/Author's Note/
I'm sorry for the long update! I was on my vacation my family. We went to my grandma and grandpa's house and stayed there for a couple weeks. I was really enjoyed my time with my family! Haha..^^
And this chapter is longer than another chapters. Also, to make amends, I update "Meow!" and "Online" story too! Enjoy!^^
Sorry for every mistakes in grammars and spellings..^^;
/Special Thanks to/
darkhuntressxir , ayame 67 , Rogue Soul Alchemist
for the reviews!^^
/Disclaimer/
Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. Not mine.
Chapter 4 / Never Changed
"You say good morning! When it's midnight~!"
"I'm at the payphone~ trying to call home~"
"Wow! You're great, Natsu! Next one is this song!" Lucy giggled in excitement.
"My turn now! Watch this, flame-head!" Gray smirked as he grabbed the microphone from Natsu's hand.
Singing and laughing all night, Natsu totally forgot about his 'appointment'. He was really enjoying himself with his friends.
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"Bye guys! Today's great!" Lucy waved good bye.
"See you tomorrow." Erza smiled and walked away with Jellal.
Gray and Natsu walked together since their house were on the same direction. "Better?" Gray asked.
"Yep! Much better!" Natsu grinned widely as he stretched his hands up. "It's fun! That's what a highschool student supposed to do, right? Haha!"
"What are you talking about, silly? You're just a normal highschool student yourself, aren't you? Hahaha." Gray laughed.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
"Hahaha. Wait a sec." Natsu took out his cellphone and flipped it. "Hello?"
"To the base camp. After school. Sharp."
…
Crap.
Natsu stopped walking and nodded with a small 'yes' couple of times. Then he turned off his phone.
"Who's that?" Gray asked.
"It's uuhh… M-my uncle. He's visiting me since yesterday, remember?" Natsu answered nervously. "He asked me where I am since it's almost 11 pm. Haha.."
"Oh.. It's okay. We're here anyway." They already arrived in front of Natsu's apartment without him realizing.
"Right… So.. Bye, Gray. Thanks for today." Natsu smiled.
"You're welcome." Gray scratched the back of his head. "Sleep well, Natsu. I don't know what you did every night, studying or working or whatever it is…" The raven sighed. "But you could always wake me up if you couldn't sleep. Well, if you ever needed someone to accompany you?"
Natsu's eyes widened. "….Actually-"
Rule number 4, never reveal your identity.
"Actually?" Gray tried to listen carefully.
"Thanks, Gray. I actually really appreciate that." The pink haired boy forced himself to smile.
"Well, whatever you say, flame-head. Remember, feel free to call me anywhere and anytime, 'kay? See 'ya!"
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BAAAMMM!
Gajeel shoved Natsu to the wall. "Why didn't you show up after school, brat?" There's a bruise on Gajeel's left cheek. Looks like he got a little punishment from Laxus because he forgot to text Natsu the day before.
"I was..*cough*… with my f-friends… *cough*.. Sorry.." Natsu held Gajeel's iron hand to loosen his grip against his neck.
"Enough, Gajeel. Release him." Laxus ordered and received a 'hmph' from Gajeel as he released Natsu.
"Our 'dragon' said to you, 'feel free to call him anywhere and anytime', didn't he?" Laxus smirked.
H-how did he…know? Natsu was still coughing.
"Then call him to come alone to a certain…desolated place..where you could eliminate him and finish this mission." Laxus said.
Hearing those words, Natsu gritted his teeth. "The deadline is…next week..,right?" He finally stopped coughing. "'Then I'm asking your permission to finish this mission alone by myself and with my own way…since Gray is…my best friend.." The very first person who would want to be friend with me..
The room was silent. "…Very well, then. I shall grant you my permission." Laxus agreed. "We'll wait until the last day of deadline. If you still hadn't finish it, I'll send the other members to eliminate you both. We will not let any single 'dragon' escape. That's 'Dragon Slayers' job." Then the leader of 'Dragon Slayers' dismissed the meeting.
Gajeel tapped Natsu's shoulder as he left the room. "Rule number 5. Feelings are not allowed to interfere the mission."
Natsu froze. Right.. No feelings allowed… But…he's my best friend..
"Hey, hey, Natsu-nii." Wendy tugged Natsu's shirt, waking him up from his deep thought. "Is this 'dragon', Gray Fullbuster, your friend?"
Natsu smiled softly and patted Wendy's head. "Yeah, Wendy. He's my very best friend."
"Oh… So this mission must be very hard for you, right?" Wendy said.
"Well… Actually, yes.. Haha.." Natsu laughed a little. Wendy could understand, couldn't she? After all, she's just a little girl-
"It's okay, Natsu-nii. Next week, after you eliminate him, I'm sure you'll feel so much better since there's nothing to be worried about anymore. We could continue our job as usual~. And since he's your best friend, make it a very quick kill so you don't have to watch him screaming in pain. As simple as sleeping, ne~?" Wendy smiled sweetly, yet filled with…evil thoughts.
Crap.. Even Wendy..
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Back to Natsu's apartment…
3 am.. At least I could sleep for three and half hours tonight. Natsu sighed as he laid down on his bed and put his hands on the back of his head. He took a glance at the bedside table and saw a small photo frame.
Looking at the photo, the pink haired boy smiled. "4 years since that day.. And we all never changed. Haha.."
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4 years ago..
It was junior highschool opening ceremony. All the students and their parents were chatting happily at one another. Some students were playing on the school yard. It was a very bright day and everyone was so cheerful.
Under the tree on the corner of the yard, a small boy sat alone, leaning on the tree's trunk. Some part of his bright pink hair shone because of the sunlight from the crevices of the leaves. No one dared to speak to him, yet the boy himself didn't seem to care about making friends. He knew everybody would think of him as scary or weird 'pink alien' or whatever crazy things they could think of. Just like in his elementary school.
"Oi." Suddenly a voice called him.
The pink haired boy, who's known as Natsu Dragneel, turned around only to find a raven haired boy on the same age as him stood not far behind him. "What?"
"Nothing. I saw a small glimpse of pink color behind this tree. Just curious." The raven haired boy, Gray Fullbuster, pointed at Natsu's hair. "So the pink thing is your hair, huh? Weird."
"Hey!" Natsu stood up abruptly. "Don't you dare mock me or you're gonna regret it!"
"Gray, what are you doing?" Gray's friends approached him and Natsu.
"Who's that?" A small blonde girl tilted her head while holding a red-haired girl who seemed to be her friend, along with another two boys.
Suddenly, Gray was tackled to the ground by Natsu. They were both struggling and rolling on the grass to beat each other. Gray's friends screamed and tried to stop the fight. Loke, one of Gray's friends, grabbed Gray, while Jellal, his other friend held Natsu and separated them.
Natsu struggled to be free. "Yes! I'm a crazy-weird-pink-haired-alien! Happy now? That's why nobody wants to be friend with me! And I don't need any friends!" He panted in exhaustion. "If all of you came here just to make fun of me, you better just leave me alone!"
Silence…
"Let us go, guys." Gray asked Jellal and Loke to release them both. Hesitated, but they finally released them.
After seeing Natsu who seemed to have calmed down, Gray finally spoke. "Look. I did say you're weird." And that words stabbed Natsu's heart. "But I didn't say I don't wanna be friend with you, did I?"
Natsu's eyes widened. He didn't believe that someone…someone would actually wanna be friend with him. Even after the horrible things he did to him.
"Natsu.." The pink haired boy murmured.
"What?" Gray couldn't hear his word.
"Natsu Dragneel. My name.."
"Gray Fullbuster. And that's my name."
Even they already told their own name, their pride made them refused to apologize. Suddenly, Ur, Gray's mom appeared. "Gray! Look at here!" All of them turned their heads to see Ur holding a camera. "Let's take a picture with your friends! Say cheese!"
While everybody 'cheesed', Gray and Natsu stuck their tongues out to mock each other.
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The next morning at school…
"Guys! Guess what! We're all invited to celebrate Levy's 18-year-birthday party!" Lucy said in excitement as she showed her friends the invitation cards. "And it's for 6 pm tonight, at Green Garden Hotel. It's said you could also bring your partner along."
"Finally! A party!" Loke shouted.
"Hey hey, Natsu! Wanna go with me?" Lucy offered.
"Sorry, Lucy. You can go on without me. I have something to do before attending the party." Natsu said. "I might be coming late, but I'll definitelly be there."
"Another 'secret job', flame-head?" Gray smirked.
"Well… Sort of.. Haha.." Natsu laughed.
"Then you could go with me, Lucy!" Loke pointed at himself. "I'll be your only prince for tonight."
"Aaaww… Do I look like have another choice?" Lucy sighed and accepted Loke's offer.
And everybody laughed seeing Lucy's reaction.
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That evening, Natsu was sitting on his bed. "Pocket knife, small gun,…" He's choosing the weapons to be brought to the party. "There's no way I'm letting Lucy and the others saw these things. Haha.." Natsu then slipped the weapons in some part of his clothes.
At Green Garden Hotel…
As planned, Natsu arrived 30 minutes late. He immediately greeted Levy and congratulated her. Then he searched for his friends.
There they are. Natsu approached his friends and started chatting and eating together with them. Suddenly, his phone rang and he then excused himself from his friends. After making sure no one was following him, the pink haired boy walked out to the roof garden. "What is it, Wendy?"
"Wow, you look great in that suit, Natsu-nii." Wendy clapped her hands.
"Thanks, Wendy. But you better be hurry or my friends are gonna search for me. By the way, how did you get in here?" Natsu asked.
"Rogue and Sting helped me. Hehe~." Then the petite girl pulled out a tiny bottle with some liquid inside it. "I'm just offering you a help to finish your mission, Natsu-nii~."
"Help? You mean that?" Natsu pointed at the small bottle on Wendy's hand. "What's that?"
"Poison~." Wendy smiled.
A/N: Any questions? Feel free to ask. Or maybe some advices? Thanks for reading! ^^