Natsu woke up around nine in the morning, ready to start his day. It had been roughly three weeks, almost a month since they had been at The Lucky Lobster and since then, he nor Shimano had run into any of their comrades from the Guild.
Of course, while the town of Magnolia wasn't big or small, they were bound to run into members from time to time, but because of his heightened senses, Natsu easily avoided his comrades. However, that didn't mean that they hadn't spotted him around town. He had begun to hear whispers from members he had seen several feet away at different markets, restaurants and shopping areas about the sighting of Shimano and him together.
He wasn't surprised by this, they were bound to have been noticed. He would have been surprised if they didn't notice them.
The Dragneel Clan Patriarch got out of his fluffy, warm bed and made his way to the bathroom to begin his morning routine. When he was finished, he decided to skip breakfast and simply light a cigarette on his way to the office.
He walked out into the streets of Magnolia and made his way to the darker part of town where the office was located. He had bought an expensive apartment in the richest part of the town of Magnolia just to flex his wealth towards the townspeople and guild. Not that he cared about flexing it, he just didn't have anything better to do.
He kept the hut he and Happy had made and lived in, but he couldn't bear to live there anymore after what had happened. So, he bought the apartment with his money after he'd bought the office and freshened the place. The apartment was pretty big with three bedrooms, two large bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and living room as well as an office he had made there to get some late-night work in if he needed to.
The walls were coloured in red and the ceiling had a white-silverish colour that was there before he bought it. There were a few portraits hung up on the walls that mostly contained the Fairy Tail and Dragneel Clan symbols, showcasing who owned the place.
Natsu continued on his way to the office with a cigarette between his fingers, filling the air around him with tobacco. He took a few drags while the people out and about made a clear pathway for him the second they saw him. It wasn't because of the smoke, it was because of the fear and respect they held for him.
Natsu would have grinned if it wasn't because he was annoyed at some of them. It was no secret of how cold he had become the last two months. No doubt, they had heard what he did to Elfman and the accusation he made about Master Makarov. But, it wasn't a secret that a yakuza clan had started an office in Magnolia which they all knew Natsu was the patriarch of.
When he neared the office, he ran into Shimano who was also smoking a cigarette while waiting for him. Natsu allowed a thin grin on his lips.
"Morning, Shimano," Natsu greeted. In response, Shimano bowed.
"Morning, boss," he respectfully replied. "What is on today's agenda?"
Natsu allowed his mind to wander. What could they do today? Debt collections weren't until tomorrow, and they were still waiting for the papers to own the casino in town. So there wasn't anything to do. Of course, that meant that they would have to do something else. But what? He grimaced when he realised that there was only one option.
"Change of plans," Natsu muttered and turned towards Shimano who had stopped walking. "It seems as though we have nothing to do. Collections are tomorrow and we're still waiting for the papers for the casino, so it looks like we have to go to the guild to bring in some money for the clan,"
Shimano nodded. "Will you be okay, boss? I can do a job alone if you want,"
"Nah, it's fine, we can do a difficult one that's one town over. It'll pay well and we'll have more money at our disposal. Depending on how much we earn, how much do you want?" Natsu asked while throwing the cigarette butt to the ground and stomping it to suffocate the burning flames.
"I'll just take what I need for rent which is thirty-thousand," Shimano responded with a stoic look on his face.
"You sure?" His captain nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want. Time to face the music I suppose,"
They changed routes towards the guild, and all the while the civilians made a clear path for them. The Dragneel Clan Patriarch and captain kept their stoic faces as they walked with straight backs and cold eyes that looked piercing.
When they were outside the guild doors, they both turned to each other. Natsu nodded and Shimano made his way up and opened one of the doors and Natsu walked inside. On the inside was a spacious guild with multiple people inside bearing the Fairy Tail guild mark, chatting, laughing and brawling with one another. It was always a sight to see. The Fairy Tail third guild master, Master Makarov was sitting on the bar counter, a wooden mug filled with beer in hand. One thing that didn't surprise either of them was seeing Mirajane Strauss behind the counter while Elfman was gone. Probably on a job.
Immediately, Natsu, with Shimano in tow, made their way over to the quest board. They heard the noises of the guild die down and felt multiple eyes on them but the two of them ignored it.
"So, what you feeling like doing, Shimano?" Natsu asked ignoring the eyes of the guild master.
"Something not too far away, I'd like to get back to the office later, boss," Shimano replied, shocking the guild members around them. "However, you are the boss so you pick."
"Wise answer, but I agree with your first comment," Natsu replied. "How about this?"
Vulcan Extermination
Vulcans have been destroying our crops and almost kidnapped a couple of the women of our town. We're just another town over, ten minutes by train from Magnolia. Please help!
Reward: J100,000
"Yeah, boss, looks legit, shall we talk to the Master?" Shimano asked as they turned to walk up to the guild master with every guild member's eyes on them with their jaws on the floor in shock.
"Master Makarov," Natsu called out. The members shivered at his dead tone of voice. "Shimano and I will take this quest,"
He noticed the look Master Makarov gave him. While it was subtle, it was one of sadness. Natsu wanted to scoff but he didn't have it in him to. He had more pressing matters than arguing.
"What the hell, flame-brain?!" Came a voice between a group of mages having breakfast. Shimano's head spun towards a half-naked ice mage that scowled at the sight of Natsu. "You have been gone for two months and the first thing you do is take a quest?! You're not even a member anymore! And what's with the suit?!"
This time, Natsu slowly turned to face the ice mage with a look of anger. Gray Fullbuster, the former rival of Natsu Dragneel, looked a bit spooked by this anger. It wasn't the mock anger they had when they used to be rivals. This was genuine.
"I'm gone for two months and suddenly I'm not a member?" Natsu mocked with a cold chuckle that made the guild, especially, Mira, shiver. "By that stupid logic, neither Porlyusica nor Gildarts are members. What's with the suit you ask? Well, I decided a change in wardrobe,"
The members felt the tension coming between the mages, particularly Natsu but they were too afraid to intervene. Even Erza Scarlet who was an S-Class mage shivered at the tone Natsu held towards Gray.
"You know what I meant, Natsu," Gray replied, this time less hostile. "You said we weren't your comrades anymore and to never ask for help from you. I believed you left as did everyone else."
"Damn," Natsu muttered with a humourless laugh. "I knew everyone here was stupid but not that stupid!" He clapped his knee while Shimano chuckled at Gray. "Sure, I may not see you as my comrades, but that doesn't mean I left the guild. Look at Laxus, he doesn't value anyone, not even his pathetic little dirt servants but he still bears the mark."
Natsu turned halfway to see Laxus in the corner of the guild with his little pest and noticed them flinch at his tone. He chuckled to himself.
"Been a while, Laxus. How are you and your little pests? I missed punching the snot out of you," Natsu mocked which made the entire guild, including the Thunder God Tribe flinch. "If you want I can allow a free hit so you don't have to feel as pathetic as you already are!"
Shimano laughed along with Natsu who chuckled. He noticed a tear fall from Mira's eyes as she watched him. He knew why though, she blamed herself for Lisanna's death and didn't realise that the "sweet, crybaby, Natsu Dragneel" could turn into something like this. It almost made him chuckle again.
The Dragneel Clan Patriarch turned towards Master Makarov who looked at him with sadness in his eyes, unable to tell him to stop. "So, Master, will you accept this job for Shimano and I, or do I have to punch Laxus to death until you do?" Natsu cackled.
"No need for that, Natsu, I'll accept it," Natsu threw the piece of paper towards the Master who caught it with ease.
The salmon-haired man walked out with Shimano in tow while still feeling the eyes of everyone there.
~~Like A Dragneel~~
"We're finally in town. I was getting bored," Natsu grumbled as he walked a stone path with his captain to his left. He pulled out a cigarette and Shimano pulled out a lighter and lit it for Natsu.
"Shouldn't be too far, the mayor's office is near a small church. I've been here before," Shimano explained.
"Good, I want to fight something badly and I'm slowly losing a bit of patience if I'm honest," Natsu admitted while exhaling the smoke.
They continued to walk until they reached a small town that was famous for its delicious vegetables. Shimano led Natsu towards the mayor's office which was indeed by a small church. The building was two floors tall with grey-blackish stone on the outside with small windows. Shimano opened the door and Natsu suffocated the flames of his cigarette and walked inside with the persona he had perfected over the last few months.
Immediately, the receptionist greeted them with a warm smile but was a bit put off when she saw the two men in flashy clothing. Nonetheless, she kept her smile.
"Hello, gentlemen, how can I help you?"
"We're here about the Vulcans, Is the mayor here?" Natsu asked while taking off his suit to show the guild mark to prove his claim and which guild. Shimano did the same. However, Natsu noticed that the receptionist or secretary wasn't sure what she was nor did he care. He noticed she was staring at their pins that had their Clan kanji which made her look a little nervous. He was impressed that she kept her smile.
"Certainly sir… wait here and I can see if he's available," she walked off to the mayor's office, leaving Natsu and Shimano in the reception.
"Did you see how nervous she was, eh, Shimano?" Natsu chuckled.
"Can't blame her boss, we aren't the most fun to be around, especially when we got shit going on in our nightly activities around Magnolia," Shimano answered.
Natsu nodded. "True that. It was pretty fun seeing their faces though, how shocked and flinching at every sentence I spoke, I swear, they must have believed I was going to murder someone,"
Just then, the woman from the reception walked out with a smile albeit a bit nervous as she gazed at their pins. "Right this way, gentlemen,"
They followed her to the mayor's office. The mayor was a chubby man with a large three-piece suit and a large cigar in his mouth. He looked a bit frightened when Shimano and Natsu walked inside the office, his fears didn't diminish when he saw their pins.
The office was small with only three chairs, a large desk, and two bookshelves behind the mayor on the left and right sides. Behind the two chairs facing the mayor was a portrait of the town focused on the farms, showing where their roots came from.
"So you are the two wizards from Fairy Tail?" He asked respectfully.
"Yes, the name is Dragneel and this is my comrade, Shimano," Natsu introduced with mutual respect albeit a bit coldly.
"Right, my name is Longford, and as you already know; I am the mayor here. I'll get straight to business," Longford took out the cigar from his mouth. "Recently we have noticed that our food has been damaged and a few women have almost been kidnapped. At first, we believed it to be a dark guild, but when a little girl was almost taken, she described it as being 'ape-like' and we realised that it was Vulcans. I don't know if the Vulcans are responsible for the problems with our crops, but even if they aren't I'll still pay the amount that is in the reward,"
"Okay, where were the Vulcans spotted?" Shimano asked while leaning forward in his chair.
"Just north of here, close to a tiny mountain, pretty close to the crops too," Longford explained.
They both nodded. "No worries, Mayor Longford, we will deal with it, thank you for your time," Natsu said and made his exit followed by Shimano. Longford watched them leave and allowed himself to shiver after they had left. Their piercing eyes terrified the man.
"They are definitively yakuza," He thought.
On the outside, Natsu and Shimano had begun to walk, both with cigarettes in their mouths as they made their way to the tiny mountain. There was silence between the two. Nothing needed to be said, because they both knew it would be too easy for them. A town ten minutes away to deal with a few pathetic Vulcans for a hundred thousand jewels? They were surprised that no one else took it.
The townspeople stared at them with worried glances as they walked. Natsu paid them no mind, while Shimano took puffs of his cigarette, completely careless of their opinions about them.
They followed a dirt path that led to the tiny mountain that looked to be mostly covered in moss, showing just how old it was. Natsu and Shimano felt the eyes of the townspeople as they made their way up the mountain. They walked to the top and watched the view from there. It was about three thousand feet above the town.
"Nice view, not as good as Magnolia though," Natsu muttered and threw the cigarette to the ground. Shimano did the same and nodded with the boss.
"Yeah, the office has a nice view, but imagine the view from Kardia Cathedral," Shimano said with a small toothless grin.
"I can, I was there once a few years ago. The view was amazing," Natsu confirmed with a similar grin.
Before Shimano could comment, Natsu picked up a scent he was familiar with. A scent he remembered from when Happy was an egg. The time when he was much weaker and Lisanna was still alive.
Vulcans.
His mouth twitched into a grin. A grin that looked sadistic. He looked in the direction where the scent came from, and sure enough, there was a Vulcan that was dangling from a tree while observing something.
Because the Vulcan was at a greater height, Natsu wasn't sure what it was looking at but understood quickly when a perverted smile started to form on the monkey's lips.
The Dragneel Clan patriarch felt his captain stiffen at the sight of the Vulcan but was barely unnoticeable.
"So that motherfucking pervert is looking for women, eh? Shimano, let me show you how it's done," Natsu spoke calmly while slowly walking towards the Vulcan, his posture straight and a smile that showed all of his teeth.
He didn't hear Shimano move, so he assumed that the captain heeded his advice.
When Natsu was close enough to the perverted monkey, he fired a "Fire Dragon: Roar!" which knocked the Vulcan right out of the tree line, causing it to land with a 'thud!' and a groan escaped its lips.
The dragon slayer chuckled at the Vulcan before jumping up into the air and came flying down with a punch to the face that made a crunching noise when it landed on the perverted monkey's face.
Natsu stood above the Vulcan with a smile that promised a painful death. "Oi, Vulcan!" The ape slowly opened its eyes. "I've heard that crops have been stolen and kidnapping attempts on women. I suppose that's you?" The Vulcan nodded slowly while trying to breathe. "Are there any more of you scumbags?" A shaky nod in 'no' was the answer. "Well, that makes this easier for us,"
The Dragneel Clan patriarch pulled out a black-coated pistol and fired a single shoot between the eyes of the ape. The bullet echoed around them, but Natsu was confident that the townspeople couldn't hear it because of how high up it was. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Shimano take the bullet shell, put it inside a plastic zipper and put it in his pocket.
"Eh, Shimano, that's how you do shit in this line of work, although, Master Makarov won't be too happy to hear that I popped the brain of this monkey, so when you inform him, just tell him that I beat the fuck out of this ape," Natsu informed with a nod at his captain.
"Understood, boss," Shimano bowed.
Natsu had a thin smile and looked around the area. It was beautiful. Green trees with healthy green grass and the flowers had lovely scents that filled the air. It was calming. He would have no choice but to visit the town again someday, just for the scenery's sake.
"Well, looks like there's nothing else to do other than cleaning the blood and digging a grave for the pervert," Natsu muttered. Without warning, he punched the hard mud so it created a crater big enough for the ape.
Shimano dragged the body to the crater and dumped it there. Together, they covered the crater until it was flattened again. With that, they decided to leave the blood and allow nature to run its course.
They left the burial sight and made their way to the mayor's office to collect their payment.
~~Like A Dragneel~~
A week after they had collected the money from the job, Natsu believed that it was time to make another reappearance at the guild. Shimano was out doing his rounds, collecting debt and looking for people who were interested in their line of… 'business' but so far, no one came knocking on the door.
He didn't know why he wanted to make an appearance as most if not all of them, didn't seem to want to speak to him, much less, associate with him.
Although, to be fair, after what he said to Mira and Elfman, and knocking out the latter, it wasn't surprising that they took distance from him. Funnily enough, it looked as though the two people he hurt the most in the guild wanted to speak to him, but because of the persona he had put up, they didn't.
He leaned back in his chair while puffing on his cigarette. Master Makarov had tried to get in contact with him through Shimano, but so far, Natsu had ignored it since he was still pissed at the guild master and the mistakes he did.
Natsu glanced towards the calendar. December 5th, X782. He chuckled to himself. Looks like he should Christmas shop. He knew that Shimano took priority, but he already knew what to get him anyway. The rest of the guild, he wasn't sure. He had heard that Elfman needed a new coat and that Mira had spied a dress she had checked out at one of her favourite stores.
Speaking of Christmas and the coldest month of the year, it had begun to snow over Magnolia, covering the paths with white snow slowly. It was beautiful. Lisanna loved it when it snowed. She would have warm chocolate with marshmallows while enjoying the cosy weather.
Natsu suffocated the flames and sighed. Christmas wouldn't be the same without her. Happy hadn't shown up in nearly three months now, but he did send letters once a week to let him know he was okay and that he was eating well.
The salmon-haired yakuza let out a long sigh. He would be alone this Christmas. He didn't want to be a bother to the guild or Shimano, so he would simply buy himself a few bottles of whiskey and drink and have a few cigars he had bought at the tobacco shop he frequents. Although, he'd still buy the presents he had in mind.
Despite being pissed off at Mira and Elfman for what happened, he knew that they deserved every bit of sympathy they received. He knew his presents might not mean anything to them, but he still wanted to get them something nice. To show that, he wanted to buy extravagant clothing with a nice price tag on them to flex on the other members of the guild.
"Shit won't get done if I sit here all day," Natsu thought and got out of his chair and made his way out of the building and made a beeline towards the shopping district.
As usual, this time of year it was packed with people buying presents, people partying and having fun. The second he came close though, they made sure to clear the way for him. It had become known by the civilians that he was the patriarch who called the shots around Magnolia. The only ones unaware of this was the guild, but he was sure that they probably had some idea that something was going on.
Natsu grinned mentally.
When he reached the clothing store that had the dress Mira wanted, he immediately went inside, trying his best to avoid the prying eyes of his comrades at the guild who were probably shopping.
The inside of the clothing store was enormous. It had rows and rows of clothes in all shapes and sizes, be it women, men, teenagers or children. It was vast. He had to admit; he was impressed.
The walls were covered with positive words that Natsu didn't bother reading. The floors were covered with black mats that dampened his click when he walked. As he looked around, a worker hesitantly walked up to him with a nervous smile.
"Ah! Hello, Mr Dargneel, sir!" The worker bowed to him, catching his attention. He turned to see a blue-haired woman knitted into a ponytail and wore a red button shirt with a nametag: Michelle. She wore business pants and small heels that covered most of her feet. Her eyes were ocean blue and had red puffy lips. "We-welcome to Hearts Of Clothes! Can I help you with anything?"
Natsu could tell how nervous she looked and noticed how her eyes would land on his pin every so often as she spoke. "Yes, I'm looking for a dress for a female… comrade of mine at the guild. The thing is, I'm not sure what dress she was speaking of. So, I was hoping you could show me your most expensive dresses,"
She noticed how she gulped slightly, trying to not look intimidated.
"But if you do not feel comfortable, I can look myself," Natsu said since he'd rather not have an uncomfortable worker around him. She acted as if he'd pull out a gun or something.
"What? Oh! Nono! It's fine!" Michelle spoke with warmth and led him towards the dresses with the highest price tag.
Natsu walked through several rows of clothes until he was shown a corner that had several displays of expensive dresses that made the features of the female mannequins pop out. It complemented their figures There were four in total. The first one was a yellow dress with thin straps around the shoulders. The dress reached down to the kneecaps and came with a set of thin strap heels with the same yellow colour.
The second dress was a midnight blackish-blue with large straps and a dark blue bow tie on the back. This came with black high heels.
"Seems like heels of different kinds are a trend among the ladies," Natsu thought.
The third dress was a wine-red dress, similar to the second dress, but with no bow tie on the back and thin straps on the shoulders. Along with it, were red low heels that didn't do much in covering the feet.
The last dress was a dark blue dress with stars covering all over it. There were no straps and no bow tie of any sort with high heels with stars covering them. The dress looked to be not too tight or too airy.
Natsu looked over at the price tags. The first one cost a good 200,000J. He wasn't surprised. While he may not be into fashion, he was well aware that certain clothes are made from specific silks that can be very rare. The second dress wasn't as expensive, costing only a 60,000J. The third dress was 123,400J and the last dress was the most expensive, coming in at 500,000J
He grinned to himself. He had Mira's Christmas presents ready. He turned towards the worker who looked nervous as he turned to her.
"I'll take all four," he spoke with next to no emotions. He wanted to laugh at Michelle's stunned face but he had a persona and reputation to think about. "Don't worry, I got the Jewels if that's what you're worried about, this suit and pin isn't for show you know?"
That made the girl quickly jump. "Oh, nono! I wasn't doubting you or anything!"
"I know, but I do understand, those dresses are expensive. Are the heels separate or together? Because I'd like to get those too," he asked while walking to take a closer look
"They come together," Michelle said while smiling at him. "No extra charge!"
"I see, so could I get the four of those dresses and the heels?" Natsu asked again.
"No problem, sir, I'll be right back!" Michelle said and made her way to the warehouse where they stored the clothing.
Natsu looked around the store and found a similar section but for the men. He couldn't help but notice that it was the same design as the ones for the women but moderated into men's physique. There were some nice gold, silver, red and midnight-blue ties along with them. Maybe he should shop for himself while he's here? He knew that Shimano would probably buy something which he didn't mind but he didn't feel as though he deserved it. He'd rather buy himself some gifts considering the money that had started to pile in ever since he managed to get the casino.
That was one of the main reasons why he wasn't concerned when it came to money.
"Hey, sir!"
Natsu turned to see Michelle walk up to him with the dresses and heels while trying not to show the strain they had on her. He helped her to the counter with them and noticed that she blushed when he helped her.
"Hey, Michelle? Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't mind getting these but from the men's section. They sort of caught my eyes and I liked the ties as well," Natsu explained which caused Michelle to look shocked yet again before nodding with a huge smile on her lips.
"No problem at all, sir! I'll be right back!" She disappeared from him, leaving Natsu alone yet again. He carefully checked his golden watch and saw that it was roughly 15:47. Maybe he should make an appearance at the guild after he dropped the gifts off at the apartment.
Michelle reappeared yet again with his desired clothing. "Do you want it packaged? It will be of no extra cost,"
"Yeah, I think I'll do so,"
Michelle began wrapping the gifts up one by one while leaving the men's version in a bag because Natsu said they were for himself. When the worker had finished the last package, she turned to Natsu.
"Uh, Dragneel, sir?" Natsu turned to her. "Who are these gifts for? Or would you like to write the names yourself?"
"They're for Mirajane Strauss, I can write it," Natsu took the pen and wrote the name on the packages. When he was done, he placed them inside another bag.
"Okay, the total is 1,766,800J," Michelle said with a little hesitation in her voice. In response, Natsu pulled out a lacrima card that contained his money via magic. He scanned the card with the help of a machine that was rarely used due to how seldom anyone used such cards.
"Thank you, this has been a wonderful afternoon," Natsu spoke with a thin smile and walked away with his bags.
"Thank you, Dragneel, sir! We hope you shop with us again!"
~~Like A Dragneel~~
After Natsu dropped the gifts off at the apartment, he made his way to the tobacco shop where he bought some rare cigars both for himself and for Shimano as his Christmas present. It was a cigar that Wakaba had introduced Shimano to, resulting in his captain getting a liking for cigars, but only saw them as a rare treat.
However, Natsu realised that it would be best to take the cigars back to his place, so he made a return to the apartment before he was finally ready to head for the guild that was without a shred of doubt, still open.
He had lit a cigarette on the way to the guild to calm his nerves which had acted up when he saw one of the female guild members, Levy McGarden and her two lapdogs shopping.
Natsu would admit, he had nothing against McGarden or Jet and Droy, but he was still a little sore with her when he heard her opinions of him. Although, he didn't blame her. They were close when they were younger, but as the years went by, they drifted apart, but they were still friends… or rather, comrades.
He didn't need friends.
When he reached the guild, he had finished his cigarette and stomped it on the ground, suffocating the flames under his shoe. The guild doors looked intimidating but he swallowed his pride and opened one of them before closing them.
The inside was the same as usual, brawls breaking out every three minutes, food and drinks being served. Chatting, laughter and good times.
He noticed Shimano was sitting alone in the corner with a cigarette between his fingers. He made his way towards him. He felt every pair of eyes in the guild shift towards him as he walked through. Even the Thunder God Tribe from the second floor stared at him as he walked.
They all noticed the way he walked, his style of clothing, his cold persona, his watch, his hair that had been pulled back with the help of hair gel, and even the way he pulled out a cigarette.
Shimano walked up to him with a lighter and lit Natsu's cigarette.
The guild was deathly quiet. But Natsu spoke to Shimano as if everything was normal.
"Ah, Shimano, how was collections?" He asked while taking a long drag of his cigarette.
"They were fine, boss, nothing I couldn't handle. Just a few shits that believed they were better than us," Shimano revealed while blowing out smoke from his mouth and nose.
"Huh, let me guess: some fucking hooligans?" Natsu asked casually while grinning. No teeth were showing which he knew made the comrades around him sad. This wasn't the Natsu they knew and loved.
"Yeah, but I made them see reason," Shimano shrugged while finishing his cigarette and suffocated the flames in his ashtray.
"Good, now they know not to fuck with us," Natsu grinned.
The others who were eavesdropping flinched at the tone. He sounded so… angry but also pleased. It frightened them.
Natsu noticed at the corner of his eyes, to the right sat Elfman who was doing his best to shrink into himself while Gray and strangely enough, Evergreen tried to comfort him. He scoffed quietly which went unnoticed except for the mage he had stared at a few seconds ago as well as Mira.
"Anyways, you're done for the day, how about we get some good fucking food eh, Shimano?" Natsu asked while grinning slightly.
"Sounds good to me boss, where are we going?" The Dragneel Clan captain asked.
"I was thinking something with meat, I don't know a grill buffet or something," Natsu finished his cigarette and flicked it to the ashtray where it continued to burn. "Or you feel like something else? I don't know what I feel like today,"
"Can't blame ya," Shimano spoke. "There's this little ramen joint though at the darker side of town, we can go there and grab a bite to eat,"
Natsu looked thoughtful. "Ramen? Huh, it has been a while since I had some good shit like that, why the hell not? You know the way?"
"Yeah, just follow me, boss," Shimano replied and the two yakuza's walked out of the guild, all the while their comrades' eyes followed their forms. They couldn't believe how much Natsu had changed. He was once someone who would stand up for anyone in the guild, even go as far as to defend their honour. But now, it was as if that piece of him died with Lisanna. They all knew who Natsu would have blamed if given the chance. They all looked at one another and sported the same depressed look.
Not even the Christmas decorations they had set up looked very happy. The tree may have been colourful, but it was at the same time so… grey.
Mira and Elfman felt tears roll down their faces as they heard how he had spoken about the hooligans. Sure, he had always been snippy about people like that as well as other enemies he made along the way, but this time, he sounded so… threatening when he spoke, it sounded to them as if he was warning not just them, but Fairy Tail as well.
"I'm sorry, Natsu," Mira spoke with tears streaming down her face, not able to hide it anymore.