Chapter Eight
Authors Note: Had to do it now= Shout out to Johnny Spectre for the review! I don't only need compliments, but also constructive criticism! Oh, and I'm not NaLu shipper, but the idea is fantastic, and I might just use it.
"Hah, yeah. You're idiots for choosing me as master." Natsu shakes his finger as he turns to face Macao.
"But you're the only one who could've saved us in both situations. We couldn't have made a better choice the day we chose you." Natsu smiles at this, and looks at the ground, shaking his head.
"Whatever." The Tenrou group looks at him in shock, not knowing what to say. The silence remains like a comfy blanket in the morning, no one wanting to talk but knowing they will need to eventually.
"...Is the scarf still ripped?" Lucy asks, everyone turning to face her.
"Yeah." He nods with a small smile. Slipping it off of his neck he inspects the cut like he had a million times after he'd gotten it back. "Same old, same old."
"Please tell me you've tried sowing it." He slowly nods at Lisanna's question.
"If it makes you feel any better," Carla speaks up, all eyes turning to her,"In any visions I've had your scarf doesn't have a cut." Natsu's eyes widen at this and he looks down at the white material, before putting it around his neck. But before he does they see a second neck scar, at the base of his neck going down into his shirt. A very large scar.
"If you want I can try some repair rune magic." Freed speaks up.
"And I can help him!" Levy smiles, walking to the others side. The pinkette shakes his head and looks back down at the scarf.
"I've already tried that. There's a spell on it that I think Erigor put before we got it back." The bastard. He finishes the sentence in his mind.
"I'm sorry, Natsu-san..." Sting speaks up and all eyes turn towards him. Natsu places a hand on his head, messing up his hair.
"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. We let out guard down, that's all."
"But I-"
"No, lalalalala! I'm not listening!" Natsu puts his fingers in his ears and speaks louder as to block out the younger dragon slayer.
"He doesn't honestly think that works with dragon slayer ears, does he?" Gajeel points at the pinkette who had just taken his fingers out of his ears in time to hear the iron dragon slayers words.
"Ah, well, my ears aren't as sharp anymore since the battle against the demon." Natsu chuckles,"Its roar messed my ears up." Slight guilt forms in the others stomach as he did not know, but being 'Black Steel Gajeel', he doesn't show it.
"You said you faced three people, but only mentioned Lyon." Gray speaks up next, trying to get everyone off the other topic. "Who were the other guys?"
"Um... Macao?" Natsu turns to his adviser for help.
"Jura and Ichiya." Macao sighs, Natsu nods, and everyone else blanks-except Sting.
"JURA! The wizard saint!?"
"Yeah, but I think he held back." The other two nod at this.
"And Ichiya ran." Sting remembers how the guild beat him for leaving their master to do what he did afterward.
"Aha..." Natsu sweatdrops under Stings glare, knowing what the boy was thinking.
"Didn't you bring the Sword of Night out in our battle?" Erza turns to the pinkette, arms crossed.
"Oh, I wasn't going to use its effects though." He raises his hands up in defense,"I was just gonna use it as a normal sword.". She just nods in approval as he sighs in relief.
"Oh, Natsu-kun? Is that you?" An old, frail woman's voice speaks from behind the group on the port. Natsu freezes at this and turns to face he older woman.
"Marie-san!" He gives a slight boy of respect, which shocks everyone but Macao and Sting. It's an old woman that is Makarovs' height and looks like she could be his age, too. With snow white hair put into a large bun on her head, about the size of her head. She also wears a pink flower dress and a white apron, with pink slippers. Just a cute, little old lady.
"How many times do I have to tell you, just Marie!" She walks up to him, hands behind her back. When she gets to him she speaks again,"Come here." He bends down and she taps his head. "I'm telling you, it's a rosy pink."
"It's salmon!" He pouts, and she pulls at his cheek before letting him go with a smile. He gets back up with his own grin. "Hello, Maria." His voice is as kind as his smile, soft and sweet.
"And who are your new friends?" At this Natsu freezes, before giving a embarrassed chuckles and scratching the back of his head.
"This is Tenrou group." At this she gives him a glare.
"Thought I told you to let me meet your friends as soon as they got back. When'd they return?"
"...3 months ago." The glare before is child-like compared to the death-stare she sends him. "B-but they were training for 3-months and got back today! I-I swear I was going to bring them to your house after this!"
"So that I could meet them or so you can see Aki?" The old woman raises her brow in a teasing way, to which Natsu slightly, very slightly, blushes.
"So, are we going?" He says after he clears his throat, trying to change the subject.
"Who's Aki?" Wendy asks out-loud, but Marie and Natsu ignore her.
"Come, lets go." Marie smiles, motioning for them to follow, to which they oblige.
"So, who's Aki?" Lucy picks up Wendy's question, making sure to whisper. As Macao begins to reply they all stop in front of a house, Marie working on unlocking the door.
"Natsu, dear, can you unlock the door?" He does as she asks, but instead of taking the key she's using, he pulls one out of his right glove. Easily he unlocks the door in a few swift movements, and walks into the house. It looks newer than the other houses, must have been destroyed in the demons attack, considering that it's close to the memorial.
Once inside they're hit by a the scent of chemicals, but not cleaning products, but the medical kind. The house is a dull scene, with beige walls and carpets, some couches in the living room. A pearly white kitchen and a staircase parallel to the door. In general, a normal-looking house. Nothing special.
"She's upstairs, first door to the right." Marie says, Natsu nods to her, waves goodbye to the group and climbs the stairs in a slight hurry. "That boy... he comes by way to often." The old woman shakes her head, then turns to her guests with a smile. "Sit down, would you like anything to drink?" They all decline, but find a seat in the living room.
"Do you happen to have any metal I can eat?" At first the woman has wide-eyes, before giving an understanding smile.
"You're a dragon slayer, huh? Metal?"
"Iron." Gajeel corrects, and she nods.
"I'll get you something as I fix Natsus' cup." She smiles before turning around into the kitchen. The sounds of silverware moving and a match lighting is the only noise that fills the air.
"So, who's Aki?" Laxus is the third person to ask, and Macao gives a solemn sigh.
"Back when the demon attacked, Aki was watching the house. As you can she, it's newer than other houses, it was destroyed in the attack."
"So you know about the attack?" Marie comes in with a platter holding a metallic mug with fire and a plate of metal scraps.
"Only Natsus battle with it." Sting says as he watches the womans face fall.
"I'll be back." She says, giving Gajeel his plate, and then stomping upstairs. The sound of a door creaking open fills the room. After a moment Gajeel breaks the silence.
"I'm gonna go see this 'Aki' that Salamander's hiding from us."
"He isn't hiding her." Macao says solemnly.
"What do you mean? Then why won't she come down here instead of him going up?" Gray crosses his arm in front of his chest.
"She can't come down." Marie says, he face down-turned, contrasting her earlier jolliness.
"What'd flame-brain do to you?" Gray asks, genuinely worried.
"Natsu? Oh, you must be Gray. He spoke about you a lot. No, Natsu would never do anything to me..." She loses whatever smile she had gained in the small sentence,"It's what he's doing to himself."
"What do you mean?" Erza speaks up, her thirst for knowledge a bit to strong. The old woman finds a seat in a small chair, putting her hands in her lap.
"Back when Lucifer attacked, I was out of the house. Aki was watching the house for me because I was out visiting my sister." She pauses for a moment, remembering back to the day she had rushed home upon hearing the news of the demons attack."My granddaughter; Aki, was just sitting inside the house when a pink-haired boy ran past the window."
"Natsu-san?"
"Yes." She nods to Wendy's interruption. "She thought nothing of it until she heard him yell above all other people; run. So loud, in fact, that she swears something fell off of the bookshelf upstairs." She pauses with a small chuckle before continuing,"Well, then she ran out and opened the door just a crack to see the beast. Houses were destroyed as well as the people beneath them, but I remember her saying she was most scared for the boy that decided to face the beast." Tears prick at the edge of her eyes and she gets choked up.
"Y-you don't have to tell us, it's okay if you don't." Mira jumps up and comforts the old woman. She allows the comfort but continues anyway.
"She ran out into the crowded street, running towards him. She was unprepared for the roar, and apparently neither was Natsu. He seemed pained by the roar, to Aki. Next thing she knew that thing shot a huge tornado of flames from its mouth, but she was shocked that the boy was eating the flames. Seeing he had everything under control she decided to leave." Marie pauses for a moment, getting choked up again.
"S-she ran to the house, apparently just out of Natsu's view because he released the fire just a moment later. The fire singed her right foot, and she had to throw the sock off so it wouldn't burn her entire body. Next thing she knew, N-N-Natsu's screams of pain filled the air, she looked up to see him collapsed on the ground, and after his screams ended he forced himself to stand. Then he does his own fire breath attack, before turning around, the beast clawed the pink mage into a house not so far from ours.
"Aki told me she closed her eyes. But the next thing she knew she heard a voice. A kid ran up to Natsu, who had moved down the path. He called the mage 'Natsu-nii' She described him as 'a light in a forever darkness', yes, that was it. Then the blonde kid attacked the beast, hurting it more than the other mage had with his fire attack, even though it looked weaker. The boys attack was a bright white light, and the monster changed its target to the kid, and thanks to the burn on Aki's foot, she was unable to get out of the house before the demon crushed it with its foot."
Silence. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. The definition of silence changed for everyone that day. Which irritated Gajeel to no end.
"So, who saved her?" Marie looks at him with tears in her eyes.
"Natsu." The tears spill in steady streams. "S-she was buried so deep under the rubble for just below 24-hours. They were about to give up on the area and go to a different one when he found her by scent. Buried so deep, yet he could smell her right when he stepped foot on the property. He saved her... But, she's still in critical condition."
"What? Why!?" Lucy stands up, determined to save the girl.
"The rubble had broken many things, including multiple organs. Plus, the creatures curse was devils fire, anyone hit by it is messed up in one way or another permanently. Take Natsu, for example."
"For example? What happened to him?" Makarov speaks up, he hadn't heard of this.
"Well you do know the curse had hit his hand, right?" Everyone nods,"Well, the effect for him is different than for her."
"What did it do to Aki?" Lisanna speaks up, concern shown on her face.
"It... it gave her an illness. A very bad illness. But at least the fires intense pain is gone from her nerves." She chuckles slightly,"Funniest thing when the two get in an argument of who got the worst curse placed on them."
"Okay... What'd it do to flame-brain?"
"Well, he always and forever feels the pain from when he was burned by devils fire..." The old woman drones off, remembering his screams the day the curse picked up, two days after he had found Aki. The amount of pain and torture going through his lungs. She's surprised that he'd gotten over it to this day.
Nobody speaks. They hadn't noticed anything wrong with Natsu pain-wise. Not the slightest hint of it.
"Please help him." She suddenly breaks the silence, her eyes glossed over,"Aki's dying. He knows she's dying. So please be there for him, and help him. Both physically and mentally. I'm just glad that his closest friends got here before she died. He needs you when she goes. And help him cope not only with her death, but with everyone else's deaths from that day." Tears soak her cheeks yet again, and she just lets them go. "He blames himself. Please, even if its been years since the day, it still haunts him. So please help him heal."
The words touch all of their hearts, but also hurt them. Their friend was suffering so deeply, and yet they were fooled by the smile he had worn as a mask. They all were, and even Sting and Macao looked down in sorrow and guilt.
"Does he... love her?" Mira finally breaks the silence, they see tears in her eyes, and the ones Elfman had already let go. Ignoring the two of them portraying the things they're feeling.
"Yes. But the stubborn fool won't say anything, and neither will my granddaughter."
"Why?" Cana speaks up, and the old woman gives a sad smile.
"Because they don't want to break each others hearts." As a door creaks upstairs everyone shuts up. The floorboards above them creaking slowly as footsteps create the noise above them. They all hear the frail voice of a young girl, around the Natsus age.
"Do I still smell like back then?" The footsteps freeze,"Back when you found me. Like the saltwater sea, like exotic lands and adventures... Like freedom?" The voice cracks at the last part. The floor boards creak as the person walks back, the door creaking open a little wider. And everyone can tell a smile is on the pinkettes face as they hear him reply;
"You smell as great as the day I met you. Untainted, pure and free." Choked sobs can be heard and footsteps go back to where they started. The cries grow louder, but they're slightly muffled by... something.
"Natsu, I-" The women chokes out, and Marie sheds a silent tear for her granddaughter, streaming down her already moist cheeks.
"I can't comfort her like he can. He has a sixth sense, and always comes when she needs him." She looks up with a soft smile. They can only hear the soft murmur of voices until the women blurts out;
"I don't wanna die, Natsu!" Marie's tears burst free like a huge water fall, she bends over to cover her eyes and hide the sobs that wrack her body. Mira and Lucy let their tears fall, and so do Evergreen and Elfman. Levys' do too as she takes comfort in Gajeels embrace. And even Makarov can't hold it in as tears slowly moisten his face. Natsus soft reply is inaudible, but her answer to it is heard loud and clear. "I wanna go back out on my boat, exploring the world. I wanna be as free as you say I smell, Natsu! I-I wanted you to come with me!" She chokes up yet again, as it's muffled by the same substance as before.
"And the next time you go out on your adventures, you'll have to take me along." Natsu replies, his voice strained, but still sounding with a smile.
"Oh, I thought you're bad with transportation. Are you sure? But... on my next adventure I don't want you to come with me. I need you to come after me." Silence. Silence upstairs and downstairs. They all know what she implies, and they floorboard creeks in a weight change, not a step.
More footsteps, back to leave Aki.
"You'll come back, won't you? Tell me another story when you do."
"I'm afraid I'm all out of stories." The smile's still in his voice.
"Then go make new ones... Say, how's my light in the darkness?"
"... Sting's doing fine."
"Still destroying things as much, or has that calmed down a bit?"
"I'm afraid to say its gotten worse. But he's gotten stronger."
"Bring him next time, please. He needs a good scolding every once in a while, unlike the ones you give."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"You know exactly what that means."
"Meanie!" She giggles in a sweet way at his childish remark, and Natsu lets her before he continues,"He's downstairs if you want I can get him right now. Same as Tenrou group."
"Oh! You only told me they had returned, not that they were in my house! But no, bring them next time you come, I... don't want them to see me like this." The only noise heard is everyone's breathing as they wait to hear what happens next.
"I see, okay then. Well, the Grand Magic Games are gonna happen soon, so well come by in... a few days?"
"Come back in three. You know how long it takes me to clean."
"... I can help you."
"Don't be silly, Natsu. Go hang out with your friends. You've been dying for them to come back since the day I met you! Go have fun, but in three days they all better be here! Especially Happy! I have to see him before..." She doesn't finish, but everyone knows what she implies.
"I promise I'll bring them. I'll see you in three days, Aki."
"Bye." The footsteps begin again, and this time they continue. But as they walk the steps slow, and it's an achingly slow by the time Natsu reaches the bottom step, and when he finally does he rubs his face with both hands. After a moment of holding his face he lays one on his forehead and the other on his waist. Looking up at the ceiling his eyes seem distant, brows creased. He moves the hand on his forehead he holds the bridge of his nose, shaking his head slowly.
Bickslow coughs to get the mans attention, and Natsu turns to look at them shocked, apparently having forgotten they were there. Marie sends the puppeteer a glare, but shakes her head and looks at Natsu with a smile, ignoring the shine of his eyes. Blinking away his forming tears he scans the crowd of tear-stained faces before seeing the worst of them all; Marie. Her chafed cheeks giving away the fact that she had tried to hide her tears from him.
"Sorry for taking so long, Marie." He does a small bow, before straightening his back, staring into the old womans eyes. Everyone averts his gaze, but as they look back at him they all see a large wet spot on his white scarf. It pulls at their heart to know that's her tears, that that's what muffled her cries.
"It's all right, sweety. When will you be back?" Of course they all already know; three days. But they didn't want Natsu to know they had heard part of his conversation.
"Three days." He points at the group in the living room,"You're coming with me." His eyes land on Sting almost in pity. He walks over to the boy and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You heard, no doubt." Sting stiffly nods,"Good luck." Turning back to the door he heads out before anyone else. Everyone hesitates for a moment before following in a slow train.
Authors Note: My own stories is giving me the feels... I would cry if I cried about things that aren't existent, and if I had a heart. But I don't, so I'm not. I won't tell you about what happens to Aki, so don't ask. Thanks for reviewing! Till next time, see ya!
