A/N: Here's the next chapter, and we start to get into some more music! My goal for this fiction is for you guys to sit back and listen to good music while relaxing, and hopefully discover some new songs! Once again, all songs used will be available on Spotify unless otherwise noted. With that said, please enjoy!
~ Ad Vitam, Ad Mortem ~
As Mira shuffled through the boxes, the rest of the guild discussed the song.
"So, that song was about Lisanna, right? How come it sounded like he chose to leave her?" Levy asked, using her extensive intellect to analyze the song.
"I think it's because he blamed himself," Mira said sadly.
"What? You never told me that!" Lisanna shouted.
"He never did say anything about it, my dear, but this is Natsu we're talking about. He probably felt if he was stronger he could have gone on the S-Class quest with you and you wouldn't have been killed-er-sent to a different dimension," Makarov explained.
"That idiot…" Lisanna said with a sad smile.
"How about this one!" Mira piped up, holding up a disk. "This one says it was written in X792 just before we went to war with Alvarez."
"What's it called?" Lisanna asked as Mira placed the disk into the player.
"Brother," Mira replied, as she pressed play. Once again, a short message was played by a voice they recognized as Natsu's. (Song: Brother by Kodaline)
"I dedicate this song to Gray, Laxus, and Gajeel," Natsu's voice spoke up. "We may not be blood, and all of you may be obnoxious assholes most of the time, but you're my brothers."
As the music started, Cana chuckled slightly. "Obnoxious assholes, eh? Yeah, sounds about right!"
"SHUT UP!" the three yelled back, as the vocals came in.
When we were young, we were the ones
The kings and queens, oh yeah, we ruled the world
We smoked cigarettes, man, no regrets
Wish I could relive every single word
"Does Natsu smoke?" Wendy questioned.
"You will not be smoking, child! It's terrible for your health!" Carla scolded, as they were shushed by the guild.
We've taken different paths
And traveled different roads
I know we'll always end up on the same one when we're old
And when you're in the trenches
And you're under fire, I will cover you
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
'Dammit, flame-brain…' Gray thought with a smile.
'Same here, Salamander…' Gajeel smirked. 'Same here.'
Laxus gave a barely audible grunt in affirmation.
Oh, brother, we go deeper than the ink
Beneath the skin of our tattoos
Though we don't share the same blood
You're my brother and I love you, that's the truth
We're living different lives
Heaven only knows
If we'll make it back with all our fingers and our toes
Five years, twenty years, come back
It will always be the same, oh-oh, oh-oh
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
And if we hit on troubled water
I'll be the one to keep you warm and safe
And we'll be carrying each other
Until we say goodbye on our dying day
Because I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
I've got you, brother-er-er-er
After a brief moment of silence, Cana broke it once more. "So, looks like Mira and Lisanna win the bet! Any objections?"
Several grumbles and groans came from the crowd, but no one was going to deny that Natsu was a brilliant musician. The two sisters smiled at each other and gave a high-five.
"What about you, Gray? Did you like the song Natsu wrote for you?" Mira teased.
"Tch…" Gray scoffed.
"Gray had a whole part meant just for him," Levy said, joining in. "'Deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos?' That's obviously about your demon slayer markings."
"That's just about the Fairy Tail emblems!" Gray argued back.
"I suppose it could be either," Erza pondered. "Though it is very sweet that although the two of you are near intolerable, you are both brothers. Isn't that right, Gray?"
"Aye, ma'am! Definitely!" Gray quickly answered in response to her glare.
"For the most part that was pretty straight-forward, but what did he mean by kings and queens? And Natsu doesn't smoke, did he used to?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Gray smoked briefly, but he quit pretty quickly thanks to Erza," Levy told her. "But Natsu never did. It probably wouldn't do anything since he eats fire anyway."
"Perhaps the kings and queens was a metaphor for how he felt when he was younger," Makarov piped up. "Before experiencing battle against truly strong opponents, it's easy to get a big ego."
"Normally I would say that Natsu probably doesn't know what a metaphor is, but now I think you might be right," Lucy sighed.
"Maybe it's because Salamander is the dragon king now," Gajeel piped up, getting a few confused looks.
"How can Natsu be the king of anything, let alone the dragons?" Alzack asked.
"Natsu's a king! Natsu's a king!" Asuka cheered.
"Well," Wendy started to explain shyly. "Since Natsu's father was Igneel, who was king of the fire dragons, that makes him the heir to the throne. After that, Natsu was the one who took down Acnologia, who was the king of all dragons, so he gets that throne too."
"That's so cool!" Romeo exclaimed loudly.
"I suppose…" Gajeel grumbled, still not completely able to admit that Natsu may or may not be a tiny bit stronger than him.
"So...should we keep listening?" Lisanna asked. An overwhelming cheer of 'aye, sir!'s rang out in response.
"Alright, alright! My turn!" Cana said, sauntering up to the boxes and digging around. "Now let's see here...Ahhhh! I found the perfect one!"
"Why do I not like the sound of your tone when you said that…" Mira mumbled nervously.
"I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you? Because this is clearly a very special song," Cana said with an evil grin on her face, as she got to the lacrima player.
"Oh, just tell us what it's called already!" Mira whined.
"Oh, this? It's called The Diary of Jane," Cana replied.
A quick silence covered the room before everything started. Mira's face grew a massive blush, rivaling Erza's hair in redness, groups were catcalling and whistling, while others just broke out in laughter.
"Flame-brain is never living this down if he wrote about Mira in his diary," Gray said, snickering.
"If he read Mira's diary he will be severely punished," Erza declared, having a different reaction than the rest of the guild. "I taught him better than this."
"Just play it already!" Makarov called out.
"Alright, keep your pants on, will ya?" Cana yelled back as she pressed play. (Song: The Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin)
A riff that sounded very similar to a piano played alongside a drumset and an electric guitar, continuing over a small variety of riffs before the lyrics started.
"Damn! I was hoping there would be a sappy love confession!" Cana groaned, only to be shushed as the lyrics started.
If I had to, I would put myself right beside you
So let me ask, "Would you like that? Would you like that?"
And I don't mind if you say this love is the last time
So now I'll ask, "Do you like that? Do you like that?" (No!)
Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be
"So, are you writing about Natsu in your diary?" Cana teased.
"Wh-what? I-I have- I don't-" Mira stuttered, as the rest of the guild laughed at her fierce blush.
"Do you like that? Do you like that?" Cana moaned teasingly.
"CANA!" Mira squeaked at the innuendo, though their teasing stopped as the song continued.
Try to find out what makes you tick
As I lie down, sore and sick
Do you like that, do you like that?
There's a fine line between love and hate
And I don't mind, just let me say
That I like that, I like that
"Sounds like he liked that," Cana teased, loving the reactions from the barmaid, who was normally on the giving end rather than the receiving.
Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane
As I burn another page, as I look the other way
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be
Desperate, I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love
Die for anyone
What have I become?
"He looooves you!" Happy teased.
"That's quite the declaration, huh Mira?" Cana added. "Crawling on the ground desperate? Really making him work for it, eh?"
Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane
As I burn another page, as I look the other way
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane
"So, care to comment on how you feel about our residential pyro?" Cana asked, grinning wickedly.
Mira tried to formulate a response but ended up just stammering out nonsense through her tomato face, earning quite a laugh from the guild.
"Gihi, Salamander broke the model," Gajeel chuckled.
"That was another pretty easy one, right? The diary was just a metaphor for Mira's life. In other words, he wants to be a part of her life," Lucy deduced. "I had no idea he had a romantic bone in his body!"
"That sounds right to me," Levy agreed. "But I'm surprised you're not upset, Lulu. Don't you have a thing for Natsu?"
"I did a while ago, and maybe if I knew he was capable of romance, I still would," Lucy admitted. "But I gave it up. I still love the guy, just not in that way."
"How can flame-brain have written a love song?" Gray questioned. "There's no way he knows anything about romance."
"Are you sure that you're not just jealous that he's progressed more with Mira in the past twenty minutes than you have with Juvia in the past few years?" Cana teased.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Gray huffed back, turning away.
"I'm curious as to why he called her Jane?" Macao asked. "I've never heard him call her that."
"Maybe in some alternate universe where Natsu was raised by a different version of Igneel he would call her that," Wakaba piped up. "Maybe Igneel even had a brother and they raised him together, and that made Natsu different. After that, instead of the dragons disappearing, they died in front of him and then-"
"I'm pretty sure it's just because Jane fit the song better…" Makarov deadpanned at the old members' stupidity.
"I suppose that would make more sense…" Macao said in a slightly depressed way. "And here I was rooting for a cooler version of Natsu who wore draconic jewelry and stuff..."
"I'd like to pick one, if you don't mind," Lucy requested, changing the topic and earning a nod from Lisanna, who was strangely quiet this whole time. She approached the closest bin and glanced in, finding one relatively quickly. "Hmmm...this sounds interesting."
"That was fast," Levy commented.
"Well, I think the name is cool. It's called Stray Cat Strut," Lucy said, putting the disk in.
"Eh?" a few members questioned.
"Not a clue, but maybe we'll find out," Lucy replied, as she pressed play. (Song: Stray Cat Strut by the Stray Cats)
This one had a message from Natsu as well. "This song was inspired by Loke and his crazy stories about all the women he's met."
"Did someone call me?" Loke asked, appearing out of thin air as drums started to play. Before anyone could answer, a guitar riff played that wowed him and the rest of the guild. "Wow! Who was that?"
"Natsu. Now shush!" Lucy informed him, as his jaw dropped to the ground.
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Black and orange stray cat sittin' on a fence
Ain't got enough dough to pay the rent
I'm flat broke but I don't care
I strut right by with my tail in the air
Stray cat strut I'm a ladies' cat
I'm a feline Casanova (Hey, man, that's that)
Get a shoe thrown at me from a mean old man
Get my dinner from a garbage can
(Meow) Yeah, don't cross my path!
Cana started laughing at the image of Natsu being a playboy and Loke eating from a trash can. Loke just grooved along with the song, relating to it on a very personal level.
"What an oaf," Carla huffed disapprovingly.
"Wow! Natsu's really talented!" Romeo exclaimed.
I don't bother chasing mice around (Oh no!)
I slink down the alley lookin' for a fight
Howlin' to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy"
I wish I could be as carefree and wild
But I got cat class and I got cat style
"When did you corrupt Natsu?" Erza demanded, threatening the lion spirit.
"W-what are you t-talking about, Erza?" he stuttered out before the lyrics continued.
I don't bother chasing mice around
I slink down the alley lookin' for a fight
Howlin' to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy"
I wish I could be as carefree and wild
But I got cat class and I got cat style
"That was amazing!" Loke exclaimed, shocked. "And you said Natsu made that? I've gotta take him to a bar sometimes! Imagine how many women we'd get with him on guitar! We'd be kings!"
"Loke," Lucy groaned. "Please don't make this any worse for yourself."
"What? I'm just impressed. I had no idea the kid was that much of a player," Loke defended.
"He isn't. At the start of the song it said it was written about you," Levy informed him.
Loke just got a defeated look and sat down depressed.
"What the heck is a feline Casanova?" Gray asked.
"I read a book about a character whose last name was Casanova," Levy answered. "He was a lot like Loke; a womanizer and a pervert."
Loke looked even more depressed and sank further into his seat.
"Are you sure about that?" Gray asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Because that means that flame-brain reads books."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"WHAT?" the guild roared.
"There's no way!"
"Who is this and what has he done with our Natsu!"
"Don't worry, Natsu! We'll save you!"
"Do you really have that little faith in him?" Lisanna deadpanned, while Mira just chuckled.
"I think they're just surprised at what he read, Lis. That's a romance novel."
"I guess that is weird. I can see him reading books about dragons and stuff," Lisanna answered, nodding.
"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered.
