Natsu's eyes were wide open in shock and horror. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't be true! Lisanna, his best friend whom he grew up with, played house, raise Happy and even promised to marry when they were the right age was now gone…
Dead.
Everyone was crying. The girls hugged each other and sobbed while the guys cried while trying to put on a strong front. Their guild master, Master Makarov, was crying openly at the loss of one of his 'children'. Mira and Elfman, the siblings of Lisanna were sobbing while being comforted by the guild. Cana was hugging the goth teen while Gray was giving a bro hug to Elfman.
Natsu was depressed.
His best friend who he also loved was now dead because the two people who acted arrogant claimed they could handle it. He clenched his fist. How dare they take Lisanna from him? How dare they call him weak?!
"How fucking ironic…" Natsu spoke quietly, but it was loud enough to be heard throughout the guild. Elfman and Mira didn't dare look at the dragonslayer. "You claim that you can protect your sister, but you couldn't… you call me weak—Mira and Elfman clenched their eyes shut—but you couldn't protect the one you claimed you cared about. You keep sprouting that idiotic nonsense about being a man, yet, you cannot follow your own examples. You said you could protect your family, and you proved yourself wrong. You proved me wrong, you proved the guild wrong, but most importantly: you proved Lisanna wrong,"
The guild stared at Natsu in shock. How could he be so cold after they had just lost their sister? They knew he would be upset but that he would essentially call them useless was so wrong.
Natsu then turned towards Makarov and showed his cold eyes that made the older man shiver and dread the words that would come out of his mouth.
"How could you allow this to happen?" Natsu demanded, making everyone's eyes pop out of their sockets. Now Natsu was out of line! How was Makarov supposed to know this would happen?! It was no one's fault!
"That's unfair Natsu!"
"You're not the only one grieving Natsu!"
"You aren't helping any of this!"
Natsu turned to them with a raised brow. "You guys are barely here in the guild, don't question my methods, especially considering that you three are nobodies,"
The three wizards had a look of hurt on their faces. The rest of the guild was shocked by the change Natsu was displaying. He considered everyone in Fairy Tail his nakama and he just called three of them… nobodies?
'He must be grieving,' they thought.
"I mean," Natsu continued while staring at Makarov. "It was Master who made Mira S-Class despite her lack of communication during missions. Her arrogance is her biggest flaw. While this isn't the first time Master had made a mistake, take Ivan Dreyar for example,"
Master Makarov widened his eyes and the older generation of Fairy Tail looked at him in shock. It was common knowledge among all members to never mention Ivan Dreyar. So why was Natsu bringing up the ex-member of Fairy Tail?
"Ivan was your son. He loved being a member until he realised he could be so much more than the mere S-Class he was. He could become the Guild Master one day or simply gain power by any means necessary and you allowed it to go on and on until you couldn't ignore it anymore. He tortured Laxus. Even after you expelled him, it would never be the same. Considering how Ivan turned out, it's no surprise that Laxus is the way he is when you've raised him."
Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor except Master Makarov who looked down at his feet in shame. He didn't shout at Natsu or do anything except nod. Everything that Natsu said was things he told himself every day, so it wasn't new information.
With that, Natsu turned towards Elfman and without warning, rushed at him with a punch towards his face which sent the emotional boy towards the wall, visible for everyone to see. Everyone shouted Elfman's name before turning to Natsu who had a small grin on his face, promising pain.
"What the hell, Natsu!" Gray shouted before charging at his rival.
"I gave what that useless piece of trash deserved," Natsu calmly spoke while dodging the ice mage's attacks. Natsu dodged another attack before punching Gray so hard he broke the man's nose with a crunch that was heard throughout the guild and everyone flinched.
There, in the middle of the guild, stood Natsu Dragneel. Everyone looked at him in shock and fear. The dragonslayer ignored them all except Elfman, who tried to get up with the help of Erza who was currently too afraid of looking at Natsu.
"You are nothing, Elfman, you and Mira are nothing but useless mages. How the hell, Mira was promoted to S-Class, not even the God's know." Natsu muttered with bitterness. "Now any friendship we had before is tarnished. Even our comradery, don't expect me to help you at all," Natsu finished his speech by spitting at the only male sibling of the Strauss'.
With that, he left the guild, his anger so strong that people would swear for years that the stone was coal-black in the shape of sandals.
Natsu leaned back in his black-leathered office chair. It was a memory that always left him in a sour mood. Then again, the memory is still fresh. Two months ago, he lost Lisanna Strauss, the youngest Strauss sibling whom he loved so dearly. And it was all Mira and Elfman's fault.
He pulled a cigarette into his mouth and lit it with a gold lighter he had on his black wooden desk and exhaled the tobacco before allowing a small smirk to play on his lips.
Natsu Dragneel
Patriarch Of The Dragneel Clan
A Fairy Tail Subsidiary
Many of his guildmembers believed he had quit Fairy Tail and wanted nothing to do with the guild but that was not true. While he may hate Mira and Elfman, he didn't hate them enough to make them feel like shit every single day… if he was in a good mood that is. He didn't hate any of the other members either, he just saw them as weaklings, similar to how Laxus Dreyar sees everyone.
Natsu chuckled at that thought. A few weeks ago, he ran into them at the market in Magnolia where they had a stand-off. They had heard of Lisanna's passing and had actually shown up and given their condolences as well as Natsu. However, Natsu didn't want to cause a scene at the funeral so he waited until he had an opportunity to strike back at the smug blonde-haired bastard.
While the market was the last place he expected it to happen, it was more than enough for Natsu. The Thunder God Tribe had laughed at him and called him a weakling…
Until Natsu punched Laxus so hard and fast, that the grandson of Master Makarov was sent flying into a stall with two broken teeth and a swollen, red cheek. After that, the rest of the team tried to fight Natsu, but the fire dragon slayer's anger had overpowered them so hard, that they looked as though they had been crushed by a train.
With that, Natsu had taunted them and called them weaklings.
That was the first time, Natsu had seen Laxus curl into a ball… well after Natsu had thrown several kicks and punches all over him.
The salmon-haired mage grinned evilly at the memory. He could only imagine what the other member's reactions were when they reached the guild. Maybe he should stop by the guild and do some jobs to pay the bills?
Natsu had bought a building in Magnolia far away from the guild and Fairy Hills. The building was located close to a large casino that had opened there recently and seemed to be pretty popular. The building was a six-floor tall with dark marble walls on the outside and inside with a light-darkish wooden floor covered by a red mat. On the outside of the building was a golden text with the title; Dragneel Clan Office.
He wasn't sure if his guildmembers were aware that he was still in town let alone, still a member of the guild. Well, if they had passed the building, they were bound to know that something was up.
Natsu looked around the office he had set up for himself. On his left side were multiple bookshelves that led down to a sofa fifteen feet from him, filled with journals and catalogues of his clan's activities. The sofa was a black leather sofa that looked expensive which it was, but it was very comfortable. There were two sofas in total facing opposite of each other, with a white marble coffee table with a glass ashtray with a few cigarette butts on it. He had a similar one beside him which was almost full, reminding him he needed to clean it.
Behind the sofa was a large portrait of his clan's symbol. There were simply two kanji signs that read; Dragneel Clan so everyone would know that he was the patriarch and that anyone who carried the pin was part of his clan.
He carried a small pin on his left side chest on the black suit he wore along with black business pants and shoes along with a flaming orange-red button shirt. He wore no tie or bow, seeing no need for such things unless it was a formal occasion.
The fire dragon slayer grinned to himself when he heard a knock on the door. The door was made from rare metals he had collected over the years from rewards he had earned on jobs around Fiore. It was a shiny, polished metal that gleamed by the lights overhead.
"Come in!" Natsu called out. The mage watched as the door opened, revealing a young man with green hair, a purple suit, business pants with black shoes and a black button shirt with the Dragneel Clan pin on his left side chest. "Ah, Kai, I wondered when you would show up,"
Kai Shimano
Captain Of The Dragneel Clan
A Fairy Tail Subsidiary
"Sorry for being late, boss," Kai apologised and bowed in respect. "I was collecting the debts from a few punks who owed us,"
Natsu waved it off with a laugh. "No worries, these things take a lot of work, I didn't honestly expect you to be done this quick. Kind of surprised," Natsu took a drag from his cigarette and offered his captain a place to sit to which the man bowed and sat down, hands on his knees.
"I just wanted to ask you one thing, how do you like being a Fairy Tail mage?" Natsu asked. The one thing Natsu had decided when he started his little 'organisation' was that he expected all of the members to bear the Fairy Tail mark.
Kai's facial expression was stoic. "I quite like it, they are friendly, too friendly for my tastes but I don't have bad blood between them."
Natsu nodded in acceptance. "Good answer. How often would you like to go on jobs for the guild?"
The expression didn't change. "I would say at least once a week, not something too difficult but not too easy, something that isn't far away. I'd rather be gone at least a day until we can get other businesses up and running,"
The Dragneel Clan patriarch smiled. "You don't have to do that. I remember when we first met two years ago when you were trying to help your baby sister. That is why I contacted you to offer a place in Fairy Tail and by extension, this Clan."
Kai nodded and bowed. "I'm deeply honoured to be given this opportunity, boss,"
"I know, but don't allow me to hold you back from your true potential. I want you to challenge yourself by going on quests that take months not just to earn good money, but to show people in our guild that we are the best," Natsu explained with a hint of bitterness in it.
There was a comfortable silence between the two. Natsu rubbed the cigarette with his thumb gently before taking a few puffs to calm the anger that had started to boil in his blood. When the salmon-haired man saw that it was finished, he suffocated the flames, allowing it to die out, but the tobacco lingered in the air around them.
"How did they react when you said I had invited you here?" Natsu asked, his curiosity getting to the best of him. But also because it would be good to be prepared for the bombardment of questions they no doubt would ask.
"They were shocked and said that I must have been lying because of what you did after…" Kai's stoic expression didn't crack, but there was hesitation in his speech and voice.
"Ah, I see, so they don't believe that I recommended you join our guild?" Natsu inquired further while crossing his hands and staring intently at his captain.
"As far as I'm aware, most believe in it but few refuse to believe it. I think they want to hear it from you," Kai suggested while staring back at his patriarch.
Natsu allowed a small grin. He could already assume that Gray, Erza and potentially Laxus and his little servants refused to believe it. Although, there were probably a few that didn't believe it either. Not that it mattered to him, because everyone in the guild were nobodies.
"Not surprising," Natsu muttered while leaning back in his chair with his hands on his thighs. "Truth be told, I have thought of making a reappearance at the guild to do some jobs to bring in more money but that would mean leaving you behind to run the operations,"
"I don't believe I have enough experience for that yet, boss," Kai replied with honesty.
"Mature answer," Natsu answered. He leaned further back to glance at the ceiling while getting lost in his thoughts, and ideas for what he could do. "How are Mira and Elfman Strauss?"
Kai was surprised at the question. Ever since he joined the guild one week after Lisanna's death and joined Natsu's Clan, he had never heard his boss ask anything regarding the Strauss siblings. For the first time, he seemed hesitant to answer the question, unsure of how his boss would react.
Natsu could see the conflict within Kai's eyes. He couldn't blame the man though, because this was the first time he had asked directly about the Strauss'.
"You don't have to be worried about how I will react, Shimano," Natsu muttered and pulled out another cigarette. Instantly, Kai got to his feet and pulled out a lighter. Natsu allowed the captain to light his cigarette and he inhaled the fumes. "I'm just curious,"
This time, Kai answered.
"They seem to be doing better. The male Strauss is back doing easy jobs around town and neighbouring villages and towns, slowly getting back into it. Mirajane Strauss, however, seems to have lost her magic. She was working as a bartender and chef for the guild. I don't think I've ever seen a faker smile in my life, the guild knows, though,"
Natsu took a long drag of his cigarette before releasing it into the air around him. This was interesting news. He would occasionally find himself walking towards the Strauss' residence just to see how they were doing, but they never seemed to be home. It was as if they'd moved. Maybe they have, or maybe they are still sad about the loss of Lisanna which shouldn't be too surprising, she was their baby sister after all.
"Interesting…" Natsu muttered while finishing his cigarette and once again, suffocated the flames. "So they're trying to move on?"
"I believe so," Kai replied, although Natsu detected hints of hesitation.
"Well, I shouldn't be surprised, I never did expect them to stop grieving. I'm just surprised they managed to do it so fast. Oh well, I suppose I should too… for the most part," Abruptly, Natsu stood up and clapped his hands with a toothy grin that didn't match the grin he would wear when he was happy. That Natsu was dead. Dead along with Lisanna.
"Are you hungry? There are some good food places around here, expensive ones too," Natsu said as he walked out of the office with his captain who followed him intently. The Dragneel Clan patriarch locked the door to his office. Together, they made their way to the staircase and made their way down to the first floor where two large sliding glass doors recognised their magic and slid open.
Natsu had paid a mage to use runes so that anyone carrying the Dragneel Clan pin could enter the building with no problems. The salmon-haired patriarch even slid some extra just to keep the mage's mouth shut.
"I don't believe I answered you while in the office, but yes, I am feeling a bit hungry. Worked up quite an appetite," Kai for the first time joked while grinning slightly, but not showing any teeth.
"I bet, when I was fighting at the guild every day, I gained quite an appetite, but due to my constant activities and magic, my metabolism did wonders," Natsu proudly spoke, but muttered irritably. "But I hated the feeling of needing to eat every five minutes."
Natsu heard Kai chuckle at that. It made him slightly grin.
"So, what are you feeling up for? There are steak houses, fish places, a few ramen joints, you name it," Natsu gestured as they got into the heart of the culinary arts scenery. Multiple restaurants were serving a multitude of food in different varieties and the smell was lovely for both of them. Natsu could smell different curries, broths, cooked fish, raw fish, ramen, pizza and so much more.
While both of them felt like drooling, they had to keep their "yakuza persona" as Natsu had called it.
"Doesn't matter to me boss, you pick," Kai replied while looking at a fish place called; The Lucky Lobster.
"Ah, that cosy little place," Natsu said with a thin smile. He felt his captain's eyes on him. "I used to go here with Lisanna and Happy. Happy loved it here because, well it's no secret that he's a fish addict. Lisanna loved the shrimp soup here although she was mostly a vegetarian. I personally love the lobsters."
Natsu looked at the cosy little restaurant and remembered the many fun moments he had with Lisanna and Happy. Oh, what he wouldn't do to go back in time and save her so they could continue their lives together. But he couldn't. Lisanna is dead and Happy disappeared shortly after her death, devastated by the loss of his "mother".
The salmon-haired patriarch turned to Kai who was looking at him with slight unnoticeable concern, but Natsu smelled it. "Want to have some lobsters with me? I'll pay, don't worry,"
He almost laughed when he saw the shock on Kai's face. "Huh?! You're sure?! I don't mind paying for myself!" Kai spoke while trying to remain composed.
Natsu laughed. "Don't worry about it, Shimano, just enjoy yourself. But if you're that strict about paying, how about you pay for the drinks?"
He noticed Kai nod his head frantically. "No problem, boss leave that tab to me,"
"That's the spirit," Natsu spoke and walked inside the little restaurant.
The inside of the restaurant smelled heavenly with a range of different dishes from soup, to cooked fish, fried fish, sushi, you name it. When Natsu walked inside, he caught the attention of one of the chefs. Natsu turned to the chef smiled and walked up to the counter.
"Hello there, Sonya, how are you?" Natsu asked while bowing in respect, throwing Kai out of the loop, but if his boss bowed then this person was important. He bowed immediately in respect.
Sonya was a brown-haired girl with green eyes and some freckles with some nice cleavage that was covered in a white chef uniform. She smiled when she saw Natsu, albeit it was a sad one. She had met Natsu many times along with Lisanna Strauss and Happy.
"I'm good, Natsu albeit a bit stressful. We've started taking orders via lacrima to deliver food," she spoke with a smile.
"That's great to hear!" Natsu spoke with a thin smile. "I'm happy for you. Seriously, the food here is top-notch,"
"Oh, such flattery," she giggled before cutting onions at a great speed. "Can I help you and your friend?" She asked while working.
Natsu let out a grin that didn't reveal his teeth. "Yeah, me and my captain, Shimano, would like some food. Is there any available space? If not, we can always take it with us."
"There's always room for our best guest, Natsu," she kindly spoke and poured the onions and other vegetables she'd cut into a large broth which must have been for their highly popular shrimp soup.
"There's the place by the window on the second floor, the one that you and…" she trailed off, realising her mistake.
"That Lisanna, Happy and I would be at," Natsu finished with a sad grin. Sonya nodded and handed out the menus to them. Natsu immediately checked through the menu to see if there was anything new. "I'll take the shrimp soup, lobster, a basket of garlic bread and some beer to wash it down."
Sonya nodded and wrote it down on a note before turning to Kai.
"I'll have the lobster, sushi plate and beer," Kai ordered and Sonya wrote it down.
"No problem, I'll come when it's finished," she said with a smile and the two men nodded and made their way to the second floor in silence while listening to the chatter of the other patrons of the restaurant, laughing and talking with one another.
When they got to the second floor, Natsu showed Kai the way to the table with two chairs that Lisanna and he would sit at. It had a nice view of the other restaurants in the area and the street below where they had seen countless of their guild members enjoy themselves for the nights and afternoons.
The chairs were comfortable, made of wood with a pillow underneath so the rump wouldn't hurt. The table had salt, pepper and toothpicks in the middle for extra spice or if food got stuck between the teeth.
"Nice place," Kai complimented while he watched the other patrons go about their evening. Natsu nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I was a regular here," he explained. "Or well, I still am, but this is the first time since the incident."
There was silence between them which was broken when a waiter came with their desired drinks which they thanked for. They gulped their beverage before the silence overcame them again.
"I got to ask you something, Shimano," Natsu suddenly said, with a serious tone in his voice. The patriarch of the Dragneel Clan noticed Kai straighten his back, showing he was listening. "When you told the guild about my offer of you coming here, how did the Strauss siblings react?"
He noticed the wheels in Kai's brain twisting and turning. A million thoughts probably raced through his mind after such a question which Natsu couldn't blame the man for.
"Well, they didn't show any form of outward reaction but I did notice that they became very quiet. Miss Strauss gave me the stamp and welcomed me with a smile that was genuine compared to the other ones. Although, she and Mr Strauss looked a bit wary of me,"
Natsu gulped his beer and mulled over the information he received. He wasn't entirely surprised. After what he did, they were bound to be wary of him.
"Do they all believe I quit Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked while taking a small sip of beer.
"Most seem to believe that, although, Master Makarov did ask me where I had met you and I told him a partial truth about my hometown. But I never said that you were here in Magnolia," Kai explained. "Although, he did seem to be aware that you were here because I heard him whisper to himself; 'he's probably a lot closer than we realise,' so be aware of that,"
Natsu nodded in understanding. "I'm not surprised, nothing gets past that old man." He looked out the window and wasn't surprised when he saw Laki Olietta, Bisca Mulan and Levy McGarden together chatting. This was a popular food area after all. "Looks like a couple of our comrades our out and about,"
Kai looked out the window and saw the three women together. "Seems like it, boss,"
"If they're eating here, I'm going to laugh," Natsu chuckled and did indeed laugh when they decided to go to the same restaurant they were inside. "That's some fucking irony right there,"
"Yeah," Kai agreed with a chuckle.
Suddenly, Sonya appeared with their food. She placed the shrimp soup, lobster and garlic bread on Natsu's side and the other lobster and sushi plate on Kai's side. Before bowing down and telling them to enjoy their food. They thanked her but they didn't touch their food just yet. They were bound to run into their comrades from the guild.
Natsu's suspicions were correct when he saw from the corner of his eyes, the three ladies from their guild sit on the opposite side of the restaurant while still chatting but this time, with sorrowful looks. Must have been aware of the fact that Lisanna frequented this place with him and Happy.
"They look sad, ey, Shimano?" Natsu said with no mirth despite his wording sounding like it.
"They do," Kai confirmed while glancing at them discreetly. "What shall we do if they see us?"
Natsu turned to his captain with a raised brow. "What can we do? While my hair is not the same as before, they are bound to recognise my hair colour. I tend to stand out because of it. I've wondered if I should dye it,"
Kai nodded and sipped his beer. "What colour have you thought of?"
"White," Natsu replied, looking at his captain dead in the eye. "Anyways, let's eat," Natsu pulled out the utensils and began to eat. Kai didn't waste a second after his patriarch had gotten the first bite.
~~Like A Dragneel~~
After Natsu and Kai had finished their food, they ordered a few more beers just to enjoy themselves. It wasn't unusual that they went out to it, far more often than not, they could be spotted at different restaurants around town, but they luckily never ran into their comrades from the guild, until now that is.
Natsu wasn't afraid of being spotted by them, but he didn't exactly want to be known either. A lot of patrons had begun to leave, but there were still a decent amount of guests there. With his enhanced hearing, he could pick up what they were talking about.
"What are they saying?" Kai asked out of curiosity as he sipped his beer.
"Mostly just girl talk, however, they have been speaking about you and me for the last ten minutes," Natsu replied while taking a large gulp of beer. "Ey, Shimano, you're popular with the ladies, huh?"
Kai chuckled at his patriarchs' antics.
They became quiet again and Natsu listened closely to their conversation.
"I feel bad for Mira and Elfman," came the voice of Levy "I understand why Natsu was so angry, but I think he went way out of line."
"Yeah, I agree, although I believe it came from the heat of the moment. It doesn't excuse what he said and did, but I do understand where he's coming from," Bisca said while sighing sadly.
"I can't believe he would rub salt in their wounds after they just lost their sister," Laki muttered bitterly.
"Laki, I don't excuse his actions, but he just lost a friend and potentially something more," Levy sadly sighed and poked at her food with her fork or spoon. Natsu couldn't tell what that was but it sounded like metal.
"I know that, but he doesn't have to take out his rage on us, especially not Master Makarov, he looked so sad," Laki spoke with a little anger in her tone.
"I just hope Natsu's okay, he's been gone for a month and the only lead we have on him is Kai," Bisca said while gulping down a beverage.
"Is he trustworthy though?" Laki challenged. "I got the feeling he wasn't telling us something,"
"I got the same feeling as well, but even if that was the case, it's not any of our business. Natsu left on his own accord," Levy sighed.
"But he still bears the mark," Bisca said with a little hope in her voice.
"He still carries the mark?" Laki astonishedly asked.
"Yeah, from what Kai said, he saw Natsu still have the red Fairy Tail mark on his shoulder, meaning he's still a member, officially at least," Bisca replied.
"Oh, sorry I was under the impression that he left entirely," Levy explained sounding sheepish.
"It's fine, I think we all believed he left," Laki said.
"But doesn't Master Makarov have to tell each person that leaves the three rules before leaving?" Levy questioned.
"In most cases yes, but there are rare exceptions to this rule. In Natsu's case, if he did leave, he wouldn't see us as comrades meaning that the three rules would have been meaningless." Bisca explained while gulping her beverage.
"Still, do you think he hates us?" Laki asked with a hint of sadness, her hostility dying down. "The things he said sounded awfully familiar to what Laxus would say,"
"I don't know," Bisca answered honestly. "I don't think he did mean them nor do I believe he hates us, but then again, maybe all that anger did turn to hatred," she finished with a worried expression on her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sour the mood."
"It's okay, Bisca," the other two girls spoke.
"But I get the feeling we might see him soon," Levy said with a concerned look. "I hope he's not too angry,"
"Considering what he did to the Thunder God Tribe a few weeks ago, I wouldn't be surprised if he's still mighty pissed," Bisca replied.
Natsu tuned out the rest of the conversation, not interested in what else they had to say. He finished his beer and Kai did the same and they both made their way downstairs. Like they had said before, Natsu paid for the meal while Kai paid for the drinks.
When they made their way back to the office, they failed to notice the shocked looks of the three girls who had talked about them.
Like A Dragneel
The first chapter of Like A Dragneel is out, this is a remake of my old one that I deleted. My other story; My Darkness is currently on Hiatus at the moment but will update in due time. Kai Shimano is my OC (Original Character) that I have created and will pop up in some other works in the future. Thanks for reading!
I will write to you guys next time.