Chapter 12: Death and Décor
The next few days were sober to say the least. Funeral arrangements were being handled by Makarov, seeing as how both Mirajane and Elfman were unable to handle something like that at this time. Though it was more of a memorial rather than a funeral due to Lisanna's body disappearing after her death. Though hearing her body had disappeared was unusual, both siblings had described that happening to Lisanna after her death, so everyone accepted that as what happened.
Both Mirajane and Elfman each blamed themselves for what happened to their younger sister. Elfman blamed himself because he tried to take over the beast they were sent to destroy. But Mira said the blame was solely on her, as she was the one who decided to bring her siblings on the mission and because she gave Elfman the order to attempt to take over the beast. In reality, no one blamed either of them for this unfortunate accident because that's exactly what it was. An accident.
Shifts were taken and split between the younger generations on keeping the remaining Strauss siblings company. This was mostly a support role, as the majority of the time was spent in silence. Almost every member took their turn spending time with Mira and Elfman, everyone save Natsu. After his initial words of sorrow towards them, he just disappeared. No one seemed to notice the absence of the Dragon Slayer, except Cana. Whenever she wasn't with the others, she was trying to find Natsu. She checked his house, but he wasn't there. She visited every place she could think of Magnolia and the surrounding forest. But no matter where she went, she couldn't find him. Wherever he was, it was clear he wasn't in Magnolia. Everyone coped with the loss in their own way. It seemed like Natsu's mechanism was to run away from it.
Cana didn't know why he had left. Did her death really have this much of an effect on him? He wasn't particularly close with Lisanna, but he didn't hate her either. Cana never saw Natsu openly try to antagonize her so that had to count for something, right? Regardless, she knew that whatever he was up to, he could handle himself. Right now, her place was her, mourning the loss of her friend.
On the day of Lisanna's memorial, Cana stopped by Natsu's home before the service. Sure it was a bit out of the way, his house was out of the way for just about anything, but if Natsu was there, then it would be worth it. She approached the small stone cottage and twisted the door and it opened. Stepping into Natsu's house she noticed a table that hadn't been there before. "Natsu?" she called out. Cana waited a few moments before walking deeper into the house. Looking around, she noticed small things had been placed all over the house. Nothing major, just little trinkets and oddly shaped furniture. She picked up a the pink dragon she hand won for Natsu and the Harvest Festival and fumbled it around in her hands.
"So I see your just letting yourself in whenever you like." Natsu called from behind her. Cana turned around and saw Natsu standing in his door frame. Natsu's eyes scanned Cana and a brief smile danced across his face. "Black is a good color on you Cana."
Cana's cheeks reddened at his words. Shaking her head to dispel her thoughts, she decided to ask Natsu the question she had been wondering since he disappeared. "Why?"
"Why?" Natsu repeated her question with a confused look.
"Why did you leave?" Cana walked closer to him. "With everything that's going on right now, why did you leave?" A single tear slowly fell down Cana's cheek. "Everything is so messed up like that, and I didn't know what to do. I..I…" More tears littered Cana's face. "Lisanna died. My friend died, and you disappeared. I wanted you- I needed you to be there. And you left."
"Cana I-"
"I know you don't care about the others, but what about me? Don't you care about me enough to not leave like that?" Cana shouted. Natsu closed the gap between them and threw his arms around Cana. She buried her face in Natsu's chest and continued to sob.
"I'm sorry Cana. You're right, I shouldn't have left like that. I just figured people didn't need me around at a time like this.
Cana pulled away and looked up at Natsu. "You're stupid. I'm always going to need you around Natsu." Both Natsu and Cana smiled at each other. "Are you coming to the memorial? The whole guild is going to be there."
"No." Natsu was quick to respond. "I wouldn't be welcomed. I'm not one of them." Natsu paused and looked at his guild mark. "Not truly anyways."
"Why are you so insistent on staying an outsider? You've already been accepted as family. You just have to accept them." Cana lectured. "You accepted me and look how that turned out for you." Natsu stared at the ground and remained quiet. "Look I can't force you to go, but it would me a lot if you came. To me and to everyone else." Cana waited a few seconds to see if Natsu would respond, but it never happened. Rolling her eyes, she lightly pushed him out of the way and exited his house. Natsu watched her walk away from his home before closing his door.
"Losing someone you cherish is never easy, especially when they were so young." Makarov spoke out from the upper floor of the guild hall. "Lisanna Strauss was the very example of what a Fairy Tail wizard should be. Kind, caring, adventurous, always willing to lend a hand to those in need, always lending an ear to those who needed to be heard. We are gathered here to honor the life of Lisanna and celebrate the time we had with her. And though that time was unfortunately cut short, it makes all the moments we shared with her that much more meaningful. I urge all of you to not take anything for granted in this life, for we are never guaranteed anything other than right now. So enjoy the moment, because you never know when something will come along and take everything away." Makarov's speech echoed through the guild hall. The only other sound besides the master's words were the cried coming from the gathered audience. One by one, others rose and recounted their favorite story of Lisanna. Master Makarov, Mira, Elfman, Erza, Cana, Grey, Levy, Macao, Wakaba, even Laxus took their turn on the podium telling their stories.
In true Fairy Tail fashion, what started out as a night of tears, ended in a celebration of laughter. Gradually the crowd dispersed, leaving only a handful of occupants remaining in the guild. Soon it was only Cana, Mira, and Erza left in the guild. The three sat in a comfortable silence. "Thank you." Mira quietly squeaked out. "For everything."
"Of course." Erza spoke up. "We may have our difference, but at the end of the day, we are family. And family will always be there for one another."
Mira gave a quick, half-hearted smile at her rival's words. "Well I think I'm going to visit her grave before I return home. Even though there was no body to bury, we still wanted something for here. Somewhere we could visit. Please, excuse me." Mira spoke as she got up to leave.
Now it was Erza's turn to speak. "I think we should take our leave too. It's been an eventful day. Rest would do us well." Cana nodded at her words and the two prepared to make their way to Fairy Hills. Just as they had almost reached the door, Cana looked up towards the roof to a spot Natsu would occasionally retreat away to. She could've sworn she saw a flash of pink moving from the rafters before disappearing into the night.
"He came." Cana said with a smile.
"Who?" Erza confusingly asked.
"Natsu."
"I didn't see Natsu the entire evening."
"Well he wasn't here, not down with us, but he was still here." Cana while still smiling.
Mira stood in front of the freshly constructed monument to Lisanna when she heard footsteps approaching. "Didn't figure I'd see you here." Mira turned and faced a silent Natsu. "Sometimes you aren't as quiet as you think." Mira gave an amused snort. "I'm all out of tears, so if you are here to berate me, save it." Waiting for a response that never came, she resumed speaking. "I guess even you know when to call it quits." Natsu remained quiet, his eyes still focused on Mira. The two stood in silence for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Natsu turned his back and began walking away. "It's not like I hate you or anything like that. It's just… well if I had to explain it, I'd say I'm jealous. You were always the stronger one, and I just couldn't accept that. I thought when I had become S-Class and you hadn't it would make that feeling go away. But it didn't. So I took that mission to prove to myself I was better than you." Mira trailed off and looked towards Lisanna's grave. "I should've asked you to come with me instead of her. Together we could've beaten it. Hell, you probably could've done it yourself. But I was just too stubborn. And now…" Tears began welling up in her eyes. "But now Lisanna is gone. All because I was trying to prove something pointless to myself. And I only have myself to blame."
Natsu's back was still turned to Mira. "I'm going to stop challenging you Natsu. Besides, not like I could even if I wanted to." This got Natsu's attention, who finally turned to face Mira. "I can't even use my magic anymore." Her words stumbled on their way out. Natsu gave her a puzzled look, so she explained further. "I tried using it to blow off some steam, but it never came when I tried to summon it. It's like it's been blocked off from my body." Natsu continued his silent watch, his eyes burrowing themselves in Mira.
As he stood in front of her, Natsu wasn't sure what he was feeling at this moment. Pity? Sorrow? Disgust? Anger? Hatred? Perhaps a mix of all of those. He just heard her say she didn't hate him, but could he really just let all that anger, all that hate her felt towards her go? No, he couldn't bring himself to let it go. No matter what she said to him, at the end of the day, they were just words. And words only have as much meaning as you give them. Maybe one day, he could let go, but today was not that day. Without offering a word, Natsu took his leave, leaving Mira alone at Lisanna's grave.
A few days had passed since the memorial, and Natsu was sitting down at the poorly crafted wooden table in his house when he heard the door swing open. "Good morning Natsu!" Cana's voice rang out, breaking through the quiet atmosphere. Natsu smiled when her voice touched his ears. She was a different form of chaos that he grew to enjoy.
Cana walked into the room that would be his kitchen and found Natsu at his table. "Get up, we are going shopping."
"Are we now? And what exactly are WE aiming to get?" Natsu asked, putting extra emphasis on the we seeing as how they were most likely going to use his jewel to get what Cana wanted. That's what she usually meant by "we".
"WE are going to get you some actual furniture and decorations for your house." Cana replied also putting emphasis on the word "we".
"And why does my house need new furniture and decorations. I happen to like things the way they are."
"Well you have bad taste Natsu. C'mon, it'll be fun! And I think after everything that's happened this week, we could use a little fun."
"Please explain to me what part of spending my jewels for your things is fun?" Natsu playfully teased.
"All the stuff we are getting is going to be for your house, so technically you're spending your jewels on yourself. I'm just helping direct that spending in the right direction." Cana explained. "And if it happens to benefit me, then that's just a happy coincidence."
"Right. I'm sure that was your plan all along." Natsu laughed as Cana gave him a sly smile. "Alright then, let's go."
Natsu and Cana spent the better part of the day visiting various stores and shops in Magnolia. They ended up with quite the haul. There first stop was a furniture store where they bought two black couches and a mahogany coffee table. The next place they visited was lacrima-powered appliance store, they bought several things Cana told Natsu would be useful to have around. After that, they visited a shop that specialized in paintings and Cana found one that she was sure Natsu just "couldn't live without," so they bought that as well. The final big thing they purchased was a new table to replace the god-awful contraption Natsu had constructed. Finally, they had visited a trinket shop and got quite a few little things to decorate with. Well Cana would be the one decorating. They had made a deal, Natsu would carry the things back to his house, and Cana would spend the time organizing everything while Natsu went a fished for their dinner.
By the time Natsu had arrived back home, Cana was putting the finishing touches on decorating. "What is that?" Natsu asked, laying his eyes on a piece of furniture he most definitely didn't agree to. A pink armchair rested in the corner of his living room.
"Now before you say anything, let me tell you. I bought this with my own jewel. It's a present for you. I saw it when we were buying the couches and I thought it would look good in here."
"It's pink."
"Yes it is. And I know it doesn't really match anything but that is kind of the point." Cana saw the confused look Natsu was giving her. "The chair represents you. And no, not just because it matches your hair, though that is a plus. It represents you because you don't really match with anything else Natsu, you're unique. And I just thought you should have something else that is one of a kind."
"That's actually surprisingly meaningful. Thanks Cana." Natsu smiled and Cana making a light blush appear on her cheeks.
"I'm glad you're in a good mood now because I also bought a hammock so Happy could stay over here sometimes."
"You what?" Natsu expression changed from a happy expression to one of annoyance.
"Oh what's that?" Cana put her hand up to her ear. "I think I hear someone calling me from the guild. I better go check and see what they want."
"I didn't hear anything, and my hearing is a lot better than yours." Natsu said while trying to block the exit to his home. "Now what is this about Happy coming to stay here?"
"Well it's not like it would be permanent, maybe just like a once a week thing." Cana saw Natsu eyebrow raise. "Maybe a once every two weeks thing." Natsu sighed. "He looks up to you, you know. I know he can be a little much sometimes, but he really does enjoy spending time with you."
Natsu pondered over this for a moment. On one hand, if Happy slept over at his house, he could punish the cat without Cana intervening, but on the other hand, Happy would be staying here occasionally. And that in and of itself would be hell for Natsu.
"I'll tell you what, you teach that cat to keep his mouth shut and maybe, just maybe we'll see about they little bastard occasionally staying over. Cana giggled at this and Natsu couldn't help but give her a smile,
And just like that, and apology for my mess up earlier. As I said, I decided to switch around the chapter names because I feel like this makes more sense. I originally planned to include some of this stuff last chapter but didn't. Also we finally wrapped up the whole Natsu vs. Mira subplot. Things between them still might be tense, but most from Natsu side. Anyways, i hope you enjoy and that this is a satisfactory apology for my mistake earlier. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day! - Sinh