Please go read the (edited) end notes of the last chapter. I made a (minor) change. It was a mistake of mine somebody pointed out (thank you for that!)

Early update since I'm not at home for Christmas. Consider it an early Christmas present ^^ The next update will probably be regular (January 1st).

Smut ahead~


The morning went by without another incident. Laxus and Freed made out sloppily in the guild hall until their groping became too much, and they were kicked out by a furious Mirajane with the 'request' to get a room. Natsu and Gray cuddled and made out in the guild hall, Gajeel poked fun at them, and Happy cheered them on, already making plans on Gray moving in. Gray asked if he could read the diary, and Natsu let him, watching in awe as Gray's face turned redder and redder by the minute. When he was finished, he slammed the book close and demanded that Natsu lock it immediately, saying that he couldn't believe that Natsu left the diary unlocked and unattended.

After lunch, they went to the train station, Gajeel in tow. Wendy cast Troia on the three Dragon Slayers, warning them in advance that it wouldn't last the whole ride.

This time Natsu and Gray spent the whole ride cuddled up against each other, exchanging chaste kisses, stroking lazily over any part of the body they could reach, except for the R-rated ones—at least until Natsu's motion sickness kicked in. After that, it was a fight to keep down the bile, with the friendly assistance of Gray's soothing pats.

Natsu had paid close attention to where Jellal was hiding on the train. He'd waited until Team Natsu had boarded the train, then gotten on it a wagon behind them. He peeked through the window in the compartment door on a regular basis to make sure that Gray was still alive and well. To think that Natsu had stormed to the toilet right next to that door once... But then again, he'd been motion sick. He probably wouldn't have noticed Jellal even if he'd been naked and dancing right in front of him.

When they'd reached their destination, Natsu asked his friends to give him, Gajeel and Wendy a few minutes to recover, and then led the way to the dugout. They parted ways at the entrance, with Gray and Natsu hiding in a narrow alley nearby. Happy didn't hesitate to follow the others, but not without winking at Natsu.

Jellal really sucked at masking his presence. He'd been caught by surprise by Gray's and Natsu's sudden change of direction, and he just barely managed to sneak around the corner before the two of them entered the alley he'd been hiding in. Natsu didn't bother to call for Jellal and tell him that they knew, because what good would it do? Besides, being in an abandoned alley with Gray with nothing to do but waiting for their friends to emerge from the building... There was a thing or two that came to Natsu's mind on how they could make good use of that time.

Gray seemed to have the exact same thought, seeing as Natsu found himself pressed against the nearest wall the next second. He cushioned the impact with his hands, seeing as he was still wearing the rucksack with the diary inside and he didn't want it to get damaged. He pushed Gray gently away, put the rucksack down and then let Gray cage him against the wall for real. Natsu tilted his head upwards, lips already parted halfway, accepting the kiss and returning it with fierce passion. Gray's hands were on Natsu's ass, groping and pulling him as close against Gray's hips as possible, while Natsu's hands hungrily roved over Gray's bicep and back, stopping just over Gray's waistband. Natsu wanted to ask if it was okay to slip his hand into Gray's boxers, but he also didn't want to remove his lips from Gray's. However, when Gray moaned into the kiss and rubbed his already hard crotch against Natsu's, he buried his doubts and went for it. It was a bit of a struggle to remove Gray's belt, with their bodies pressed so close, but Gray wiggled his hips until the belt and fly was open.

The feel of Gray's bare ass against his palm was strange, but not in a bad sense. It was new, and incredibly arousing. A wave of heat surged through Natsu's body, stronger than ever. He was achingly hard. Natsu groped Gray's ass tightly, and as a reaction, Gray broke the kiss, let out a low moan, buried his face in the scarf, and ground his hips desperately against Natsu's.

There was a nagging voice in Natsu's head, reminding him that they were in public and couldn't do this here. Besides, they needed to be prepared to jump into action at any moment, and if they continued this, they might not be able to react quickly or even notice that they should be reacting to something. But this time they were nowhere near Natsu's house or Gray's flat. They could just break into any flat, but then the risk that they missed their cue was even higher.

His train of thought was interrupted when Gray whispered right into his ear, "I want you so badly, Natsu."

A shiver ran down Natsu's spine, and his mind fogged with lust, all doubts forgotten. "Yes, please!"

Natsu pulled his hand out of Gray's pants, and pushed their hips apart so that he could fumble at Gray's belt and the fly of his jeans. Gray wanted to open Natsu's belt as well, but Natsu grabbed his wrists to stop him. His intention was to just remove Gray's jeans, and then rub their clothed lengths against each other's. The material of Natsu's pants was thin after all. Plus, nobody would find it strange that Gray was partially undressed, in case they needed to jump into action suddenly.

Gray seemed to understand, and assisted Natsu in taking his jeans off, kicking them aside carelessly. He crowded Natsu against the wall again, and ground their hips together, making them both moan. Natsu encouraged him by groping his ass with both hands, pressing firmly.

The next moments were a clumsy mess of fumbling, kissing, and biting while simultaneously trying to establish a steady rhythm of their hips rocking against each other's. Natsu moved his hips as well in an attempt to make it work out, but he ended up making it even more complicated.

"S-stop moving, idiot—ah—l-let me... do it."

It was hard to refrain from moving, but the effort payed off when Gray's clothed erection was sliding rhythmically against his.

Natsu tried holding back a moan, but it came out anyway, strangled. Gray groaned in response, increasing his pace. Then he leaned forward until his lips touched Natsu's earlobe just slightly.

"You're s-so... hard—ahh! F-fuck, Natsu, so good, I d-don't think I'll last—oh god—m-much longer..."

Gray's words and his moans so close to Natsu ear sent jolts of pleasure right to his groin, and it was more than Natsu could handle. His mind blanked out for a second as his head dropped back against the wall. When his senses came back, he noticed just how close he was.

"Stop! G-Gray, ahhhh, stop, stop!"

Gray let out a frustrated growl, but he did stop his movements. Just in time. If he'd moved a bit more, it would've been too late, and Natsu didn't want to stain his pants.

"N-Natsu, what...? I... I'm nearly there... why?"

"Me too... That's why. It'll soak my pants..."

"So? Everyone will forget, right? But if you really don't want them to be soaked... I could help." And with that, Gray's deft hands wandered to Natsu's belt, opened it in no time at all, and pulled at Natsu's waistband questioningly.

"Wh-what...?"

In a seductively low voice, Gray asked close to his ear, "How do you feel about soaking the inside of my mouth?"

It was all Natsu could do not to come right then. The mental image of Gray's mouth on his cock... Natsu's cheeks heated up, and as an answer he stuttered some incoherent syllables.

"Is that a yes? Can I give you a blowjob?"

Gray's hot breath tickled Natsu's ear, and then his tongue licked a stripe from his earlobe upwards, making Natsu shiver.

"You'll need to give me an answer, flame brain."

"Sh-shut u-up... J-just do it a-ahh-already..."

Gray made sure to rub his hands over Natsu's erection before freeing it from all its confines, letting the material pool around Natsu's ankles. He kneeled down, taking in the sight of Natsu's cock for a few heartbeats. Natsu buried his face in his palms.

"St-stop staring... It's embarrassing..."

"But it's beautiful. You're beautiful. So wet already."

A moment later, Natsu felt Gray's tongue lick off all the pre-cum from his tip, the sensation making him shiver.

"Mhh. Tasty."

Natsu wanted to tell Gray to shut up, but his breath hitched before he could get a word out—Gray had wrapped his lips around Natsu's tip and sucked with abandon. Natsu needed something to hold on to, so he tangled his hands into Gray's hair, neither pushing nor pulling. When Gray began bobbing his head up and down, jolts of pleasure shot through Natsu's body, turning him into a moaning and squirming mess.

It would be over far too soon for Natsu's liking if he didn't find something that would lessen or distract him from the intense pleasure of Gray's hot mouth, especially when his teeth stroked over the underside of Natsu's cock just slightly. He bit his hand until the skin broke to keep himself from making sounds, but the pain didn't do anything to lessen the sensation. He was so close, so close, and when Gray's hands came up to play with Natsu's balls, it was too late. All he could do to warn Gray was a broken "N-now!" before his balls tightened and waves of pleasure rocked his body. Gray hummed in approval as the first spurt of cum filled his mouth, caressing Natsu's stomach and ass encouragingly while Natsu shuddered through his orgasm.

Slowly coming back to his senses, Natsu noticed that Gray swallowed twice around his shaft before drawing back and getting to his feet. Natsu couldn't take his eyes off Gray's lips, mesmerized by the tongue sensually licking over it.

"Damn, that was hot. I nearly came untouched, just from sucking you off."

Gray's face was so close to Natsu's that he felt every exhale on his skin. Natsu could very clearly smell his release from Gray's mouth, and suddenly the realization of what they'd just done hit him full force. It was the first time Gray had seen his crotch naked in a sexual context, and he'd taken it in his mouth and even swallowed Natsu's cum. It was much more than Natsu had wanted to do initially, but he'd enjoyed every second of it—it hadn't been as awkward as he'd imagined it to be. Maybe he was just obsessing about his nervousness, maybe having sex with Gray would come naturally, maybe it wouldn't be as embarrassing as he thought... Maybe he was ready for more.

His train of thought was interrupted when Gray slotted their mouths together in a wet kiss. Natsu decided that he didn't like his own flavor; it was too bitter. How Gray had forced that down his throat, he didn't know.

A whimper broke free from Gray's mouth when Natsu nibbled his bottom lip with sharp canines. That was when Natsu was reminded of the fact that Gray still hadn't come.

He broke their kiss, pushed Gray away by the shoulders, and reversed their position in a swift move. A surprised sound broke free from Gray's throat as his back was slammed against the wall. Natsu quickly fixed his pants, and then dropped to his knees.

"Y-you don't have to do this. I don't have to come at all, or I could just do it by mys—"

"I want to," Natsu interrupted him with a confidence he wasn't feeling. Being level with Gray's crotch made his stomach do a nervous flip, but he still wanted to go along with it. Gray was a virgin, and yet he'd been so good at it. Had he practiced on some... other items? As for Natsu, he had practiced giving blowjobs on his dildo... Well, the toy couldn't give feedback, but at least he knew the basics, like 'don't take it too deep or you'll retch'.

He took a deep breath, and then leaned forward to press his nose against the bulge in Gray's boxers. The scent that filled his nose combined with Gray's repressed moan calmed his nerves somewhat. As long as he kept teeth out of the equation, there was nothing that could go wrong, he knew that much. Although he'd liked it very much when Gray had lightly scraped his teeth over his cock, so maybe he'd try that, too. However, he'd have to be extra careful because his canines were much sharper.

As a start, Natsu rubbed his nose up and down Gray's clothed erection, reveling in the restrained whimpers this earned him. Looking up, he noticed that Gray's eyes were fixed on him curiously, catching every of Natsu's motions. Holding his gaze, Natsu licked seductively over the tip where Gray's boxers were already drenched with pre-cum. To Natsu's surprise, it tasted rather sweet.

"Hn... ahh, Natsu! I... I'm already... c-close..."

Natsu didn't want this to end prematurely, so he pulled back. Now that he'd gotten a sample of Gray's flavor, he wanted to taste it without barriers, wanted to know how Gray's cock in his mouth would feel like.

Gray let out a frustrated whine at the loss of contact, but he didn't have to wait long until Natsu slipped a finger inside his waistband.

"N-Natsu. Your hand!"

Natsu stopped his movements, not knowing what Gray wanted from him.

"It's bleeding, you idiot!"

Oh, it really was. Quite heavily, in fact. Gray's boxers were already partially soaked in blood. Maybe he'd bitten a bit too hard.

Before Natsu could do something about it, Gray grabbed his wrist, brought the bleeding hand to eye level, and froze all the spilled blood at once. Natsu let out a surprised shriek, wanting to pull his hand away instinctively, but Gray's grip was too strong.

"Hold still, idiot."

Gray gently scrubbed off the frozen blood. When the wounds were free again, the blood flow was already much slower. He licked off the newly formed drops while encompassing Natsu's wrist with a cold hand to make the blood flow even slower.

Natsu didn't complain, just stared at Gray's concerned face in awe the whole time.

"Here. Don't bite yourself like that again." Gray blushed, averted his eyes, and then added in a lower voice, "I want to hear the sounds you make, so don't hide them anymore."

Dumbfounded, Natsu let his slightly numb hand drop to his side. He should probably say 'thanks' or just anything, but his throat felt constricted, his chest overflowing with love and admiration. How had he gotten so lucky to get himself such a caring boyfriend?

A caring boyfriend whose erection was twitching right in front of Natsu's face. He'd do his best to make this as enjoyable as possible.

He was quick to strip Gray, using the uninjured hand and his teeth. The sight of Gray's aroused cock was a sight to behold, so he spent several seconds just worshipping the view. Sure, he'd seen it many times before due to Gray's stripping habit—not that he'd gawked at it whenever that had happened, not at all—, but seeing it like this was a first.

"Now you're staring."

"Mhh. And you like it."

Gray pouted, but the look quickly vanished when Natsu leaned forward to lick a stripe over his length, from base to tip. The taste was strange, manly, and a bit salty from sweat. Natsu liked it, also because this was Gray's flavor. His tongue darted out, licking over the tip, cleaning off all the pre-cum until it was coated only with Natsu's saliva.

Fueled by Gray's moans, Natsu wrapped his lips around the head of Gray's cock, basking in the new feeling of having Gray's most intimate body part in his mouth, knowing that he was causing all the sexy sounds that left Gray's throat.

"Nahhh—tsu! S-so hot..."

Whether Gray was talking about the temperature of Natsu's mouth or the sight of his cock buried in it, Natsu didn't know. Probably both. Either way, it was obvious that Gray enjoyed this. Now the only thing Natsu needed to do was keep his teeth away from the flesh in between them, move his head up and down—

"Aaahhhh, oh g-god..."

—swirl his tongue around the tip on the upstroke—

"Gaah, fuck!"

—and hollow his cheeks to increase the suction.

"That's—ah, ahh!—so good... I'm already... c-close..."

Natsu heard a door swing open, and then Lucy's shriek, followed by the sound of the door slamming close again. They probably should've gone a bit deeper into the alley before doing something like this, but Natsu was too far gone to really care about it. He heard Lucy stammer something about 'please wait a minute', and that was his cue to speed up.

Gray squirmed, moaned loudly, and cursed without restraint as Natsu bobbed his head quickly up and down while fondling Gray's balls.

"I... I'm... c-coming—ahhh, Natsu!"

Gray's balls tightened, the tip of his cock became impossibly hard, and then a hot jet of cum shot against Natsu's tongue, the back of his throat, his teeth. He welcomed it all too happily, swallowing every last drop despite the bitter flavor.

So this was it—Natsu's first blowjob. Why had he stressed himself out so much over it in advance? He enjoyed it, both being on the giving and the receiving end.

He pulled back, releasing Gray's softening cock with a lewd plop before pulling Gray's boxers back up and fumbling for Gray's discarded clothes.

When the door to the dugout opened again, they were both on their feet, fully dressed, hugging and kissing. With a noisy clear of her throat Lucy made Natsu and Gray break the kiss. Then she stepped onto the street, revealing their friends and the three enemies.

Pointing at Gray and Natsu, Lucy explained, "The two guys over there belong to us. They came along to back us up." Facing Natsu and Gray, she added a bit louder, "We'll help these three mages search for the father of this brunette guy."

Had Natsu heard right? A glimpse to his watch told him that they hadn't taken more than twenty minutes.

'How...?'

It didn't look like Lucy had been threatened to say this—in fact most of them looked very relaxed, with Ichika clinging to Erza, and Yushin smiling faintly—yes, smiling—at Bubbles. Happy, Lucy, and Wendy wore content expressions. Erza looked rather flustered and appeared to be seeking help in dealing with Ichika. The only ones whose behavior seemed to be hostile were Gajeel, Pantherlily, and Bubbles, who had a staring fight, two against one. Carla stared into space, not giving any indication of her feelings.

Unsure of how to react, Natsu neither answered nor moved. It was Gray who picked up the rucksack and pulled Natsu towards the others and did the talking. The townsmen filing out of the narrow door were proof that their enemies really meant it when they said they'd cooperate unconditionally. The last one to emerge from the building was the mayor. He thanked the members of Fairy Tail on behalf of the whole town, asked them to follow him to the town hall, and paid them. He made it clear that the three dark mages weren't welcome and asked them a last favor—a paid one, of course—to remove their oppressors from the town.

Since Natsu and his friends knew that they wouldn't have to search for a place to spend the night, they led Ichika, Bubbles, and Yushin out of town and into the forest, where they sat down on a clearing to talk and make plans.

It turned out that the oracle of the magic council had paid their enemies a visit as well. Yushin explained in a bored tone that her prophecy had been the reason why they'd done such a 'ridiculous thing' as take a whole town hostage in the first place. The prophecy had predicted 'a heavily pierced man with a talking black cat coming to their rescue'. At least that explained why their friends hadn't needed much time, now that Gajeel was with them.

Natsu couldn't help but get angry at the oracle, since he was convinced that she was the reason for this disaster. Ichika was curious and asked what exactly the 'disaster' was. Since Natsu declined an explanation, Lucy intervened and gave the three of them a summary of what had happened so far.

When Bubbles heard that he'd killed Gray twice, he flinched, looking like a beaten dog. Yushin demanded he apologize, but Bubbles shot back that he wouldn't do such a thing as kill people, and that he wouldn't apologize for something he hadn't done. Naturally Natsu got angry, and they nearly ended up fighting. However, before Natsu's fist could hit Bubbles' stomach, Gray created an ice barrier between the two of them, and slung his arms around Natsu's middle, begging him to stop. Yushin did the same thing with Bubbles, and it took a lot of persuasion to get the two to calm down.

They still glared at each other throughout the whole conversation, restrained by their respective friends. At one point, Gray decided to press butterfly kisses along the side of Natsu's neck, which flustered Natsu.

The action prompted Yushin to try the same on Bubbles, with a positive outcome: Bubbles blushed furiously, tried and failed to headbutt Yushin since he didn't have enough free space to move, and finally went for wild cursing. When he didn't shut up even though Yushin told him to watch his language, Yushin took radical measure; he leaned over Bubbles' shoulder and sealed his lips with a kiss. Bubbles pulled back almost immediately, looking flustered and ready to complain, but Yushin was quicker.

"I'd happily do this all day long, and I will if you dare utter another curse."

"Wh—y-you can't be serious, you stupid—"

Yushin silenced him with a pointer finger, already leaning in again. "Well, since you asked so nicely..."

When their lips met again, Bubbles didn't fight it anymore. After a few seconds, he kissed back, and that was the moment when Ichika broke out into wild applause.

"Yaay, yay! Congratulations, congratulations! Finally!"

From that point on, Yushin and Bubbles were far too busy to take part in the conversation.

Somewhere along the line, Gray released Natsu's wrists and instead pulled him between his legs until Natsu's back was pressed against Gray's front, their limbs tangled before Natsu's body. It was a nice way of spending the rest of the time they still had together on that day—although it distracted Natsu from the important conversation that was going on between his friends and Ichika. She'd started telling the story of their past and how Bubbles' father went missing.

Natsu glanced at his watch every few minutes, growing more and more nervous the closer it got to seven o'clock. Even though he dreaded that Gray was going to die anyway—a blowjob wouldn't count as 'bonding', would it?—he didn't want him to die like the first two times.

Sure, Bubbles making out with Yushin didn't seem to be much of a threat, but Natsu didn't trust him. At all. If Natsu ran away with Gray, would Bubbles chase them? Would Natsu taking action provoke a fight which might end up in Gray sacrificing himself for Natsu yet again? It seemed possible, if not likely. Because no matter how he tried to separate Gray and Bubbles, it would probably make Bubbles angry or at least suspicious—given that he noticed in the first place.

In the end, Natsu decided on not taking the risk of doing anything that could provoke Bubbles. Which meant sitting it out.

"—Natsu?"

'What?'

"Uh... yes?"

Erza shot him an angry look. "Did you even pay attention?"

A cold shiver ran down his spine, like it always did when Erza was angry with him.

"N-no..."

Gajeel clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Erza's body language said that she wanted to beat Natsu into a pulp. Gray tightened his grip on Natsu and turned him sideways, shielding Natsu's body with his own. Help came from somebody he wouldn't have expected: Ichika.

"Oh my, oh my! He'll lose his sweetheart soon, so don't be so aggressive, scary girl!"

Erza turned her back on Natsu, facing Ichika instead.

"This is important information for saving his sweetheart!"

Before Ichika could respond, Lucy intervened: "It's okay, I'll write it down in his stead, so please calm down!" And in Natsu's direction, she asked, "Could you give me the diary?"

Natsu stretched out his hand for the rucksack, but Gray beat him to it. He tossed it over to Lucy and wrapped his arms around Natsu's torso again, pulling him closer still.

The diary was still locked, so Natsu fumbled for the key, took off the necklace and tossed it over to Lucy as well. Then he glanced at his watch again, freezing in shock when he saw that it was seven. He still hadn't determined the exact time of Gray's death, but it had to be within the next five minutes. Gray didn't ask for the exact time of his death, but he could probably guess from Natsu's behavior that he didn't have that much more time to live.

As much as Natsu knew he should see Gray's death as something temporary, and as much as he knew that he shouldn't let it get to him, he couldn't help but feel as if something was choking him. Gray would forget. Forget that Natsu loved him, forget their kisses, forget that they'd become intimate...

Natsu turned around in Gray's arms and pushed him down on the grass, forgetting everything around them as he sealed Gray's lips in a passionate kiss. Oh how he wished he could burn the memory into Gray's mind, make him remember even though time rewound. It felt as if knives pierced his heart, over and over again, despite Gray still being right there, lying under him and kissing him.

Just then a thought occurred to Natsu: Wendy was with them. He'd wanted to make her try and prevent Gray's death. Gray had interjected the previous time that Wendy wouldn't be able to do anything when even Porlyusica couldn't, but it wouldn't hurt to at least try. So he broke their kiss, sat up, and urged Wendy to monitor Gray's heart.

It turned out to be futile. Gray died at 7:03. Wendy broke out in tears, apologizing so many times that Natsu eventually tuned her out, just like he ignored all the others, who tried to distract him or expressed their condolences.

He sat there, staring emptily into space, his mind reeling. He'd lost Gray again. It was the sixth time he'd seen Gray die. Was it supposed to hurt less the more this happened? Because it was the complete opposite. How should he ever be capable of writing in such a state? With Gray's lifeless body lying next to him, and Natsu's lips still tingling from their last kiss. How was he supposed to stay sane when his most important person was ripped away from him again and again? What had he done to deserve such a punishment?

At some point, Lucy gently put the necklace with the key back around his neck, and then hugged him tightly. It was too much; all the tears he'd kept inside until then broke free. He clutched at Lucy's shoulders, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and sobbed loudly, drenching her shirt. She patted his back, but it only served to make him lose control over his emotions even more. Had he ever cried this much before?

By the time dizziness overcame Natsu, he was still weeping bitterly, and he wished it would just stop; wished Gray wouldn't die anymore; wished that he didn't need to undergo the same torture yet again... But it wasn't like he had a choice.


Natsu's Diary

Day 6:
(Author: Lucy)

Natsu confessed his love in the middle of the guild hall this morning. Gray couldn't believe it at first, and Natsu told the whole guild his story before Gray gave his answer. I think it was too much to burden Gray with the prospect of his own death when he was processing that his feelings were reciprocated, but then again, Natsu didn't have much time.

Gray kissed Natsu in the middle of his story. Juvia didn't want to accept it, but Makarov forced her to. After that, we discussed the meaning of the prophecy, coming up with the idea that the 'darkness' could be referring to Zeref, and that a peaceful approach would be for the best. Gray made it abundantly clear that he wasn't content with a peaceful solution where Zeref was concerned, so Natsu would have to lie and claim that hurting Zeref would hurt Natsu as well.

After the discussion, Natsu vanished with Laxus for several minutes. Laxus confessed to Freed when they came back (of course Freed confessed back).

We went on the mission together with Gajeel and Pantherlily. Natsu showed us the dugout, then hid in a nearby alley with Gray. We didn't need to tell the trio holding the town hostage that we came to help them; they knew immediately when Gajeel and Pantherlily entered the room. They requested Pantherlily talk with them, and then set the captives free. The oracle of the magic council paid them a visit as well, telling them that 'a heavily pierced man with a talking black cat' was coming to their rescue. Nobody remembered the exact wording of the prophecy, but she apparently told them to take the town hostage.

We received our payment from the mayor, and then led Ichika, Bubbles, and Yushin out of town to sit down and talk things through. Bubbles and Yushin admitted they had feelings for each other. From that point they were too busy kissing to follow the conversation for long—the same goes for Natsu and Gray. That's why I'm writing the entry now instead of Natsu. He didn't hear half of the important information.

Yushin and Ichika are siblings. Their parents died on a mission shortly after Ichika turned one and Yushin was eight. Yushin started to hate wizard guilds since they were what killed their parents. He dropped out of the one they were in, and for a while he wrestled his and his sister's way through daily life, living on the streets and stealing. It didn't go well, and they were found filthy and starving by Bubbles' father, who was a freelancer magician. He accommodated them, and they became best friends with Bubbles.

Most of the time, Bubbles' father was away from home, and the three of them were left in the care of the servants and of each other. Each time he came home, he would bring an exciting present from his mission. They really love him, and Ichika said that the times when he was at home were the most fun. Bubbles' father helped Yushin overcome his fear of magic work, so the three of them eventually formed a team and accepted missions as freelancers.

It stayed that way until a year ago. The missions Bubbles' father took never lasted longer than three months, but they waited patiently for six months, thinking it was normal for a difficult mission to run longer. When he hadn't returned even after six months, they started searching for him, first going to the client he'd taken the job from. The client said that the job was finished within two months. He also couldn't give them any hints on where to search, since he said he was going home to see his 'three beloved children'. They searched fruitlessly for nearly six months, until the oracle of the magic council paid them a visit a few days ago.

They told her to spit out the information she had, but she convinced them that she didn't know anything, that she merely delivers prophecies she doesn't understand herself. So they went along with it, and now we're here.

For the record, since Natsu didn't know their age: Ichika is twenty-one, Bubbles twenty-five, and Yushin twenty-nine.

Bubbles' father is forty-eight, has dark skin, brown eyes, and is bald. His wife died in childbirth, but he never once held it against his son. He smiles most of the time, brightening the mood of everyone around him. The way Ichika describes his character kind of makes me think that he's like Natsu. Loud, clumsy, loyal, and loving.

Gray died a few minutes ago. Natsu isn't responding to anything. If anyone besides Natsu ever reads this: Please take care of him. He's the kind of person to hide his misery behind a smile or a prank, because he doesn't want to burden others. But right now I can see that he's not alright and that he'll probably go crazy if this keeps up. And Natsu, please take care of yourself. Please, please don't keep this bottled up until it's too late. I can only imagine the pain you're going through every single day. It'll get worse and worse if you don't find a solution soon. I'll always be there for you, as will Gray. He wrote it himself. I'm sure the same goes for the rest of our guild mates.


Mirajane's notes

July, 7th keeps rewinding (only Natsu remembers); Gray dies every time in the evening; Not much space: make one stroke per day to count rewinds. Add only very important information. Don't tell Natsu of this. Pretend you don't know anything.

Ultear turns back time, Jellal follows Gray everywhere. Zeref might have something to do with Gray's death.

(6 strokes)


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!