YOU GUYS ALL MADE ME SMILE! ALL YOUR REVIEWS/FAVORITES/FOLLOWS MEAN SO MUCH! THANK YOU! :) BTW I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL!
"I-Igneel… IGNEEL!" Natsu sat up and breathlessly addressed the scaly dragon before him. His eyes gleamed with joy and his heart pulsating erratically.
Tears formed in his eyes. His dad was finally in reach. He was sitting right there. He was actually with him. He, he could see him. He could smell him. He could touch him. His years of searching and then poof!
"I-Igneel…" Natsu whispered slowly creeping towards the dragon. He let the cloth of the blanket that sat atop of him slide off of his toned body, slowly making his way to his father.
Igneel gave him a curious eye, tilting his head. "Natsu, my son, what's wrong?" He sat nearby the young dragon slayer, curling his tail around his enormous body and resting his head on his long arms. He closed his eyes waiting for a response.
"I've finally found you." Natsu mumbled, reaching out a hand towards his father.
"Natsu? You're acting as if this is a new occurrence..." Igneel said, opening one eye to peer at the younger dragon slayer.
"Well… that's because I just found my Dad! Igneel! I'm so happy you're here!" Natsu breathed while stray tears flooded down his cheeks, now running towards the great dragon king. He threw his hands around the small part of Igneel's chin that he could embrace and squeezed him as tight as he could.
He couldn't believe his father, the man he had been searching for a myriad number of years, was sitting right before him. He just casually lay there, as if his presence was completely normal! He finally found him, but how?
Even though Igneel didn't really want to break Natsu's spirit this early in the morning, he still pulled the teen off of him and set him back to the ground with a sigh. "Natsu, you're acting even more strange than usual. I've been here with you for a while now."
Natsu lifted a brow at this. What did Igneel mean by a while…? "A while? That can't be true because I just found you now!" He retorted back, pointing a finger at his father.
"Natsu my boy what on Earth are you talking about? We have been living here for two years now in the East Forest. Anyway… your training starts in a bit why don't you g-"
"Igneel, where did you go?" Natsu asked shyly, gazing at Igneel with piercing eyes.
Igneel was caught off guard with Natsu's outburst. He never asked before this time... why all of a sudden now?
"I'm sorry, Natsu. We cannot discuss that." Igneel shook his head, creating a slight breeze.
"Why the hell not! You can't just get up and leave without saying goodbye and then not explain why!" Natsu screamed, shaking and wiping tears away at the same time.
He and his father use to be so close... what happened? He thought of his father as a great king, the one person- well- dragon he could trust no matter what. He wouldn't just betray his only son... would he?
"You wouldn't understand… I needed yo-"
"No, Igneel. I needed you." Natsu interrupted, more upset than angry with his father.
Igneel sighed and pulled his son close to him, for fear of letting go a second time. He knew how he felt and couldn't blame him, but he just wasn't ready yet.
"Natsu, my boy. I have never once stopped thinking about you." Igneel whispered in a heart breaking tone.
Natsu hugged him tighter, the old feeling of his scales becoming nostalgic. His cries slowed as Igneel formed a lop-sided grin on his features. "Igneel, I missed you."
"Good. Shows that your old man was some type of father." Igneel chuckled and watched his pink-haired pyro wipe the remaining drops of salt from his face with his thumb.
"Yeah, I guess." Natsu laughed back half-heartedly.
After that. they spent the rest of the day talking about what Igneel missed as Natsu grew older: the people, the battles, the guild.
"-and then I punched Gajeel in his stupid face! The end." Natsu stated with an air of triumph, posing like a warrior. It felt good to be able to brag to his dad. Really good.
"Uh, cool story my boy! Now, if you wouldn't mind, it is late and I need some shut-eye. Training starts 5a.m. on the dot." The dragon king said sleepily.
"Ok!" Natsu replied, enthusiastic about his first day of training with his father! Maybe it will be his time to surpass him!
"Goodnight, Natsu." Igneel whispered, half-asleep.
"Goodnight, … father." Natsu flopped onto his bed, well, his straw, and rolled himself underneath the covers. Everything was perfect. He wondered if everyday will be as good as today.
"Alright. Get up Natsu! Lets go train now!" Igneel said, walking over to Natsu's sleeping form.
"Happy, Lucy… five more minutes…" He muttered, turning on his other side.
"Natsu…" Igneel poked him with his talon, earning a groan from the boy.
Another tap: another groan.
Again.
And again.
And again.
"God of the mighty earth! I don't have time for this!" Igneel muttered, stepping back a bit.
He sucked in a deep breath and let out a roar that could, most likely, uproot a tree. Not his loudest... but sure enough ear-piercing.
"AHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL!" Natsu rocketed up and held his bleeding ears drums.
"Well, you wouldn't get up." Igneel stated, walking out of their hut.
"So… you make my DRAGON EARS bleed? Emphasis on DRAGON EARS FOR HEARING! I COULD GO DEAPH!" Nastu followed and grabbed his ears once again. The ringing was finally fading.
Though, Igneel didn't bother turning around. "Testing… testing. Testing, 1, 2, 3?"
"Wha…?" Natsu said, letting his arms return to his sides.
"You can hear, can't you?" The red dragon said with a smirk, coming into a clearing of trees.
Natsu scoffed. "You…you-!" he started.
"You have no comeback. I win!" Igneel started laughing at his son's frustration and inability to lose. He guessed he should teach him when to give in.
"N-no fair! Who says I didn't!" He stomped his foot in a child-like manner.
"I did."
"And who are you, dragon breath?" Natsu snickered.
"The winner."
Natsu eyes went wide and then he scrunched up his features. "W-Whatever…!"
"Natsu…" Igneel turned around to face his son. "I really did miss you."
"I missed you too, pops!" Natsu started to laugh and… and it finally felt like everything was normal, well, except for one thing…
"I would like you to practice that new technique I ta-"
Before Igneel could finish his sentence, Natsu ran out of the small hut, realizing what was missing. "I GOTTA TELL HAPPY AND LUCY!"
"… taught you last week…there he goes again…" Igneel said and put a talon to his face. "Ahhh what did I do wrong?" Sure, he did leave him alone as a boy in the middle of the forest without any sense of direction but that didn't mean it caused this to happen… did it? He put his 'realization' aside for now as he dozed back off, wondering why his son was such a hardhead.
"Hey everyone! I found IGNEEL!" Natsu shouted as he slammed open the guild doors with a gleeful smug on his face. He marched in and went straight into bloodhound mode, sniffing for a familiar scent of vanilla and another of fish.
"Yeah, yeah, Natsu. You tell us everyday; get over it already!" Cana shouted from the back of the guild, hugging a barrel of booze.
"NO, I JUST FOUND HIM TODAY! WHERE ARE HAPPY AND LUCY!?" He ran to the drunken woman frantically, swinging his head side to side looking for his prey.
"Jeez, calm down Natsu! And yes, I'm sure you found him right next to you like you do everyday when you wake up from bed-y bye." She snorted, flinging her head backward.
"Here Natsu! I'm here!" Happy said as he flew up to the avid man who greeted him with a flash of his white canines.
"Oi, what do you mean 'Where are Happy and Lucy?' We don't have a Lucy here." Gray shouted from another table, pant less. Natsu whipped his head around to meet his icy gaze.
"Cut the crap stripper and tell me where she is! I need to talk to her!" Natsu spat and swiped his hand in front of his body, gesticulating his growing impatience. Did that stupid ice princess have to extinguish his good mood so quickly? Why couldn't he just give him an answer instead of being such a dumb-ass! "What do you mean 'Where are Happy annnd~ Lucy'?" Natsu muttered the last part in a tone of mockery, crossing his arms. Tch… idiot. How could someone be so stupid?
"Who are you calling a stripper, flame brain!" Gray stood up out of his chair and flung it backwards, causing the guild to embroil.
"The talking underpants, dumbass." Natsu retorted, running up to Gray with a balled fist. Gray let out a grunt doing the same.
"Halt!" A figure approached the two idiotic mages with a truculent glare etched onto her face, daring them to continue. Why did these two always have to cause such a ruckus!
"E-Erza…" They stuttered in unison with fear crawling up their bodies, causing both to tremble.
The redhead took a deep breath before speaking. She had to be patient with these two whether she liked it or not. Which she really did not like. "Natsu, who is Lucy? There is no Lucy in our guild."
"Gray, your clothes!" Cana shouted while she snorted, taking a sip from her favorite barrel of beer.
The naked ice mage screamed mortified as he searched desperately for his dispersed articles of clothing.
"Yes there is and WILL YOU GUYS JUST STOP ALREADY YOU'RE GETTING ME ANGRY! THE JOKE'S OVER!" Natsu shouted with recrimination. He really hated how they were toying with him. They were really rapt into whatever prank is going on here but it won't fly by him undetected. Joking about Gray's face or Cana's drinking is one thing, but completely obliterating Lucy's existence as a 'joke' was another.
"Natsu… they are telling the truth and what has gotten into you?" Mira asked, dropping her task of waitressing and joining the conversation. She continued her train of thought as she sparked a theory in the back of her mind. Could it be…? "There never was any Lucy here unless you mean…"
"Lucy of the Heartfilia Clan?" Levy interrupted, having already figured out who he was after and not bothering to take a glance above. She was as curious as the rest of why he had business with her.
"YES LUCY HEARTFILIA, NOW WHERE IS SHE! I HAVE TO TELL HER I FOUND HIM!" Natsu shouted in haste, running over to the blunette who currently had her nose in a book. He already spent enough of his time dealing with them and it was getting pretty ridiculous. Even Levy and Mira are in on it! Today of all days to pull something like this!
"O-okay… flame brain." Gray said, gravitating towards the chair he had thrown across the room earlier. Once he found his place, he sat down and kicked up his legs onto the table and slapped his knee, all the while… cackling? "HAHA! Your must be a serious dumbass if you think she would come here. Of all places a rich heiress would go!"
Natsu turned to the ice make wizard and as dumbfounded as he was, still made his way back across the guild in a flash. His confusion quickly turned into anger as he grabbed hold of Gray by his shirt, lifting him up to the ceiling one-handed. "What the hell are you talking about! You should know more than anybody how Lucy loves it here and she loves all of us! You all should know! We are her nakama! Her family! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME YOU DON'T REMEMBER HER!" He spat, throwing the boy's body into a set of tables and chairs.
"NATSU ENOUGH!" Erza rebuked, letting her arm clamp down onto the pyro's shoulder with a thump. She spun his limp body towards her and handed him the daily paper that laid on nearby table. "Take a look at this."
He took the paper and clutched it with both hands, scorching the ends of the flimsy layers with the flames that now danced in his hands.
"What the hell is this crap!" He shouted inimically, starring down at his beloved teammate who was in the most elegant of dresses beside a man who was the image of sophistication. He wore a red suit and blue sash across his chest. He sat in a chair, similar to ones of royalty, on the left of her as she stood up beside him with her arms at her sides. There was no smile from either party but what Lucy did have… was a ring on her finger….
"That… is Lucy Heartfilia. The woman engaged to the rich duke of Bellinkaton, Duke Ryu." Erza said lowly and gesticulated a seat beside her for Natsu to take. He refused as he clutched his head with both of his hands.
"N-No… she's apart of Fairy Tail… m-my partner… how could this happen! No, this is all fake good one guys! Come on out Luce…" How could this be happening? How could they not know Lucy let alone Lucy being engaged! No, no. This was all- it was all- all….
He collapsed onto the floor and let his racing mind take over his body. People circled around him but he could care less. How could this even be possible? He tried to make the best sense out of it as possible, but… somehow it all seemed too real.
Happy was the first to try and shake the mage out of his thoughts. He flew up beside him and plopped right down next to him, trying to get a glimpse of his face that was now hidden by his draping bangs. "N-Natsu… are you alright?"
"Who me? I COULDN'T BE ANY GODDAMN BETTER!" He slammed his fist against the hard wood and dashed out of the guild. His goal: to find Lucy.
"Miss Heartfilia has escaped her room! Close the entrance and exit pathways! We mustn't let her get away!" A guard shouted as he discovered the one room that should never be empty, vacant. Down the halls of the great Heartfilia mansion, the troops marched frantically looking for the young and beautiful heiress. But little did they know, the blonde had already escaped and had the aid of her comrades at her side.
"Hah suckers… that won't do any good…Open Gate of the Maid… Virgo!" She snickered, running as she yanked a key off her belt and formed a bright light, letting her comrade step through the bridge between the real, and spirit world.
"Yes, Princess? Is it time for my punishment?" Virgo bowed before her 'master' and put her hands out towards the blonde.
"N-NO! Hurry and get me outta here!" She spat a bit taken back from her random outburst which she should probably get use to at this point.
"As you wish, Princess." Virgo put an arm under the bend of her legs and the back of her neck, holding her as they descended into the ground.
She snuck under the gate with ease. As she heard the harsh sound of the metal clouting the stone passageway, she smiled and took it as the perfect opportunity for her escape. Everything was going according to plan.
Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review! ~ Lauren