A/N: Mua-ha-ha! I'm back baby! :D
I might have made Natsu slightly OC in this chapter. I got the idea for this chapter awhile ago, and it is kind of crucial for the ongoing story (and I know it's short!) But I hope you like it! :) For more information please read my A/N in the end when you're done reading this chapter :)
Oh, and I forgot to thank suikodengel for the inspiration and idea to the prank in chapter 6! If it weren't for you I wouldn't have thought about making a prank where Gray is the victim. So thanks a million! 3

Today I'm sending Happy out with fish flavoured candy to all of you guys reading, following and reviewing this story. I know it might not sound that delicious but I made a deal with Happy, that if he was to deliver the candy he would be the one deciding the flavouring :)

Disclaimer: Do I look like a Japanese guy called Hiro? But.. I'm blonde... damn it... Well I'm not Hiro so I don't own anything...


Chapter 7: The sound of a dragonslayers heart
He didn't know where he was going or for how long he had walked. At the moment he didn't even register his surroundings. He just kept walking in some sort of daze through the jungle one step at the time. He supposed he just wanted to get as far away as possible to make sure he was alone. But another reason was that it was kind of relaxing just wandering around without any aim.
He came to a halt as he reached a huge lake. Blinking a few times he turned his head and took his time to take in his surroundings. It was really quiet in this part of the jungle. The only sound he could hear came from the jungles insects and birds. The lake was pretty huge and it's blue colour could tempt any normal person to take a quick dive in it. All in all this place was sort of harmonic and peaceful. Narrowing his eyes he noticed a huge rock piercing through the lakes surface. It seemed to be the perfect location for him to enter stage 2 of his plan. Mainly because it looked like a place where the chance of him being interrupted was rather slim.
Nodding to himself he reached into his pocket and found the piece of wood he had been working on. He took a minute to look at it. He had been pretty thorough making it so he was sure it would work even though he hadn't tested it yet. Sighing he put the item in his mouth and started stripping until he was only wearing his boxers and his scarf. When he was done he started swimming towards the rock in the lake. It didn't take long for him to reach it and he quickly climbed it putting himself in a sitting position with his legs crossed.
Grabbing the piece in his mouth he let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head. There really was no turning back at this point was there? Letting out another sigh he looked at the item in his hand. A professional wouldn't recognise his creation as something remotely appropriate to play on but he didn't care. It was his flute and he had made it with his own craftsmanship. No one except Happy of course, knew he could build something like this, nor did he want anyone to know. He would actually prefer dying with this secret than letting anyone else know this about him. Like Elfman would say, it wasn't manly to play the flute. Well that was what he wanted to believe at the moment. In reality Elfman might say a man knows how to work an instrument. The thought made him shiver slightly.
Shaking his head he took in a hive of air and put the wood to his mouth. After playing a few notes he dropped the flute and looked at it for a moment. Clearly proud that it did work the it was supposed to. He kept staring at the flute for a couple of minutes. Why was he hesitating? It wasn't like he hadn't done this before. Yes, it had been awhile since the last time but he could still remember how to play some of the basic notes. And even if he couldn't it didn't really matter because he was all alone so no one would hear the false tunes or how horrible the melody he created might sound like. With that he started playing. He didn't think about the tunes he played. His actions was controlled by his feelings telling him what notes to strike. The pain, the loneliness, the confusion. Breaking all barriers that kept the feelings he couldn't control or understand within himself locked away, he let go and allowed himself to be consumed in the vortex of emotions and thereby let go of control of his actions.
He could feel it. The pain scratching him to pieces on the inside was slowly escaping and forming into a melody. A knot of sadness, anger and confusion was slowly loosened and his mind slowly straightened out some of his thoughts. All of those thoughts that had ravaged trough his head twirling randomly around, was slowly being organized through the melody escaping the flute.
He could feel the tears escaping his eyes as he kept playing but he didn't care.
An image of Igneel suddenly appeared in his mind. Still playing he kept pursuing the image trying to remember what the dragon had told him so many years ago. He knew the information was vital but he couldn't remember why. Then it happened. He could hear his voice speaking to him from a memory that happened long time ago...

"Natsu someday you will come across this thing called love. It's a hard thing to put into words and I can't make you understand the feelings behind it. One day you will experience it and it will be something amazing and terrifying. You will form a bond with someone special to you and it will be more unique than that you have to a friend or family. I know it's hard to understand but no matter what you should not underestimate this bond. It's a bond you and that special someone have together and it will drive you insane, but at the same time it will strengthen you. It will weaken you because you won't understand it at first. But when you do and you acknowledge your feelings there won't be anything in this world that could separate you. In that way you will be stronger and can overcome any obstacle if it is for you and the person you share this bond with. Heck, if the devil took the one you love away you would have the power to barge through hells gates and bring her back. You would have this power because if you lost that special person it would feel like your soul and your very existence was being ripped into pieces. I know you're young now and it is too soon for you to understand what I'm telling you, but someday you will see it. You will know this strange thing called love and it will be beautiful and scary at the same time"

He stopped playing and opened his eyes. Was that it? Was that the reason behind his mood lately? Lucy was special to him but was this what Igneel called love?
Tilting his head upwards he felt a numbness covering his body as a warm breeze engulfed his body. He closed his eyes and felt a sudden calmness slowly consuming his soul. Yes that had to be the answer. It felt right when he thought about it. He couldn't help smiling towards the sky as he let the realisation hit him with full force. Now all he had to figure out was what to tell Lucy. Wait did he have to tell her? He could end up destroying everything if he told her. Letting out a yawn he laid down and closed his eyes. For now he would keep it to himself. Maybe someday in the future it was destined for him to act on his feelings. But for now he didn't really care, he was too tired to really give it any thoughts at the moment. With that in mind it didn't take long for the dragonslayer to fall asleep and soon he was snoring peacefully with a smile on his face.

Behind a bush not far away a blonde girl was watching the dragonslayer with tears streaming down her face. The song he had played was so beautiful and yet so sad. She knew music could have a strong effect on your emotions from the times she had listened to Lyra playing. But there was something more personal and effective by the tunes Natsu had played that moved her in a way she had never experienced before.
Feeling something tug at her skirt she looked down at a blue cat who was crying to.
"Happy, when did Natsu learn how to play a flute?"
"Igneel taught him. He told Natsu to use music as a way to express his feelings because some feelings like pain and loneliness can be hard to explain in words. And Igneel said that there are some feelings that are so deep that you can't control them and eventually they will try to consume you. Sometimes it could even split you in half dividing you in anger and sadness"
"That sounds horrible"
"Mmm! That's why he told Natsu to play the flute when he felt he couldn't understand his feelings. He told me that it would feel like his heart was made of glass and that suddenly someone took a baseball bat and smashed it to pieces leaving it scattered and broken all over the place""
"Poor Natsu. Have you ever heard it before?"
"No this is the first time... Lucy?"
"Mmm?"
"We shouldn't tell Natsu or anyone else we heard him play. I think this is one of those personal things that we shouldn't have heard. And I know he doesn't want anyone to know that he can play the flute, so lets keep this to ourselves"
"Yeah, I guess your right. I won't tell anyone I promise. Now come on!"
"What are you doing?"
"We can't just leave him there. For some reason the animals on this island tends to come back and bite you in the... nose..."
"Really?"
"Mmm! Happy can you carry him?"
"No... I'm so tired and hungry that I might drop him"
"You're not just being lazy are you?"
"What? No I'm not! You're mean Lucy!"
"Yeah, yeah whatever"
"Lucy why are you stripping?"
"I don't want my clothes to get wet! Stop being so perverted! Now come on I need your help getting him on my back"
"Only if I can use your head as a boat"
"...sure... now come on you lazy cat"
Lucy felt the annoyance marks spawn on her head as soon as she started swimming with the exceed on her head. Why did she always end up in situations like this? When they reached the rock they climbed on top of it and soon found themselves sitting next to a snoring dragonslayer.
"Hey Happy couldn't we just wake him up and ask him what he's doing here?"
"No, sometimes he sleeps too hard for anything to wake him up"
"You don't say... Well can you at least help him up on my back? And when you're done can you please collect our clothes? If I'm not wrong it looks like Natsu's clothes are laying over there"
"Aye!"
Somehow they managed to get Natsu on her back. Letting out a sound of annoyance Lucy crawled down from the rock and found herself swimming with another passenger this time. Really she should start taking money for her services as a boat. Looking up she noticed Happy flying with Natsu's clothes. He was too tired to carry him? Riiiiiight! Stupid, lazy kitty!
"Lucy! I'll start flying back to the others. See you back there!"
"Hey where do you think you're going with my clothes! You can't just leave me here!"
She kept looking at the exceed as he flew away laughing into the distance. Still watching the cat she let out a sigh and started swimming once again. It wasn't until Happy was out of hearing distance she remembered something crucial and if she hadn't been swimming she would have facepalmed. Instead she groaned and cursed in a very unladylike manner. But between the curses she did verbalise a sentence that made sense.
"...stupid cat... you just took off with my keys..."


A/N: Happy! Why did you leave them alone... In the jungle... without their clothes...? You're a mean little kitty cat :)
….and now it's time to put myself in the spotlight. Why? To explain why I think the situation I created in this chapter is plausible.

Gray: "Aww yeah! I look forward to bust your ass!"
Me: "Wha? You're not supposed to bust my ass? I'm sorry about the last episode and the prank, but I do have something planned you might like" (whispers the plan to him)
Gray: "You're really going to do that? Sweet I like you more now!"
Me: "Stop laughing mischievously Gray. Now about this episode?"
Gray: "Right! Well why do you think he would be capable of playing an instrument?"
Me: "Well we don't know everything there is to know about Natsu so to be fair he could have such an ability but never told it to anyone. He is a kind hearted guy and even though he tends to destroy everything when he is on a mission (or anywhere else) he might have something that balances out his chaotic side with something more sensible"
Gray: "Yeah right!"
Me: "Yeah I know that was taking it too far. But I think he could play the flute if he really wanted to. And you know some people say music is the instrument of a musician's heart"
Gray: "Don't make me vomit"
Me: "Sorry... That was kind of cliché wasn't it?"
Gray: "Yeah.. Like that idiot would know anything sensible like that even if it bit him in the ass"
Me: "...riiiiight... Well I won't explain myself further. I liked the idea and I hope you guys liked it too"
Gray: "Why are you shivering?"
Me: "I hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot with this chapter"
Gray: "Well even if you didn't I won't mind doing it for you"
Natsu: "Hey me too!"
Me: "Oh for the... Just go to the guild in my head and fight each other already!"
Natsu/Gray (smirking in a way that sends chills down one's spine): "Sweet!"
Me: "...I need a vacation..."