Love and Despair
Prologue
"I never imagined that something like that would happened. Like a shadow that swallows everything up, my friends were defeated, one by one, by that man. That man that kept calling my name. I don't remember anything after that because I collapsed. I'm shaking just thinking the coward I was, I couldn't protect them. When I woke up, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like a sea of blood. I looked around to try to see someone, but I didn't saw anyone. I was scared to think that everybody died…no, I believed that everybody was fine, I believed that. I searched and searched and I kept searching until I found an Erza lying on the ground in the middle of a pool of blood, the blood that was the same color of her hair, a scarlet blood. I tried to wake her up, but seemed that I was wasting my time…she didn't wake up. Why? The great Titania. It was impossible…she would never give up to something like this. After a few minutes I heard her murmuring 'N-Natsu…save us'. My eyes filled with water, but I was happy that she didn't died. After that I tried to search for Wendy and I found her in a pile of rocks laying down. I tried so hard to wake her up, tears falling down my face. She woke up and smiled at me, 'Natsu-s-san…I'm glad you're alright…I knew that you'd come.', she tried to get up with that fragile body of hers. I told her to not forcing herself. Despite not having magical power the little sky dragon slayer attempted to heal everyone. The only thing I could do was lend my power to Wendy, so she could heal everyone fast. I wanted to leave that place. The place that almost was our graveyard. That voice cut my thoughts, 'Natsu-san…I healed everyone. Lucy-san is the last one. Where is she?'…Lucy, where was she? I thought that everyone was there, but Lucy wasn't… With the fear of losing everyone I completely forgot about Lucy, why could I forgot about Luce? She was the only one that I didn't want to forget. I asked Wendy for help and after an hour we found her…she was in a critical condition and she was in a great pain…it hurted me so much I couldn't bear watching her in that condition. After a first aid that Wendy gave her we, with the help of the Magical Council, were transported to our guild. But the problems didn't extinguished. What was to come, would be my greatest problem until now."
Chapter 1 – Night of Sorrow
"Several days has passed since that day. Most of the people on the guild have already recovered, the most critical causes are Juvia and Lucy. Lucy hasn't awakened since then and Juvia is in the hospital recovering. I have gone there every day 'cause I want to stay by her's side. I want to be the first person she sees when she wakes up. I want…"
"Hey Natsu. Wake up! It's morning already." – the blue Exceed said trying to climb onto my bed.
"Five more minutes…please"
"Don't give me that crap Natsu. We have much to do before going to see Lucy so, wake up!" – Natsu felt the covers being pulled back and he opens his eyes because of the sun coming through the window.
"Aye aye… 'Morning Happy" – Natsu said still half sleepy.
"'Morning Natsu. Breakfast's ready."
After eating breakfast they run towards the guild. The guild was lively as always as if none of that has happened.
"Good morning Natsu" - He heard someone shouting from behind and turned back.
"Yo Lisanna" – He greeted her with a smile. "You are up early today. What's going on? It's not like you."
"Do you think you're the only one to wake up early? You're wrong." – Lisanna seemed a little annoyed by his comment and to fix what he did he apologized to her.
"It's okay Natsu. I was kidding." – Lisanna smiled and turned back to go to where Mira was.
Natsu sat down at the balcony and Kinana asked him if he wanted something. "No Kinana, thanks." – She said to call her if he needed something.
He was lost in his thoughts when he heard someone. - "Hey Natsu, do you know anything new about Lu-chan?" – he turned to see a blue haired girl wearing an orange dress and a red headband.
"Oh Levy." – Natsu smiled. – "No, I don't know anything new yet. I'm going to see her today. Do you want to come along?"
"I wish I could but, Jet and Droy said that they have an amazing job to us, so I can't go today." – Levy seemed a little sad that she couldn't go.
"Don't worry Levy. I say hi to her for you." – Natsu replied. She gave him a huge smile and thanked him.
It was almost 2p.m and the pink haired boy decided to go to the hospital. Since that day the hospital was like a second home to him. He didn't want to leave her alone in a moment like that. She was a very important person to him, maybe the most important.
Already in Lucy's room in the hospital he was lost in thoughts. He remembered the first time they met, the moment when he saved her from the fake salamander, the events around Phantom Lord, that time with the clock hand and thought that if it wasn't for her, he didn't do any of that. He starts crying.
"Wake up Lucy. Please, I need you."
The time passed by and when he realized it was already 7p.m. He was going to go home when he remembered that Juvia was in the same hospital and he thought to go see her. He arrives at Juvia's room and knocked. A sweet voice inside ordered to enter.
"Hi Juvia. I was passing by and decided to pay you a visit." – Natsu said with a huge smile.
"Natsu-san. What a surprise! Please, come in" – she greeted me with charming smile.
"How you doing? I know that you're going home in 2 days. Isn't that great?" – Natsu started.
"Juvia's not dying hehe. Y-Yeah, it is great. Juvia is starting to hate this place. Smells bad. And the food? It's disgusting. How are Lucy? Juvia can't go out of this room so Juvia couldn't see her yet. Juvia heard that she has not woke up yet." – A little sad smile appeared in her face.
"That's right. She has not woke up yet but we can't lose hope. She will wake up, I'm certain of it. She is a Fairy Tail mage after all." – Natsu tried to smile the best he could to not worry Juvia.
"Lucy is a lucky girl…to have a guy like Natsu-san to protect her." – Juvia looked at the window. It was starting to rain. – "Juvia wanted someone like that too."
"What are you saying Juvia? What about Gray? It may seem that he's not interested but I know that he's worried about you." – Natsu tried to comfort Juvia, that started to cry.
"Gray-sama…he never came to visit Juvia…not once." – Juvia said with her tears falling down her face. After a short minutes she wiped the tears ans smiled at the fire dragon slayer. – "Sorry, Natsu-san, for seeing Juvia like this."
"Don't sweat it Juvia. I'm your friend and I'm here for whatever you want." – Natsu tried to make her better. – "Well, sorry Juvia, but I have to go now. I'll pay a visit tomorrow too."
"N-Natsu-san, you don't have to. Juvia is fine now…don't worry about Juvia."
"It's a deal." – Natsu smiled as he headed for the exit.
When he exit Juvia's room he looked to his arm and noticed that he didn't have his bracelet. Then he remembered that he left it in Lucy's room and went to look for it. When he was opening the door, he heard someone on the other side. Scared, he opened the door to see a blonde girl with a large bandage in her head sitting on the bed. He opened his eyes and a huge smile appeared in his face. He almost cried from the excitement.
"Lucy ! You woke up! I'm so happy. How you feeling? Are you sure you can sit? You should be laying down." – Natsu was thrilled with happiness, but then that feeling turned to be of confusion.
"Who are you?" – The blonde girl said.
"Huh? Lucy, it's me, Natsu. Are you still sleepy?" – Natsu said in concern.
"Natsu? I don't know anyone with that name".
Chapter 2 – This feeling I don't know about
"She don't know anyone with that name? She must be kidding me!" – Natsu thought as he saw that blonde girl looking at him differently than he was accustomed. It was no longer a sweet look, but a cold stare. The idea frightened him, just thinking that she would never remember him again. He tried to erase this sad idea of his head and with a big smile said:
"Ne, Lucy...don't you remember me? If it's a joke then stop it. I'm not enjoying it. There's no way you could forget about me. What about Levy, your best friend? Or Wendy, or…or Gramps…did you really forget about Fairy Tail?" – said that, Natsu started crying.
"Fairy Tail? What's that? Is it something that you can eat? And like I said, I don't know you. Where am I anyways? And you're scaring me like that!"
"You're in the hospital." – Natsu said with a sad expression on his face. – "And you're a member of the Fairy Tail guild. You're a wizard, a celestial wizard, to be precise. And I am a member of Fairy Tail too. That's why I know you. You…you were my teammate."
No more putting up with so much indifference, he ran…the dragon slayer ran through the corridors, he was against a few people along the way but he didn't care. He just wanted to leave that place, just wanted to forget what he saw and heard. As he ran, he could only think of those words that Lucy had said and felt increasingly miserable. He couldn't protect her again. This feeling was like many of knifes were piercing his chest. He couldn't understand the meaning of that feeling. "What would it be?" he thought. He couldn't stop crying. He just wanted to go home. In his way he saw Wendy.
"N-Natsu-san? What's happening? Why are you crying?" – the little girl ran towards him with a worried expression. – "Aren't you feeling well?"
"It hurts. It hurts so much Wendy. In here. It…hurts…so…much." – Natsu raised his hand to his chest.
"Wait. I'll heal you." – A concerned Wendy said casting her 'Sky Dragon's Healing Spell' on Natsu.
"No, Wendy…I'm not hurt. Not physically. It's in my heart. When I heard Lucy saying that she didn't know me, it started to hurt. I don't know what this is. I hurts so much that I want to die and I can't stop my tears."
"Huh? Lucy-san? She woke up? This is amaz..." – But she became silent for a moment. – "What are you saying Natsu-san? Lucy-san has amnesia?" – the little girl didn't want to believe what she had heard. She could only see her friend crying and felt powerless in that situation.
From behind them a person appeared and startled them.
"What you are feeling is…love."
"Love?" – Natsu opened his eyes and blushed.
Chapter 3 – The arrival of something new
A person approached them and said with a gentle voice:
"What you're feeling is…love."
They startled up and Natsu opened his eyes and with a slight blush on his cheeks asked alarmed:
"Love? No…Lucy is only my teammate. Right, Wendy?"
Wendy blushed a bit and said that actually they were always together and that made Natsu blush even more. They couldn't distinguish the person who was there with them due to being too dark and the moon was obscured by clouds, but they knew that voice was familiar. Meanwhile, the person passed under a street light and it turned out to be Erza.
"Oh..even the great Salamander can love. I didn't expect this. Since when, Natsu? Don't tell me it was love at first sight? Fufufu" - Erza teased a little more making Natsu get completely red. - "Seriously now, everyone in the guild already know the news. The doctor came in person to break the news. You have to be strong Natsu, and stand beside her. Right now she needs you, you can't go down. I'm sure she will recover, the doctor told us that if she stay with her friends, her memories could return. Natsu, nothing is lost yet." – Natsu had stopped crying after hearing the good news. Erza was right, he couldn't just leave her alone now. "She is a very important person to me, this time I will definitely protect her," he thought. The feeling of sadness and loneliness he was feeling gave way to a new light of hope. He put his best smile and thanked her two friends. There was still hope, and he would not give up until he saw Lucy smiling again.
The next day, Natsu was in his way to the guild and for some reason he found himself in front of the hospital where Lucy was. It was the day she would leave the hospital. He felt a tightness in the chest but a "Yosh!" made him gain guts. He was about to enter but thought it might not be a good idea. He didn't want startled her, she had just come out of a coma and had amnesia. He turned and headed for the guild thinking in the words that Erza said last night. - "Love ..." - Just the idea of them together made Natsu let out a slight smile and blush a little.
He was, without a doubt, in love with her.
Arriving at the guild, he was welcomed by Gray. - "Look who's here, if it isn't the brain flame. You're awfully quiet today."
"Shut up popsicle head... you wanna fight? Huh?"
"Bring it on!"
"Really, you two don't change a bit." - Said a white Exceed and Wendy laughed.
"What's going on here?" - Erza said with a watchful eye.
"N-Nothing ... we're friends. Best friends, in fact." - They both said in unison hugging each other.
Mirajane approached the table where they usually sit and made a request:
"Sorry to bother you, but today is the day that Lucy leaves the hospital and we need someone to accompany her to go home."
"I think that Natsu doesn't mind doing that." - Erza stated with a grin.
"How nice! Natsu, take care of her." - Mira realized what Erza wanted to do and smiled happily. Natsu, in other hand, just blushed.
"He liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes her! Aye." – said Happy with a sarcastic laugh.
"Stop it Happy!" – he turned completely red and began to chase Happy saying he wanted to kill the blue cat.
Erza smiled seeing it. Finally her friend realized his true feelings, she could not be happier for him but she knew that the road would not be easier for him. The only thing she could do was supporting him.
Chapter 4 – Celestial Night
Natsu was in front of the hospital's door. Many thoughts went through his mind. Lucy didn't react well the day she woke up from her coma and he was afraid that the same thing happened. He took a deep breath and entered the hospital. The hallways were full of people, some were having just a little flu, others were with bandages filled through the body. He reached Lucy's room and was faced by a nurse that told him that she was resting. "Resting? But she was supposed to leave today, right? And that nurse…she was weird." he mumbled while wandered the aisles. "Well, since I'm here, I'll go see Juvia." he said to himself.
He knocked on the room's door but nobody answered. He opened the door slowly and looked at Juvia's bed, she was sleeping. He sat in a chair that was near the bed but without realizing it he had woken her.
"Sorry…I didn't want to wake you up." He said with a smile in his face. Juvia sat in bed and yawned a little.
"Don't worry Natsu-san. Juvia was only resting a bit." She smiled and that made Natsu blush slightly. "Juvia is glad that Natsu-san came. Levy-san, Lisanna-san and Mira-san were here this morning and the doctor said that eventually Juvia can go home today." She smiled even happier, maybe because of the idea that she could see her Gray-sama again. Natsu grinned. "You are here to pick up Lucy, aren't you?"
"Yes. But the nurse said she was resting, I found it strange, but she said that Lucy was tired. Well, I guess I have to wait."
Suddenly the door was opened and a nurse looked at Natsu, it seemed that she was looking for him for a long time. "You're Natsu-kun, correct? Could you come with me? The doctor wants to see you." This instant Natsu thought that maybe something happened to Lucy after all.
"Lucy is alright?" The water mage rushed saying. The nurse said nothing. "Come with me, please Natsu-kun".
"Don't worry Juvia. I'll tell you something later." He looked to Juvia and smiled, looking at him Juvia felt more relieved even she knowing that he was awfully worried about his teammate. Natsu left the room followed by the nurse.
"Oh Natsu-san, is it? I'm Dr. Altur. I want to talk to you about Lucy Heartfilia-san. It seems that her condition got worse last night and we don't know why. When one of our nurses went there to give her medicine she was in much pain and she was saying only one thing. She was calling for someone." The doctor said with his dark blue eyes fixated on the person in front him.
"Calling someone? Who could it be?" Natsu said with a worried look carved in his face.
"Natsu. She was calling out for you, Natsu-san. Maybe her memories are coming back."
"Where am I? Why am I here? Huh, my head hurts." A blonde girl said while walking. She was in a dark place, it was cold and the girl was shaking but she knew one thing. "I'm sure he will come and save me. He always do." She stopped shaking, it was like someone was holding her, comforting her. She closed her eyes.
The moon's light came through the window of a certain hospital room. It was silent there and a certain girl woke up. She looked everywhere confused. She tried to get up but she felt something on her hand. She lifted her head a little and a saw a pink haired boy sleeping on the edge of her bed holding her hand. A tear fall from her eye and with the other hand she patted his head smiling. She felt him moving and halted the caress. He lifted his head and she noticed that he was crying.
"You wake up. How are you feeling? I know that you don't kno…" She place her hand in front of his mouth.
"I'm back Natsu." She smiled. That was the smile that the fire dragon slayer knew so well and missed so much. He started crying and hugged the celestial spirit mage. She hugged him back. "Sorry for worry you so much."
"Don't leave me again Luce. Promise me." The tears didn't stopped and they were becoming more and more thicker.
"I won't. I promise you." She hugged him tighter. She missed him too, and was happy to be with him once again. She smiled. "I won't leave you anymore."