It all started when Natsu began to realize that girls...kind of smelled. Not in a bad way or anything- the opposite, in fact.

He'd always been aware of Lucy's scent, of course. It had been the first thing that he'd noticed when he met her, and it had always felt...soothing. Eventually, of course, he'd discovered the truth about his past and realized that the reason Lucy's smell was so comforting was because she smelled like Anna, who'd been a sort of substitute mother figure when he was younger.

But this new realization was different. This wasn't "oh, Lucy's scent feels soft and maternal." This was more of a general, "girls just generally smell nicer than guys."

He couldn't really put his finger on it. He knew some girls wore perfume, but that was different- that was an added, flowery scent on top of their regular scents. It was no different than the way Erza often smelled of the sugary sweets she was so fond of, or the way Cana reeked of alcohol after a long night of drinking and partying- extra. What smelled so nice was their normal, natural scents- and they were all different.

Yes, Lucy's scent was all soft and comforting, but recently, there'd been a more nuanced, sweet note mixed in. He liked it, but it also made him feel twitchy and uncomfortable whenever he noticed it.

Evergreen's smell felt dangerous. It was sharp and spicy and just a touch bittersweet. It reminded him of the way Erza's scent subtly changed whenever she heard the word "Jellal," or Cana's did when she'd had just a touch too much to drink.

Lisanna smelled like sunlight, if that was even possible- bright and cheery and hopeful, yet just a touch remote.

Natsu's enhanced senses could tell apart different guys, too, but guys' scents weren't nearly as complex- they all smelled at least a little sweaty and gross. Girls also sweat, he knew, but the scent wasn't overpowering the way it was with guys.

Of course, Natsu being Natsu, he hadn't really been consciously thinking about it- occasionally he would be around the women of Fairy Tail and think "this smells so much nicer than being around guys," but that was basically it. Mostly. But sometimes, it became a bigger distraction before he'd even realized it. And sometimes-

"NATSU! Are you even listening to me?" Lucy scowled. "And why on Earthland are you sniffing me?"

Natsu blinked, a little bit startled to have been pulled out of his reverie...and then he realized his nose was practically touching the spot where her neck met her shoulderbone. He jumped about a foot in the air.

"I am so sorry, Lucy. I, uh...have to go!" He grabbed Happy and ran out of the house before she had a chance to say another word.

Now Lucy was really confused. Coming home to find Natsu in her apartment was completely expected at this point. Natsu touching her in weird and often inappropriate ways was also not too unusual. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd woken up to find him in her bed, clinging to her. She'd basically given up scolding him at this point- Natsu was so completely innocent he just didn't get it.

But he had never, ever reacted like that before. He'd never become so distracted that he was totally surprised to realize what he was doing, he'd never apologized so frantically about it, and she didn't think she'd ever seen him run so fast out of her apartment for any reason other than excitement to start a new job or get into a rowdy fight.

Is he sick or something? She hoped not. Weird as he was, that goofball was her best friend and she didn't want to see anything happen to him.

Natsu was also worried, but his thoughts were veering on an entirely different route. What's wrong with me? Have I been cursed again? It's like I'm turning into Ichiya or something!

For a second he toyed with the idea of checking in with Porlyusica to see if she could figure it out, but he quickly nixed that idea. She was more likely to be annoyed about him wasting her time with nonsense.

Besides, it was probably a Dragon Slayer thing. In which case…..

Wendy? Not-so-little-anymore-Wendy, whose scent felt like the softest cloud and stirred that protective big-brother instinct? No, she was a girl, she probably wouldn't get it.

Erik? He wasn't entirely sure where the mind-reader was these days, although Kinana would probably know. But no, he didn't feel close enough to the former "Cobra" to spill such an intimate issue. (Since when had he started using words like "intimate"? He didn't like it one bit.)

Rogue? Ditto. Rogue was a naturally private person- Natsu couldn't imagine the shadow slayer confessing such a personal problem to anyone, even…

Sting? Nah, the white slayer really looked up to him- confiding in him would just feel awkward.

Gajeel? As if! They might be friends, but Gajeel was even better at pushing his buttons than Gray, and would more likely just tease him for eternity rather than actually come out and offer help. Besides, Gajeel's understanding of girls didn't seem to be that much better than his.

Laxus? Honestly, Laxus seemed like the best possibility. They respected each other, and while the lightning slayer might tease him a bit, Natsu couldn't imagine that admitting weakness would cause the older slayer to look down on him.

Laxus it is. He didn't like it one bit, of course, but he didn't have much of a choice. But he wouldn't do it right this second- Laxus was off on a job, and besides, all this thinking was hurting his brain…

"Natsu?" Lucy said, a little confused. She hadn't seen her pink-haired friend since their bizarre encounter in her apartment, and that had been three weeks ago. He'd disappeared on a job- without her! And the first thing he did when he got back was- "Did you seriously just pull my hair ?"

"Um…..yeah?" Natsu couldn't even meet her eye. He didn't even know why he'd done it. He'd just meant to come over and say hi, but he couldn't find the words. Instead, he'd just stood there awkwardly for a minute or two (without her noticing) staring at her hair. It was so pretty and shiny and he felt like touching it and the next thing he knew-

"Why?" She didn't seem angry, just confused. For some reason, that made him even more annoyed. Why was she asking him? This was her fault. Hers and that obnoxious scent that had followed him across Fiore, leaving him restless and distracted, unable to think straight. And now she had the nerve to turn those big brown eyes on him and ask him why?

"I DON'T KNOW WHY, LUCY! I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU AND YOUR STUPID HAIR AND YOUR STUPID FACE FEEL THE NEED TO KEEP BOTHERING ME! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!"

Silence.

The entire guild hall, which just moments ago had been as lively and chaotic as ever, was dead silent. Every single face was staring at him. Cana's beer mug was frozen halfway up to her lips. Levy's reading glasses had tumbled right off her nose. Behind the bar counter, Mirajane's mouth had formed a tiny "oh" of surprise. Gray and Gajeel, who'd been trading punches moments ago, had their unmoving fists planted in each other's faces, but neither seemed to notice. Makarov and Erza, who'd been furiously whispering about something, were both glaring at him. Happy had stopped flapping his wings and had crashed to the ground. And Lucy...

Lucy, his best friend in the entire world (besides Happy, obviously), Lucy, who trusted him more than anyone else, Lucy, who made him want to beat anyone who'd dare to hurt her into a pulp, Lucy, who'd fought by his side more times than he could count….

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

And suddenly, Natsu felt like the biggest jerk in the entire world. He opened his mouth to say something, anything- to apologize, to crack a joke, to do something , but before he could-

"Well, what's got everyone so shell-shocked?" A booming but light-hearted voice broke the silence. As one, the entire guild turned their heads to see who could have possibly missed what just happened. Who could possibly have had the tactless luck to walk into the hall right after that scene?

Natsu's eyes widened. "LAXUS?!"

"Yo, Natsu," the lightning-scarred slayer said, "Do you know-" But that was as far as he got before Natsu raced over to him and dragged him out of the hall.

He didn't stop until he'd reached the old tree in the park at the edge of town.

"Natsu, slow down," said his older guildmate. "Are you okay?" Natsu punched the tree, but it was so weak he barely cracked the bark.

"No, I'm not okay! I can't sleep and I can't eat and I can't even think straight and-" Laxus put his hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He recognized that look in Natsu's eyes all too well. It was the look of a man who had cracked, a look of pure desperation. He'd seen that look peering out at him from the mirror the morning before his own failed rebellion.

"Natsu, I need you to take a deep breath. And then I need you to take another." Natsu hesitantly complied. "Now, why don't you tell me what could possibly be so bad that you decided to come to me for advice?"

Natsu paused, took another deep breath, and admitted his secret fear, "I think I've been possessed."