quick note for Happy when he came home in the morning, he left the house, stopping on the way to grab a big piece of cardboard and a marker.
He went to Hargeon, the the very courtyard where he had accidentally broken a charm magic being cast on her. The place they had first met. If she goes looking for me, this will be the first place she'll go he thought. So, in the back end of the area, he set up his sleeping bag and tent, propping up the cardboard on the wall behind him, writing in big, bold letters If you see this girl, can you tell her where I am? With a picture of her, smiling brightly and holding her keys proudly. He sat against the wall, some fruit in his hands, as he began slowly eating and waiting for her.
It took a week for Erza and Gray to find him. He ignored their pleas to come back to Magnolia with them, telling them that this spot will be the first place she will look for him. They tried for three days, showing up every morning to ask him if he's ready to come home yet. After then, they went back to the guild without the pink-haired boy. Makarov went next, looking at the heartbroken boy with pity and understanding in his eyes. He also asked Natsu to come back home telling him if -when Natsu insisted- Lucy went looking for him, the first place she would look would be Fairy Tail, not this courtyard in a different city. Natsu still refused, saying Makarov was wrong, that she'll definitely come here first. The old man tried, but he got nowhere with the stubborn fire slayer. Finally, Makarov gave in, telling him he would come to see him, or send someone else if he was unable.
The days went by, bled into weeks, which bled into months. Makarov, Gildarts, Erza, and Gray all came and went, asking him to return home with them, and making sure he was okay. He never accepted their offer to go home, only asking if they had any news about Lucy. They never had anything new, just that she hadn't come back home yet or contacted anyone else.
Six months after she left, he was still waiting there, still holding the sign and Lucy's picture. Today, a policeman came up to him, telling him he couldn't stay there. The fire slayer refused to move though. Saying he was waiting for someone, even if it took a day, a month, or a year. The policeman smiled down at him sadly, recognizing the heartbroken devotion in the boy's eyes. He let Natsu stay, after a conversation about how he can't set fires within city limits, and that he should try not to take handouts from people. So he made a new sign to go with the first one. I'm not broke, I'm just a broken-hearted man. He began to run low on food at this point. But he wouldn't leave the spot, fearing she'd come looking for him when he wasn't here and he'd lose her forever. He chose to go without food, thinking she would be back any day now, well before he got too slim.
Eventually, the months bled into a year. Natsu still waiting in the courtyard for her. Erza and Gray were the only ones who came to check on him anymore, the rest relenting to letting him be until he came home on his own. Erza came by a few times a week, letting Natsu know news from the guild along with need about Lucy. She told him about how the guild was trying to find her and bring her home after her disappearance for a year. He perked up at this, but Erza then said that no one had been able to make contact with her or hear anything about her, he slumped back down like a defeated puppy. She finished her news with how Happy had finally confessed his love for Carla, and that they had gotten married and were expecting a litter of kittens. This made the fire slayer happy, at least his best friend was finding someone to stay with and be happy with for the rest of his life. She also brought him food, her glare when she found out he hadn't been eating scaring him into deciding he didn't want to argue when she said she would bring him food daily. She made sure that on days she couldn't see him, Gray would go so she knew he ate and got to talk to someone for the day.
A year and six months passed by like a sort of blur, and he decided to start walking the town, thinking maybe she wouldn't be able to find the spot after so long. The citizens of the town knew his spot and his stuff were not to be touched, everyone remembering the rage in his eyes when someone had tried to touch the ring he kept on a chain in his tent. No one dared to touch his stuff now. He would walk the path they took on the first day they were there on the first day, over and over and over again, always scanning the crowds of faces for her gold hair and chocolate eyes. He never saw her, but he never stopped looking for her. At sunset, he picked a rooftop with a view and sat there watching as the city was turned crimson then plunged into the darkness of night. After the moon and stars illuminated the city enough for him to make it home with no problems. He headed back to his courtyard campsite, and slept the night clutching her ring tightly. Then he woke up and repeated the process each day. This passed his time, and soon enough, with his days occupied now, he walked and waited for her.
Eventually he gained the attention of news people. He began to get interviewed and questioned, he never answered the people's questions, just saying he was waiting and no one could stop him. He was dubbed The Man Who Can't Be Moved by the news castors, and thus he became known throughout Fiore. People would come and take pictures with him, he didn't care, he still ignored them and scanned all the faces for her every chance he got. The craze over him only lasted about a month though, people quickly growing bored with how he never acknowledged them. So he began walking again, to pass his time faster.
It had been two years since he started waiting for her. Two years of disappointed heartbreak. Finally, Natsu told himself if she didn't show up that day, he would just go searching for her himself. So he went on his walk, the path memorized by him so well he could walk it blindfolded. He went to the restaurant where she had bought him and Happy a thousand jewels worth of food as thanks for breaking Bora's love charm. He went out to the pier, looking over the shipwreck that was still there after all these years. The ship Lucy and Aquarius had destroyed after Bora and his men tried to kidnap her. He went down to the beach where he had fought Bora and his men, the sand still melted into pale green glass in parts from the heat of his flames. He picked up a chunk of glass, watching it glittering in the sun, and tucked it into his pocket.
As the sun began to set, he decided that today he would just go back to his spot and pack up instead of watching the sunset. He started walking back to his campsite, turning the glass in his hand so it caught the sun and glittered even more in the crimson light. He thought it looked like flames. After he got back to his camp, he looked around and frowned, something felt off. He put the glass piece in his bag and started searching around for what was wrong. After a few minutes of searching, he looked up and realized what was wrong. Lucy's picture was gone. He thought someone had stolen it , before he dismissed that thought from his head. No one in the city was dumb enough to do that. He then thought back to the weather through the day, and remembered that earlier that day it had been extremely windy. The wind must have blown it off the sign. And that was hours ago, it would be anywhere in the city by now. Now he had nothing to remind himself of Lucy.
He felt like his heart was getting broken all over again. He had lost her again. He growled at himself, why didn't he think to put the picture in the bag while he walked around. As he sat and brooded, he thought he caught a trace of vanilla and strawberries -her scent- on the wind. He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts of her from his mind so he would stop imagining things. He scrubbed his face with his hands, but that seemed to make the smell stronger. He growled, cursing his own mind for torturing him like this. He choked back a sob, disguising it with another growl. He knew it was her smell, and it was infuriating. He began to wonder if he had finally gone insane, when a small gasp behind him made him freeze. No, there's no way in hell. His mind hissed. He took a slow, deep breath through his nose and his eyes grew wide. Then, he heard it. Her. Her beautiful, musical, amazingly Lucy voice.
"Natsu…"