Every night, as he was going to sleep, Gray Fullbuter forced himself to remember the days before the war began. But with every passing second, Gray felt it seemingly harder to blow the mist away from his memories.

The battle had begun on the15th August 3014. Most of his old friends and most adults wouldn't have remembered hat date as clearly - but Gray did. He would never forget it for that was his birthday. His 17th to be exact. Two of the Guild's members had thrown a party to celebrate. The only thin was, only a handful of people actually had the strength to be happy: Juvia, who had alreadybeen banished for getting to close to Gray, Lucy, one of the people to orgonised it, his close friend Loke, who wasn't properly in the Guild anymore, and Mira-Jane, the other persin who orgonised it. Everybody in Fairy Tail knew about it but all that morning, in teams, they came up to Mira or Lucy, telling them that they couldn't come.

"Nobody should be celebrating anything today, " Erza stated coldly. She, along wih Natsu and Lucy, were in Team Natsu with him. Also she'd, out of all people, would do anything for a slice of cake ( preferably strawberry). "It's best if you just would cancel it, Lucy."

"We're not cancelling anything!" Lucy finally announced after the fifth team told her the same thing. "We should be trying to be happy today if anything," She stared down angrily at the perfectly laid out table of food, "What am I going to do with all his food if no one shows up?!" Gray looked at her and shrugged - he didn't want it.

"I'll eat it!" A little voice piped up. Lucy looked unimpressedly down at Happy.

"I think we're fine on eaters right now thanks Happy." She said.

"But you jsut said!"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" And with that she urshered him away.

Mira sighed,We should be having a good time today. Not-" She paused to look around at everyone, "This."

When Natsu came back from a S-Class Quest at lunch that day, he didn't look his normal self. Instead of his usual: 'I-don't-know-what-the-Hell-is-going-on-but-I'm-just-going-to-smile' face, he had a concerned one on. He ran over to Gray and sat next to him, "HHey Gray!" He grinned. Gray gave him a small smile.

"Hi, Flame-Brain."

Happy Birthday~" He smiled, "How old are ya now? 5?" He joked. Natsu was always teasing Gray about how he was older than him and how Gray was still too young to be a S-Class wizard.

A/N: IN THIS YOU HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN AGE BEFORE BECOMING A S-CLASS WIZARD.

"17." He shot Natsu a look then he fixed his eyes on his practically empty plate in front of him.

"...12 years...?" Natsu stared at the wall for a second. Then he laughed, "Only 1w years?! Seems a whole lot longer than that! Pahhhahaha!" Gray looked at him and smiled. It seemed longer to him as well. Longer then he'dhe'd actually known Natsu for anyway.

"Go away guys! UNLESS YOU'RE EATING SOMETHING THEN LEAVE!" Lucy roared at them then Mira urshered them away. Lucy always did that - she hated when people crowded their eating space when they weren't eating. And so Natsu and Gray did as they were told, discussing something very heatedly as they left.

"It's not fair." Natsu stated.

"What isn't?"

"You were eatin' and," He sighed.

"What?"

"And it's your birthday - nearly your 18th!"

"So?"

''She needs to treat you with respect!" He glared.

"You don't. "

"I'm allowed to."

"Why?"

'''Cause. Well because,'' Natsu hesitated, "You like me." Gray stared at him. ''AS A FRIEND I MEAN!" Natsu clarified, even though he didn't actually mean it.

Gray smiled to himself - he would have meant it the other way as well. Erza had found about it a few weeks back and he couldn't stop worrying about it. She had said that she'd never tell another soul for as long as she lived. Which, with Natsu saying that, proved one thing: Erza wouldn't tell.

Despite the disappoin9ting turn out for his party, Gray tried not too mind too much. He sensed something was going on in the real world which involved Fairy Tail - or any magic guilds which all the S-Class wizards were talking about. There had been talk about for months. But all the wizards who weren't S-Class 'weren't allowed to know'. Sometimes Natsu would tell Mira and Lucy that it was going to happen any day now; that Fairy Tail had to be prepared. And sometimes, when Lucy or Mira started crying, he said:

''There's nothin' to worry about! Everythin''s gonna be fine in he end!"

Then he'd go on to say how Fairy Tail is too cool for that sh*t that no one could possibly hope to win.

When the party started, every S-Class wizard pretended it was like any other birthday Gray had. They played a few magical games until Gray got bored like a couple others. After they did, Natsu, Erza, Mira and Guildarts stopped speaking to the others and huddled together in a corner with glum expressions plastered on their faces. In fact, Natsu was the only one who looked a tiny bit happy.

Gray sat down stared at them slightly. He tried to lip read what they were saying and got a few words out. Lucy sat down next to him and followed his gazed. She tried doing the same but didn't get much out.

''You're better off signing up before they call you, you know,'' Mira said, ''They'll go easy on you I the end - mark my words."

''Oh be quiet,'' Snapped Erza, who never warmed to Mira because of their childhood. She was a quite short woman with red hair flowing down to her wast. ''Natsu's not signing up for anything - he promised Gray."

"I might have to, Erza." He said, shaking his head.

''Quiet - not in front of Gray." Guildarts said quickly - noticing Gray was watching.

'I'm just saying that this shit could run for years and years. I might have a better chance if I volunteer now. That's all."

''No, it'll be over by Christmas," Said Erza, glaring at Natsu.

''That's just what everyone's saying. "

"Shut it. Not in front of Gray." Guildarts hissed.

"We're finished, we're all finished." Cried Mira-Jane, taking a huge tissue and wiping her eyes with it. Lucy sniggered. Erza didn't find it quite as amusing as she and turned and ran out of the room. Natsu followed her - trying to cheer her up.

More than four had passed since that day but Gray still thoght about it all the time . He was 22 years old now but nobody was allowed to join their 'army' type thing anymore. When he was going to sleep at night, he tried his bet to pull together what he remembered of his guild before they changed. Because if he remembered them the way they were, there'd hopefully be a chance they could go back to being like it.

Erza and Natsu had just turned 20 when they'd first joined the S-Class wizardry - he knew that much. Natsu had protested when he got it and Gray didn't. He had said:

"Gray deserves this more than anyone else in this room"

He had kept going on about it until the master made a comprise. He had said that Gray was to be an S-Class wizard when he was 18 in stead of 20. When he was 15 he thought that it would take an age before he would turn 18 but now it seemed more of an age when he turned 17. Sometimes he found himself wishing that he was 15 or 16 again, but he always stopped himself because he said wishes never come true. One time he'd even caught himself writing down a tally on a peice of paper of how long ago it was. He had thrown that paper away but the memory still remained.

His 17th birthday was both a happy and sad one. It was a happy one because he got to see a few people smile for the last time and they gave him a couple of good presents. Lucy had told him that they needed to smile as much as they possibly could today because of the way the S-Class wizaeds put it, they wouldn't have much reason to tomorrow. Gray had thought about this but didn't want to dwell on it too much because, as Lucy said, there'd be more time for dwelling tomorrow. Juvia had given him a card shaped like a love heart and a kiss on his cheek whic he wiped off. The card had been burnt ages ago but he never said anything about it to Juvia. Natsu had forgotten to get Gray something but he didn't mind. Natsu just making back from a quest was a good enough present for him. Instead Natsu gave Gray a smile and that's all he needed.

"Sorry I get you anything," Natsu looked at the floor, "I didn't have time..."

"I don't care, Flame Brain." Gray shrugged. Natsu smiled at him.

Natsu had also photo bombed a picture which was just meant to be Gray (WWhich Gray wasn't too happy about) and it ended up being more realistic, with Natsu hugging Gray from the side and laughing and Gray lauhhing too, then it was before.

These were the good memories.

The sad ones existed because that was when everything had changed. All the S-Class wizards from Fairy Tailhad gathered outside their guild on the street as the sun went down. They apoke about their 'duty' and 'responsibility' as they wipdd back their hair 'til it went all 'sticky-upy', taking little bits of their now cold dinner before weapping it back up in foil and putting it back in their pockets for later on. Natsu had got into an argument with Guildarts about the rights and wrongs of it all. Guildarts had said that everyone here were all too young and shouldn't waste their lices on this and they should also never, and he looked at Natsu for this, break a promise even if they thought they needed to. Natsu and him had never exchanged cross word until that afternoon. It was the day that Mira-Jane, the girl who nobody thought much of, had managed to sell them all without even trying. And it was the day that ended with Lucy sitting on the floor of her room sobving like the end of the world was upon them,

''Come on Lucy," Natsu said, touching her shoulders, " Nothing to cry abot, is there? It'll be over by Christmas and Mira and Erza and me will all be back I time to eat with you."

"And you believe that do you?" Lucy said lookin up, glaring. "You believe what they tell you?!"

"What else should I believe?"

Lucy stood up then," You stupid man! You idiot!" She scowled at him then burst out crying. "Just tell me this: why did ou promise Gray something you knew you couldn't keep?"

"I-"

"Stop, I don't want to know. But what I do know is this: Can you promise me, Natsu Dragneel, that you won't sign up?"

There was along pause before he spoke again. "You heard what Mira said, Lucy. It might be easier on me in the long term if-"

"You are so selfish, Natsu Dragneel. I hate how you're like that. Promise me Dragneel that you won't - for Gray. Not even for me! For Gray please. Promise me, Dragneel."

"All right Lucy. Let's just see what happens. If he wakes up tomorrow morning and changes his mind about thw whole thing then we'd be worrying over nothig." Natsu shrugged and grinned.

Gray wasn't supposed to be outside Lucy's room unless she let him (which she never did) but that night, the night he turned 17, he sat outside - where he knew they would not look - and stared at his feet and listened in. He hadn't intended on sitting there for quite so long - he'd only come there to find Natsu - but their conversation had sounded so serious, he thouht it would be a mistake if he walked away from it. He gave a deep, silent yawn, it had been a long day, after all, as birthdays always are - and closed his eyes for a moment. And before he knew it he was having a dream he was being carried (by someone with a very warming smell) to a comfortable place and the next thing he knew he was opening his eyes again, only to find him in his own bed with the sjn pouring through the window.

After the morning of his 17th birthday, Gray came into the hall to find Lucy in her worst clothes possible (sshe always called them rags) and her hair loosely tied up with two pins. She also wore he same mask of unhappiness as the night before - not her usual Monday morning sadness but a more sorrowful one. When she looked up she didn't even notice him. When she did, she gave him a half hearted smile.

"Gray, master said to let you sleep in his mornig. After all - it was a very big day yesterday for us all."

"Where's Natsu...?" Gray looked around.

"He's gone out."

"Oh, I don't know, do I?" She said, unable to look him in he eye, "Natsu never tells anyone anything."

Which Gray knew wasn't true because he always, after every quest, he'd sit Gray or Lucy or anyone who'd listen down and tell them about everything that had happened. He told them how long it them to get there, how cool he was when he fought anyone and, only to Gray, how boring it was without him. If Gray knew one thing about Natsu, it was that he always told everyone everything.

An hour later, he was sitting at one table by himself while Levi and Lucy spoke quietly.

"I o

don't get it, Lu, I really don't. "

"NNeither do I Levi."

"I mean - nobody here knows much about it - but judging by what everyone was saying yesterday, I think we can all make a good guess,"

"I believe anything that's going on here because it doesn't seem real. Levi - how come the bet fighters here do not get to go?"

"Yeah, I guess S-Class isn't everything."

Before Lucy could answer, the door opened, and to Gray's surprise a man dressed like a soldier marched. He was tall and wore a hat. There was something else about him that seemed familiar to Gray about him. He had pink hair.

It was a S-Class wizard at Fairy Tail.

It was Natsu Dragneel.

And that was when Lucy dropped her food on the floor, put her hands over her eyes and ran out of the room. Natsu looked at Gray and Levi and shrugged.

"I had to," He said finally, "You can see hat, can't you? I had to."

"We're finished. " Levi said p, repeating what Mira had. Puting her food down, she looked out he window, "We're all finished."

And that was everything Gray remembered about turning 17.