Do you mean to tell me … I'm back after three years ?!
Well yeah. I was writing an Arcane fanfiction when I found this fic I had wrote a while ago. I loved it and thought it was sad to leave it unfinished. So I'm here to continue the story !
I'm sorry, I'm a bit rusty, but I think it will get better with the next chapters.
Thanks again for all of the positive comments, and let's get back to NaLu fluff and spirits !
Chapter 8 : His hope
[Natsu's POV]
Natsu realized he had hold on to Lucy for a while now, so he moved backwards while grining. He took a chair and sat on it cross-legged. He noted that Lucy was eyeing him with doubt, and he could not tell if it was because his position was strange or because she had something else in her mind.
« Hey, about food ... »
Lucy's face went from confused to seriously worried.
« Do you intend to eat me ?! »
Natsu went silent for a few seconds then bursted into laughter.
« What ?! No ! It soen't work like this oh my god.. »
And they both laughed wholeheartedly.
« No, seriously, how does it work ? »
Lucy looked genuinely curious.
« Oh, nothing bad. Just need to burn you with my spirit flaaames ! »
And with that he mimiced a roar. Lucy laughed some more.
« Gosh, calm down and be serious for a moment. How can I help you if you joke around like that all the time ? »
« Who told you it was a joke ? »
Lucy's eyebrow twitched.
« Aaanyway. »
Natsu stretched a bit then proceeded to sit normally.
« Actually, being near you is enough. Your aura feeds me, in a sense. »
Lucy's face showed some kind of disgust.
« Okay, still creepy. Is everything about you creepy, you strange ghost ? »
« Mayybe. »
She rolled her eyes with a smile and got up.
« Hey, I'm feeling better ! Is my magic a healing one ? »
« Hmmm nah, that's Wendy's job, … if I remember correctly. Someone told me she is great healer. »
His face got darker as soon as he said her name. He felt his heart tighten and sorrows threatened to overcome his silliness. But he knew better : he had hope, now that he found Lucy. And he had nearly made a mistake that could expose his identity.
« Oooh yeah I met her. She looks soo cute ! Levy as well. What a brain ! I'm sure I can show her my texts. And Erza. I admire sooo much ! … And … »
She kept going for a few minutes. It really made Natsu smile. If she listened to her, everyone had stayed the same since he left one year ago, and that made him happy. Abittersweet happiness, but still, he smiled genuinely.
« If you feel better, why don't you meet them for this sakura celebration ? It's not over yet you know ? And even if my illusion is awesome, I wouldn't want you to miss out on the real stuff. »
[Lucy's POV]
When Nacho made this proposition, she realized that she had felt well enough to start rumbling for a while about every member iof the guild she had found to be her new home. For some reason, he looked sad for a while.
« Okay. But come with me. Even if nobody can see you, I want you to feel the warmth of people's heart. You'll see, they are so nice ! »
« Warmth ? Oh trust me, I have plenty of this. Don't forget, I'm the fire spirit ! »
Lucy nodded. The more she heard that name, the more she thought it fitted him very well. And oh why did he remind him so much of that salamander ? Even his faces features matched the description …
Wait.
That couldn't be ?...
No.
He was dead, they told her.
She shook her head while Nacho watched her with a questioning look. She smiled apologetically and her head tilted to the side, in the door's direction.
« Come oon, it will be fun. You'll get to watch the show, even if it cannot watch you ! »
« Ooooh it will miss out. I could have created hundreds of illusions for people to see that would be more impressive ... »
Lucy smiled.
« Of course. But natural beauty cannot be reached, can it ?... »
Natsu seemed lost in thoughts for a while.
« Yea. »
He jumped up and stretched before winking to his cat.
« Let's go Hoppy ! Luigi ! »
Lucy crossed her arms.
« Why you ! You're doing this on purpose ! »
And she chased him out of the apartment, forgetting to turn off the light.
Oops, the electricity bill.
[Natsu's POV]
Natsu followed Lucy until they reached the place that had been indicated by her guildmates. A huge crowd had formed on the main spot and Lucy seemed lost. She was not from here, so Natsu could understand her trouble. Magnolia was even bigger then Hargeon, and as crowded as it was, it was like trying to go through a busy anthill.
The young man had no trouble though, as he was managing to walk literally through people. He could swear Lucy had sighed while looking at him. Maybe for once, someone envied him.
When she finally reached the Fairy Tail crew, Natsu stopped abruptly.
He had waves while smiling when Mirajane looked in his direction … Useless.
Old habits were hard to forget.
His heart broke once more, but he had no choice. And moreover, his hope was standing in front of him, in a form a a young girl with blond hair.
As he could not talk to anyone, he walked next to Levy, who was talking with Lucy about books and research. He tried doing funny faces, even giving the blue haired girl rabbit ears, and he saw that his new friend was fighting off a laugh. So he kept going until she bursted out and he walked away proudly while she gave him an amused (or scary?) glare.
He climbed on a small tree not far from there and took a seat to admire the show. As he was looking at everyone and being happy with them, as he did every year since the accident, he noticed that Lucy' smile was the widest of them all. She literally had sparkles in her eyes. She coughed a bit, which worried him a little, but her light shined so bright he figured it would be okay.
This ligh was starting back the flame he had lost a while ago and for once, watching the sakura trees and their majesty in the night light, he was not sad.
His eyes burned with hope.