After the Grand Magic Games in Crocus and Fairy Tail prevents the end of the world, Lucy Heartfelia disappears. All of Fairy Tail searches for the young blonde mage but they never find a trace of her. 5 years have passed and while the guild has returned mostly to normal, a somewhat grown up dragon slayer is still mourning the loss.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
A New Flame Born Out of Love
Chapter 1: Still in Mourning
The usual ruckus from Fairy Tail could be heard all over Magnolia. The sounds of glasses clinking, tables breaking, and an abundance of merriment. The smell of booze hung in the air surrounding the guild. But, as always, a warm and welcoming aura could be felt coming from the crazy no. 1 guild of Fiore. It had been five years since that dreadful and glorious day occurred. The world was on the brink of destruction, but Fairy Tail restored the balance and saved Fiore. All but one was accounted. Lucy Heartfelia disappeared. But enough about the past, let's get back to the present guild.
"Hey Wendy, would you like to go out on a job with me?" asked the shy Romeo Conbolt, his cheeks the slightest shade of red.
Wendy started to blush as well, "Ummm…Sure! I'd love to!"
Romeo's smile had never been so big. "GREAT! Meet me back here in an hour and we'll head out!" He put two fingers to his forehead and gave a friendly salute before sprinting for the door to the guild. Others watched in interest as blossoms of romance began to bud.
Macao reminisced how he was like that when he was young with his oldest friend Wakaba. Cana drank and rambled on how the cards were in favor of the relationship going well. Alzack and Biska simply looked at each lovingly, remembering their romantic beginnings. Mirajane teased Elfman about how his and Evergreen's relationship began. Everyone had adjusted well from the incident five years ago and moved on with their lives, still living life to its fullest. Except for one man.
Romeo was about to open the doors when he was beaten to it by a returning pink-haired guild member. "NATSU-NII!"
Natsu, now in his early 20's, was a full blown S-class mage. He was now known everywhere as not only one of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail, but also in all of Fiore. He had even been offered the title of Wizard Saint after he played a major role in saving everyone five years ago. Of course, normally, Natsu wouldn't care about titles, but in this case, he vehemently disagreed with it and has made it clear he never wants it. Ever since that day, Natsu has felt empty…like he lost more than an eye…he lost his heart. He was tempted to reach up and feel the scar that beast left on his face, but held back the urge and did his best to smile for Romeo. "Yo Romeo! Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"Oh…ummm…you see…" he started to blush.
"Got a date with Wendy huh?" Natsu said smugly.
"NO! WE'RE JUST GOING ON A QUEST TOGETHER!"
"He liiiiiiiiiiiiiikes her!" said a flying blue Exceed.
"SHUT UP HAPPY!" Romeo exclaimed, his face red as a cherry.
"Well, I won't keep you any longer then! I need to be getting out soon anyways," Natsu said.
Romeo started to frown. "But…you just got back! Aren't you going to stay a little longer? You've been gone for two months! We missed you, I missed you Natsu-nii." He started to look down at the ground, his fists clenched.
Natsu felt guilty. He had been gone a while. And he's just been going on mission after mission after mission without a break. But, as much as he loves the guild, ever since she vanished, it hurt to be around the place where they once had so much fun. He wanted to have just come in with no one noticing him, grab a new quest, and walk back out. He took one more look at Romeo, and decided he could manage to suffer a bit if it meant seeing his friend smile. Natsu grinned, "Ok ok, I'll stick around for a week I guess. Now get goin' already, but take your time. I'll want to hear all about your date when you get back."
Romeo looked up, his eyes watery, his smile returning. He hugged Natsu and Natsu embraced back. After they separated, Romeo headed for the door and said, "ITS NOT A DATE!" He ran off into town to get the last of his supplies.
"It's not?" Wendy said sadly.
"Of course it is Wendy. Don't listen to that stupid boy. He just trying to be manly," Cana reassured.
Wendy smiled and then got up to greet Natsu herself. After all the friendly pleasantries, Natsu went and sat at the bar. Happy was regaling half the guild on his many adventures with Natsu. Somehow, it seemed like Happy was the savior most of the time the way he told it. The dragon slayer grinned as half listened to the story when the master walked up.
"So I assume it was success?" Master Laxus Dreyer said.
"Of course, one less 10 year quest for the council to worry about." Natsu took a gulp from the beer Mira had served him. As he put it down, his face became grim. "Mind you, I never thought I'd ever fight Grimoire Heart again. It was pretty much too late by the time I got there though. They had purged that whole country of non-magic users and those who possessed magic but opposed them were enslaved. I took them down, but the country will never recover."
"I see…" Laxus looked at Natsu sternly.
"I told some of the freed slaves about Fairy Tail, so you might be getting some new recruits."
"That's good to hear. We could use some new blood around here."
The two mages just sat silently for a minute or so as the guild behind them continued their jolly activities. "Natsu, you need to take a break. All these jobs, they're never going to replace those losses. Jii jii and Lucy wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Laxus," Natsu started.
"Master," Laxus emphasized.
"Master, I can never be the same after what happened. If only I had been stronger, I could've saved them, it's my fault they're gone…ITS ALL MY FUCKING FAULT!" Natsu rose out of his chair, knocking his beer glass off the table to shatter on the floor. The guild became silent. Natsu could feel everyone's concerned stares coming from behind him.
"Natsu…" Mira wanted to say something to console him, but nothing came to mind.
"Happy! Grab a quest from the board and let's go!" Natsu commanded.
Happy hesitated for a moment on the verge of tears.
"HAPPY!" Natsu yelled again.
"AYE SIR!" Happy said as he wiped the tears away and flew to the request board. He ripped the first S class job he could find and joined Natsu. They were about to storm out when the doors flew open.
The bright light blinded everyone for a moment; all they could see was a small child's silhouette. When the view became clear they could see it was a young boy. Couldn't be more than 4 or 5 years old. But it was his hair that caught everyone's attention and his eyes that grabbed Natsu's focus. The pink-haired, brown-eyed boy stepped into the guild, tears on his face, and said, "I'm looking for my daddy…Mommy said he was here…Where's my daddy? Where's Natsu?"
Well, hopefully that's a good enough start to grab your attention. You know the drill folks, read and review if you don't mind. I love to hear what you're thinking. If you're curious when I'll be updating my other stories, I promised it will be soon. I will be busy with school, but I will do my best to get out the next chapters for my stories before Friday night. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!
