Golden flames raged all around, dyeing the forest with its soul-stirring color. In the center of it, a certain pink-haired dragon slayer stood there with a tired expression. He scanned his surroundings, as he noticed that evening had descended.
"Was I punching and kicking things for that long?" Natsu remarked in surprise as he looked down at his fists that were bleeding. Blood slowly dripped down, staining the destroyed ground with crimson stains.
Other injuries were seen all over his body, although it could only be considered scratches. He panted as he put his hands on his knees, absentmindedly looking at the ground.
"Kgh!" He closed his eyes, relieved that the ugly feeling completely vanished. Fortunately, it only took the whole day to release the emotions that he received after processing such news.
Natsu laid down on his back, gazing at the starry sky in peace. Right now, there were no thoughts within his head. The only thing that he could do… was cry. Not the rampaging kind, he already did that with a few sections of the forest.
It was a cry of acceptance.
He screamed until his throat lost its sound.
He exerted all of his strength towards everything.
He reminisced the memories he made.
"Damn it all…" He covered his face with his right arm as his cries were mixed with the flames that hovered at various parts of the forest. The dragon slayer didn't know how long he let out the remaining tears. But to him, it felt unbearably slow.
After what felt like a few more hours, he now also ran out of tears. Natsu continued to admire the night above, feeling absolutely empty. He wanted to stay like this for at least another day.
"Natsu." His musings were interrupted by the familiar voice of his partner. He glanced at the Exceed who softly landed beside him, imitating him as he also rested his head on the ground.
"How did you find me? I'm pretty sure I ran the distance." Natsu asked.
"Your screams and trails of destruction. You were still attacking everything on sight when I spotted you. I didn't want to disrupt your moment." Happy sheepishly replied.
"...It's kinda embarrassing though." The dragon slayer wryly smiled, a bit exasperated that he gave quite the show to the blue cat.
"Sorry about that, can't be too insensitive to someone who's grieving in his own way." Happy rolled his eyes as the young man chuckled.
"Thanks, Happy." A simple show of gratitude was all that Natsu could muster. But his complexion was brighter now. The serious mood lightened the atmosphere, with the duo just enjoying the evening breeze.
"Aye sir! It's the least I could do." Happy smiled as said his favorite words with more energy.
They were within their own worlds during this time, trying to come in terms with the sudden huge loss. And after experiencing the heights of emotion, clarity followed as their beating hearts returned to normal.
"What's gonna happen now, Natsu?"
"I don't know, buddy. Let's just return to the guild tomorrow. Macao's better with this kind of stuff."
"Aye!"
The moon looked even more mesmerizing than usual.
…
Another day has arrived, and the state of guild was still the same. Although this time, more conversations finally started due to some members returning ever since the news dropped.
It was no surprise, because not all individuals would have the same mindset. Even if Makarov emphasized the meaning of bonds, family and friendship… There are those who joined for prestige, money or to simply get stronger.
Most of the core members were now speculated to have died, resulting in the fast decline of the guild. Those who remained are ones who were genuinely sentimental, and have attachments to what they consider as a home.
"Lamia Scale stated that they'll continue to search for any possible survivors." Macao announced to everyone. "The same can be said for Blue Pegasus, and they're even currently on another patrol right now." His tone sounded hopeful, no matter how little the chances it may be.
"We owe them a great debt of gratitude. Nobody would be willing to go this far, so they truly regard us as their comrades." Warren said what was on everyone's minds, as they slowly but surely started recovering from the grief and disbelief.
"Yeah, but they are burning through their own resources for their search parties. I really don't know how to feel about that…" Max remarked, with no heaps of bottles around him this time.
"Don't overthink it. The best response is to continue searching with them, not to be apologetic." Wakaba leaned on the table, puffing a mouthful of smoke.
"Wakaba's right. We're already lucky that we can cooperate with other guilds. Accepting their support is not shameful in anyway." The purple fire mage nodded his head as he crossed his arms.
While the adults were talking with each other, a boy was absentmindedly playing with some utensils, leaving his plate of food there without being touched. I wonder how Natsu-nii's doing…. Romeo thought.
However, the moment he thought about the pink-haired dragon slayer, the guild's door burst wide open. Everyone was startled as they looked at the young man who miraculously looked like his normal self.
"Yo guys!"
"Good Morning, Natsu."
"Natsu-nii!"
"Oh? You look great. It seems leaving you to your own devices relaxed your mind." Macao smiled as he observed Natsu's demeanor.
Natsu energetically walked through the hall. "Well, yeah! I destroyed stuff and instantly felt better." He even looked proud while saying that, which caused most of them to chuckle.
This was the typical Natsu they knew.
His loud and bright presence always brought warmth, improving the moods of others. In these trying times of the guild, they definitely need it more than ever.
Following his greetings, some raised eyebrows as he suddenly jumped on the second floor's railings, with happy right beside him. He scanned the area below, then coughed to get their full attention.
Most of them were curious as to what he wanted to do. It's simply a rare occurrence for the dragon slayer to even do such actions, as if he's about to give a speech. All eyes were on him as they waited.
"Listen up! I know all of us are still mostly healing from the shock, and it's damn near impossible to move on completely. Because it doesn't feel real, so we all think of it as a nightmare! A portion of our family just vanished just like that…" Natsu paused, checking if that ugly feeling has any potential of coming back.
Nothing happened. He managed to say such an absurd thing in a calm manner.
He took a deep breath, clenching his fist hard since it still made him sad. "BUT! Knowing gramps, he would've smacked us one by one for being down in the mud. It's simply a disgrace to the guild marks we bear! Don't you guys remember who we are!?" Natsu closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again.
That gaze of his spoke volumes, displaying his unrivaled grit and determination. Seeing such an expression, those who listened felt their blood boiling. Their heartbeats pumping in unison as they continued to listen intently.
"WE'RE FAIRY TAIL! NO MATTER WHAT SETBACKS WE FACE, WE'LL BOUNCE BACK WITH AN EVEN STRONGER SPIRIT!
"WE DON'T FALTER!"
"WE DON'T GIVE IN TO DESPAIR!"
"WE ARE UNITED!"
"WE ARE FAMILY!"
His voice raged on like a dragon's roar, possibly going beyond the building. He shouted with so much vigor that it affected everybody on a personal level. Natsu instinctively activated his magic, but it somehow felt harmless.
"FAIRY TAIL IS THE STRONGEST BECAUSE THESE ARE WHAT MADE THE GUILD THRIVE UNTIL NOW!"
Natsu panted as he looked at the optimistic and resolute expressions of everyone. He showed his trademark smile, asking the question once again even with tears in his eyes. But these are not sorrowful tears anymore, they are a reflection of an uncertain future.
"SO! DO YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHO WE ARE!?"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"WHAT TAUGHT US THE MEANING OF NEVER GIVING UP!?"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"WHAT TAUGHT US THE MEANING OF UNITY!?"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"WHAT TAUGHT US THE MEANING OF FAMILY!?"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
He felt drained from doing such a speech, because he knew this wasn't his kind of thing. He just… didn't want to see anyone sad. And luckily for him, it succeeded with no hiccups. But he felt new feelings, ones that smoothly replaced that ugly feeling from before.
"NOW---! DO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND!?"
"YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Synchronized chants echoed through the hall.
It felt damn good.