So.
There's this thing in this world called the writer's block and I seem to be experiencing it on an extreme level. I don't know what to write, I don't know what to do and this chapter somehow made me feel all bored idk why. i don't mean that it was boring. I am just saying that it was more dialogue and feelz and less action, even though I supposedly excel in the former, and that somehow made the Writer's Block appear. So that's that. I think I need professional help kbyeeeeee
Several questions are answered in this chapter, and quite a few mysteries solved. Just a heads up. I read though the chapter, like, twice. If you spot any mistakes, feel free to point out. Or don't idk whatevs.
Warning: Angst, feels, minor fluff and major issues. Also, cliffhanger, kinda.
Disclaimer: Ugh.
Chapter 12
In Veracity
"You dare utter her name?"
Time froze. Gray felt like a vital part was suddenly missing. His gaze remained fixed at Lyon's livid face. It shifted to his outstretched arm and then toward the part of his body it was pointing at. The moment his gaze fixed at his missing leg, his vision blurred.
Gray felt himself drowning in the excruciating pain. It was nothing compared what he had felt before. The severed limb along with millions of needles stabbing into his skin… it hurt.
It hurt!
Vaguely, Gray heard a scream. He suspected it was his own. Multiple beeping sounds were created by his armor as warning signals. Then he heard a distinctive roar from afar and suddenly, his world was enveloped with a blanket of searing heat. Vague explosions resounded around him.
His mind buzzed. His armor beeped. His head spun in pain. His body felt like it was burning at an agonizingly slow pace, like something was eating away his skin.
The beam… it was slowly destroying his armor, hurting him in the process.
"… ray, get a hold of yourself…" he heard a voice frantically speaking. He sucked in a pained breath as another upsurge of the searing pain hit him.
He wasn't supposed to feel the pain. NeuroLink was a game, after all. All he knew was that Black Ice wasn't functioning. And that was because of the beam, the mystery beam derived from the Virus Scanners. That beam was responsible for the pain. And the pain won't go away. And it hurt. It hurt, dammit!
Vaguely, he felt a small wave of relief. The pain seemed to ebb away a little. He gasped and opened his eyes, locking his gaze with Wendy. Wendy, of course… She could take away the pain. She was a healer, after all. The girl smiled at him reassuringly.
But this wasn't any normal beam he was hit with. Then how was she able to heal him?
He felt someone's fingers running through his hair. He turned towards Erza, who gazed at him with sadness.
"… Both of you… log out… the beam… to kill you both…"
Gray frowned in confusion. And then his eyes widened fractionally in realization. Wendy and he were vulnerable to the beam. And that was because of the armor he had given to her.
Wendy's life was in danger.
And it was because of him.
Not again…
He turned his head towards the battle, and immediately shuddered. Multiple colors flashed as Fairy Tail attacked his surrogate brother. The most prominent of them all was a silver armored player completely doused in flames, attacking Lyon with all he had. But that didn't bother him. Lyon's eyes were fixed on him with an unreadable expression on his face.
Lyon's eyes shifted to Wendy and then to Gray again. Had Lyon figured out Wendy could heal Gray, that she could counter the effect of the disintegrating beam? Gray gulped, with dread settling down in his gut.
When their eyes locked again, Lyon smirked at him. A chill ran down his spine. Lyon was going to do something terrible.
Suddenly, Master of Lamia Scale blasted off every guild member surrounding him. He heard a few garbled words spoken by Lyon when he outstretched an arm towards Gray's direction.
No, not Gray. He was pointing towards Wendy.
Gray's eyes widened. No, he couldn't let Lyon hurt the little girl. He couldn't have another life sacrificed because of his own shortcomings.
Not again.
Gray froze in horror. He saw his surrogate mother collapse in front of him, as he dangled helplessly from Deliora's vice grip. He shivered uncontrollably, unable to comprehend it. Ur couldn't die, right? No way! She was strong. She was unyielding. She always protected him.
Ur would wake up. She would wake up and kick Deliora's ass and they would return to the guild safe and sound. He watched, hoping against hope for her to move.
But that did not happen. Gray watched in disbelief as her lifeline blinked red and slowly became empty. He let in a shuddering gasp. Ur's avatar slowly dissolved into pixels. The pixels then slowly assimilated into the atmosphere.
No… Ur couldn't die. Ur wouldn't… leave him alone…
Not again…
Gray wouldn't let anyone else fall for his weakness. He wouldn't let anyone else pay for his own sins.
Gray remembered that he was screaming. He remembered a bright light emitting from him. He remembered that Deliora was shrieking. He remembered Lyon running towards the bright light. And the last thing he remembered was the platinum-haired boy freezing in horror at the sight of the message:
Player Deceased: Zephyria
Before Gray realized, he had already pushed Wendy away.
An excruciating amount of searing pain originated on his torso. The disintegrating beam burnt its way through his armor, through his body, through his heart. But his eyes remained at Lyon. Something akin to unease fluttered across Lyon's face, before Gray's vision blanked out altogether.
And then he fell.
He felt himself falling into a void.
He felt himself spiraling in and out of reality.
He felt his world dissipating.
With shock, Gray realized that he was dying.
The pain disappeared slowly, replaced by a vague numbness. He blinked and heard a formless red mass scream his name. He blinked and saw dialog boxes blink away. He blinked and heard Wendy crying. He blinked and saw the blurred beautiful clear sky of the NeuroWorld. He blinked and saw a tuft of pink in front of him.
Pink hair, he thought.
Natsu…
Gray vaguely remembered something. He had to save the game. But his mind was drifting. He was losing consciousness. He was dying. How could he save the game, if he was dying?
No, he had to fight it. There was another way. He was certain of it.
End Game
Maybe Gray said it, maybe he didn't. But the last thing he saw was confusion marring Natsu's face. And then, he was fading.
He was drifting.
He was sinking.
No, not yet, he had to tell Natsu something important. But he knew he couldn't speak anymore. He was losing the fight. He was drifting away.
People regretted the things they didn't do in their lives.
In the end, a singular thought swirled in his mind, 'I wasn't ever able to confess.' Gray closed his eyes, giving up the fight. And slowly, the darkness consumed him.
Gray blinked his eyes open. He caught a fading glimpse of a golden sphere, before it disappeared, revealing a beautiful blue sky. He frowned in confusion. Where was he? Last he remembered, he was drifting in and out of consciousness, on the brink of…
Gray gasped. He was dead. Then how was he back?
The raven saw a faint glow coming from his right. He looked around to see a cylinder glowing and then disintegrating. Suddenly, he was enveloped in an unfamiliar heat.
"I thought I'd lost you," the blanket of warmth whispered, hugging him close. Gray gaped in disbelief. The hair, the voice, and even the warmth… it indeed was Natsu. And if Natsu was here, it meant that Gray was in the NeuroWorld. He was alive. Gray tried to back away from the heat, but the latter pulled him even closer, refusing to let go.
"Gray-san," he heard a small voice beside him. Gray felt a slight heat creep up his face. He had completely overlooked the presence of other people around him. The raven turned away from Natsu to look at Wendy. Her bangs partially covered her face, masking her expression from Gray.
The little girl sniffed, "G-Gray-san…" She broke down into sobs and launched herself at Gray as well.
"Wendy…" Gray whispered, awkwardly petting her hair. He had never been good handling crying girls, after all. "Are you okay?" he asked Wendy.
"Of course I am okay!" Wendy nearly wailed, making Gray wince. Wendy spoke frantically, "Who asked you to-… You didn't have to push me… You died, Gray-san!" she started sobbing freely.
Gray frowned, "I just wanted to… save you."
Wendy sat up and glared at him. "I don't care what you were doing! You have no right to throw your life away like that!"
"I… I can't do that!" Gray exclaimed, "I can't just sit back and watch you die! I don't care what happens to me, if I can save a person I love." Gray gulped. "Not again," he whispered, "Never again…"
Suddenly, the warmth around Gray disappeared. Natsu sat up and frowned at Gray. What was he talking about? Gray looked up at him slightly frowning in confusion, as if he had forgotten Natsu's presence. The confusion then morphed into a blank expression. Natsu still felt odd, being able to see Gray's veritable expressions all of a sudden.
The pinkette shook his head. "You are an idiot," Natsu stated, matching the glare Wendy was throwing at him. "You don't die for the people you love, Gray. You live for them."
Gray looked away, frowning. A blank broken look came upon his deep blue eyes, worrying Natsu. Did he say something wrong?
Natsu watched as Gray let out a sigh, "I'm sorry for worrying you, Wendy."
Wendy paused, biting her lip. Her anger then disappeared. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered, "Just don't ever do that again."
"I…" Gray sighed, "I promise."
Natsu smiled slightly. But the anxiety still lingered at the back of his mind. Natsu noticed that Gray's eyes still remained void of emotion, and that worried him. He recalled the battle that took place a while ago. Gray's sudden inaction after recognizing Lyon, him jumping in front of Wendy… Gray's actions worried Natsu. His former partner was just putting up a brave front.
Gray was not okay.
"Did you use the Ultimate Life?" Natsu blinked and focused on the speaker. Gray was frowning at him, his eyes slowly reflecting horror. "Answer me, Natsu," Gray asked with stern face, his voice slightly wavering.
"Yes," Natsu replied, cautiously, "Yes I did."
Gray shuffled and tried to stand, but he immediately winced. Natsu rushed to help him sit on the grass. "Your player programming data is still in the process of reconstruction." Natsu blabbered, desperate to change the topic, "S-Something is countering the healing process for some reason. It may take time to-"
"Why would you do that?" Gray whispered, slightly breathless. "Why did you save me? Why would you waste the UL on someone like me?"
"Waste?" Natsu muttered in disbelief. Was that the way Gray saw himself? Natsu gulped, "You were dying, Gray. I didn't want you to die."
"It was the last UL!" Gray screamed at him. "You used it up! You used them all up! It was supposed to be used for saving the lives of the deceased players. Someone could have replicated them. Someone could have…" Gray panted slightly, "Why did you use it on me, you idiot?" Gray sucked in a shaky breath, and suddenly, his crystal eyes filled up with tears.
Natsu sat down on his knees. He grabbed Gray's shoulders and reached out to wipe off his tears. Something was terribly wrong with Gray. Natsu had never seen him like this before. Gray really didn't care if he lived or died? A feeling of dread settled in Natsu's stomach.
Natsu gently urged Gray's chin up. "It wasn't the last one, Gray," Natsu whispered. He opened up his inventory to show Gray the last Ultimate Life. Gray looked at the UL and then back at Natsu, blinking in confusion.
"H-How…?"
"The one I used on… on Lisanna didn't really work. Lyon interrupted before I could understand why, so…" Natsu chuckled nervously, "You don't have to worry."
"It didn't work?" Gray whispered again with an unreadable expression. Natsu looked at him cautiously. Wasn't he supposed to be glad?
"It didn't work on a deceased player." Gray muttered shakily, "Oh god, the UL doesn't work on the deceased players." Natsu gasped, realizing what Gray was saying.
Natsu looked behind Gray towards his guild mates for help, but everyone seemed frozen at the scene. He gazed towards Erza, in hope for some consolation. Instead, she looked nearly as stricken as Gray was.
Suddenly, Erza whirled around, looking downhill towards the guild. "People are coming. Hide him," she commanded to Natsu. Natsu quickly hugged Gray to his chest. Gray looked up at Natsu and felt his face. He gasped lightly, realizing his helmet was missing. Natsu veered his gaze away as the remaining guild members appeared from the forest.
"Looks like the brawl is over," Droy scoffed, "We were right to sit that one out."
Erza's face twitched in anger. "You knew that your guild mates were in danger and yet you didn't come to help?"
"Hey, it's not our problem," Jet spoke up, "It was your fault to meddle into an outsider's fight. Black Ice is not a part Fairy Tail anymore."
Erza's eyes flashed in anger. She nearly charged, but was stopped by an arm around hers. She turned to glare at Jellal. The red-armored player was about to tell Jellal off, but stopped, hearing a voice from the group behind her.
"How can you call him an outsider, Jet?" Levy glared at him.
"L-Levy-chan…" Jet fumbled around with words, "I didn't mean…"
"It's your fault he left in the first place!" She continued, "It was because of your… of our heartlessness that he had to leave his own home," Levy looked away in shame, "If only I had said something earlier, he wouldn't have left. He wouldn't have…" Levy sniffed. Jet and Droy looked at each other anxiously.
Gajeel, Levy's partner, walked forward from behind her, making her look up. Suddenly, Jet and Droy winced as two fists landed on their heads simultaneously.
"You made shrimp cry, you assholes," Gajeel sneered at them.
Macao gritted his teeth, "Hey, how is it our fault that someone happened to pick a fight with Black Ice?"
"The guy who was fighting Black Ice," Cana said, scowling at Macao, "was the Master of Lamia Scale, old man. And he came here to harm Fairy Tail."
"Is that so?" Wakaba mocked, "Now he is fighting the others' wars?"
Cana scowled, but froze, sensing a dark presence beside her.
Beside her, Mirajane stood, with bangs covering her eyes. A dark aura surrounded her, the one that had never shown up since the fateful war.
In a venomous voice, Mira muttered, "I can't believe Black Ice nearly died for people like you."
Several gasps emitted from the crowd.
Jellal pulled away Erza from the crowd. "You both need to get out of here."
"But-"
"Erza," Jellal's tone made Erza stop complaining. "I saw the way you reacted to his death. You need to rest, and so does he. Listen to me for once." As an afterthought, he added, "I'll tell the others about the secret identity agreement."
Erza nodded subtly and turned towards Gray and Natsu. She frowned and connected to Laxus.
"Get him out of here."
"Yeah." He replied shortly.
Gray shut his eyes tight and subconsciously held Natsu tighter, in hope of disappearing altogether. He couldn't do it. He couldn't hear them quarrelling over him. If it wasn't bad enough that most of them knew his identity already.
"Gray?" Natsu whispered questioningly.
Gray looked at him in pained eyes. "I can't do this." Natsu watched as Gray slowly distorted and disappeared.
Gray had logged out.
He looked up to see Erza frown towards where Gray was. She then looked at Natsu and glared. Natsu looked away, realizing why she was doing so. He watched from the corner of his eyes as she logged out as well.
Natsu closed his eyes and sighed. He then stood up, determined, and walked towards bickering guild. At least, he would remove one source of despair from Gray's life.
Stars decorated the vastness of the sky, with a slight breeze gently swaying the leaves. Natsu unraveled his way through the forest. He walked towards the small meadow on the western edge of the hill. After all, that had been the place he had found Gray the last time, the time when Natsu had broken off their partnership.
The forest slowly thinned down, revealing the beautiful expanse of green grass. A certain black armored player sat at the edge of the valley. One leg dangled down and the other supported his arm, as Gray looked up at the sky.
Grass crunched underneath his feet as he approached the raven haired male. Natsu was surprised, seeing him without his helmet. He wondered why Gray decided to do so.
"You found me again," Gray said, startling Natsu. Gray turned to look at the pinkette, his crystal eyes shining in the gentle moonlight, "C'mon, join me. Don't tell me this place scares you after our little episode yesterday," he added mockingly. Natsu stared him in disbelief, making Gray frown, "What, is my face that ugly?"
That seemed to snap Natsu out, "N-No… um-it's a nice… face?" Natsu scratched his head, cussing his own stupidity, making Gray let out a chuckle. Natsu sighed, "I'm sorry, Gray. I wasn't-"
Gray shushed him and patted a small patch beside him, "Sit, Natsu."
Natsu quietly walked towards the edge and awkwardly fumbled into a sitting position. He looked down towards the city, drinking in the scenery. He wasn't able to appreciate the scenery yesterday. He was sitting on a hill, which surrounded Magnolia from three sides. The city sat in the middle, as if protected by the valley. On the fourth side was the sea, completing the beauty of the scenery that even the burnt city couldn't suppress.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He heard Gray mutter and turned to look at him. Wind gently twirled his hair, revealing a small scar above his eyebrow.
Gray smiled slightly, "I would always come here, when I am sad." He looked at Natsu, "I would come here and look at Magnolia, calming myself down. But not that I think about it," he said, slightly frowning, "It had never seemed to work."
"What?" Natsu asked in confusion.
Gray shook his head, still smiling. "Somehow, every time I'd come here, someone or another would show up, interrupting my 'brooding time', as Erza likes to call it. And somehow, I always ended up feeling better." Gray looked away and stared up at the sky. Natsu frowned, seeing the sad expression.
Something was wrong. This Gray was different from the Gray in the afternoon. That Gray was devastated, unable to think rationally, broken. But this Gray was calmer, sad, but definitely better. What had happened? Did Gray get over his brother's betrayal so quickly? Or was this just another mask, hiding his true dark feelings? Both the options terrified Natsu.
With all the things Natsu's former partner had gone through these past few days, the fight was definitely the worst. And considering what Natsu did to Gray…
Suddenly, Natsu couldn't stop himself, "I'm so sorry, Gray. I didn't -"
"Natsu, this is not why-"
"No, listen to me, please." Gray bit his lip, but didn't stop Natsu. The pinkette took it as a positive sign, "You don't have to forgive me. I just… don't know what happened yesterday. I didn't… I still can't believe what I did. I never meant to break it off, I swear. But I don't know… something just made me…"
When Gray didn't say anything, Natsu looked up at him. Gray was looking down, with sad half-lidded eyes.
"I met Wendy a little while ago." He spoke after a pause. "I had to retrieve the Storm Bringer from her, for her own safety."
"Storm Bringer?"
"Oh, you don't know," Gray said, "Her armor is called Storm Bringer, like mine is Black Ice. With yers of hard work meticulous programming, I created the invincible armors myself. The invincible armors, specially created to protect the players and counter the deadly game.
"I was a tester for the armor. And it worked, really. Never have I ever died before, whether in safe zone or not. But it looks like they found a weakness, after all."
Natsu whistled in awe, "That's amazing. The idea I mean," he corrected hastily.
Gray continued, "Anyway, the moment I met her, she returned it to me herself, you know? She handed it to me on her own, saying she isn't scared anymore. That she was ready to face the demons on her own.
"I was proud, but I was also worried," he looked at Natsu, "When I asked her, she told me the more she'd cower, the more people would find ways to use her. Heh, looks like I gotta take some lessons from the little girl."
Natsu felt something settle down in his throat, "Gray, I'm so-"
But Gray shook his head, "Do you know why she gave up her armor?"
Natsu looked at him as Gray looked down again. "She found SkyGoddess, her partner, talking to Reitei via holographic imagery." Natsu's eyes widened marginally.
"He was apparently reprimanding her for teaching Wendy the exceptional healing technique, you know, by which she was able to heal me to some extent.
"Basically, Wendy found out that SkyGoddess was some kind of a spy from Lamia Scale. Wendy confronted her. They had a fight. And Wendy asked her to leave.
"The point is that SkyGoddess confessed the stuff she did to Fairy Tail. She was secretly controlling the minds of the guild members by her powers. She was somehow deliberately swaying them against the 'mighty Black Ice with his formidable powers'," Gray scoffed, "And of course, you were one of the players she was controlling."
Natsu looked down, unable to meet Gray's eyes. No, this felt like an easy way out for him, to escape the consequences of his mistake without a trial.
"But it was my fault." He whispered.
Gray resumed his position of staring at the sky, "Think whatever you want to. I just… I just want you to know that I don't blame you."
"B-But I was selfish. I tried to use the UL without asking you. I left you, when you needed me. And I… I hurt you."
Gray sighed, rubbing his face. He fixed his piercing gaze on Natsu again, "And I don't know how else to put this, but I forgive you."
"But I-"
"I said that I forgave you," Gray snapped, "not that I want to be partners again. At least, not now," He added carefully, looking over at Natsu.
When Natsu continued brooding silently, Gray shook his head, sighing. "My name is Gray Fullbuster Milkovich. I am nineteen years old. I like the color blue. Dragons piss me off-"
"What are you doing?" Natsu asked, baffled.
Gray turned towards him with that alluring half-smile again, "You wanted to know more about me, right?"
With that, he continued listing off his hobbies, his favorite food, the songs he absolutely loved, and Natsu watched in awe.
"My parents," he said, "died in a car accident when I was seven. At night, an officer showed up at my doorstep, telling me what had happened. Apparently some drunken truck driver had-"
"Gray, you don't have to-"
Gray let out a bitter laugh, "I already got the perfect example of what happens when I don't talk." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "That was the day our neighbor, Ur, took me in. I used to mope and she used to come to me, cook me nice things, and spoil me in the process. I mean… I was clearly a hindrance. I would scream at her, break her stuff, and fight with Lyon. I was insufferable 'brat'.
"But she never gave up on me. She understood how I lonely felt. She figured out how depressed I was. And soon enough, without even realizing, I had found a new family."
"She sounds like an amazing person."
"Oh, believe me, she was," Gray told Natsu about how he was introduced to the game by Lyon. He talked about his quests, his misadventures, and his amazing experiences with his newfound family. He smiled, recalling his beautiful memories with Fairy Tail.
Then his expression slowly changed to nostalgic to distressing.
He told him about the war, about the people being killed ruthlessly. He talked about Lisanna, their discovery of the glitch coma. And then he paused, before he narrated his memory of Ur's death.
He was just a child, Natsu thought, staring at Gray as he recounted the painful memory forever etched in his mind.
"I had initially wanted to acquire the Ultimate Lives to save Ur," Gray said, "to flee with them to her grave the first chance I find, and bring her back to life."
Hearing Gray say that, with the pain laced in his voice, made Natsu instantly feel guilty. He had tried to use it for Lisanna, without even considering the other people suffering the same manner in the NeuroWorld.
As if voicing out his thoughts, Gray said, "Then I realized how selfish that was."
Natsu bit his lip, "You scared, no; you terrified me when you jumped in front of the beam today. Is this the reason why you didn't even consider…?" Natsu left the thought unfinished, when he felt a dark vibe coming from Gray.
"I don't know." He said at last, "I wasn't thinking, Natsu. All I wanted was to protect Wendy."
Gray's voice dropped down, when he retold the aftermath of his stepmother's death. "I remember Lyon staring at the… the deceased player sign, with his… his-" Gray gulped, "And then he looked at me, with an expression I had never seen before.
"Hatred," Gray's voice shook as he uttered the word, "Pure hatred."
Natsu placed a hand on Gray's shoulder, "Gray-" he wanted to ask him not to continue, but stopped himself with utmost reluctance.
Gray looked up and mustered a fake smile, which faded soon after, "He told me… he told me I killed Ur. He accused me for not saving her. He told me I should have died along with my parents. And he… he promised that he would avenge Ur by-…" Gray took in a deep shuddering breath, which turned into a whimper.
"Maybe he was right." Gray whispered.
"Oh shut up, you idiot," Natsu hugged the raven-haired male. "You're dwelling on all the wrong memories. That asshole doesn't deserve it, Gray."
"No, you don't understand," Gray said between sobs, "He wasn't like this. Something changed that day. He completely flipped that moment. And it was my own fault."
"No," Natsu said, frowning, "It wasn't your fault. Ur didn't die because of you. She died because she chose to protect you with her life, because she wanted you to live on. And Lyon changed because of his own stupid, asshole-y decisions. It's not your fault-"
To Natsu's surprise, Gray chuckled at his comment. He separated from the pinkette and looked at him with his glassy eyes. "I can't believe you. Asshole-y," Gray shook his head, still laughing and wiping off his tears.
"Um," To say Natsu was perplexed was an understatement. His reaction to Gray's musical laugh was another topic altogether.
"Since the moment I met you, Natsu," Gray said, smiling, "And mind you, this is not based on the asshole-y comment. You have seemed to change my whole perception of this world. I mean, you are silly, spontaneous, overbearing, constantly teasing me, constantly make a fool of yourself-"
"Gee, thanks."
"And as much as it pains me to say this," Gray continued teasingly, "You are easy to open up to. You are fun to hang around with. You make me feel determined, make me want to do silly things, make me want to do stuff impromptu. In my whole gaming experience, I have never met someone as radiant as you before."
Natsu felt heat creep up his cheeks. "Um… thanks? I don't know what to say."
"Oh, you don't have to," Natsu watched as Gray's face turned gloomy again.
"I have never met someone like you."
Instantly, Natsu understood what Gray was talking about. No one in Gray's life treated him well. He thought about Erza and the Dreyars, but they sounded too rigid. Wendy was too young to me buddies. And Sabertooth was another matter altogether.
No one in Gray's life was as remarkable as Natsu had been. No one has treated him the way Natsu had. Natsu really meant so much to Gray?
You are no different from the rest of them.
Natsu bit his lip, feeling a sudden urge to throw up. What have I done?
"I don't know how, but you seem to set me right." Gray muttered, "Dammit, I can't lose you. There's just something that-" Gray suddenly gasped, as if he had said something he shouldn't have. He frantically turned away from Natsu, and glared intensely at a distant tree.
"Gray?" Natsu asked, but the boy remained silent, "What's wrong?"
"I-I-… I didn't plan it to be this way." Gray sighed in a defeated manner, "But this had been eating me up since I died. And I don't think I can wait any longer…" he ended in a small voice. Natsu waited in mild confusion and worry as the boy fumbled around with his words.
"U-um…" Gray started awkwardly, "Remember when you told me that you liked me the way Erza wanted you to?" Natsu immediately winced, recalling yesterday's events. He waited anxiously for Gray to complete his thought.
"Is this about yesterday?"
"No, I… I just wanted to say," Gray let out a pained sigh, "I like you too."
Natsu immediately sighed in relief. "You scared me for a while, Ice hea-"
Gray immediately shook his head and muttered, "Dammit, that's not what I-… I don't want to lose you. Not again..." Natsu frowned. There was that phrase again, the one he had kept repeating before.
He watched as Gray stood up with bangs covering his eyes.
"I like you too," Gray said with a shaky voice, "and not the way Erza wanted me to."
For a second, Natsu stared at Gray in confusion, when suddenly it hit him. Gray liked him. Gray liked him. Of all the things in the world, how the hell was he supposed to reply to that?
Natsu's expression must have mirrored his shock, because the moment Gray took a look at him, he immediately turned away and started walking downhill.
"Gray, listen-"
"Gray, there you are." A new voice joined them. Natsu cursed in his head. Bad timing, Erza!
Erza rushed to the scene, panting slightly. "Master is back." She said, looking testily at both the males. Gray nodded briskly and continued downhill. Natsu watched in distress as Gray continued walking, as if he could physically see his soul contracting into him and being iced over forever.
Natsu started after Gray, but was stopped by Erza, "What did you say to him?"
"I was just apologizing." He watched as Gray disappeared from sight. He sighed defeated and turned towards Erza, and immediately recoiled at her demonic expression.
"Why?" She demanded, "Didn't I specifically ask you to stay from him?"
Natsu trembled at the intensity of her glare, "H-He called me over." Natsu muttered, "He had said he wanted to talk to me." Natsu gulped, "And he said that he forgave me."
Erza looked at him skeptically, "Really?"
"Y-Yeah."
Erza seemed to consider his words. "If that's how it is, then."
Erza paused, "Also, I apologize for my behavior. I didn't mean to say those things to you, when Gray had…" She exhaled, "Thank you for saving his life."
"Um," Natsu stuttered, "It's okay. Don't mention it."
She then straightened up and mustered the best poker face one could, "With that being said, I will not forgive you that easily. You hurt someone I cared for."
Natsu looked down sadly, "I understand."
Erza nodded in satisfaction, "Come along. You should meet Master Makarov as well."
Natsu nodded and followed the red-armored player.
I'm so stupid.
Gray walked down the hill as fast as he could to avoid crossing paths with Natsu. What was I thinking, saying those things to him? He pondered, Of course he was shocked. Maybe even repulsed…
Gray shook his head to get the negative thoughts out. He had had enough of them already. He mentally rebuked himself for being so spontaneous. He knew he wouldn't have done it in any other manner. He knew that if he hadn't confessed, he would have berated himself for it forever. After all, the last thought that had come into his mind was a sense of regret for not telling Natsu.
But he was so caught up in his frantic attempt to let it all out of his system that he had disregarded Natsu's reaction altogether.
Suddenly, the screens in front of him flickered. Gray frowned. That had never happened before. Was his armor malfunctioning?
He opened up the dialog box and logged out of the game. He had to check what was wrong. He felt himself warp into a tunnel-like zone before he found himself in real world. His Mind Connector blinked out. He blearily opened his eyes and sat up.
Suddenly, Gray jumped, hearing a voice, "I think I had asked you not to go into the game," Laxus snapped, twirling around Gray's chair to face him.
"Oh gods, you scared me, Laxus." Gray rubbed his face and stood up.
"Oh, sure, blame it on me." Laxus stood up glaring the raven haired male. "I go out for a second and the next thing I know is that you are back in the game. Do you know how fucking worried I was? Fuck, it's bad enough that I let you die."
"Laxus," Gray sighed, running his hand though his hair, "It's not your fault. I was just-"
Suddenly, Gray froze, making Laxus frown. "What's wrong?"
"I felt something…" Gray gasped and hastily removed his Mind Connector. To Laxus' surprise, he threw it across the room. The Black Ice controller collided with the wall and shattered into pieces.
"Hey! What the hell-?"
Gray rushed towards his computer system when Laxus heard the sound of feet rushing towards the room. The door was flung open and a bottle-green haired male entered the room.
"What's wrong?" Freed gushed out in concern, inspecting Laxus in worry, "I heard something breaking."
"Hell if I know," Laxus muttered, scowling at the raven, surfing through his system. "That punk just happened to fling Black Ice across the room."
Freed's sea green eyes narrowed, "Why did he-?"
"Oh no…" Gray muttered, making Laxus turn to look at him. The raven had horror plastered across his face. Laxus approached the screen to look what he was looking at.
Laxus gazed in horror at the screen, across which six bold red letters prominently situated, spelling out the worst nightmare for the Dreyar Company.
"Go to the guild," Laxus said, looking at Freed, "and tell gramps something terrible has happened."
"Why?" Freed asked, walking in."What's wrong?"
Gray turned towards Freed, with horror etched on his face.
"The game is hacked."
TBC
SO.
First (and last maybe) confession ever!
(Last cuz GOSH THAT WAS DIFFICULT OMG fuck it felt so awkward for me to write that out like fuuuuck. I need honest comments about that one shiz, if possible, cuz OMG.)
OK. Insecurities aside. Hope you enjoyed!
Feedback is always appreciated!
Kori
