A/N: Chapter ten is here, and the festival is underway! Remember to show your love by following and favoriting, and please let me know what you think down in the review section! Extra long chapter this time ;) (Lol, I know you guys are extra worried with the title, but trust me, it's not what you're expecting.)

Chapter Ten

Natsu bounced up and down, looking like a child on a sugar-high as he paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting for Gray to finish getting dressed. It was the day of the festival, and Natsu was more excited then he'd been in a long time, but Gray was proving to be like a girl when it came to getting ready; it had already been twenty minutes, and he still wasn't ready.

"Hurry up, Ice Princess! You're so sloooooowwww," Natsu complained, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Natsu, if you don't shut your trap, I'll shoot you in the leg and go to the festival without you," Gray called from the bathroom, his voice dripping with barely-hidden irritation. Natsu grinned, too happy at the prospect of having fun to be bothered by Gray's antics.

Finally, he exited the bathroom dressed in plain black jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt that hugged his chest very— Nope, not going there. He gave Natsu an annoyed look as he gathered up a bag and slung it over his shoulder. "You were complaining, so let's go already."

Natsu nodded and sprinted out the door happily, followed closely by Gray. The hallways and stairwell were awash with people, and Natsu almost lost Gray in all the hustle, and only managed to stay beside him by grabbing the strap of his bag. When they reached the lobby, they were swept out the doors by the masses of people, and eventually arrived in the courtyard.

Gray had told Natsu earlier that the festival began in the morning with games all day, and then the talent show. After that, the bonfire was lit, and the dancing and eating began. He also said that the night ended with a surprise, but no matter how much Natsu asked, Gray refused to tell him.

Finally letting go of Gray's pack, Natsu looked around, his eyes wide in wonder. "Whoa!" Carnival games were set up all up and down the courtyard, leaving only a very large space in the center empty. "Where's they find all these, anyway?"

"Before the apocalypse started, a carnival was situated in this town. Makarov had us raid it for this stuff, but we've all agreed it's been well worth it," Gray answered, smiling as two children ran by holding pinwheels and laughing. Natsu glanced around, eyes wide. "I don't even know where to start."

Gray glanced around at all the games, watching Natsu's eyes wander. He had to admit, the sakura-haired boy looked absolutely adorable with that child-like expression on his face. He forced himself to look away and his eyes fell on a nearby booth. His eyes immediately lit up and he grabbed Natsu hand, pulling him over. "Here; this one's always been my favorite."

Natsu's palm was warm, and Gray had to force himself to pull his hand away as he turned and snatched three balls from the bucket resting on the ground. "Do you know how to play?" Gray asked, glancing back at Natsu, who shook his head. "No. I never really went to a carnival."

"Here," Gray said, tugging Natsu forward with one hand. "Watch me." He handed two balls to Natsu and turned towards the three bottles set up against the back wall. "You're supposed to try and knock down those bottles. It's very simple, really."

Natsu nodded, rapt. Gray rolled his shoulder, cracking his neck from side to side. He'd played baseball in middle school, and couldn't help but do the usual wind-up as he took aim and threw the ball at the bottles. It hit the center one and sent it toppling over, knocking over the ones beside it in the process. Gray jumped up in victory and turned to grin at Natsu. "Ha! Did you see that?"

Seeming impressed, Natsu nodded. "Can I try?" As Gray set up the bottles for him, he felt the world spin around him for a split second and rested a hand on the crate the bottles rested on. After a second he was fine, and he frowned as he walked over to stand beside Natsu. That was odd...

The festival during the day was fun, but Natsu couldn't help but look forward to the night-time celebrations. While the carnival games were fun, the food and bonfire were what he was really looking forward to. Especially the food. But first was the talent show, and everyone gathered around the makeshift stage, which was constructed out of many crates and a huge plastic tarp.

There were a lot of singers in the talent show, but there were some odd acts, like gymnastics, harmonica-playing, and even someone on a pogo stick—although Natsu had no idea where they'd gotten that from. It ended with Gray's sister's play, which made the audience laugh and even shed some tears. And then, finally, it was time for the bonfire.

People started gathering wood from the piles situated around the courtyard and piled them up in the center of the empty space. By the time all the wood was piled up, Gray, Lyon, and their sister had all returned from changing, and Gray stood with Natsu and Wendy as Makarov lit a large torch.

"I'd like to thank each and every one of you present for celebrating with me this momentous occasion, the forming of the Outpost!" This proclamation was followed by loud cheering, and Makarov had to hold up a hand for silence. "You all are like children to me, and I hope to enjoy more safe years with all of you! Now, is everyone ready to start the festivities?"

A cheer went up that put the previous one to shame, and with a mighty yell, Makarov cast the torch onto the bonfire. The flames roared upwards, and immediately the musicians gathered on the stage and began a song. Natsu wanted to eat, but before he could slip away, Wendy was pulling him into the figures of the dance.

Beside Gray, Wendy pulled Natsu on to the dance floor, and Gray felt a slight twinge of regret that he hadn't been the one to ask. But he quickly wiped it away as Lucy grabbed him and pulled him out to dance. The dance itself involved lots of stomping, hand-clapping, skipping, and spinning, and was exhausting, but still very fun. You switched partners every two turns, and Gray was spinning from partner to partner so fast he could barely get a glimpse of who he was dancing with.

The music swelled and grew bright and loud in the last score of the dance, and right as Natsu grasped the hands of his last partner, it ended on a high note of the fiddle, and Gray found himself gazing into Natsu's bright olive eyes. For a second they could only stare at each other, and Gray was very aware of the fact that their hands were still touching, even though everyone else had long since pulled theirs away.

Finally, Gray let go, trying to ease the frantic beating of his heart and slow his rapid breathing. It didn't seem to be working, though, and the light of the bonfire seemed to be too much for Gray. It left searing pain behind his eyes and he tried to turn away from it, but the world seemed to be spinning around him so fast, he thought he might still be dancing.

When he tried to take a step and stumbled, Gray felt Natsu's hand on his shoulder, and he was trying to say something, but the words seemed garbled. Finally his brain seemed to link the syllables to words and the words to a sentence; Natsu was asking him if he was okay. Gray looked back at him, trying to tell him that he was fine, but he just couldn't get the right words out. What's happening to me?

Natsu looked into Gray's eyes worriedly as he tried to say something, but only managed to wheeze. "Gray, what's wrong? Do you have asthma or something? Shit, that's it, isn't it?! Do I need to get Wendy?!" By now another dance had started, and Natsu and Gray were getting annoyed looks from the people who had to skirt around them.

"Gray, do you need to sit down, 'cause I really think we should get—" Before Natsu could finish his sentence, Gray's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

It took Natsu's brain a startled second to realize what had happened, and then he was kneeling, and the dancers had stopped dancing and were gathering around them, and Natsu felt so suffocated, but he knew he had to say; "Somebody get Wendy!"

It took ten long—too long—seconds for Wendy to shove through the thick crowd and kneel on Gray's other side. Her face was pale, and she quickly stood. Lyon was kneeling beside Natsu now, and Wendy said, "Lyon, go prop open the doors. Natsu, get him up and follow me."

Lyon scurried off and Natsu slid one arm under Gray's shoulders and the other under his knees. He was surprisingly light, and Natsu stood with little effort and started carrying him towards the doors, Wendy leading the way. When they reached the infirmary, Natsu set Gray on a bed and Wendy looked up at him and Lyon. "Do either of you know if Gray has any open wounds? It doesn't matter how big or small, I just need to know."

Natsu shook his head, and Lyon started to, until he paled. "What?" Wendy demanded, seeing his crestfallen look. "What is it?!"

Lyon shook his head. "I didn't think anything of it, but... when we were rescuing Natsu, he stumbled for a second. But," he continued at Wendy's glare, "he seemed to be fine, so I didn't—"

"Turn him over," Wendy interrupted, her voice stern. Lyon and Natsu did as instructed, and feeling up and down the backs of his legs. When she reached his left calf, Gray let out a groan, and Wendy ordered, "Get his jeans off."

Natsu blushed slightly at the words, but shook it off to help Lyon. When they were off, leaving Gray in only a pair of gray boxers, Wendy gasped at the sight of his leg. When Natsu and Lyon saw it, they gasped, too, and for good reason. There was a hole in his leg, with a rough patch of red skin loosely growing over it. It oozed something gross-looking, and red lines spread out from the wound like veins. "Sepsis," Wendy breathed, her face pale.

At Natsu and Lyon's confused looks, she said, "Blood poisoning." Then she was racing off to a cabinet, digging around in it and finally pulling away with a large syringe with an even larger needle. She grabbed ones of Gray's arms, which was hanging off the bed limply, and searched frantically for a vein. When she found one, she jabbed the needle right in, and pressed down on the plunger. "Turn him back over," she demanded, and they did as instructed.

"There's no exit wound," Wendy said, worried. "That means he either left the bullet in, which I don't think he would do, or he tried to take it out himself."

"Um," Natsu piped up nervously, "what if he tried to take it out himself?"

Wendy ran a hand through her hair, clearly agitated. "He doesn't have any medical supplies, which means he most likely used a knife. And if he used a knife, there're most likely pieces of the bullet still in his leg, or maybe even shards of bone, if the bullet made contact with his tibia or fibula. But if it did make contact with bone, I doubt he'd be able to walk, so maybe..." She was muttering to herself now, and Natsu and Lyon shared nervous looks. Wendy shook her head. "It must be bullet fragments. I'll have to extract them."

She finally looked up at them, seeming to remember they were there. "I need one of you to stay and assist. Natsu."

Lyon started to protest, but Wendy cut him off with a look. "Lyon, you need to go find Ultear. She's probably freaking out right now."

When he was gone, Wendy got out a box of gloves and threw a pair to Natsu. "I hope you don't mind blood. This might get a tad bit unpleasant."

Natsu gulped.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, guys. (Lol, not really.)