I do not own anything. This is my first story. Constructive criticism is welcomed.
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Across on Universes
Chapter. 1
Today was the day. In the land of Fiore there lays a town called Magnolia. The people of this town were warm and welcoming. Above that town rested the greatest guild the land has ever known, Fairy Tail. The wizards who worked for this guild were a loud rambunctious group. This guild was notorious for picking fights with each other that dribbled into the town below. They destroyed buildings on occasion but always made it up to the people of Magnolia. They would risk their lives for their town, their guild, and their family. Today was the day of remembrance for the town. It was a day set aside to honor and remember those that had been lost to age, sickness, or battle. It was meant to be a day to celebrate the lives that their loved ones touched. Normal activities included drinking and telling stories about their loved ones. They would often visit the small graveyard that was in Magnolia. The towns people made it a priority to visit not only their families but the graves of the fallen mages that had fought to protect them and their world. Today the guild hall of Fairy Tail was thoughtful and mournful. They were reflective. They also worried about how today would affect one of their most honored heroes.
On the outskirts of the town was a small dense forest. The trees here were said to be as old as the earthland itself. The most covered trunks rose high into the air and the green thick leaves formed a canopy over the forest floor. A lone dirt path led its way into the lush green landscape. The forest was silent today mourning in its own way. The leaves lacked the vigor they normally had instead drooping like fall was coming even though it was the beginning of summer. The river flowed in a lethargic manor. If you didn't stand to watch it you might think it had come to stand still. Even the animals that live atop the forest crust didn't even bother to scurry.
There was a lone house that set just off the dirt path half a mile into the forest. Vines covered the outside of the building drapping lazily over the two dust covered windows like curtains. The wooden door sat crooked in its frame. Inside this house was dark and dreary. The three rooms that made up the decrepit home was covered in a thick layer of dust. Paper strew the floor and mingled with discarded and forgotten laundry. The loan couch in the living room had an indention in one cushion signaling that someone would sit there for hours upon hours without moving. A blue cat sat perched on a bed post in the bedroom with silent tears streaming down his face. He stared at the far conner in the back of the room next to the grim covered window. A lone figure sat in the shadows attempting to meld with the wood of the home. Shoulders slumped and rough hands hid the owners face. Pink hair struck out everywhere, some falling into the streak of sun that drifted through the window. Low soft sobs escaped the figure as they took a ragged breath. There was a knock at the front door. The figure didn't even think about moving. The blue cat sighed dejectidly and flew off to answer.
"Happy," a tall red headed woman said as he opened the door. "How is he today?" She asked stepping inside and bringing the cat to her chest in a crushing hug. A man with black hair and no shirt stepped in behind her.
"He's not good Erza. Once he realized what day it was he kind of went on a rampage. It doesn't help that this day is the week before her actual death." Happy told her snuggling closer to her in an attempt to get away from the sadness that was crushing his best friend. "Did you see what he did to the side of the house?" Happy asked looking up towards Erza.
"He tried to burn it down it looks like." The man behind Erza offered.
"I don't think that was his plan. He'd gone outside and started sending fire balls at anything that was near him. When he hit the house he didn't even try to stop it. Luckily the river is near and I was able to put it out. Then he ran back inside and hasn't moved or said a word. He's just crying. Erza he's broken. What do we do?" Happy questioned fresh tears breaking the damn of his eyes and rolling down his fury face.
"I don't know Happy." Erza said tearing up herself and pulling the cat closer to her. The man behind her sighed.
"Natsu!" The man yelled. "Hey come out here. It's time for the memorial." There was no answer. Not a sound was heard from the room of the fire dragon slayer. The man looked to Erza with a worried expression. "Hey Happy, are you sure hes in there?" He asked the blue cat.
"Yes Gray he's in there." Happy insisted. Erza and Gray looked at eachother before Gray stepped towards the door of the room and opened it. At first glace he didn't see the pink haired man sitting in the corner. A chill ran though the ice make mage. The desperation and sadness in this room was overwhelming.
"Natsu," Gray started spotting him the the coner. He walked over to him and knelt down in front of his friend. Sorrow gripped his heart seeing his brother so lost and hurt. "You should come to the guild with us." Gray told him. "We can go visit Lu- I mean her and have a couple drinks." Gray said to the man. He'd seen Natsu flinch when Gray almost used her name. They never spoke it out of respect for Natsu. Erza joined Gray in the room and knelt down to the floor to be level with Natsu and Gray.
"Natsu we can find a job while we're at the guild. We can leave first thing in the morning." Erza offered. He'd been working non stop for the past year trying to distract himself from the pain he felt. Erza could see how hard it was for Natsu to keep his promise, to stay alive. She figured this is why he only chose dangerous missions. He wasn't breaking his promise if something happened by accident. He shifted slightly at the prospect of getting another job. Natsu lifted his head to look at his three friends. Happy jumped into his lap and lay there trying to comfort him. His eyes were dark, almost black, with dark purple circles under them. He'd lost weight in the last year and his cheek bones were sunken in just a litttle. There was no fire in Natsu Dragneel today. Today there was only pain. Today was the day he'd be foreced to remember how he wasnt strong enough. This was the day he had failed to protect the most important person in his life. Natsu hated himself everyday but today was the day he hated himself the most.
"Lets go get some drinks up at the guild." Gray suggested. "We can go visit her afterwards." He added like an after though.
"Come Natsu, it might be good for you to talk to her." Happy said looking up into his friends face.
"I can't talk to her." Natsu whispered his voice heavy. "She's dead." Erza looked to Gray clearly not sure what to do about their friends miserable states.
"Yeah we know she's dead." Gray said fiercely. "We also know you promised to live for her Natsu. I don't see any living here." He accused getting to his feet and looking around. "Now get your ass up and get to the guild hall so we can drink away our pain today." Gray demanded.
Natsu looked Gray up and down obviously debating if he should kick his friends ass, he decided against it. Slowly and with creaking shaky limbs Natsu stood. His head was still downcast and his shaggy hair fell into his eyes hiding him from the world around. Erza reached for his hand but he pulled away and began walking out the door towards the guild.
"We got him!" Gray shouted as he threw open the guild hall doors. Everyone in the guild turned to greet the four mages that walked through the door. Many tried to hug Natsu and offer condolence on this remembrance day but he ducked them and headed straight for the bar.
"Mira," He grunted out. "Whiskey." He demanded holding up two fingers.
"How are you doing today?" Mira asked bringing him just one of the two drinks he had asked for and a plate of food. He pushed the plate away and downed the amber liquid.
"Bring me another." He demanded daring Mira to not bring him more. She sighed and filled his drink. Once she was done she sat the bottle on the table and walked away. Natsu drank the warm brown liquid from the glass before turning to grab the bottle. Everyone was staring at him. He could feel their pity filled eyes on his back. He didn't like this feeling. They should hate him. It was his fault that she was dead anyways. A lone tear streaked down his face unnoticed.
"Natsu." He heard Erza call from the job board. Standing with his bottle in hand he headed over to her, Gray, and Happy.
"Take a look at this job." She said handing him a flyer. He studied it for a moment before tossing it aside. It was a simple job of transporting goods. He glared at Erza knowingly. She'd been trying to get him to take less dangerous jobs. She'd even suggested at one point he stop going on jobs. He was being reckless she had said. He didn't care what she thought though. She didn't have to go if she was scared. It wasn't like he was forcing any of them to hang around. In fact he'd been pushing them away. He didn't deserve their loyalty after what had happened. Natsu stepped closer to the board to get a good look at the posted request. He scanned the board until he found something worthy of his time.
"This one." He grunted pushing it into Erza's hands. Despite his feelings he knew that we wasn't going on any jobs alone. "We leave at day break." He informed them and walked away. Erza looked down at the flyer that had been shoved into her hand. It was a request to kill a large demon that was terrorizing a town in the northern part of Fiore. It was an S Class rated mission and was marked extremely dangerous.
Natsu wandered out to the cool night air and took a deep breath. He brought the bottle in his left hand to his lips once more and sighed. He wandered around the town of Magnolia. Many people were closing up shop for the night. They waved and greeted him as he passed by but he ignored them. His feet led him down the cobble streets kicking up loose stone as he went. He was moving away from town.
He stopped himself when he reached the black iron gates. He peered inside at the over grown vegetation. Grey stones popped out of the ground in many places. There were brightly colored flowers of pinks, yellows, and blues on all of the graves. Natsu took a choked breath and took a swig of the dark tawny drink that was almost completely gone. He pushed the gate open and began to wander into the graveyard. He walked past many generations of loved ones long gone. There were no more families here today. They had all had their mourning time and were most likely home now eating and remembering fond stories of their family and friends that lay just below the surface. Natsu stopped when he reached on of the largest grave markers.
It was the shape of a giant key to signify that this was the resting place of a great celestial wizard. The stone was carved with beautiful symbols. All represented a celestial spirit that had once had a contract with the fair maiden. Natsu ran his right hand over the one that represented Leo the leader of the spirits and a close friend. He hadn't seen Loke since the tragic day and wondered if he ever would again. On the base of the statue read Lucy Heartfillia may her strength guide her loved ones through their lives. Natsu fell to his knees dropping the bottle in his hands. He let out a repressed sob as the gates burst open.
"Why Lucy?" He begged. "Why did it have to be you? I could have saved you if you'd just let me. I don't know how to keep living without you. There are so many things that I was never able to tell you. There were so many things we were never able to do. I miss you more than anyone could ever know. I love you with my entire being. I don't know how to continue living without you." Natsu sobbed to the cold unrelenting stone in front of him.
His hands dug deep into the earth like he would be able to pull her back to him if he tried hard enough. He sat there for a long time. The night grew darker and the stares grew brighter. He tried to pick out the constellations Lucy had shown him. He wasn't having much luck. He'd only been able to properly pick out the constellation of the virgin Virgo. He sighed knowing Lucy would just laugh at him and start pointing at others that he would only pretend to see. His eyes began to droop. The sudden exhaustion from the day catching up to him. He pulled himself into a ball and up against the statue not wanting to leave her just yet. Sleep had almost taken over when he heard the roar of something large coming for the forest near Magnolia. Natsu jumped to his feet looking into the darkness as lights began to flicker on in the homes around the city. He heard the deafening scream again and took off towards the sound. Fire lighting his eyes excitedly. He needed something to fight.
….
Well thank you for reading. I hope everyone enjoyed. I will try to update regularly if enough people follow if not then it will be at my own pace. This is my first attempt at trying a full story from beginning to end instead of just a one shot. Thank you all for your time and support. I will see you next time.
Goodnight and good luck