780A/N: Hello guys. wiErD here. Came back with another chapter... Christmas is just around the corner so I'll be going back to my usual updates schedules in a few more days so hang tight.
Here's chapter two of the story.
Have Fun and Happy Reading :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters. Hiro Mashima owns them. :P
- Tragic News -
It was a sunny day in Magnolia. People still flock to the streets of the busy town even in the course of the afternoon. Everyone was assuming that the day was supposed to be just any other normal day they would have, though little did they knew that the news of the Tenrou Island would come to spread like wildfire all over Fiore.
The guild was still in its full glory, having its usual brawls though not bigger than what the most prominent figures created back in the day. It had been three days since the S-Class trials had started. Everyone was waiting for the candidates to return since the number of days in the trials usually took about two days only. News about the Tenrou group hadn't been revealed to the public nor to them so they had yet to learn the truth of it.
Situated from one of the bar stools near the bar counter were Macao and Wakaba who were on about their usual argument about who's better than the other. They too have started to wonder about the trials since they hadn't heard anything from the group for a while now. Usually, Master Makarov kept a lacrima ball as a means of communication in case something happened during the trials. It was already weird that they hadn't been contacted by now.
"Hey, what do you think about the Master and the others? Aren't they late?" Macao could not help but ask since arguing with his long-time rival actually got him bored for the first time.
"Why do you ask me? I'm not a messenger or anything! Plus, Mira-chan has the lacrima communications so she'll be contacting their arrival soon." Wakaba scoffed with an uncaring tone much to the flame-user's irritation.
He soon ignored his comment and simply looked around the dull atmosphere, his guild was having. Everyone was really out of it since the spark between them seemed missing among them. The group who went to the sacred ground of Fairy Tail were actually the ones that kept this place alive. They all just watched in the corner in amusement every time they took the spotlight in the middle of the guild.
With them out for S-Class trials, the guild that once sported a lively mood turned into a dead atmosphere.
"This is actually my first time seeing the whole guild so bored." Macao soon started.
"I guess, the others were simply the ones who always tried to make the guild whole as it has been with our lives."
"I hope to see them soon."
"Yeah. I kinda miss Mira-chan's servings."
"So that's what you're after..."
"What?!" He looked accusingly towards Macao but the latter simply glanced away, ignoring his intimidation as his boredom overwhelmed his enthusiasm. He sighed heavily as he let his head fell on the table with a loud thud.
"When are they gonna come back?" He groaned.
"Tou-chan. Tou-chan. Are they coming back?" A familiar voice got Macao raising his head in attention as he looked over to the toddler right next to him who was wearing expectant eyes towards him.
"I guess so. They'll be back soon."
"Yay! I can't wait to tell Natsu-nii that I found a unique fire in the books yesterday." He beamed in joy.
"Alright. Just behave and wait a few meters away from the doors just in case he goes destroying it again." Macao smiled.
"Now that you mentioned it, how would things turn out if Natsu actually passed the test?" Wakaba questioned.
"More destruction. No doubt about it."
"Why did I even ask?" He shook his head in pain.
"What are you guys talking about?" Another voice joined in as both men turned over to a purple-haired girl who was holding a tray filled with beer mugs.
"Oh, Kinana. Hand me one drink, please." Macao exclaimed as he called out for a cup from the waitress.
"Here you go. So what's the talk about Natsu?" She asked curiously as she placed her tray down and stood beside them to listen.
"Well, we're just wondering about how things would be if one of them actually passed the test. It never occurred to us that everyone is taking up a notch in terms of their mage status. I mean, we only have a handful of S-Class mages."
"Is that so?"
"So what's your pick on the candidates? I think Gray has a chance. Dude's been picking up popularity especially with that alliance against Oracion Seis." Wakaba asked.
"If I had to guess, I'd vote for Cana or Lucy." Kinana spoke eagerly with her head pondering in thought.
"I'm one for Gray too. That guy is also getting stronger, though I would say Natsu isn't lagging behind." Macao butted in.
"True. That guy doesn't want to get his rival past by him. I imagine that they would be fighting like children at the final exams." Wakaba joked to which the others simply joined in and laughed as they tried to picture their minds about those two battling it out like children.
Stretching out his arms wide to shook him awake, Macao simply smiled widely as he looked expectantly towards his guild members.
"Well, we're about to find out soon." Everyone seemed to nod in response as they believed that the others were probably finished as well. They could only hope to wait for their return and hear all the results.
Another few hours passed. The weather suddenly changed as the day turned to twilight.
"It looks like it's gonna rain." Macao muttered as soon as he heard raindrops falling outside the guild.
"It seems like it."
It was then a loud slam on the door was heard in the ears of the guild to which prompted them to look towards the entrance. Everyone was startled at the sound as some stood up from their seats while others sit around and waited till the figures came inside as the orange light of the setting sun stretched their shadows that made it seemed harder for them to recognize the figures. Moments later, two figures soon emerged from the light as all eyes darted towards them in curiosity.
One was a pink-haired girl in tattered clothes with a gold wing-like headgear situated on her head and the other was simply a dark purple-haired voluptuous woman who was also in the same state as the former.
Everyone stared in confounded surprise as the two figures slowly began their way inside. It was only then their eyes moved into another pair who was carried respectively by them.
"Natsu?! Wendy?!" Some of the guildmembers exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the unconscious figures, forgetting the fact that two strangers came in busting the doors open without so much of a word.
"They need some medical attention quickly." The black-haired woman advised as she laid Natsu softly on the hands of his fellow guild members.
Everyone stopped their ventures and immediately took both Natsu and Wendy towards the medical room. They seemed to have sustained some injuries and wounds. Macao looked over to the two figures who were standing as they watched the two unconscious mages taken to the medical room and disappeared from sight.
"What the hell happened?! Why are Natsu and Wendy here?!" He soon asked a barrage of questions towards the two, wanting to know how they got into such a state. The rest of the group who weren't with the two in the medical room turned their attention towards the two battered females who simply shook their head.
"I-I'm sorry but you'll have to answer that to them. It is not our position to say it." The black-haired woman spoke in a low voice but everyone can notice the sorrow present in the tone of her voice.
"It IS our business whenever one of our guild members were involved! Tell us right now!" Macao could not help but shout in anger. He couldn't help it since everything immediately turned sour for them after seeing the state of their two guild members who were supposed to be in the S-Class trials.
"We've only come to return them. And we're deeply sorry for what we've done." As soon as she said that, the two simply disappeared into space that shocked the entire guild.
"Wha-" They all felt extremely confused right now as they found no answers concerning the rest of the group.
"What's wrong with those two?" Wakaba joined in.
Another voice soon resounded from the outside, calling out the attention of the two elder males from the group which prompted them to look over to the entrance.
"Macao! We have visitors! It's the Rune Knights!" A member called out from the outside as he was confronted by two people dressed the same as the Rune Knights behind them. One was wearing a pair of glasses with his hair tied at the back while the other is simply a humanoid frog with a scroll in his hand, presumably waiting to hand it out to the guild.
Macao and Wakaba walked outside the crowd and eventually faced the two officials with firm looks, hoping that this is not one of their complaints once again. However, their expression changed after seeing the grim faces of some of the Rune Knights. Something must be going on.
"Are you the representative of Fairy Tail?" The frog spoke.
"Y-Yes." Macao answered briefly. It was then he handed the sealed scroll from him with a sympathetic look and began to speak.
"This is a letter from the Magic Council. The news about Tenrou Island." Hearing the place of their holy ground, Macao and Wakaba widen their eyes in surprise.
"W-Wait! News from Tenrou Island?! How did you know? What happened?!"
The frog could only exchange glances to his companion beside him who only shook his head disapprovingly while still keeping the same dull expressions on their faces.
"It's better for you all to read it in that letter. I'm very sorry." He bowed sincerely before turning around and finally marched away together with the Rune Knight behind them which left them only a scroll that contains the information of what happened at Tenrou Island.
Slowly unsealing the knot placed on top of it, Macao hesitantly opened the rest of the letter before finally opening them wide with some of the members peering from behind their backs. They read the first parts which only contained formalities from Gran Doma himself. It was not long before they finally realized the real situation that had befallen their sacred place.
Shaking heavily on his feet, Macao couldn't believe what he just read.
"T-Tenrou Island... was destroyed?!"
...
Natsu flickered his eyes open as soon as his consciousness began to return. His eyelids twitched multiple times, trying to adjust themselves to the new environment. His mouth opened weakly in a form of a mumble until he was finally awake. The world seemed to have rebounded back to his head as he felt lightheaded. The next moment, he was already staring at the wooden ceiling above him.
The last thing he saw was a plain white field that engulfed him. He was blinded by the intense light and he couldn't feel his feet on the ground at that time. It almost seemed like he was floating. His memories were still jumbled and were having difficulty recollecting everything. His body felt like it had suffered its worst injury yet. The pain he got from Zancrow was much better than this. Slowly looking at the sides, he then found himself in a room with multiple beds lined across him. It took a few more minutes for him to realize where he was.
Home. The guild to be exact.
He felt some bandages strapped on his sore body which caused him to wince in pain for trying to move too quickly. How many times he had seen this scene before? Every other fight, he would always see himself in this state, well with the exception of a temporary loss of memory. He made a low groan, frustrated by his current state that soon caught the attention of the people surrounding him.
"Natsu! He's awake. Thank goodness he's alright." A voice went through his still painful head as soon as he realized that he was not alone. A short wave of comfort entered his face. Having someone beside him was probably the best thing during this state.
"Is he going to be alright?"
"Well, he's awake now but let's just give him some time to recover. The injuries still need time to heal. Anyway, what was the fuss about those Rune Knights outside the guild?"
Silently eavesdropping from the people around him, he caught wind of their conversation.
'That's weird. I was sure I was on an S-Class trial.' He thought inwardly, trying to understand the conversation inside his thoughts.
"I dunno. I should check it out. Macao and the others seemed to have read it by now." The person stood up and went outside, leaving the other person beside him as he tried to continued to place some bandages over to the dragonslayer's body.
'Macao, huh. Looks like I'm really back. But there's something I can't remember.'
Natsu tried to move his head, managing a slight shift as he turned to get a better view of the person beside him. The person noticed this and could not help but exclaim in joy before sobbing between her eyes as she finally saw him awake and well.
"Natsu! Oh, goodness, you're finally awake." Came the expressed joy in her voice.
"Laki..." He muttered weakly as he recognized the light purple-haired girl wearing a pair of glasses which she put down to shed her tears of finally seeing her comrade alive and okay.
"Don't move around, Natsu... You're still injured. I applied some emergency potions for your wounds. It'll take a while for them to work so try not to move so suddenly." She advised.
"W-Where... Where am I?" He spoke clearly for the first time as he finally regained his ability to speak and looked at the ever-familiar medical room of his guild.
"You're in the medical room. You just came back with the help of two people outside." She explained as much as she could with her current knowledge of the situation.
"W-What are you talking about? I was in Tenrou Island." He weakly replied, not knowing the real situation yet as his head was still affected by the headache that made him harder to think straight and recompose himself.
Laki had to hold him down back towards his bed as he tried to sit up straight on his back.
"Easy there. You still haven't gotten enough strength yet." She said before looking at the patches around his body that somehow would make him some sort of a wrapped-up mummy.
"Where's everyone?" He pressed on to ask but the moment he asked about the others made Laki tilt her head in confusion.
"That's what we all want to ask you about. What happened between you and Wendy? You two looked hurt pretty bad." Laki replied worriedly.
"No no. I was with everyone. We were all together when that dra-" It didn't take him a few seconds to realize the real situation he previously had back at the island as his memories of the terrifying onslaught of the black dragon came back to him in a flash.
Widening his eyes in alarm and realization, Natsu immediately sprung awake despite his injuries and looked in fear of his surroundings that also startled the purple-haired mage beside him from his outburst. Adrenaline kicked inside his system like a precaution from a threat. Years of training his mind and body had made him ignore the pain in the face of danger.
However, seeing the lack of the horrifying dragon around him, he then managed to calm down before looking wearily to assess his surroundings more carefully. Right now, he was currently resting on one of the beds of Fairy Tail's medical room which could only mean that he was already back. But because his mind was still lingering back at Tenrou, his thoughts scrambled for an answer as to how he was able to return back here.
"W-What's wrong?!" Laki asked worriedly, seeing him frantically looking around as if something was scaring the pink-haired dragonslayer.
"Acnologia..." He muttered.
"Wha...What?"
"We were fighting... but we can't win." He continued to mumble as he tried to project his jumbled memories with words in his mouth that sounded monotonic.
"N-Natsu?" Somehow, her calling snapped him out from his trance as he looked solemnly towards the purple mage.
"We were fighting a dragon."
"A-A dragon? I-I don't understand." The weak dragonslayer could only nod in response before continuing. "We were fighti-no, rather we were running away from this dragon at the island. It was too powerful and terrifying for us to handle." His hands soon shivered in complete fright after remembering the hopeless situation during that time.
Laki could only widen her eyes in shock and worry after seeing their proud dragonslayer scared.
Never in her life, she ever witnessed Natsu being afraid to this extent. He was always putting up a strong face towards others even in various situations, no matter how grave the situation would be.
"What happened?"
"Gramps tried to fight it back in order to save us but we came back to help him and tried to fight it off." He paused as parts of his memories were still in the middle of a recollection.
"And?"
"Me, Gajeel, and Wendy fought it but we didn't even land a single scratch from it. Then he flew up and fired a roar towards us." His head was instantly flooded with pain. It caused him to groan painfully and touched his head gingerly before trying to keep himself composed as possible. He gritted his teeth as the pain circled around his head for quite some time that caused Laki to stand up from her seat and went over to him.
"Natsu! A-Are you alright?!"
"Ugh, my head..."
It was then another person opened the door behind them, prompting the wood mage to glance back and saw Max partially revealing himself at the door with a devasted look on his face.
"Laki... I think you need to hear this." He spoke without any feeling as he simply waited for her to come outside.
"What is it? Is it about the letter? What does it say?" She asked.
"J-Just come. I think you have to see this for yourself." His statement made it seemed like he was going to cry but kept his composure as Laki stood up and went outside, only leaving Natsu caressing his head to ease the pain.
His head somehow got hit by something hard and he couldn't quite point out what it was or how he got himself a headache in the first place. Noticing a lack of people in the room, he looked around as he stared blankly at the glass window outside. He could hear the sound of rain splashing against the roof.
It was also at the moment that he noticed another person lying next to him on the other bed. His eyes traced an unconscious figure who was resting next to him with a blanket covering her except the head. She also suffered similar injuries just like him after noticing the bandage wrapped around her head. It didn't take him a few seconds to realize as soon as he caught sight of her silky blue hair.
"Wendy."
A wave of relief washed over him, seemingly glad to see another member of the Tenrou Group beside him. However, at that same moment, the whereabouts of his other friends crossed his mind. There was no sight of them except Wendy. Maybe they were just outside and doing things as usual. However, that didn't explain why he and Wendy were in the medical room. Not to mention, parts of his memory were still trying to piece of what happened after that encounter with that dragon.
Did he lose a bout with that stripper? It better damn not be.
He slowly placed his blanket aside as he sat up straight from the side of the bed before taking up a wooden cane located beside his bed for support and tried to walk towards the door. He took small steps with the cane in his hands as he slowly trudged his way towards the door in a few seconds.
Reaching over to the knob of the door, Natsu got some of his strength back to help him at least to walk properly. The effects of the potion worked wonders to him at least. Still, he had to be careful about opening his other serious wounds. He turned the knob and pushed the door open as he began to look at his guild for the first time ever since coming back from Tenrou Island.
His expression soon changed as he saw the gloomy faces of the rest of his guild members who were simply shocked like they were unable to move at all from the revelation from the paper. Hearing the sound of his footsteps, all of the members turned sympathetically at the dragonslayer which caused him to be even more confused than he already was.
There was also no sight of the ones who went with him on Tenrou Island.
What's going on?
"Natsu." One of the members uttered his name in sorrow and pity.
"W-What's wrong everyone?"
His question couldn't be answered by anyone as they looked down in tears while some gritted in frustration about hearing the things that he and Wendy had gone through.
It was then Macao walked outside the crowd surrounding the dragonslayer and wore a very blank look on his face as if there was no emotion from it. He stopped before the staggering pinkette while trying to hold his own tears towards him as he looked at Natsu with a sad look.
"N-Natsu... They're... They're gone." He muttered crudely which confused the dragonslayer.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, not really knowing what's going on. He couldn't really understand behind the guild's saddened faces.
Macao simply handed an unsealed scroll from his hand and passed it slowly towards him. Natsu took it and slowly opened the scrolls and read it. Despite his poor experience in understanding words, he could somehow understand some parts of it. It was not long before his eyes soon followed over to the grave news that described the aftermath of the horrifying event that transpired on Tenrou Island a day ago.
"Tenrou Island was wiped out... by Acnologia?" As soon as he said that, a couple of members couldn't hold in their tears as they broke down and cried heavily on the shocking news laid unto them. Macao couldn't help but kneel before him and lost all his strength to keep himself composed and eventually, led him to shed tears just like the others.
Meanwhile, Natsu stood there. His face still processing the news given in the letter. The shock hadn't registered into this head as he couldn't believe what he just read.
Acnologia destroyed Tenrou Island? Since when? Did the others got involved too? Where are they? Why is it only he and Wendy here in the guild and not everyone? What the hell is going on? His head was bombarded with questions of fear and dismay, thinking about possible questions that he wanted to know from this letter. There were so many things to sink inside his thoughts.
How did they get here in the first place? Weren't they supposed to be the island the same as them?
He trembled at the news of his friends. Tenrou island was destroyed and was wiped off the map of Fiore.
Realizing the lack of his other friends together with him, he realized what it meant. As a result, he began to walk outside the guild. Everyone looked at the dragonslayer as he tried to make his way outside as if wanting to go somewhere. Anger and grief were visible in his face which surmised what he was feeling right now in light of the current news.
"You're kidding, right? There's no way that would happen. They must be around so don't give me that shit about them being gone!" He shouted furiously as he threw the scroll to the ground in complete anger.
"Where are you going, Natsu?!"
"To Tenrou Island! We still have the others back there! I don't believe anything that's said in that goddamn letter!" Saying that only made some of the members cry even more.
"Please stop it, Natsu."
"No! I won't accept it! They're ALIVE and they are out there! I'm sure of it!"
"Natsu."
"Why are you all accepting this?! Don't you want them back here, right?! They're just not searching enough!"
It was then, Macao had enough and began to shout furiously back at the dragonslayer with the same expression as him.
"DO YOU THINK THAT IT WAS ALSO EASY FOR US TO ACCEPT JUST LIKE THAT?! OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT IT! But what else can we do?! It was all true. They're already gone. There was nothing for them to save." His shouts somehow got Natsu to stop as Macao tried to act as composed as possible for everyone involved. As one of the oldest members of the guild, he had to be as strong for everyone here and let them deal with their grief. Although, his current state showed otherwise as he let his own tears run down to his cheeks while trying to hold it all together, resulting in him being in a mess.
Natsu gritted his teeth in frustration as he forced himself to lash out against him. Soon, sadness and sorrow took over his heart as reality finally set in.
Forcefully turning around, he ran off outside the guild with his tears flowing out from his eyes.
"DAMN IT ALL!" Shouting in frustration, he continued to run as the rain drenched his already weakened body. The others looked onto his disappearing figure as the rain continued to fall from the sky.
He wanted to run. He didn't want to accept it. There was no way his friends were dead. After all, they all promised that they were all going back to Fairy Tail no matter what. So why were they the ones left and be spared while his friends simply died at the hands of that dragon?
Without looking, he tripped his foot on a small rock that caused him to tumble down a sloped grass hill that inevitably got him lying near the river bank. Landing roughly face up, Natsu didn't care about standing up as he was left to stare at the darkened skies before finally tearing up completely as he began to cry.
The raindrops trickled down all over his face, concealing his tears. However, there was no need for such a thing since there was no one else around him to witness it. That's why he let his feelings burst out as much as he could. He didn't want everyone to see him like this.
He let his tears as he continued like that for a few seconds and slowly began to sit up with his head still lowered towards the ground in grief.
"E-Everyone... Why? Why did this happen?" He muttered in between sobs. He never cried like this before even when he was left by Igneel. The pain of realizing that his friends were never going to return struck him hard.
"Happy, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Gramps, Gildarts, Laxus..." He muttered the names of his friends who weren't there with him during his breakdown. He couldn't help it. It was just too overwhelming for him to accept that they all died in vain from that dragon.
"W-We're all going home... Why aren't you guys here with us? We promised, right? We're not letting it all end here... so why did it have to be you guys?" He stuttered in tears as he couldn't find himself lost in thought as if he simply became an empty shell.
The smiles and joy in his friends' faces reverted back to his mind that even caused him to sob even more.
"JUST WHY?!" He slammed his fist furiously towards the dirt ground, asking the world about the fate of his family. He cursed himself for not being able to protect them. At that time, he realized that his power wasn't even enough to drive it away. So much for being a dragonslayer. How could he face Igneel like this? To be so powerless against such calamity.
Were they so unfortunate enough to stumble unto that dragon? Were they destined to hopelessly run from that thing without fighting back?
He was taught to slay dragons yet he wasn't powerful enough to save them all. It was just so frustrating and despairing to accept.
Multiple thoughts caused his mind to be in a state of mess. His current state could not even begin to describe what became of him.
It was then he stopped as his face soon reflected back from the river which showed his true self at the moment. He could see himself in tears like a lost child. It was just like that time with Igneel when he disappeared. He cried without knowing where he went and was simply left alone to fend for himself. Eventually, his tears stopped as he stared blankly at the reflection of himself.
He had to be strong. Just like what Master used to say back then.
"Someday, you will learn the meaning behind your tears..."
"Of why one must give up one's life for the sake of the other."
"That's the very sole reason for them to keep pushing forward..."
"Moving on to the future."
That's right.
He should not feel hopeless in the face of a loss. There was always a reason behind their sacrifices. It was never in vain. It was for the sake of them to keep pushing forward, trying to find the meaning behind their tears.
A purpose to live on and see the future together.
That is the belief of Fairy Tail.
No matter what happens or where they are, their familial bonds will always never be severed from their hearts. That's because this is what being a member of a Fairy Tail mage should be.
Wiping off the rest of his tears, Natsu slowly stood up from the ground, finally found his new resolve to move on.
"Everyone..." He whispered and not long before he clenched his fist in determination.
There were still some traces of grief left in his heart but he held it all together. It would be difficult to move on from this tragedy but he could not afford to dwell too much on the past.
He still has his family left in Fairy Tail.
"Natsu!" Kinana's voice cut through his train of thought as he turned over to the panting waitress, seemingly distressed.
"Kinana..."
"Please, you have to come back."
"What's wrong?"
"I-It's Wendy. She's finally awake!"
...
A line of people was seen amongst the table with their heads stooped low from the shock about the situation on Tenrou Island as Natsu and Kinana returned back to the guild. Other members were simply left speechless and uncertain what to do since it was their first time witnessing a massive loss of loved ones in their lives. Fairy Tail had always been like a family for the members and the number of people who were close to the ones who didn't make it back were still grieving.
Natsu grimaced as he saw the lifeless expression of Jet and Droy who learned the tragic fate of their member, Levy. It was quite known to everyone that the three were always inseparable since they formed their team together.
He passed several people who were still trying to cope with the loss until he finally made his way before a door leading to the medical room where Wendy was. Macao, Wakaba, and Laki were also there waiting patiently for him to arrive. A brief wave of relief went across their faces as soon as they spotted the dragonslayer.
They all shook their heads as Natsu approached them.
"Is she awake?" He suddenly asked in a low tone towards Laki who simply made a meek nod.
"Yes."
"Does she know everything?"
"No... We don't have the heart to tell her. So we simply asked you."
Natsu became silent as she replied to his last question. The other three waited in anticipation towards the dragonslayer, hoping to understand the situation at hand. Wendy had just recently joined the guild. Everyone knew of her history in her previous guild and everyone simply forgot everything about it in respect for her. And right now, she had yet to learn the news of the tragic fate of her family to whom she was just starting to get along with. They didn't have the courage to reveal the news to her at this time. Saying it directly to the bluenette would just break her heart even more.
Natsu simply shook his head before smiling faintly towards them as if to reassure them.
"I'll go to her." The three of them nodded as they went to cope with the others about their loss.
Hesitant to open the door before him, Natsu breathed deeply as he readied himself to deal with this carefully. He turned the knob and made a slight peek at the room. It didn't take him to find the bluenette as he saw her lying on the bed with her silky dark blue hair placed neatly behind her back. She gave a slow turn from her head, recognizing the person coming from the door. She sported a faint smile towards him.
"Natsu-san..." She whispered. The dragonslayer simply made his way inside and closed the door behind him and walked towards the aisle of the room and into the side of her bed to sit.
"Hey there. Are you feeling alright?" He spoke softly. He hated seeing her crying but he knew that he was bound to see it anytime soon if he revealed the truth to her.
"I'm fine. Thanks to Laki-san and the others who took care of me." She spoke faintly and weakly which clearly shows that she still had yet to recover from her injuries.
"I see. That's good then." He said with relief in his voice.
They were silent for a moment as they have nothing to talk about and Wendy's memories have yet to recover from the events at Tenrou Island. Natsu wished that it didn't have to surface just right now.
"Where are the others?" She asked curiously which only made Natsu wince on the inside.
"Well, Laki and the others were simply outside the room, waiting for you to recover."
"Not that... I was talking about Happy. He's not here with you, isn't he? Usually, he always together with you."
"Well... He's not here, you know."
"Is he back at the house?"
"Well, that's-"
"I'm sure Carla would be happy to see him right now since she talked about apologizing to him the other day."
"Wendy... I have something to tell you."
"What is it, Natsu-san?"
"I'm very sure that this will hurt you Wendy but I don't want to see you cry because of it." Unknowingly, tears formed up from his eyes as he felt himself going to cry once more. Despite promising to be the one to comfort her of the news, he couldn't stop the tears coming out from his eyes. Wendy could only look at him with an extremely worried look despite her current condition. She tried to reach up one of her fingers to wipe away his tears to which he let her do it.
"D-Don't cry, Natsu-san. I always knew that you were the strong person. I'm sorry if I said something hurtful."
"No. It's not your fault. You have nothing to feel sorry for. I'm just glad, you know. You being safe here." He quickly replied.
"R-Really? Do you mean it?" He confirmed as he held on to her hand for support.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"I see. Thank you, Natsu-san."
There was an audible pause between them until Natsu finally spoke again. "There's something you need to know, Wendy."
"What is it?"
"Promise me that you won't cry, alright? I know it's hard for me to say this but you'll have to understand, okay?"
"Okay." She smiled towards him who only glanced away for a few seconds before finally looking back at her, hoping that this would not give her so much grief.
"Wendy... ... ... ...They're... ... ...gone." He spoke faintly but she heard it with her heightened ears. It was the saddest thing that Natsu ever saw in his life. There he saw the shocked look that he wanted to keep from her ever since this started back a while ago. She just laid there frozen in shock as if she was turned into stone.
The once innocent smile on her face was simply replaced with grief and confusion in her eyes. It was not long before tears soon forming up from the corner of her eyes which she tried to hold in for the sake of their promise to each other.
"W-What do you mean gone? I-I don't understand." She couldn't help but ask.
"Everyone's gone, Wendy. We are what's left. The others didn't make it." He revealed.
"Lucy...Happy...Charle...Erza...Gray... Everyone. They didn't make it." He tightened his hold to her hand before lowering his head in sorrow.
"...Carla... Lucy-san... Erza-san." She finally realized before finally tearing up in the process just like him.
Natsu heard her sniffs which caused him to jolt in attention. He could see it.
The pain and sorrow in her eyes. She was so devastated and helpless.
Why? Why did have to be her to suffer like this?
"H-Hey, Wendy. Remember what you told me, right? You promised me, right? We are going all through this, okay? But I need your strength, Wendy. I want you to be strong for me." Despite his words, Wendy kept on crying which made him so helpless to help her out of her sadness and grief. If he hadn't told her the truth then it would break his heart more than her for lying about it.
"Please, Wendy. You were always a strong mage. You may not realize it but you were always a strong person. You always helped out in many ways together with us. Grandine would've been proud of you. I mean, we're dragonslayers, right? We're supposed to be stronger than this, right?"
"R-Really?" She sobbed in between.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure Gajeel would be proud of you too. Heck, Igneel would be jealous of you and would prefer you to teach his magic other than me." He joked which somehow got her a slight giggle despite her sobs.
"O-Okay. I believe you, Natsu-san."
"Thank you, Wendy."
He reached out her other hand and placed it together with his and spoke deeply.
"We'll make it through this, Wendy. I'm right here with you." He vowed.
"Mmm..." She nodded meekly before holding her tears and simply smiled at her fellow dragonslayer beside her and rested peacefully on her bed as Natsu continued to watch over her, praying for their future.
...
A/N: And that's a wrap. Here's a very sad chapter for you guys... As you can see, Natsu and Wendy have yet to face hardships on the starting 7 - year gap. Problems about leadership and keeping the guild altogether without most of their friends.
There's also a matter of power scale at their 7 - year gap from the rest of the Tenrou Group... Yes, it will be changed accordingly but not as godly as it would be like a one-shot fodder character like Superman.. Be reminded.
That's all for now for the chapter. Thank you guys for supporting this story in its early days.
As always, keep an open mind and also express your opinions on the review. It motivates me especially criticisms. :))
See ya guys on the next chapter!
- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...