Author's Notes: We're finally here... At the Final Chapter of The Fish with Two Hooks! (The Epilogue is left, of course.) Prepare for the final battle of Graylu VS Nalu! All of us here probably have different opinions and ship differently, so you might not be happy with how this ends. Whatever the case, please don't kill me, I apologise beforehand! Gomenasai! I hope you enjoy the story, regardless of which ship you support. A big ARIGATO to everyone!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail! All rights belong to Hiro Mashima!
-TheFlyingNeko:)
Natsu woke up from his deep slumber, feeling the strain on his eye bags. He had never cried that much in a long time, and he had never ever felt so down before. Natsu had never experienced this before; this weird feeling. He remembered about last night… All his thoughts have finally gathered. He was definitely going to do something about it.
He washed up and gathered his courage, then left the house and started walking to the guild. However, his steps were small and his movements were slow, as he dreaded having to go there. Having to… do it. Natsu finally knew what this feeling meant, but couldn't bring himself to believe it, let alone tell someone how he felt. However, what Natsu wanted to drag on for an eternity came to a stop. He had reached the guild.
Natsu dragged himself into the guild as quietly as he could, trying to slink away into the shadows. He heard Gray, Erza and Lucy talking and decided to eavesdrop.
"Geez, where the hell were you when we needed you, Erza?!" Gray asked.
"Well… I…" Erza stuttered, embarrassed.
"Gray! It's alright." Lucy said, putting an arm around Erza.
"I had something important to do and that's all." Erza said, slipping away from Lucy's grasp and walking off.
"She nearly ruined everything!" Gray said, mad.
"Relax, Gray…" Lucy said.
"Maybe I should wait a while first…" Natsu mumbled, still hiding.
'Natsu Dragneel! What are you, a coward?! You have to face reality! You can't avoid it forever!' A voice in Natsu's head said.
"Right… I have to do it…" Natsu mumbled to himself while hiding at the furthest corner.
He walked over to where Lucy and Gray were, where they had just talked just now. Lucky for him, the guild regained its normal noise today, so the conversation would, or rather could, be just between them.
"Lucy… I… I have to talk to you… In private." Natsu said, extremely nervous.
"What? And when did you get here?" Lucy asked, surprised.
"Just say it here and now, dammit. There's nothing she can keep from her boyfriend, anyway." Gray said, butting in.
"But… But…" Natsu stuttered.
"Gray is right, Natsu. Just say what you have to say now." Lucy said.
"Well… These days I've been thinking, and there is this feeling I feel... I've finally figured out what that feeling is last night... I need to tell you this, no matter how things are now… Lucy… I…" Natsu said while quivering madly, but stopped himself.
"What, you scared to say something?" Gray taunted.
"I…! I…! I... love you, Lucy." Natsu said, leaving Lucy extremely shocked.
"Hey, bastard! You picking a fight?" Gray said, standing up angrily and catching everyone's attention.
"That… That's all I wanted to say." Natsu said, but Gray stopped him.
"How dare you… Alright, we'll settle this once and for all! With a fight! If I win, you will stop pestering Lucy. I've had enough of you. If you win… You may have her." Gray said, grasping Natsu's attention.
"Why are you giving me a chance?" Natsu asked.
"Because we both love Lucy. Or at least I know that I do. We'll use this fight to see… Who deserves Lucy more." Gray said.
"Stop this, Gray! Please… I don't want to see the both of you fight! Let's clear this up. This-" Lucy said.
"Lucy. That's enough. This will make it easier for you, too." Gray said, looking back to Natsu. "Let's head outside. A full out magic battle it is."
"Give me five minutes. I… I can't fight like this." Natsu said, running out of the guild.
"Fine…" Gray said.
Natsu tried to get it together, while the rest of the guild gathered outside, waiting for the battle to start. His heart was still feeling messed up, so he tried to calm down and cool down his aching heart.
"I love Lucy. That's the reason why I have to fight Gray. This isn't a normal fight. I have to win, for the sake of Lucy. I have to show her that I really love her! Right. I'm all fired up now." Natsu said, as he put up a serious face and walked up to Gray.
"Let's begin." Gray said, stripping. "Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray said, while a hammer materialised on top of Natsu.
However, Natsu jumped out of it's way easily.
"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu said, sending his breath attack to Gray.
Gray tried to block the attack with his ice shield, but Natsu fought on and melted the ice, causing Gray to be overwhelmed by his flames.
"Ugh! Ice Make: Floor!" Gray said, creating an icy floor.
Natsu slipped and fell due to that, giving Gray a chance to attack him.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray said, managing to attack him.
"Ahh!" Natsu screamed in pain.
However, Natsu wouldn't be defeated so easily. His entire body burst in flames and melted all the ice around him, and he jumped into the air.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu said, hitting Gray right in the chest, sending him flying to the wall.
After the first few moves, the guild knew they were both serious. Lucy was extremely shocked by what was happening, as this was definitely not what she wanted.
The fight continued, both of them sending many blows to each other. Their powers were almost equal, and after ten minutes, they were both running out of magic power.
"Must fight… For Lucy's sake." Natsu muttered.
"Must do this…" Gray muttered.
"ARGHHH!" They both yelled as they charged at each other.
They were about to punch each other when…
"Yo, everyone! I'm back from my journey…?" Gildarts said, attracting the attention of everyone at the scene.
No one had even realised that the bells had rung and the city undergone the gildarts shift.
"Gildarts…" Gray said, shocked, stopping his movement.
However, Natsu wasn't distracted. He continued charging forward and hit Gray's head with a smash, sending him flying to the ground. Gray was knocked out cold, his eyes rolling about in dizziness.
"I… promised. I wouldn't be distracted by anything, huff. I… would fight… For Lucy… and I would only be distracted… by her voice." Natsu said, panting.
"Natsu…" Lucy said, surprised.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Gildarts said, shocked.
"You… Come with me." Cana said, dragging Gildarts away.
"Oh hey, Gildarts." Natsu said tiredly, having used so much magic power.
"Hey! Hey! Stop pulling my ear, Cana!" Gildarts shouted.
"Lucy… I love you." Natsu said, turning back to Lucy.
"Took you long enough." Gray muttered, grinning on the ground. "O-ouch! Could you have hit me softer?!"
"What…?" Natsu asked, surprised.
"Oh, it's time already, huh." Macao commented from the sidelines.
"For what?" Natsu asked.
"I'm sorry, Natsu. I didn't want to do this, but I had no choice…" Lucy said.
"Do what?! AHH, you guys are killing me!" Natsu said, confused.
"I guess I'll explain… Oh and Lucy… Looks like I won the bet. Agh! My head hurts like hell, damn you." Gray said. "It all started 4 days ago…
9 February, Fairy Tail.
"Juvia… Do you remember that day after the Grand Magic Games… I was going to say something to you?" Gray asked.
"Yes… Before Ult- I mean, yeah I do." Juvia said.
'I bet Gray-sama is going to say something like 'Juvia… I love you' and we are going to kiss in front of the whole guild!' Juvia thought, her imagination running wild again.
"I… What I wanted to say is…. Juvia… I love you." Gray said, blushing.
"I… I love you too, Gray-sama." Juvia said, shocked.
'YES! He really did say it, he really did, he really did!' Juvia squealed, in her mind.
"I know… Juvia…" Gray said.
"Do you really mean it, Gray-sama…?" Juvia asked.
"Yes. And… Just call me Gray." Gray said.
The guild applauded and cheered, having heard the entire conversation.
"Sigh… I wished Natsu would say that to me…" Lucy muttered, catching the attention of the whole guild, who stared at her.
"SHOOT!" Lucy said, covering her mouth.
"Well… Looks like someone just confessed, huh." Gray teased.
"You didn't hear anything!" Lucy said, her entire face turning red.
"Oh, we so did." Gray grinned.
"W-well… Even if you know, he's too dense to understand anything. Plus, he obviously doesn't have feelings for me." Lucy said, looking away.
"Are you sure? How do you know?" Juvia asked.
"For one thing, Lisanna…" Lucy said.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you." Laxus said from the corner.
"Why?" Lucy asked.
"N… Nothing…" Laxus said, walking away.
"Oh! I've got an idea!" Gray said, making everyone, including Laxus freeze in their steps.
"But first, let's make a bet, Lucy. I bet that Natsu likes you." Gray said.
"No he doesn't…" Lucy said.
"Alright, everyone hear this! So, the plan is… Someone and Lucy will pretend to be a couple, and the entire guild would play along with it. Let's all make plans… and make Natsu jealous! It'll be so fun! Oh, and let's keep this from Mirajane, since she isn't around anyway! It'll be a surprise and… Imagine her face when she sees that person and Lucy together!" Gray said, beaming.
"Good idea!" Wakaba said, nodding.
"But who?" Romeo asked interestedly. "Honestly, I would say you, Gray-nii. After all, you are Natsu-nii's rival."
"I agree on that one. Why don't you do it, Gray?" Macao asked.
"I agree with Romeo too…" Wendy said quietly.
"Wait… Me? But… Juvia..." Gray asked.
"Well… I guess it's fine… Only when Natsu-san is around, right?" Juvia asked.
"Yeah. I promise I'll stay devoted to you." Gray said.
"Well, I don't agree with it. I'm not going to hurt Natsu in the process! Isn't there any better way?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah there is… You confess to him directly, Lu-chan!" Levy said.
"I can't! I just… can't." Lucy said.
"C'mon, Lucy. Valentine's day is coming in 5 days! Do you wanna be all alone then?" Gray asked. "Even I am willing to sacrifice my time with Juvia, for the sake of you and that flame-brain! And believe me, this is the only way to make Natsu realise that he has feelings for you. Fine, in the worst case scenario, whether he has feelings for you or not."
"Well said, Gray." Max said.
"Well… I…" Lucy pondered. "Fine, then…"
"YEAH!" The guild cheered.
"Now, let's plan out what we are going to do!" Gray said, making everyone excited.
10 February, 10am. The day Natsu comes back from his job. Fairy Tail.
"Everyone, remember the plan!" Gray said, as everyone nodded.
"He's coming!" Erza said, as everyone scrambled to their place.
The guild dropped into a low whisper as Natsu banged the door open, announcing "I'M BACK, EVERYONE!"
Everyone were in their positions… But no one realised Juvia at the corner, completely red, being embarrassed after her first kiss with Gray that morning.
7pm in Fairy Tail.
"Interesting… That happened? Ahh well, it's not working." Erza said, laughing after she had heard what happened while they were fishing.
"But as we thought, we didn't have to tell her at all." Gray said.
"She's a natural." Macao said.
"But this is definitely not working." Levy commented
"Tomorrow, then." Romeo said, beaming.
"Heh, asking indirectly obviously wouldn't work. Who the hell came up with that idea?!" Gajeel said.
"Well… I… did… Sorry…" Wendy said, looking like she's about to cry.
"Gajeel!" Levy said, comforting Wendy.
"Ah, sorry!" Gajeel said.
"Don't worry! Tomorrow's plan will surely work! Wakaba, have you contacted that old friend of yours?" Macao asked.
"Yeah. Penny said that she could do it. She already put it in place and registered the request." Wakaba said, holding up the piece of paper.
Happy and Carla flew in at the point, Happy holding a piece of paper.
"Yajima-san happily agreed!" Carla said, while Happy flashed the request sheet proudly.
"Everyone…" Lucy said, touched.
"Let's do our best, everyone!" Lisanna said.
11 February, 10am. Fairy Tail.
"Romeo… The rest is up to you." Gray said as Romeo started running over to Natsu.
"Hey, Natsu-nii!" Romeo said, running over to the request board.
"Oh, hey Romeo. Agh, I don't know what to pick!" Natsu said, sighing.
"This seems like a good one!" Romeo pointed out to a 'lost valuable' quest.
"Oh, really? I'll pick it then!" Natsu said, beaming.
"Mm!" Romeo said, smiling back.
"It worked!" Romeo said to Wendy, who was behind the request board as the back-up for when Romeo screwed up, as Natsu called for Happy and Lucy.
5 hours later
"I think I've got the hang of it!" Lucy said while she and Gray skidded on the ice in the park.
"Great!" Gray said, as he twirled her around.
"You sure Natsu nor Mira would find this place?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah. Juvia, you may!" Gray said, as Juvia popped up from behind the bushes.
"Yes!" Juvia said, sliding on the ice over to Gray as Lucy sat in a corner, watching them both play around happily.
"I hope the day me and Natsu can do that comes soon…" Lucy mumbled to herself.
3 hours later
"Juvia, hide quickly. She's coming soon." Gray said, after a while of talking to Juvia.
"Mirajane is here. Time to put the act on." Gray whispered to Lucy, who was chatting happily to Lyra while Gray was to Juvia.
"Oh! Lyra, Plue, you know what to do, right?" Lucy asked.
"Yes!" Lyra replied.
"Pun… Pun…" Plue replied.
"Lucy, you look amazing tonight." Gray commented.
…
Gray and Lucy danced to Lyra's song, as they spotted Natsu enter.
"He's here!" Lucy whispered.
"Okay. Just hang on a little longer." Gray said, lifting Lucy up and letting her stand on his shoulders.
"Gray! We haven't practiced this that much!" Lucy whispered to Gray.
"Don't worry. Just remember our training. Just keep your knees locked, and hold on tight to my hands!" Gray whispered back. "Plus, we need to convince Natsu."
He took Lucy's hands and Lucy slowly stood up, finally managing to stand. Then Gray started twirling on the ice, while Lucy stood on his shoulders.
"Yes! I'm sure Natsu saw that. Alright, he's gone. We can change now, if you would like." Gray whispered as Lucy twirled out and Juvia twirled in as a replacement for Lucy.
"They look like they are having so much fun… Gray's right… It's all worth it, huh." Lucy thought to herself, smiling as she continued to hide from Mirajane.
…
"YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Mirajane screamed as she charged off to Gray and Lucy.
"I SAW WHAT YOU DID. JUVIA, YOU MAY STOP HIDING. COME OUT HERE AND EXPLAIN TO ME AT ONCE!" Mirajane said.
"Yes madam!" The three of them said as they came to Mirajane's feet and sat down, like dogs obeying orders.
10pm, in the guild.
"So? Did it work?" Romeo asked.
"Mm." Gray and Lucy replied.
"Perfect! That means everything will be in time." Levy said.
"Remember tomorrow, everyone! We gotta give it our all! And if it succeeds tomorrow, it should be alright by the day after tomorrow." Wakaba said.
"Yeah, yeah, but… but… She saw it… And we were forced-" Gray said.
Suddenly the door banged open, and a woman entered, her face extremely dark.
"Oh, Welcome back, M-" Macao said.
"Shut up. Someone better explain to me… in full detail." Mirajane said.
"Sorry, everyone. We spilled the beans…" Lucy said.
"It's all Juvia's fault! I'm sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Juvia said.
"No, Juvia, it's not…" Gray said to Juvia while smiling.
"EXPLANATION!" Mirajane screamed, while everyone jumped.
12 February, 9.50 am. Fairy Tail.
"Okay, remember where you are meant to be!" Gray said.
'I still can't believe they're doing this…" Mirajane said, absent-mindedly wiping down a glass.
"Gajeel, Lily and Levy!"
"Here!" Levy said, waving at one of the corners of the guild.
"Evergreen and Elfman!"
"Man!" Elfman said, standing up from somewhere near the centre of the guild.
"Wendy and Romeo!"
"Yes!" Wendy said, smiling.
"Carla and Happy!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy said.
"Alright, we are ready. Warren, communications?" Gray said, speaking telepathically.
"All set!" Warren said, while standing on top of a building.
"Positions?" Gray asked.
"Position A set!" Lisanna said, in one part of Magnolia.
"Position B set!" Cana said, in another part of Magnolia.
"Position C set!" Max said, at Kardia Cathedral.
"Position D…?" Gray asked.
"Erza is supposed to be there. She's missing, though." Warren said.
"What on earth is Erza doing?! It's not like her to not turn up. Laxus, could you take over her place?" Gray asked.
"Is Position D near A?" Laxus asked.
"Why do you even care? And yes it is." Gray said, raising an eyebrow.
"On it." Laxus said, walking off.
"That was weird… Remember what to do? Lily, Carla, Happy?" Gray asked.
"Yeah! I'm to tell Warren where Natsu ran off through a bird's eye view!" Lily said.
"And we are to pick you and Lucy up to the next position, at Warren's signal. Right?" Carla said.
"Aye!" Happy said.
"Okay, everything is set up. Lucy, let's go." Gray said, grabbing Lucy's arm.
"Mm." Lucy said
"Do your best, Gray!" Juvia called out to him.
"Yeah!" Gray said, as he ran off.
After a while, Natsu entered the guild.
…
"Happy, what's going on now?" Warren asked, through telepathic means.
"I… I don't believe this…" Happy said, shocked.
"What?" Warren asked.
"Natsu… He's crying." Happy said, peeking through the window at their house.
"WHAT?!" Warren screamed.
"What? What?" The rest of the guild asked, curious.
"Natsu is crying." Warren repeated, scaring the rest of the guild.
"Seriously…?" Elfman asked.
"Yeah. Happy…?" Warren asked.
"T-That N-Natsu… Is… Crying…" Happy repeated, shocked.
"Happy broke." Warren said, sighing.
"Well… I don't think anyone expected to hear that…" Gray said.
Lucy stood at the corner of the guild, shocked and depressed. She had no intention of hurting Natsu at all, lest to make him cry…
"Lu-chan, are you okay?" Levy asked, concerned.
"I don't know… Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing?" Lucy asked.
"Well… It can be considered as a good thing. It only means he cares about you." Levy said.
"But… It means I hurt him too…" Lucy said, looking away.
"Don't worry, it's Natsu! He won't be hurt that easily!" Levy said.
"I hope you are right…" Lucy said.
Current day, 13 February. Outside Fairy Tail.
"HAPPY! YOU PEEKED AT ME?!" Natsu screamed.
"Sorry, Natsu. I was just following orders." Happy said.
"Wait… That means… You guys planned this entire thing?! Even Gildarts and the Fish?!" Natsu asked, shocked.
"No… Gildarts coming back wasn't planned… Neither was the fish. It was just fate, huh." Gray said.
"WHAT?!" Half the guild screamed, shocked.
"Hang on a minute… If it was all planned, then why did you choose to fight me?!" Natsu asked.
"For one thing, we haven't fought seriously since the Daphne incident, and… To see whether you truly loved Lucy. If you can't even beat me, how do you protect Lucy, huh?" Gray said.
"Well… If that's so... It means I'm worthy of protecting Lucy now, right?" Natsu said, grinning at Lucy.
"Natsu… I'm really sorry." Lucy said.
"You still going on about that, Lucy? Don't worry, things worked out in the end, right?" Natsu said, smiling at her, and grabbing her hands.
"Mm!" Lucy said, so happy that tears streamed out of her eyes as she took a step forward and hugged Natsu, who hugged her back.
"Speaking about the fish, here it is! Time for celebration, right?!" Happy said, running over with a trolley and a fish preserved with ice on top.
The two hooks were still on the mouth of the fish, and the lines were cut and dangling from the hook. It was… The Fish with Two Hooks.
Happy wheeled the fish to where they were, and the rest of the guild gathered around.
"You do the honours first, Natsu." Lucy said.
"Yeah!" Natsu said.
Natsu used his fire to grill the fish, while Lucy summoned Cancer, who cut the fish into many pieces.
"ITADAKIMASU!" The guild said, everyone digging in to a slice of fish.
However, after each person took a slice, there was only one, although bigger than the others, left for both Natsu and Lucy.
"Looks like we have to share the last slice, huh?" Natsu asked.
"Well… The two of us caught one fish, so we shall share one. Together." Lucy said, picking it up.
"You're right… Both of us are one, right?" Natsu said as they both bit into it, their faces centimetres apart.
After taking the last bite, their lips touched, and they kissed.
"Natsu… I love you…" Lucy whispered.
"I know. I love you too." Natsu whispered.
He smiled, no longer with the childish grin he puts on every day, but with a truly loving, sweet smile.
Author's Notes: To all the Graylu fans- I'm sorry! You guys should know how hard it was for me to write all that Graylu back in the previous chapters. I'm a hardcore Nalu fan, and it broke my heart to write all that. Well, I hope you all enjoyed the Graylu parts, even if it was just acting! (And really, don't kill me.) To the Nalu fans- I hope you all enjoyed it! This was the chapter I've been wanting to write the most! Aside from the epilogue. Well, it isn't Valentine's Day or anywhere near it, but still! It's gonna be Valentine's Day everyday for Natsu and Lucy, at least! ;) Do await the epilogue- more Nalu to be found! AND, you should have realised that the summary is completely misleading. If you enjoyed it, do review, favourite and follow! Thanks all!
Oh yes, I needa add this. Try not to put any spoilers about the ending in the reviews, in case someone who hasn't read the story sees it. (Well I doubt there'll be many reviews anyway.)
Thanks!
-TheFlyingNeko