Last Chapter
And then his Dragon Slayer hearing picked up the faintest of heartbeats; soft and irregular, but undeniably there. Natsu looked down at her unconscious form and the notebook grasped in his hand. Keeping her in his arms, he opened the book and read from the very beginning.
The infirmary was quiet.
It would only make sense that it was this quiet; it was a little past two in the morning, and everyone was resting after the final battle they had won.
Natsu sat in a chair beside his best friend. Lucy's blonde hair was spread across the pillow, her cheeks pale and her form unmoving apart from the slight rise and fall of her chest that was the only sign of life. Natsu had sat on a hard, uncomfortable chair and not moved from it as soon as the battle was over. His eyelids were closed as he laid his head on the bed next to Lucy and even in sleep he kept one hand around Lucy's cold one.
There was a soft, golden shimmer in the air and a man in a suit appear, with a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose. He had a shock of unruly orange hair and while he was the very epitome of elegance, his expression was sombre. He looked at the sleeping figures and recalled the conversation with Porlyusica.
"Will she be okay?"
The afternoon light shone softly on the girl's face as Porlyusica looked at Loke with an unreadable expression.
"We don't know yet. Wendy and I have done our best but the girl's in a coma. Her body needs time to heal and repair itself. She may wake up tomorrow, next week or never at all. Be prepared for a long wait."
Loke swallowed and glanced at the blonde mage again. In her unconscious state, she looked so vulnerable and innocent. Loke looked towards the window at Natsu, his salmon pink hair standing out in the white infirmary. His hands were clenched tightly in fists and his expression hard.
Loke nodded once at Porlyusica before standing. "We'll check on her every day. Thank you."
Porlyusica's expression softened slightly. "Be prepared though; even if she wakes, she may not remember."
Loke gave another stiff nod before vanishing in a shimmer of golden light. Porlyusica gave Natsu a long look before walking out of the infirmary as well. As soon as silence reigned once more, Natsu walked over to the bed.
"Luce…I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
Nine more golden gate keys and five silver gate keys shimmered into existence as they looked upon the unconscious form of their master and friend. Loke smiled slightly at the two figures.
"Please wake up, Lucy."
Today marked the third month.
Natsu had gone to the infirmary every day for three months, yet Lucy showed no signs of waking. In fact, she stayed very much the same. No bright smile, cheery greeting or even movement was seen from the blonde. Natsu often saw her celestial spirits. He was surprised (and a little freaked out) when Aquarius showed up one day without any warning but she was shockingly kind and didn't make a single snarky comment. Natsu gradually got used to seeing Lucy's spirits around as well and talked with them on occasion (though he was still too scared to talk to Aquarius much).
Eventually, days passed, weeks passed and the third month of Lucy's comatose state had arrived. There were cherry blossoms that sometimes floated through the open window of the infirmary and Natsu knew Lucy would have loved it.
Erza, Gray and Wendy visited every day with Natsu, but Natsu always stayed the longest. The four friends would gaze upon their comrade as she lay still and unmoving, reminiscing about past adventures and telling her about new ones.
Natsu felt the need to protect his best friend more than ever. He didn't know why he felt this way (well, he did. He was just in a state of denial); all he knew was Mira was currently in match-making heaven. He just wished that Lucy would open her eyes.
Natsu told Lucy everything, every day. Everything from what he had at breakfast (which was quite a long list) to how many complaints had arrived for the Master that week. Lisanna had helped Natsu a lot. The two friends were close once again and bonded even more over their memories of Lucy, as Natsu discovered that she and Lucy were actually very good friends. It didn't really help Natsu's state of denial that Lisanna kept teasing him about his feelings for a certain blonde celestial mage.
Natsu made his way up to the infirmary as usual and was not surprised to see Loke already standing next to her bed. Walking up to her bed, Natsu grabbed a chair and sat down, sharing a nod with the celestial spirit.
There was a moment of silence before Loke took a deep breath. "There's something you should know…"
Natsu looked up. The celestial spirit looked weary and slightly…apprehensive? "What's up, Loke?"
"I, and all the other celestial spirits, feel that Lucy may be waking soon."
Natsu stared at him. "You're serious?"
"Yes. Though we don't know what she'll be like when she wakes," Loke replied with a glance at the blond mage. "Porlyusica warned us before that there may be some…difficulties."
"Yeah, I know. She'll be fine though." Natsu looked down at Lucy. Her face was still pale and peaceful but there was something about her unconscious form that didn't sit well with Natsu, and made her comatose state so much more real.
"She'll be fine."
The sky shone a brilliant azure blue and not a single cloud marred its perfection. The city of Magnolia woke to the bustling sounds of markets and the smells of cooking breakfast wafted through the open window of a small house just outside the town.
A salmon-pink haired figure lay asleep on the floor, surrounded by random pieces of furniture and clothing. Next to him, a blue cat slept soundly on a cushion, little puffs of air exiting his mouth as he breathed. The two looked so calm and peaceful that it seemed a shame to wake them.
"Natsu!"
The door slammed open with a bang and Natsu woke up, confused and blinking the sleep out of his eyes as Happy sat up blearily next to him. To his surprise, Gray stood in the doorway of his house but there was something about the look in his eyes that made Natsu nervous.
"Gray?"
"It's Lucy, she's–"
Natsu didn't let Gray finish his sentence. The dragonslayer tore out of the house and into the streets of Magnolia, closely followed by his two companions. The three friends ran towards the run down building with the Fairy Tail insignia and ran through the guild, ignoring the calls of their other friends and family. Finally, the three reached the familiar, white infirmary, where Erza, Wendy, Mira and Master were already waiting. Natsu skidded to a halt.
Lucy.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered, even throughout her three months of unconsciousness, but it was seeing her awake and sitting up, the sun shining softly on her golden locks, that took his breath away.
"Lucyyyyyyy!"
Happy flew happily towards the blonde but Erza stopped the new arrivals from moving. "Wait."
Natsu, against his better judgement, ignored her and ducked under her arm, his heart pounding painfully against his ribcage. "Luce!"
But he stopped short as soon as he saw her chocolate brown eyes because they held none of their usual warmth and happiness. Instead, all he saw were blank slates of brown. The girl on the bed looked at the mages surrounding her in confusion.
"Who are you?"
