Chapter 1
When Family Suffers A Loss, They Band Together
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters
"Gray!" Natsu screamed as a bolt of magical energy passed through his friend's bare chest, leaving a large hole where the ice mage's heart should be. The dragon slayer could feel tears well up in his eyes as he watched the cold, lifeless body fall to the earth below it and land with a thud. He did this. It was all him. This man, this vile excuse for a human and mage finally snapped the final cord within Natsu. The pyromancer roared with a new sense of anger and untapped power causing his flame to ensnare his enemy within. However, his fire did not burn like it always had, instead of singing and burning the man inside it, slowly turning him into a small pile of ash upon the ground.
"Scum like you, murderers like you, demons like you do not deserve to be honoured or buried. Your ashes will be scattered by the wind and no one will remember you or mourn your passing." Natsu whispered, stomping the pile and watching as they blew away. Slowly, but surely he walked to the body of Gray. "Get up..." he whispered, tears freely flowing down his face. "Get up damn it!" he yelled as he lightly kicked the body, falling to his knees. "You've never left me before. You've always gotten up in the past... Why is now any different?" he choked out as he brought Gray into his arms, holding him close, rocking back and forth, and sobbing profusely.
Lucy, Erza, and Happy who has all been nearby wearily approached the scene, stopping in their tracks when everything came into their view. Lucy was the first to run to the grieving magician, she gently tried to place a hand on his shoulder but it was roughly shoved off. None of them could see how bad the injury truly was until Lucy sat beside Natsu and coaxed him to let them see. This sight immediately caused the blonde to burst into the same type of tears that Natsu was profusely shedding.
"Lucy! How bad is it?!" Erza inquired loudly as she and Happy ran up to the two. Both were quickly taken aback at what was seen. The lifeless body of their long-time friend laid there in Natsu's arms. Soon, everyone was shedding tears and none of them could do much more than that one simple action of mourning over such a grievous loss. "Come..on.. we need to return home..and.." she couldn't finish her sentence. Eventually she gathered just enough strength to do so. "And bury Gray." she returned to her sobs, not caring who was to see her so upset and vulnerable. She fell to her own knees, crying out a mess of noise which was only guessed to be Gray, she even went as far as to hit him in the chest in some attempt to revive her fallen comrade.
"Erza's right.." Lucy took a deep breath. She nodded and went to her feet shakily. She then helped both Erza, and Natsu who was still holding Gray to their feet. "We need to go home, we aren't helping him or anyone just sitting here. We have to get back to the guild and tell Master." she spoke strongly for everyone there. The other three gave a weak nod and began to walk. Natsu, who was the most broken over the whole ordeal, staggered as he walked. Erza tried to take Gray from Natsu but the pinkette wouldn't have any of it. He even went as far as to flame up a bit to show that no one is to touch the man but him.
The group complied with his unspoken wishes. Everyone walked with a shadow hung over their graven faces. It was a long walk before they were to even make it halfway back to Magnolia. At every town, no matter where people stared at the wizards as they passed through obviously mourning the loss of the man Natsu clutched so close to himself. Eventually after a day or two of walking they arrived in Magnolia. All around gasps were heard and tears shed as fans and haters of Fairy Tail alike looked away as if to not believe the loss of their beloved ice-make wizard. Shortly after they arrived, they were before the guild hall doors.
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The guild hall doors roughly opened as Lucy and Erza opened them for Natsu. The boy silently walked in and placed Gray's body on a nearby table. Fortunately it was quite late at night and almost nobody was in the guild hall. Mirajane, who had been cleaning the bar counter nearby saw what had happened and cupped her hands around her mouth, tears threatening to spill from her own eyes. The group had cried every tear they could and now had a solemn, empty look about them.
"Get Master. Now, Mirajane!" Erza commanded. Mirajane, though startled by the command, nodded and ran to get the Master. Soon enough the small man appeared from a nearby hallway with the girl behind him. He was grumbling lightly about how all of it must be being overworked and blown out of proportion. Once he jumped onto the table for his own look he opened his mouth. It was unknown whether it was to yell, to sob, to scream, or anything because nothing came out. Makarov shed heavy tears as he looked open the corpse of one of his children whose body was still in pristine condition thanks to the residual magical energy inside of it.
"How..How could this happen to one of my beloved children!?" he finally hissed out with venom on every word. More than sad the master was absolutely pissed. "Where is the man that did this. Where can I find him!?" his temper got the best of him and he began to grow. The comforting hand of Mirajane stopped him and he reverted back to his regular size. "I just can't believe it's true..." he coughed out as tears finally began to fall.
"Master.." Natsu finally spoke. "I didn't allow that piece of human garbage to escape...I avenged Gray by reducing him to a pile of ash and cinder that was blown away by wind but even the wind itself was too good to have to carry such filth. He can hurt no one any longer." he sounded triumphant. "Please, for all our sakes, give him a proper funeral." The fire mage pled softly as he then walked away to a nearby table to finally lay his throbbing head to rest.
Makarov nodded and looked around. He had hoped to see some fighting strength in some of them. Some hope, even in the slightest that things would be okay, but he saw none. What he saw was a group of his children who had to trek days with the body of one of their most beloved and cherished friends. He could see the pain and sorrow they had endured. He could see how many tears they had shed and were still to shed. He could see the bags under their eyes and how none had slept until they finally arrived back to deliver the news to everyone at the guild. He shook his head and looked to Mira who nodded her head and went to immediately start the funeral presentations.
"Rest now my children. The funeral will be tomorrow at the church when noon strikes. Try to sleep the best you can and pray that everything will be okay eventually." he motioned for them to leave to go rest and they all did, stopping only to catch one last look at their friend before finally turning away. He didn't disturb Natsu knowing it was for the best if the boy was not disturbed after everything he has gone through. The Master enlargened his hand and gently carried Gray away so that no one all of a sudden entering the guild would have to immediately witness the body of a long dead wizard.
"Gray..." Natsu spoke in his sleep as he began to dream. He had always loved Gray, much more than a friend would love just another friend. He blamed himself for everything that happened and knew that if he had been just a little bit faster and attentive then he would still be alive. He knew that Gray had a certain love for himself as well. While neither love was that of lovers it was of a much higher type that only they understood and embraced. His dreams filled with the image of Gray being shot down time and time again, endless torturing his mind. Negative thoughts and "if only I had..." flooded him like a relentless sea. This was to be his life now. Even if he did not show it to anyone else. This was what he felt and what he knew would never leave him.
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The next day the entire guild was shrouded by a black shadow, not only because of every person there adorning themselves with the colour, but because that the loss of someone so great was a suffocating shadow indeed. Soon enough the clock struck twelve and everybody stood, not speaking a word as they made their way to the church. Inside were arrangements of beautiful blue and white flowers with ice sculptures on both sides of the coffin. The coffin was open and Gray looked like he had just fallen asleep. He was in a magnificent suit and was surrounded by white roses. Once everybody was seated a couple minutes of reflection and grieving were given as everybody could now see it for themselves that Gray was truly indeed gone from the world. Finally, Master Makarov took the stand.
"It is always hard for us to lose part of our family, and never does it get any easier to say goodbye to someone we all have grown to love so much. However, today I must say my final goodbyes to someone who grew so dear to my heart that I treasure him closely as another son of mine in my heart." the small man covered his eyes as he wept. Mirajane, who was nearby, helped him back to his seat. She then went up to the stand herself to speak.
"I don't have anything to say really, but if anyone would like to come up and say something, anything, it would greatly appreciated." she calmly spoke, masking her feelings for only a moment before letting her own tears fall again. Slowly but surely Natsu stood and walked up to the stand himself. For a while he stood there with his head down, tears falling onto the wood beneath him.
"I have a lot to say so I ask that no one comes after me." he simply said and everyone turned their heads to view him. "Gray was so so important to everyone here..especially to me, Erza, Lucy, and Happy. No matter what Gray did or what happened to him he always came back, he was never gone for good. Now I guess he is...I loved him and held him so close and dear to myself. Without him there is a void within myself that will never be fixed and I truly can't imagine this world without him. Everything for me has gone black and white. The colour of this world is gone and happiness is no longer n option while I am without him. He was what kept the fire lit within me and what cooled me when I needed it. We are here not to mourn for him but to honour him in the glory he truly deserves. I am here, personally, to say goodbye to probably my most important friend that I shall ever have. This is the hardest goodbye I have ever had to say, but I know I have to in order to move on and be happy in the future. If that is possible... I'm sorry I couldn't save you but I sure as hell destroyed that man who thought it was okay to take you from me. I didn't get to say this then but I'll say it now. I'm sorry. Goodbye." and with his finishing word he walked to the casket and lightly placed his lips upon Gray's forehead. He was colder than he was whilst living and Natsu at that moment realized just how real it all truly was. He broke down to his knees and couldn't help but sob and pound the floor under him muttering nonsense. It was Lucy who helped him out of the church and back home.
The service ended there as no one wanted to go against what the dragon slayer had said. He was buried nearby with a unique headstone that looked as if it has frost on it so that it could be easily identified as Gray's for anyone who was wanting to visit it. Master stood near it and grew so that everyone could hear and see him.
"We are Fairy Tail! When we lose a member of our family we band together to become stronger as a family. This lose is tragic and will be mourned for years to come however we must not allow it to stop us from being the best we can be! We are Fairy Tail one and many!" Makarov bellowed over them all and they all raised their hands to signify they agreed. Many had their tears replaced with a new found sense of strength and warmth. "Who are we!?"
"Fairy Tail!"
Natsu did not attend the burying. He couldn't stand life for even another moment that day. Once he was home he went straight to his room even though Lucy was readily prepared to prepare him something to eat. He sent her away. After that he simply crawled into the corner of his room, curled up into a ball, and cried himself to sleep.
"Why did you have to go..." was the last thing to leave his lips before the darkness finally engulfed him into sleep.
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It had been weeks before Natsu set foot outside again. He had become pale and skinny with bags around his eyes. He had not slept or eating at all during his time away. However, that particular morning he felt strong enough to go visit everyone at the guild hall for a change. As he walked he began to think back to everything he had done whilst he was in his solitude. Nothing. All he had done was sleep and cry over the loss of Gray. What else could he do?
"I'm okay now..." he assured himself as he arrived at the guild hall's doors. Right as he was reaching to grab the handle he heard something. It was coming from the sky fast, threateningly fast. Natsu could smell the scent of both fiery cinders and minty ice mixed into one unique mixture.
Soon enough a boy landed next to Natsu. He was practically naked as he only had a pair of ripped pants on his small frame. The skin of his exposed body was riddled with healing wounds, scars, and bruises. When he landed, the boy let out a silent yell and coughed up a considerable amount of blood.
"Help.." was all he could muster before becoming unconscious. Natsu, seeing how in this state passing out would be harmful. quickly scooped up the boy as a small fire lit in his stomach where it has laid dormant for so long.
"Gramps! Mira! This boy fell from the sky! I don't know where from but he needs help!" Natsu roared as he ran the stranger in his arms towards the infirmary with Makarov and Mirajane at his heels. They soon called Wendy in to assist in healing. Natsu watched as people walked in and out of the room they had put the boy into. He felt a new sense of purpose and strength.
"This time, I will save a life rather than let it slip through my fingers."