Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Hello all! My apologies for the later than usual update, but sometimes life gets in the way, you know? Still, I'll try not to let it happen again. Hopefully the fact that this chapter is slightly longer than all my other chapters will make up for it. I also really enjoyed writing this chapter as it went along, so hopefully you enjoy reading it just as much.
Shameless self-advertisement: Check out my other story if you haven't already and you're interested! It'd be much appreciated.
Alright, on with the show! Comin' at you live with the latest chapter of Viscernal's A Diary's Secret!
Fairy Tail—A Diary's Secret
Chapter 7
4 YEARS LATER—YEAR 782
"One more time, Happy!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered. The blue Exceed groaned as he pulled on a thick rope with all of his might. By doing so, a poorly constructed net made of rope opened up and released a large boulder. The boulder plummeted down to where Natsu was standing at the ready, a large grin on his face.
Natsu cocked back his right fist as it became engulfed in flames. "Alright! I'm all fired up! Here we go!" He leapt into the air to meet the boulder head on. "FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Natsu threw his flaming fist straight at the rock face. It connected and with a loud cracking sound the boulder burst apart into smaller pieces. The pieces crashed into the ground with loud thuds and Natsu landed in a squatting position amidst the debris. He straightened up and pumped both of his fists. "Hell yeah!"
"That was great, Natsu!" Happy exclaimed as he flew over to Natsu. "You're getting stronger by the day."
Natsu, now 15 years old, had grown a lot taller over the years and his body was far more defined from all of the rigorous training that he had been doing daily. He was still searching for Igneel from time to time, especially when he heard a rumor about where he might be. He wanted to make sure that he kept growing stronger so that when he finally reunited with Igneel he could make him proud. He still had his mess of pink hair atop his head and he still had the same childish and loveable grin that he did when he first joined Fairy Tail five years ago. His taste in clothing did change, though. He favored an open, sleeveless black vest that showed off his chiseled body and his red Fairy Tail guild mark on his right shoulder, gray loose pants, and open toed sandals. Even as the years went by and some things changed, though, Natsu would never take off the white scarf that Igneel had given him.
Natsu grinned at Happy, who had gotten slightly bigger over the years, but was still a small blue cat. "That's 'cause this training that we do really makes you work hard!"
Happy nodded and plugged his tiny nose. "It also makes you stink really badly."
Natsu raised an eyebrow and gave himself a sniff. "Oh come on, it's not that bad."
"Stinky stinky," Happy chanted.
Natsu groaned. He looked towards his and Happy's house, which hadn't changed over the years. "Fine. I'll take a shower. We'll have to go to the guild, though. Pretty sure our bath is broken."
"It is? Natsu, what did you do to it?"
A tick mark appeared on Natsu's forehead and he shook his fist at Happy. "I didn't do anything to it! It just broke!"
Happy shrugged. "For some reason I'm having a hard time believing that."
Natsu gritted his teeth together before turning on his heels and storming off. "Whatever. I'm going to the guild."
Happy took to the skies. "Hey, wait up, Natsu!" he cried as he flew after his father.
The Fairy Tail guild hall was the same as ever. There were a few new faces and a few faces that had left, but in general things stayed the same. The main hall was still a large room filled with tables and chairs set up all over. There was still a very popular bar frequented by Master Makarov and his drinking buddies, Macao and Wakaba. The mission request board was still filled to the brim with job postings for the boisterous but effective Fairy Tail mages. The staircase to the second floor still sat nestled behind the bar.
The guild may not have changed, but there were some major events that greatly impacted the guild. At the end of the year 778, Laxus Dreyar, Master Makarov's grandson, became an S-Class mage after winning the S-Class Trials. Since then, he spent a lot of time sitting alone on the second floor where the S-Class jobs were posted.
Two years later, at the end of the year 780, Erza had taken the S-Class Trials at the young age of 15. She was magnificent, unbeatable, and downright terrifying and passed the Trials with flying colors, becoming yet another Fairy Tail S-Class mage.
The year 781 saw Gildarts Clive, Fairy Tail's strongest member, leave yet again for a job. However, this was a 100 year SS-Class job, so Gildarts was going to be away for quite some time. No one even knew what the job was, except for Master Makarov of course. Months later, before the year ended, the S-Class Trials were held again and this time, the Demon of Fairy Tail came out on top; Mirajane Strauss. As soon as she passed, she began butting heads with Erza even more and Laxus even began flirting with her.
Natsu opened the doors to the guild and began making his way to the showers in the back. "Man I'm so hungry," he moaned. "I wish I didn't have to wash up right now."
"You smell so you should wash up," Happy said.
"Would you stop pointing that out?" Natsu snapped. "I get it already."
Happy veered away and flew off. "You go shower. I'll go find Lisanna."
"Sure."
Happy flew around the guild hall in search of his mother. People smiled and waved upon seeing him and he returned the smile and wave. Eventually, he found Lisanna sitting at a table with Elfman and Mira. "Lisanna!"
Lisanna, now 15 years old, was now much taller. Her white hair was also slightly longer, now coming down to the base of her neck. She wore a dark red short dress that had a light pink collar and a white bow with pink sleeves that were held on by gold rings just above her elbows. Her childish body had also developed some, but she still had a lot of growing to do. She looked up at the blue cat, smiled wide, and held her arms out to him. "Hi Happy! Where's Natsu?"
Happy flew into arms. "He's stinky so he's showering."
She pet his head. "Why isn't he showering at your house?"
"Natsu broke the shower."
"That wasn't a smart thing to do," Elfman replied. Elfman was now 16 years old and was much bulkier and taller than he was four years ago. His white hair was fairly short and was spiked straight up into the air. He wore a dark blue button down shirt and pants. He still had a very innocent and submissive demeanor, but felt like he had come a long way over the years and was strong enough to protect his sisters now. "He should really be more careful."
"That's just Natsu," Happy said.
Mira stood from her seat. She was now 17 years old and the most recent addition to the S-Class ranks. She had become quite a beautiful young woman, but her mean streak hadn't completely subsided. She had stopped her pranks, but she still found ways to keep her reputation up as a demon. Her white hair was slightly longer. Her bangs flowed down over her shoulders and her hair was still tied in a ponytail by a purple ribbon. She had lost her gothic attire from when she was a young teenager, but still opted for darker clothing, choosing to wear a black low hanging halter top that accentuated her large breasts, a short purple skirt with a white belt, and black stockings that went up to her mid thigh. "In the shower, huh? How foolish of him to lower his guard like that."
Lisanna sweatdropped. "He didn't lower his guard, Mira. He's taking a shower. Now don't bother him."
"Aw, why not?" Mira said with an evil grin. "I could show him a thing or two."
Lisanna blushed furiously at the implication. "Big sister!" she complained.
Mira laughed. "Fine, I'll leave him alone for now."
"What's this? Is Mira being considerate?" Erza said as she walked over to the siblings. Erza, now 17 years old, had started holding herself with a lot more confidence since she first joined the guild six years ago. She tended to constantly wear a suit of armor called Heart Kreuz Armor and underneath that armor she wore a plain white blouse and a blue skirt. Her scarlet red hair had grown long over the past four years and it was no longer in a ponytail. Instead, she chose to let it flow loosely down her back. She was still a very serious person with a strong personality, but it had become far more difficult to coerce her into a fight. The only way Mira could possibly irritate her enough to instigate a fight these days was to turn to a classic; mess with the cake mix.
Mira sneered at Erza. "Oh, I'm plenty considerate. Many say I have a heart of gold."
"They tend to say it only after you threaten them to do so," Erza retorted with a grin.
"It sounds to me like you want to fight," Mira said.
"Still as violent as ever. I was hoping being an S-Class wizard would mellow you out some," Erza replied.
"Easy you two," Elfman said, trying to smooth out the tension between the two women. "No need to fight here."
Erza turned to Elfman. "You're right, Elfman. Fighting would be foolish. Well then, I'll see you three later." She walked away with a wave.
Mira clenched her fists. "Damn her. She only came over here to irritate me. I mean come on. She was barely here for ten seconds."
"Just let it be, big sister," Lisanna said. "You two have been better lately. Don't ruin the tentative peace."
Mira began to walk off. "Yeah, whatever."
Natsu let the hot water run down his naked back as he stared blankly at the wet tiles. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the feeling of the thick and humid air filling his lungs. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.
Things had been so peaceful over these past four years. There were no major fights or anything of the sort between guilds or even between guild mates. The last time such a thing occurred was when Natsu had read Mira's diary and had angered her so much that she basically wanted him dead. Her rage had lasted for a long time and then suddenly, just like that, it was gone without a trace for no reason whatsoever. For four years, the reason behind the transformation back to normalcy had been eating away at Natsu, constantly pushing itself to the front of his mind whenever he let his focus wander. For four years he had been dying to ask Mira why she changed her mind after what he had done. He came so close to asking multiple times, but not once did he even get the first sound out. Every time he approached her to ask and she looked at him, he froze up and either passed it off as nothing or asked something completely different or stupid.
And the reason for this was simple; Natsu was afraid.
He was afraid that bringing up what happened four years ago in any way would possibly tear the seams of this fix. 'What if bringing it up makes her angry again? I don't want to destroy this bond. I should just be happy that things are the way they are and leave it at that, shouldn't I?' These were the questions that Natsu constantly asked himself whenever he considered asking Mira. This is what tormented the young Dragon Slayer for four years and prevented him from obtaining the closure that he needed to put the whole ordeal behind him.
Natsu turned off the shower and shook his head vigorously, sending droplets of water flying in all directions. He stepped out, quickly dried off, and then threw on his outfit. "Now time for food!" he said as he made his way for the door. He opened the bathroom door.
"Hey there, Natsu."
Natsu froze. Standing in the doorway was Mira. "Mira? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I heard you were cleaning up, so I wanted to see if you needed help with anything," she said with a wicked smile. She blushed slightly while putting a hand to her cheek. "Like maybe washing your back."
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Since when have I ever needed help showering?"
Mira pressed a finger against his bare chest. "Well you are a very helpless person."
"Hey!"
Mira burst out laughing. "Man I love your reactions!"
"Knock it off, Mira," Natsu pouted.
"Oh calm down. I'm only teasing you," she said while putting her hands on her hips.
"Ha ha. Very funny. Now can you move, please?"
Mira shook her head. "Nope. I did come here for a reason, you know."
"And that would be?"
She leaned forward and winked at him. "You're taking me out today."
"Do we have to do this?" Natsu groaned as he followed behind Mira with multiple shopping bags gripped tightly in his hands.
Mira grinned at him over her shoulder while they walked. "Yes we do. It's been a while since we spent a day together just the two of us."
"Yeah I guess it has been a while," Natsu admitted, "but why do we have to do all of this shopping?"
She turned forward again. "Because I like shopping. Don't you?"
"Not really."
Mira hummed. "Okay then. What would you like to do?"
Natsu blinked. 'Did…she just ask what I wanted to do?'
Mira looked at him over her shoulder again. "Earth to Natsu. You in there?"
"Oh…um, yeah," Natsu replied dumbly.
Mira giggled. "You really are something else."
Natsu shook his head. "Right. Well I think it would be fun to get some food. I never got to eat at the guild like I wanted to."
"Okay. I know just the place."
"Great!" he cheered.
The two went into a small diner where Natsu could get a mountainous burger and Mira could have a cup of tea. The two mainly sat in silence since Natsu was busy stuffing his face, but it didn't bother them. It was comfortable. Natsu ended up paying the bill. Mira had said it's what real men should do. He didn't quite get it, but he just sighed and did what he was told. It's not like it was a large sum so he didn't really care all that much. Besides, Mira seemed to have a genuine smile when he agreed to do so. For some reason that made him feel really good.
The two continued to roam Magnolia, stopping in store after store as Mira perused the selections. The hours almost flew by, for Natsu found himself having fun, strangely enough. After all, he hated shopping so why was he laughing with Mira and having such a good time doing so?
It was late afternoon when the two stopped by the river.
"Look, Natsu," Mira said while pointing ahead. "Do you remember this place?"
Natsu followed her finger to see that she was pointing at a bridge. He blinked. "A bridge? What about it? There are tons of 'em in this town."
Mira dropped her hand and smiled sadly. "Never mind. My house is on the other side. Let's walk across, okay?"
"Sure," Natsu said, his eyes fixed on Mira. She seemed sad, but why? He was sure that she had fun. She was laughing and smiling all day. It was a side of her that he had truly never seen. So then why did she seem so unhappy?
The two walked over the bridge in silence. Once they reached the center of the bridge, Natsu looked off to the side. The setting sun reflected off of the water of the river and made it shine like it was filled with gold. And then he froze. "I remember," he whispered.
Mira stopped. "What was that?"
"I remember this place."
She turned to face him, her eyes filled with hope. "You do?"
He looked at her with a smile. "Yeah. This is where you dragged me when you wanted to get our picture taken."
Mira frowned. "You don't have to make it sound so bad. Idiot." She turned her back to him, preventing him from seeing the slight blush on her face. "Still, I'm glad you remembered. I know it may not be so for you, but that was a special memory for me."
Natsu stared at her. 'It was a special memory for her?' He clenched his fists and took in a big breath. "Mira, I need to ask you something."
She turned to him. "What is it?"
"Why did you change?" he blurted out, knowing that if he started to think about it, he may try to avoid it again.
"Change?" she repeated.
"Yeah."
"What do you mean change?"
Natsu grinded his teeth together. 'Damn it, she's making this difficult!' He took another deep breath. "Why did you go back to treating me the way you used to?"
Mira sighed. "I still don't get what you're asking. What are you talking about? And try using some specifics this time."
He took a step forward. "After I read your diary, you were ready to kill me. You ignored me and treated me so coldly. You wanted nothing to do with me. And then all of a sudden, you stopped. You started teasing me like you used to. You changed and…I was curious as to why."
Mira stared at him as if she were analyzing him. Their eyes were locked, neither looking away. After what felt like eternity to Natsu, Mira closed her eyes. "I see. So that's what you were getting at," she said softly.
Natsu looked at the wooden boards. "Sorry. I just really wanted to know. I've wanted to know for a while."
"So you decided to ask four years later. Interesting, yet typical Natsu."
He gulped nervously. "So?"
Mira turned around so her back was to Natsu. "Don't get me wrong; I still haven't completely forgiven you for what you've done."
"Right," he said sadly.
She opened her eyes and looked up at the golden sky. "I still haven't completely forgiven you for what you've done, but part of me just can't stay mad at you." She turned around and gave him a sincere and genuine smile. "Whenever I think about that stupid grin of yours, I just can't bring myself to hate you or stay mad at you."
Natsu's eyes widened. He felt his face get strangely hot. His heartbeat felt heavy as it beat faster than ever before. 'What the hell is this weird feeling?'
Mira took a small step forward. "So do you feel better now after asking that burning question of yours?"
He nodded slowly. "Uh huh."
"Good. Now how about you take me home?"
"Sure thing."
The two continued their walk in silence primarily because Natsu was too stunned. 'I don't get this. In all of the years that I've known Mira, I've never seen her act like this or talk like this or smile like this. And why did I get that funny feeling in my chest before? I wonder if it's something I ate.' He glanced at Mira out of the corner of his eye. She was looking straight ahead, but she was still smiling and that made Natsu smile. 'Eh, better not to think about it too much. At least I finally got the answer that I was looking for.' He returned his gaze to the road ahead. 'Alright, now I'm more determined than ever! I will figure out what to apologize for, Mira. Then you'll have no choice but to completely forgive me!'
"Natsu, where did you go yesterday?" Lisanna whined.
Natsu scratched the back of his head as he sat with Lisanna in the guild hall. "Sorry about that. I was with Mira. We left pretty quickly, so I didn't get the chance to say anything to anyone."
Lisanna sighed. "Oh well, it can't be helped. I guess I'll just have to ask you now."
He blinked. "Ask me what?"
She blushed as she wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. "Well I…I was wondering if you'd go out with me today."
Natsu thought about it. 'Go out with her today? Is that the same thing as taking someone out like Mira asked yesterday? If it is, then that means that she just wants to hang out like usual. That's weird. If she just wanted to hang out like usual, why'd she have to ask in such a strange way?' He gave her a big grin. "Sure! Sounds fun!"
Lisanna giggled and clapped her hands. "Great! I'm so happy!"
Natsu thought her reaction was slightly unusual, but just shrugged it off as Lisanna acting strangely today. The two got up and headed for the exit to the guild hall.
This did not go unnoticed by Mira, who was sitting at the bar and watching the two intensely. She watched Lisanna squeal in delight. She watched the two stand up from their table. She watched them leave the guild hall. She felt her chest tighten as her grip on her glass tightened as well. "Natsu…"
