Chapter 2! You're welcome ;)
I wanna thank you guys for the reviews, it made me so happy and complete inside :D
With that said, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Would I be writing fanfictions, if I owned the whole thing?
It took some time for the confused Gray to be fully aware of what was going on around him. He didn't register when Michael examined him, nor when Mirajane offered him food. He just sat there, impatiently awaiting to be able to talk to either Erza or someone who knew what the hell happened to him.
"Will you cut it out already! I'm fine!" He snapped at last and slapped Michael's hand away from his face.
"Well, at least we know he's energetic." Michael sighed with a smile, making Gray roll his eyes in annoyance.
The ice mage frowned at his guild mates, who by all means were ecstatic that he had awoken. His hand still resided in Juvia's, which owner was still fast asleep. Gray felt the need to wake her, so they could talk, but when he reached out to try, his hand was stopped by Erza.
"Don't, she needs it." Erza let his other hand go and looked down to the sleeping water mage. "She hasn't slept at all lately." She told him, which just served to confused him even more.
Why hadn't Juvia slept? And what did she mean lately, it was only a couple of days ago they came home, right?
Mirajane, who had entered the room rather fast when she heard of Gray's awakening - All with a plate of food -, quickly got tired of everyone's talking and sighing, so she hushed them all and almost shoved them out the door. The only ones remaining were Erza, the sleeping Juvia, Gray in his bed and Mira herself. Even Cana had been rushed out, much to her displeasure.
"So? Is someone gonna tell me what the hack is going on or not?!" Gray fussed and frowned deeply.
"Well Gray, what you gotta understand is that we've been really worried about you and is just thrilled you woke up, okay?" Mira tried calming him down, obviously to no avail as he just sighed heavily and looked to Erza, waiting for her to say something.
"It's been awhile since we came back." Erza stated, getting right to the point.
"Huh?" Gray raised an eyebrow at her, blaming her slightly for his confusion. "What are you saying?"
"Two weeks to be exact and you have been unconscious since then." She ignored his question and let her words sink in, as she shifted on her feet, still tired from her vicious training earlier that day.
"Wait wait wait, so you're telling me; we rescued Juvia two weeks ago and I've been unconscious since then?!" Gray's eyes were wild, as he threw his free hand through his hair. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm sorry Gray." Mira said, feeling the need to apologize.
"What happened then?! To Neel?! And-" Gray was freaking out until he quickly looked down to Juvia, which made him freeze in place, only now noticing how tired and frail she looked. "And what's wrong with Juvia?" He questioned calmly.
Erza looked to Mira, so did Gray.
"Well, since you've been down for so long, Juvia was really worried about you." Mira stated explaining. "She stayed up every night, just so she could be there if you finally decided to open your eyes."
"So she hasn't slept for two weeks?!" Gray sounded angry, but did not know at who.
"She did get her occasional five minutes or so, but basically no sleep at all really." Mira looked uncomfortable somehow, but swallowed the feeling raw. "That's not all though."
"There's more?!" Gray was furious, but still did not know who to direct his anger towards.
"Yes well, she hasn't exactly been eating much either." She quickly continued, dodging Gray's glare. "She told us; if you - Gray - didn't eat, then neither would she."
"Are you stupid?! Just force her then! How could you just let her starve herself?!" Gray didn't feel particularly proud of insulting Mirajane, but he was a little to angry to care right now, he would apologize later.
Neither Mira nor Erza had an answer for him, they just stood there watching Gray's angry, yet worried features.
"What about the others?! What happened after that?" Gray continued, not wanting to start a further argument.
As both Mira and Erza explained things to him, he became more or less angry. As he was told about Levi's recovering his frown lessened a little, but when he was told about Natsu's preference of the graveyard, it came right back full force. It all sounded like a story, a telling of someone else's life. A stranger who had nothing to do with him and his friends.
"And Juvia's leg?" He questioned them, remembering how bad in shape it had been.
"Almost fully healed, though Michael did say it would have gone faster if she had-" Mira got japped in the rips mid-sentence. Erza had stopped her from completing it, well knowing it would just rile Gray up yet again.
Not noting it, Gray let out a frustrated sigh and settled down in his bed once again, his hair messing out on the pillow. If only he had been awake. Juvia would have eaten and slept, Natsu and Lucy probably wouldn't be so obsessed with Leon's demise and he could have helped them all through it. Just like they in return, would help him through his none existing injuries. That was the weird part though, why had he been down for so long? The last he remembered was an agonizing pain in his head and then everything went black. That could have been equivalent to a blow to the head, from which you would normally awake a couple of days later, max. Yet he had been unconscious for two whole weeks, so what could have created that short term coma?
"We need to get her into a bed." Mira said to Erza, while eyeing Juvia's exhausted form.
"You're right." Erza responded and moved towards the water mage. With help from Mira, they both got the bluenette into a bed next to Gray's. Juvia looked pale and as worrying as that was, the two females was still more focused on the awakened ice mage.
Gray on the other hand, wasn't even looking at them. Having gotten up and into a sitting position once again, the dark haired teen was staring at his hand. It felt oddly cold after Juvia's touch had vanished. Gray usually welcomed the cold, liked it even, but now that same feeling had turned into one of loneliness and dread. Why did he feel like that? It was weird, really.
"Now, you have to eat this." Mirajane said, breaking Gray out of his thoughts. She was holding a bowl of suspiciously green, steamy soup. One which did not appeal to Gray's appetite what so ever. He knew however, that if he hadn't eaten decent food in two weeks, his body needed the necessities in the forest green substance. So he downed the bowl quickly, surprised by it's rich taste.
The wind flowed violently through his hair, messing up his bangs. It didn't face him even in the slightest, but it did however serve in making him stare harder at the stone in front of him. The sun baked down from above, making him slightly sweat from his pores, but not even that made him show any acknowledgement of the world around him. He had spent his time earlier walking back and fourth between this place and his other friend who needed his thoughts. Now he was stuck, like he had been so many times before, these past two weeks. Nothing changed, it was routine that drove him. Friends from the guild would spontaneously stop by once in a while, but they never stayed long. Probably do to his gloomy attitude. He wished to break free, to go back and live his life, but every single time he tried to leave, his conscience would make him feel like he was betraying them. They deserved better. He barely went home anymore, but he didn't see that as much of a big deal. His house was as messy as ever and he hadn't planned on cleaning it even if he wasn't stuck here wandering about. So it wasn't that.
His thoughts went to Lucy, who was probably crying her eyes out right that moment. It didn't sit well with him, having her suffering like that, but he had no comforting words to share, so he just left her alone for the time being. The fire mage heaved a deep sigh, where he for the fifth time that day, stepped forward and let his fingertips feel the rough stone in the ground. The touch made his jaw tighten and he felt like growling as a dog. His thumb brushed past one of the letters and reminded him how small a number there actually was. Four letters, that's all. That once again didn't seem fair.
The pink haired boy looked around on all the other gravestones. All of them home to various of loved ones, all of whom had their full name written on their tomb. Not the kid however.
It was strange. Natsu had only known the fifteen year old for a couple of days and yet, that had been enough to make him care for the boy as a friend. It was odd, how much his death affected the fire mage and how angry it made him. He didn't know who to blame, Signe? She had dealt the fatal blow and killed him. Leon? The kid had sacrificed himself, like it didn't matter. Or maybe himself? He had been the one who wasn't strong enough to protect his friend and now Leon was paying the price.
A twig snapped somewhere behind Natsu, but the fire mage had felt this presence so many times in his life, he knew who was standing there without even looking.
"So, here you are again Natsu."
The pink haired boy let his hand drop from Leon's headstone and turned to look at his visitor.
"Been spending an awful lot of time here lately, haven't we?" The man asked in a calm, yet caring tone. A warm breeze took hold of the trees around them and made the leaves whisper a wind-full song.
Natsu remained silent in his company, but turned to look at the kid's resting place once again. It had been hard to convince the church to let him be buried here. They believed; since he wasn't from this area, he should be buried in his own town, but since they would get the entire Fairy Tail guild on their case if they refused, they caved in and held a burial.
"Master, am I in the wrong?" Natsu suddenly asked the old man by his side.
Makarov looked up at his child and spoke wisely. "Both yes and no."
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked hastily, a little cross about not getting a clear answer.
"You are not wrong in sticking by your friend and respecting him, even in death. You are however wrong, when you neglect your living family of friends, who are worried about you and your well being." The master said.
Natsu sighed again. "I've tried to walk away."
"I know and I really didn't think I would've had to say this to you Natsu, but do you really think the kid would be happy seeing you torture yourself like this?" Makarov asked seriously.
"Probably not." Natsu commented and couldn't help but notice, how out of character he was being.
"So what is bothering you?" The old man asked, while scratching his bald spot.
"I didn't even know his last name." Natsu stated and fisted his hands. "I didn't know anything about him."
Makarov stayed silent.
"He didn't know me and yet.. He threw his life away to save me." Natsu entwined his hands together in fear of hitting something. He then spun around looking desperately at his master. "Why would he do that?! I don't understand."
"I think Leon considered you his friend." The master answered calmly despite Natsu's panicked voice.
"I was nothing but mean to him, so why..?" Natsu tailed off, not knowing how to complete his sentence.
"You don't have to understand, but you have to accept that he's gone." The old man advised and patted a comforting hand on Natsu's hip, not being tall enough to reach the teen's shoulder. "Be st-"
"Strong?" Natsu finished and shook his head. " I know, but I'm tired." He sighed.
"Then rest for now and come back even stronger." Makarov said firmly.
Natsu didn't answer, but the master knew he had sparked something in the young fire mage. He left it at that and cleared his throat.
"So, where's Lucy?"
"At her apartment." Natsu said.
"I think I'll pay her a visit too." Makarov smiled and started to exit the graveyard. "Come home soon, okay?!" He called over his shoulder and vanished as quickly as he had come.
Natsu's eyes were still focused on Leon's grave, but a small smile played on his lips, an action he hadn't done in weeks.
Two days later.
Gray sighed, while slightly kicking the floor. He was having a hard time sitting still on one of the bar stools, so he had taken to standing against the counter instead. Mirajane eyed him nervously, fearing he might fall over anytime. Elfman, who had returned from his mission the day before, had been placed two chairs away from said ice mage, ready to catch him if he did so happen to faint. Gray had noticed this, but decided not to comment on it. However irritating it may be, he still owed Mira an apology for the other day and he wasn't about to add to his guilty conscience.
Natsu was sitting in a corner, whispering a conversation with Erza and Gray would be lying if he said, he wasn't slightly curious about what they were talking about. Lucy was doing physical therapy with Levy, who was slowly beginning to walk again, by moving in a circle around the guild hall. Every time they passed Gray's grumpy face, Levy made sure to give him a smile, attempting to cheer him up. It didn't work as well as it was supposed to, as the dark haired teen stayed as moody as when the day began.
He couldn't really explain his bad mood, all he knew was that he had woken up that day, been refused to visit Juvia, stalked by fellow guild mates - all convinced he would fall over by the smallest little task - and was bored out of his mind. Okay, so maybe he could explain his sour attitude.
A loud crash made Gray snap his head in the direction of the sickbay. Gajeel had at that particular moment, kicked the door in and was roaring insults to everyone who got in his way. Mira was immediately starting towards the big teen, who never saw her coming.
"Gajeel- kun, get back in your bed right now!" The whitette ordered him firmly. "If you move around too much, you might make you injuries worse!"
"Screw that! I'm tired of laying around all day!" Gajeel sneered back at her.
Mira was having none of it and quickly took hold of Gajeel's arm, trying to force him back into the room of which he came. The girl was stronger then she looked, which made Gajeel fall backwards when she started pulling. The iron mage landed safely on his back, his eyes blinking as he was trying to figure out what just happened.
"Gajeel!" Levy called out, her voice portraying slight worry. She and Lucy was making their way towards the pair, when the front door got slammed open.
Gray's first thought was; why was it that no one could just enter the building normally? They all had to slam the giant front door open. His second thought, was that the guys who were entering the guild at this very moment, weren't looking for pleasantries.
"We do not wish to fight, bring fourth your master this instance!"
Hello again ^^
So, this chapter wasn't as long as the previous one, but just as good? right? That's for you to decide, I stand by my story no matter what :)
As I said in my last A/N, I'm super stoked for the continuation of Fairy Tail the anime, which is to air in April! Just for the ones who didn't know :D
I've gone in complete Fairy Tail mode to get this chapter out. I have all episodes on my computer, which I have been watching again and I have all the soundtracks as well, which I've been listening to while trying to write this. It worked though.
I bought myself a ps3 (I don't really know why I'm telling you guys this, but someone has know)
I guess I'm done for now and I'll be back with chapter 3 as soon as possible.
Reviews are always appreciated (and longed for), so drop one if you feel so inclined.
Sigi-san has approved this message ;)
