Chapter 8: All Over The Map

Natsu wandered aimlessly around the first floor, before stopping at a polished, mellow store that showcased a plethora of shiny jewelry. But what caught his attention the most was a simplistic, one-stoned necklace. It was far from fancy, but it was something he liked himself-and if he ever were to wear jewelry, it would be most likely what he would wear.

He ventured inside and set his sights on the necklace. A few employees asked if he needed help but he brushed them off, and before long, had his greedy hands on the beautiful necklace. He sighed in relief and turned to the nearest employee for checking out, but they all grouped and seemed to be hiding from him. Natsu cocked his eyebrow in concern and confusion, making his way towards them to ask when a strong hand gripped him from behind.

"Ah, Natsu! Nice to see ya!" He turned to be greeted with a sight of a beautiful brown-haired, woman with a cyan crop-top and black leggings. He smiled despite himself and greeted her gently. "Hi, Cana. What brings you here?" Natsu exclaimed. Cana waved herself off. "Oh, just getting something for Mirajane; it's our anniversary tonight, so I thought to buy her something. Nothing small, just a little ring." Cana winked.

"You're proposing? Jeez, where have I been since high school." Natsu exclaimed. Cana once again waved him off. "I don't know, you disappeared after high school." Cana nonchalantly shrugged. "Anyway, who's your special someone?" She said, wriggling her eyebrows. Natsu was, surprisingly, blushy as he thought of mystery girl. However, he didn't know how to exactly explain to Cana that he found a woman he didn't know and liked her, so now he's in a pining game to find out who she is.

After a few seconds of solitude, Cana raised her eyebrows. "What's the wait for? Or maybe you just don't have someone?" Cana asked, conclusively. Natsu thought the latter what would be a more acceptable way to go about this, and nodded. Dejected, Cana sighed. "Aw, and here I was about to tease you about you finally growing up. What a bummer..." The brown-haired woman complained. "Well, anyway, I'll see you later. I gotta go pick up flowers for Mirajane; let's hope I don't screw this up." Cana laughed and shrugged Natsu off.

After Cana left, he looked back at his simplistic piece of jewelry; imagine if it was a large, beautiful ring that rivaled even the most majestic of diamonds. Natsu sighed fondly; soon, soon. He brought it up to the cash register, and after quick motions, the cashier let him go.

And once again, he was let out in the wild. He scouted the next store dramatically, and bounced around the mall like a ninja, to find the next. Many people have him an incredulous look, and waved him off; some drifted towards employees. He paid no mind to them and eyed the most interesting stores, and since he -in his opinion- got the best gift, he started to get his confidence back.

After quite some time pretending to be a ninja, he finds the second store: a clothes store. It was a gamble, and if he paid his luck correctly, he could easily win the best clothes or come out with something so grotesque and hideous. But, Natsu being Natsu, preserved and went in with a determined face.

As soon as he passed the threshold, his nose was overwhelmed with an intoxicating, intolerable scent of daisies; how could something so sweet and summery be so unpleasant, the world may never know. Natsu felt sick, but he once again shook it off and ventured more inside the maze.

He eventually drifted towards a wall of pink and rose clothes, all evenly priced. The rack ombres from light, summery tops to heavy leather jackets. The number of options shook Natsu and he sat there in indecisiveness, scouring over it all. He brushed his hand over a calling rose-top, with a fish-tail design at the very back.

He moved his other hand out, but couldn't find anything else he liked. Natsu grabbed the goods and moved towards the accessory section- which, he may or may not, be slightly scared for; again, he was great at looking for accessories for cosplay, not for a mysterious girl he never had known before.

After coming to a second wall, he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of variety: Scarves, hats, ribbons -he doesn't exactly know why you'd need them, but sure!-, blankets, and so much more. This time, it was a pure shock that made him stumble around like a bull in a china shop.

Seeing this, one of the store clerks made his way over to help him. "Ah, good afternoon. How may I help you?" Nats turned to see a white-haired man politely smiling and gesturing to the racks in front of him. "Oh, um, pretty good. I just need a gift for my, uh- girlfriend, my girlfriend." Natsu stumbled to get words out, which made the store clerk a little suspicious of him. "Your girlfriend?" The store clerk questioned.

"Yes, my girlfriend," Natsu said, calming down. The funny-haired man stepped closer to Natsu and shifted his eyes. In turn, Natsu put up steely defenses and crossed his arms. The two were at a staring contest for quite some time, before a patron spoke up and said they were bothering them.

"Fine- I still don't believe you do have a girlfriend, but I'll play your game. Now, what does "said girlfriend" like?" The store clerk said. Natsu peered to the wall behind him and set himself in detective mode. Each little accessory was interrogated to find perfection, and each little thing failed him miserably. However, he went a second time, not ready to fail.

Meanwhile, the store clerk watched with amusement as he poked and prodded each accessory before screaming at the tops of his lungs: "I found it!". The man covered his ears with anger, and Natsu stood oblivious to it as he proudly Simba-carried a cream scarf with little red dots.

"Watch it! I think you burst my eardrums!" He yelled, not helping the situation for nearby shoppers. Natsu cheekily smiled and drifted past the man happily.


After gaining a few couple bags, his stomach demanded a break. So he ventured farther into the mall, trying to find the food court. But it already made itself known as smells of pizza, pretzels, and hotdogs filled the air with a salty aroma- enchanting Natsu.

He moved towards it at the speed of light, and before long, had made it to his destination. It smelled heavenly now, even more than before, as all 27 shops conjoined together smelled of a food symphony. It was much better smelling than any perfume store or candle.

Natsu's eyes drifted towards the hotdog stand almost instantly and set his targets on a sweet, sweet pig-in-a-blanket. He marched over, got out his wallet, and stepped up to the surprisingly small line. After some quick seconds, the employer handed him the hotdog and shooed him away.

Natsu surveyed the food court for a place to sit, but each one was filled. That's what he gets for going on Saturday. He could only sit on the concrete fountain. But that plan was all going to scrap as he saw red-hair.

Natsu broke into a run quickly and was ecstatically running towards them. He may have run into some chairs, but nothing would stop him. He finally reached the table and gently tapped her shoulder.

Ah, Pinky! Nice to see you!" Ah shit.

Flare turned around, her hands happily clapped together. She had the sweetest, biggest smile on her face and Natsu realized that she was Lucy's new ex- someone she had broken up with only a few months ago, back in July. Ah fuck.

"Nice to see you too, Flare, but -um- I gotta go," Natsu said, pointing to behind him. Flare lost her smile, but still had her hands clapped together. "Wherever you're going, I won't be far to follow! I would love to go with you, I need a present for Risley!" She begged, not her hands-on Natsu's arms.

Natsu thought he had to get away fast, or else he'll never leave. So he found his eyes searching for a new store that he could easily go to. Once he set his sights, he ran and waved behind him goodbye. No wonder why Lucy broke up with her; even if she's a sweetheart, she's still a weird stalker.

Natsu bolted into the store, surveying the room. And it hit him that this was a girl store, something she shouldn't be in. A pet shop.

It smelled of hay, baths, and wet dogs- which, alone, would smell horrible but together smells like trash. The pink-haired man covered his senses-prone nose and ventured in a little more to cover himself.

It wasn't long before he felt fur brush up against his leg and vibrations. He looked down to see an adorable, grayish-blueish cat purring against his leg, happily content with him. He reached down to take the kitten and cuddle it when he realized that it had blue paint all over its lower body.

Natsu, from dealing with paint before, knew that paint is toxic if inhaled and knew it wasn't something to be inhaled, so being the semi-responsible adult that he is- looked around for an employee to wash him down.

When no one sensed his distress, he knitted his eyebrows and walked to the bathroom in the back. He wetted a paper towel and started to scrub gently at the paint. Since the kitten made no sounds of distress, he figured he wasn't hurting it. After a couple of minutes, the cat was saved and there was no paint left on it.

Natsu bent down to let the cat go but already found it sleeping contently in his arms. And found himself holding the cat awkwardly over in a corner, near the bathroom, looking like a weird stalker.

If the cat was so happy in his arms, he might as well adopt it. He guesses, to not look weird. So, what he did, was being the cat over to the register, sign a crap ton of paperwork to make sure he was ok to bring it home, put the cat in a comfortable pet carrier, but stopped him.

"What would you like to name your cat?" The employee asked, getting out a slip of paper and put tape on it. Natsu looked to the cat inside and found it once again happily sleeping. He smiled fondly and said, "Happy, please."


The cold, damp air was such a hit to the face compared to the warm, artificial air inside. But Natsu found himself enjoying the windy, rainy air as he carried his five bags to the car.

He found his car parked adjacent to the mall, got in, placed the cat in the passenger seat, and revved it up. What a day.

Yay! It's finally done! I'm very excited.

Oh, by the way, updates will always be on the weekends: Friday nights, Saturday, and Sunday. If I don't, feel free to pester me.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a good day/night, and I'll see you later! Bye~!