Chapter 3 - Expectation
Natsu gulped.
It wasn't his fault that whatever this wacky thing that was happening was. He wasn't to blame. Right?
The fire mage gulped again as he looked at his friends' faces. They denoted disbelief which, to be fair, Natsu probably wouldn't hold against them. It was quite a difficult thing to wrap their heads around.
And then, Lucy spoke.
"Natsu. Are you feeling alright?" the blonde mage asked, leaning forward, eyebrow arching up.
"Yeah, that doesn't make much sense." Erza added shaking her head slightly.
"You're probably not composed after all that alcohol from last night." Lucy continued, eyes sizing up the fire mage.
Through it all, Gray had just uttered his first question and had remained silent. Confusion etched in his face.
"No. Guys, I'm being serious here." Natsu said with uncharacteristic seriousness. He let out a sigh and slumped back on his chair. "I knew that this was going to be a bad idea. But, it's true." When he was met with silence, he continued. "Besides, something strange is going on here. I know that we had a mission yesterday yet I don't remember it."
The others were about to rebuke his words but suddenly Natsu saw them freeze momentarily and then jolt up in their seats. A startled expression fluttering into all of their faces.
What the-? Natsu wondered before their expressions became more relaxed, eyes focusing back on him.
"Oh. You're right." Erza said, surprised, frowning down at the wooden table.
"How strange. How can this be?" Lucy added, looking at all of her friends.
"Do you think…" Gray started saying, eyeing Natsu with a strange look. "Do you think that that the mission has something to do with the mission restarting?" his gaze seemed to sharpen over Natsu. So much so that Natsu could almost feel the biting cut of it on his skin.
"I don't know." The fire mage answered sincerely. "But I think that those things are connected. Something in my gut tells me so." And where in the world is Happy? The thought fluttered through his mind briefly.
"So that means that we have to go back to… where was our mission, again?" Lucy asked while she pushed back some hairs that had fallen to the front of her eyes.
"It was a temple. That temple on the forest, do you remember?" Erza added, she had her eyes closed and was massaging her forehead, as if to ease off some pain.
"Ah, you're right. There was that odd track." Natsu said as he nodded eagerly.
"Yes, it was as if the way had been open for us, right in the middle of the forest." Gray added pensively.
"I guess that if we want to solve this mystery we'll have to go there and check that place." Erza said with finality.
"Yosh!" the others said simultaneously.
They got up and headed towards the door.
Natsu was walking last as he was noticing a strange heaviness that seemed to be weighing him down.
What's this? He wondered. But he shrugged it off and hurried to catch up with his friends.
As soon as they were out the door, they had company waiting for them.
Seemingly, there was a semi-circle of people that seemed to be shrouded in darkness waiting for them, evil intent coming off them in waves.
The team stopped, and got prepared to fight, feeling confused.
Finally, there was a commotion in the few individuals that stood before them and then that hooded spectre was emerging from the darkness.
"Fancy meeting you here…" it said in the same odd, cavernous voice.
Natsu felt a chill and knew for certain that it was talking to him.
"Well then, let's get this over with, for once and for all." It said before disappearing and appearing besides Natsu.
The fire mage only had time to jump behind, grimacing at the blade that was piercing his leg. It started bleeding but his blood was appearing to be a mix between red and grey. Natsu's head swam, his stomach turned and he felt like throwing up. Gritting his teeth, he took the blade away and then his hands became surrounded by flames which he directed at his leg, working to stop the blood flow.
Shit, that thing was poisoned or what? He asked himself, his head back to pounding with a vengeance. Then he noticed the books that appeared in his range of vision and looked up. Natsu tried to straighten himself up but before he could do anything, he was kicked to the side. He fell on the ground, limbs starting to shake and he felt a strange bump under his thigh. Before he could do anything else, darkness surrounded him and he fell.
They'd finally reached the temple. There were just a few steps to go for them to enter the precinct.
Everything was strangely silent. Sure, there were the natural noises of the forest such as birds singing, the rustling of trees and of the random animal doing their thing. However, inside the temple, it was as if there was no-one.
The team had quieted down, the closer they'd got to the temple. The high walls in grey stone, with the odd wooden top peeking from within, seemed to push away the liveliness. It was a strange feeling and, the closer they got, the thicker the air around the temple seemed to be.
As they climbed the nine steps carved on the stone to reach the gate, the gate suddenly swung inside, almost as if a clear invitation for them to get inside.
"That… was weird." Erza mumbled, as she was on standing in the front.
"Natsu. That was strange, aye?" Happy murmured into the dragonslayer's ear, he had landed on his shoulder and was kind of sitting there. His fur was starting to stand on end.
"Very strange." Natsu agreed, he was slowly looking around.
"Should we get in?" Lucy wondered.
"I think we do." Gray stated, also taking a look around.
Everyone was feeling discomfited though, apparently, it was just a large courtyard, the floor covered in square slabs of stone, that was surrounded by the actual building of the temple.
"Well then, let's go." Erza said as she squared her shoulders and walked in. unconsciously all of the others followed her lead, squaring their shoulders also before stepping inside.
Natsu was the last one to enter.
It felt as if he'd come across a cushion of pressured air, one that eased as soon as Natsu was fully inside. He felt a tightness in his skin in one moment, which disappeared on the next one leaving a tingling feeling behind.
There was a path towards the main doors of the temple and the others were walking towards it, flanked by while rectangular stones. Natsu looked down and noticed small, strange indentations in their surfaces.
So distracted looking down to the path was Natsu that his eye caught a sudden shine. Natsu glanced at his friends, he was just two steps behind them so it wouldn't take much to check what that shine might be.
The fire mage knelt down and extended his hand. Covering whatever it was. His hand curled around the object in question.
"What's wrong Natsu?" Happy asked from where he was hovering above the fire mage.
"I dunno." The pink haired mage said as he stood. He uncurled his fingers and within, there was a small ball in a creamy milk colour. It was polished, so much that when the sun hit it, the shine returned, now more intense than before.
"Is that a precious stone?" Happy queried.
"I have no clue." Natsu said with a snort. "But this does look fragile. Ah, I know. I'll wrap it in my scarf and put it on my pocket for later. What do you think?" he asked as he was pulling out his scarf and folding it, the ball carefully placed inside it.
"That's a great idea, aye!" Happy answered joyously.
"Done." Natsu said as he patted the pocket, one edge of the scarf slipping from it. "Now let's go get the others." He said, striding towards where the others were by the temple's door.
Natsu found himself back into that comfortable embrace. It was warm, it had a strange tenderness that spoke to him, it made Natsu want to burrow into it and not care about the world outside.
Natsu cuddled further, the other body's welcoming arms felt protective and that was when Natsu's brain became fully awake and he shot up. Sitting in bed, the first thing Natsu did was cradle his head and moan due to the pain.
He blinked his eyes, feeling somewhat lethargic and then his attention shot down to his leg. That blade had pierced him. And for one moment the pain flared but it was so brief and diffuse that Natsu brushed it off. Because, yes, he'd come back to the beginning.
"Shit." He mumbled. "Now I have to do everything all over again." He fell back down onto the mattress, a pained groan leaving his throat.
To his side, Gray mumbled something, Natsu took it as a sign that he was coming to himself. Or, maybe not, Natsu thought as the other just smacked his lips a few times before curling slightly into himself.
"Gray. Heh, Gray, you have to wake up." Natsu had rolled to his side and had his hand curled around the ice mage's shoulder. He was shaking him, unmindful of their position.
Finally, Gray squinted his eyes open. He wrinkled his nose in a cute way and his eyes opened further. He let out a yawn before rolling to the side, laying on his back and letting out a grumble.
"What do you want?" he asked, which was followed by a pained noise. "What the hell? My head!" he cradled his head, then rolled back to his side to glare at Natsu.
"Yeah, I know. Mine's killing me but we have more important things to-" Natsu stopped himself as he noticed something. His nose was nearly touching Gray's, they were almost breathing the same air. It was quite intimate.
Warning bells sounded on the fire mage's head and he sat up so fast that he slipped and fell to the floor.
A string of curses coming from him was followed by an amused chuckle from Gray.
"Shut up, asshole." Natsu whined, his hand still in his head. "Fuck, now my ass hurts."
"Well, if you want I know of a way for it to hurt differently." Gray said in a suggestive tone. "Maybe you want to end what we began last night?"
"Shut up, you pervert." Natsu grumbled as he straightened and knelt on the mattress. "Like I was saying…" he said, throwing a pointed stare at Gray, "We have some important things to do before, well, before it."
"What's it? You're not making any sense." Gray complained.
"Doesn't matter. Put some clothes on and go grab Lucy. She's at the guild. I'll go grab Erza." He said, shooting up from the bed and hurrying towards his discarded clothes. He put on the trousers, a brief thought running through his head at the heaviness that wasn't supposed to be in his pocket but he quickly discarded it. He had other things to worry about.
"Hey, where are we supposed to meet, then?" he heard Gray say from behind, as he rushed towards the door.
"The exit near the forest. Hurry!" He yelled back, recoiling at his tone of voice, cursing under his breath as he went towards the market.
They met not long after, the other three looking suspiciously at Natsu.
"Can you tell us what's so urgent that we have to rush here?" Gray asked.
"I'll tell you along the way. Now we kind of need to hurry towards the temple." Natsu said, striding ahead on the path.
"Wait, temple?" Lucy asked.
"Yesterday's mission?" Natsu said, turning his head to look at her. The air of seriousness coming off him.
"Huh, ah, the mission." Erza said in a distracted tone of voice.
A chill went down Natsu's spine and he noticed that there was a darkness ahead of the path. The darkness became corporeal and the hooded spectre stood before them.
"Shit. So it seems like I'll have to postpone that…" Natsu said as he stopped, his friends stopping too at his back.
A/N: Yay, time for another chapter. Sorry for taking so long to update. OTL Real life got in the way. -.-'
Anyways, I'd like to thank Ryuu91 for the brainstorming and the kick to my butt for me to write. xD Anyway, hope you like it. ^^
Unbetaed, as usual. ^^'
Feedback's welcomed, though, as usual. :D