Writing on the Wall Pt. 2

Natsu found himself pacing back and forth in the guild.

"Natsu, can you stop that? You're scaring everyone," Lucy scolded.

"Hmm?" He looked up to see some concerned faces in the guild. It didn't dawn on him on what he was doing. "Right, sorry."

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," he said.

Lucy looked doubtful, but Natsu tried to shake off the look she was giving. There was a lot happening and Natsu found himself pacing around his table again. It's been two weeks since the incident happened with Gray and despite Natsu's reassurance in his friend, Gray has been a sporadic occurrence for the guild. There were days when he would skip out on the guild. Sometimes, the ice mage would often leave the guild as soon as he arrived.

"Natsu," Lucy said. "I know you're worried-"

"Me, worried? Why would I bother to worry about that ice prick?"

"Who said I was talking about Gray?"

Checkmate. Natsu took a deep breath and sat down next to Lucy. "This isn't like him at all, Luce."

Lucy sighed. "I know. I'm worried for him too. The guild isn't really the same without him around."

"You can say that again," Cana muttered on the side of the table. Natsu noticed how her slurring gotten worse since Gray disappeared. Probably because he wasn't around to control her drinking. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss his sarcastic remarks about my alcoholism."

"The guild is certainly too quite without him fighting you, Natsu-san," Wendy made a weak smile.

Natsu hated to admit it, but he stood by what he said during the incident at Avatar: Fairy Tail needs Gray.

"Juvia is also concerned about Gray-sama," Juvia said. "Maybe someone should go check on him?"

"Check on who?"

Natsu turned around in surprise to see Gray walk into the guild. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded. He tried his best to sound annoyed and angry rather than worried. Gray certainly had days where he looked better. He looked exhausted and seemed a bit pale. He was wearing his white coat, so Natsu couldn't see his arm. Gray must have seen his glance because he hugged his arm away from Natsu's sight, much to his concern.

"Some stuff to do."

Natsu narrowed his eyes as he watched his guildmate swarm Gray, fussing over him. Something was off from his rival and Natsu knew it. His instincts told him that. And his instincts was rarely wrong.

"Stop staring at me like that, Flame Brain."

"Like what?"

Gray ignored the question as he walked away with Juvia trailing behind him.

"He's hiding something," Natsu muttered.

"Well, what's new?" Erza sighed as she approached him. "But you know how he works. Just don't try to do anything reckless."

Natsu was taken surprise by what she said. "What do you mean by that?"

"No offense, Natsu but you always act before you think."

Natsu scowled. "Well, I don't see you do anything to help the situation."

"I'll think of something."

"It'll be too late then," he said as he walked towards job board. He had a plan in mind as he scanned for the job that seem to do the trick. "There it is," he muttered as he tore the paper out. He scanned the paper one more time and grinned in satisfaction. Perfect.

"What do you want?" Gray asked as he saw Natsu approach him. "I'm not in the mood to fight."

"Well, you don't have to," Natsu said. Thinking better than to talk, he handed the paper to Gray to answer the confusion written on his face. Gray hesitantly took the paper, as if it were an explosive. Natsu impatiently tapped his foot as Gray read the job request. He uncomfortably watched as Gray held the paper with a expressionless face. He wasn't sure if Gray was reading it or just staring at it.

"Sounds like a good job," Gray said, breaking the silence. "The town is off the train route, so no transportation required. Good luck, Natsu."

"You're kidding," Natsu said.

"No, I can be nice enough to wish you luck."

"That's not what I meant, you bastard. This is a team job and you're coming with us."

"Team job?"

"Yeah," Natsu said.

"Did you tell the rest of the team before me?"

Natsu shrugged. "I'm sure Lucy wouldn't mind the job. She'll start to complain about rent later today. Happy will always be ready to go."

Gray raised his eyebrows in suspicion. He handed the paper back to Natsu and shook his head. "As lovely as the job is, I'll pass for today."

"Come on," Natsu protested. "It'll be fun."

"No."

"It's boring with someone to pick on."

"You have Lucy for that."

"You get to beat some dark guild. How cool is that?"

"Not everyone loves to fight, Natsu."

"You get to see the country side of Fiore."

"Sounds boring."

"We can make a bet on-"

"I SAID NO."

Natsu flinched at the rare occurrence where Gray lost his cool. Gray must have sensed some people eavesdropping on their scene. He sighed before talking again, restraining himself a bit more.

"I get you're worried for me, Natsu. I do. But I'm doing alright."

Natsu felt himself bristle before responding. "It doesn't seem like it. No one says they're okay when they miss the guild for two weeks for no good reason."

"I said I'm fine."

"If so," Natsu said evenly. "Then taking this job shouldn't be much of a problem. I miss you, Gray. We don't have to fight or brawl, but at least take this job to show me that you're not in a real problem like it was last time."

Gray flinched at what he said. Natsu wasn't the type of person to keep scores, but Gray's stubbornness always forced Natsu to take desperate measures.

"There's no way out of this, is there?" Gray asked wearily.

"Nope!"

"Fine…"

"Awesome," Natsu grinned. He turned around to call for his team. "Hey, Luce! Erza! Get ready because we have a job now!"

Natsu breathed in the fresh air. The team was formed as Natsu promised it would. Lucy was eager to get on a job again because of rent like Natsu predicted. Wendy and the cats were also enthusiastic to be there. Erza reluctantly joined as well, giving a glare to Natsu beforehand. Is this the plan? She seemed to ask. He merely shrugged in response. The town they needed to reach was beyond the trails of the road. No transportation, much to the fire and sky dragon slayers' relief. They walked across the grassy field, a slight breeze to accompany them.

"It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Look, Lucy-san!"

"There's a river. We can go fish!"

Despite the smiles and cheers, the group held a delicate enthusiasm, as they didn't quite know how to approach Gray. He walked with the group, hands in his pocket with an emotionless face. He try to come off as annoyed that he had to come along, but Natsu knew better. His nervous side glances around the group and how he constantly clutched his right arm was a dead giveaway for Natsu to know that Gray was scared more than anything else. Natsu was hoping for an event where Gray would have a chance to say the problem. Well, that's what he was hoping. Natsu walked side next to Gray, occasionally glancing at him to see what the ice mage would do.

"It's rare to see both of you not talk or fight," Carles observed.

Natsu merely shrugged, trying to act casual. "Just thinking about the job that we have."

Happy looked back surprised. "Natsu, thinking?! Are you alright?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Very funny," he sarcastically muttered.

Gray, who looked up from the ground, also gave a small smile. "First time for everyone."

"Oh, not you too."

He made a small laugh along with Happy that eased the tension the team felt. Natsu also felt a bit relieved to see the banters Gray usually made.

"That reminds me, Natsu-san," Wendy shyly asked. "You didn't really tell us what the mission was about."

"Leave it to Natsu to not tell you guys anything," Gray said, shaking his head.

"Hey!"

It was rather simple: a small local town was experiencing trouble with a small band of mages nearby and asked for help.

"Exactly what part of "fighting dark mages" to be easy?"

"What? Lost your confidence?"

He merely shrugged in response, but he was smiling. At least Gray was making an effort to be normal again.

It was getting dark and the team decided to call it for the day and camp out. After lightning the fire, Gray volunteered for the first watch. Suspicious, Natsu didn't bother to go to sleep.

"Why aren't you falling asleep, flame brains?"

Natsu merely shrugged in response. "I guess I'm not feeling sleepy."

Gray rolled his eyes. "You gotta try harder than that."

Natsu didn't respond as the silence between them was filled with the crickets and the crackling of the fire. The girls were sound asleep, judging by the sound of their breath.

"What's going on with you?" Welp, he had to say it at some point.

Gray sighed as he darkly looked into the fire, unwilling to face Natsu. "Nothing."

"Funny," Natsu said. "I'd never have thought of you as a liar."

Gray uncomfortably shifted around. He still had his coat on and he clutched his right arm again. Natsu pressed on. "Is it your magic again?"

"I don't know, Natsu."

"Yes, you do."

"Look," Gray said. "I- I get that you're concerned, Natsu. And I'm sorry for not being able to be around the guild this past few weeks. But…"

"But?"

"I just needed distance."

"But why?" Natsu growled. "You always say that. You always say how you're fine when you're clearly not. You always distance yourself when you clearly need someone to be there for you. Stop shutting us out, Gray."

Gray mumbled something so softly, that even Natsu's heightened sense couldn't hear properly.

"What was that?" Natsu asked.

"I said I have to."

"You…what?"

"I have to, Natsu. I have to face this alone."

"That's bullshit," he snarled. He was starting to get annoyed with Gray's antics. "Why do you bother to keep us around? Why bother to be part of a family when you refuse to allow help from them? Friendship is two-way for a reason: we're always there for each other."

"Shut up, Natsu."

"No," he said as he stood up. He approached Gray and grabbed him by the necklace. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of your antics and your stubbornness." Just let us in.

"That's too bad, Natsu. You're going to have to deal with it then."

"Why? I don't get it. You were always there for people, so why can't we be there for you?" Didn't my voice reach you?

"BECAUSE I REFUSE TO BE A BURDEN AGAIN."

Stunned, Natsu let go of Gray as the ice mage only sighed. "Look, Natsu," Gray said as he collected himself. "It's getting late, and we'll have to get ready for the job tomorrow. So get some rest, okay? I said I'll take first watch and I'll wake someone up for the second one."

"No."

"Natsu…" Gray dangerously warned.

"I said no," Natsu said as he sat back down. "Do you take for me to be stupid?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"I'm going to ignore that," Natsu said. "You're probably going to pull an all-nighter and not wake anyone up. So I'm staying awake right next to you."

"I'm grateful for your lack of trust in me."

"Don't play games with me."

Gray shook his head, but he didn't seem to be as mad anymore. He even made a small smile. "You never listen to me, flame brain."

"How can I? Someone has to be the responsible one out of the two of us."

Gray only rolled his eyes but he seemed to have accepted Natsu's offer of help for now. At least, Natsu's offer to listen.

"Now tell me, what's wrong? Is your magic causing a wreck again?"

Gray merely shrugged as he took off his coat, showing his right arm bandaged. "I guess so. It's just more dominant than before."

Natsu tilted his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"You wouldn't understand, Natsu."

"Try me."

Gray stared at his arm. "Can you imagine yourself not being a dragon slayer?"

Natsu considered it for a while. His magic was with him for as long as he remembered. "No," he admitted. "Not really."

"That's unfair of me to ask. I mean, you were born as a dragon slayer."

"What's that got to do with this?"

Gray tilted his head, trying his best to formulate his thoughts. "You know how I was never a demon slayer from the start."

"Not that hard to think. I still forget you're one of us."

"Stop saying like it's an exclusive club."

"One of us. One of us. One of us."

"Shut up, flame brain." But despite the what Gray said, he was also smiling. There seemed to be a connection that Natsu felt with Gray after the incident with Tartaros. Perhaps it was because of their horrific death duel against Mard Geer together and how they were forced to fess up of their faith in each other. Or maybe it was because they both lost their fathers again. Sure, Natsu considered Gray to be his best friend even before Tartaros, but realizing that Gray became a slayer made a new bond between the two of them that only emphasized their relationship. He was a dragon slayer. He became a demon slayer. Fire and Ice. Their similarities and differences only intensified onward. Despite the light attitude, it was true. Natsu did feel like Gray was one of the slayers along with Gajeel and Wendy.

"Battle now with monsters, lest ye become a monster," Gray said, disturbing the silence.

Natsu tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"It's by a famous philosopher," Gray informed. "A nihilist, actually. One who claimed the meaningless of the world."

"That's rather dark."

Gray shrugged. "We can talk about the world some other day, but I think the quote rings true. Especially for us."

"Huh?"

"Natsu… Your dragon slayer magic isn't actually slayer magic."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You magic," Gray explained. "Wasn't designed to kill a dragon as much as it was meant to be like a dragon. You're not slaying a dragon as much you become one. What do you think dragon force is? You practically have scales. It's not much of dragon slayer magic as much as it is dragon magic."

Natsu chewed over the heavy information and its implication. Magicology wasn't his expertise, but he considered what Gray was saying. "I can see what you're saying, but when you say that… what about your magic?"

Gray darkly smiled. "It seems a part of me also becomes more dominant with my slaying magic."

"Is that what you meant: when you said to remember a time when I wasn't a dragon slayer?"

"I guess," Gray said. "I was already having a tough time dealing with myself before the magic, but afterward…" He laughed a bit. "I guess you can say I'm a demon now."

"No."

Gray looked up, surprised.

"I think you're wrong," Natsu said steadily. "You're not a demon. You're a mage at Fairy Tail. You're a stupid, exhibitionist who knows some pretty damn powerful magics. It's true, magic is alive and it becomes a part of you, but it's not you. You're Gray. Don't forget that."

The silence between them was deafening. Gray leaned forward, resting on his knees and just stared sadly into the fire.

"It's getting hard, Natsu," Gray said, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"The voices. The dreams. The thoughts. Everything is getting louder and louder. I'm losing control, Natsu. I'm using dangerous magic and the darkness is getting to me. One day, I won't be able to control it and it's going to hurt people."

Natsu didn't know how to respond. He saw Gray trembling helplessly next to the fire and he even saw a tear drip out of his eyes. "Gray…"

"Look how I lost control and it almost killed you."

Natsu winced. "That was a bad time, for both you and me. I was a demon and you were driven by-"

"By my own magic," Gray interrupted. "You had an excuse. Like you said, you were controlled by the very words by the Book of E.N.D. Me? I was just a pathetic slayer who tried to kill his best friend without a second thought."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Natsu said. "We were both in a rotten situation. I thought Lucy was dead and you literally watch Juvia sacrifice herself for your sake."

Gray scoffed. "How stupid can I get? Oh no, the one who loves me the most is dead. Quick, let me go kill my best friend."

"Would you please stop blaming yourself over everything that has happened? It ruins the fun on what you did right."

Gray sighed. "Natsu," he started to say.

"Yeah?"

"Promise me."

"Sure," Natsu said.

"You don't even know what the promise is."

"No," Natsu admitted. "But I'm going to keep your trust in me."

Gray lifted his eyebrows. "Don't make promises you can't keep," he warned. "Believe me."

"Then I'll die trying."

"Aren't you the one who told me to 'live for your friends'."

"Just tell me what you want."

Gray gave a pained smile. "I'm losing control, Natsu. I can feel it."

"Don't you give up," Natsu said. "Don't you dare."

"I won't," Gray said. "But… There will be a day that comes when I no longer can control the magic and instead, it will control me. When that day comes, will you stop me?"

Natsu scowled. He didn't like the prophecy that Gray declared. It wasn't right. "You're impossible. Losing control this. Don't wanna live that. Why can't you ever be simple?"

"Forgive me for wanting to have a complicated life," Gray deadpanned.

"That promise of yours," Natsu said. "I won't keep it."

"Natsu," Gray said. "God-forbid I say this, but you're the one who I trust the most. Please."

"No," Natsu said. "I won't because I won't have to."

"This isn't a joke, Natsu."

"I'm not joking around either. I won't have to keep this promise because you won't break your promise."

"What?"

"We're family and we don't give up on each other. But that also means we won't give up on ourselves. I'm not giving up on you, Gray. So don't you dare tell me now that you're going to lose against your own magic."

"Natsu."

"Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster. Well, guess what? You're a fairy, so you won't have to worry."

"That's not how it works."

"No. Fairy Tail rarely does what actually is supposed to work."

"You're impossible."

But despite that, Natsu can tell Gray was feeling better. "Get some rest, Gray. I'll take the second shift."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll wake up Lucy for the next one."

"She won't be happy," he snickered.

"No, but we will."

"Alright, good night, flame brain."

"You too."

"Oh, and Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

Natsu made a small smile. "Anytime."

Battle not with monsters, Nietzsche quotes, until you see for yourself that you do not become one as well. But let it be known, that's only the first part.

Natsu stared into the night, deep in his thoughts. Tomorrow, they would meet the mayor and be informed about the small band of mages. It would be a simple mission, where he would make a silly bet with Gray on take-down counts.

It wasn't until they realize the plan that Natsu would regret taking the job request. The dark mages planned on the resurrection of a demonic beast. Typical. But the presence of the demon must have triggered Gray into a frenzy. His magic would explode as the darkness would consume him. So that's what Gray meant, to lose control. To be consumed by darkness.

For when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss will also look into you.

And that's for part 2. Part three would be the last for "Writing on the Wall" but don't worry! More short storeis about Gray would come. Review and let me know what you're thinking!