Chapter 73: The Forest of Memory
The morning light crept through Erza's curtains, pale and tentative, painting the room in shades of grey and gold. Natsu lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, Erza's head resting on his chest, her red hair spread across him like a river of fire.
Neither of them had slept much. Neither of them had wanted to.
He ran his fingers through her hair, slow and gentle, feeling the silk of it slide between his fingers. She made a small sound, something between a sigh and a purr, and pressed closer to him.
"We should get up," she murmured.
"In a minute."
"You said that an hour ago."
"Another minute, then."
She laughed, soft and warm against his skin. "You're impossible."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it keeps being true."
He tilted his head down to look at her, and she looked back, her eyes soft, her lips curved in a smile he had never seen before. Not Titania. Not the Queen of Fairies. Just Erza. Just his.
"Erza," he said.
Her expression shifted, reading something in his voice. "What is it?"
He hesitated. The words were there, on his tongue, but saying them felt like crossing a line he hadn't known was there. Still, after last night, after everything, he needed to ask.
"What if you get pregnant?"
She went still. Her hand, which had been tracing patterns on his chest, stopped moving.
"Last night," he continued, forcing the words out, "I... we didn't... I came inside you. Twice." He swallowed. "I did the same with Lucy, back at the village. And at the resort. And... other times. She's been taking contraceptives. A potion from the apothecary. We talked about it. She said it was fine, that she wasn't ready, that she wanted to wait. And I agreed."
He paused, searching for the right words.
"It's not that I don't want kids. Someday. With you. With Lucy. Both of you. I want that. I want a family. A real family. But not now. Not yet. There's too much coming. Too much I need to do. Too much that could go wrong."
Erza was quiet for a long moment. Her hand had resumed its tracing, slow circles on his chest, but her eyes were distant, thinking.
"You've thought about this," she said finally. "A lot."
"I've thought about a lot of things."
She sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist, and looked down at him with an expression he couldn't quite read. "I should get a potion. Before we... before it becomes something we have to decide."
Natsu sat up too, reaching for her hand. "I'm not saying I don't want…"
"I know what you're saying." Her fingers tightened around his. "And you're right. We're not ready. I'm not ready. There's still... there's still so much I need to understand about myself. About who I am outside of battle, outside of the guild, outside of..." She trailed off, then smiled, small and rueful. "Outside of the armor."
"You don't need the armor."
"I know." She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and quick. "You're helping me remember that."
They dressed in comfortable silence, pulling on clothes from the night before, stealing glances at each other across the room. When Erza was fully dressed, her hair tied back, her posture shifting back toward something more formal, she turned to him.
"I'll go to the apothecary before the guild. They open in an hour."
Natsu nodded. "I'll come with you."
"No." She crossed the room and took his hands. "This is something I need to do myself. My choice. My responsibility." She squeezed his fingers. "I'll meet you at the guild later."
He wanted to argue. Wanted to insist. But the look in her eyes stopped him. She wasn't pushing him away. She was standing on her own. And that, he realized, was something she needed to do.
"Okay," he said. "I'll see you later."
She kissed him one more time, deeper this time, a promise wrapped in warmth. Then she was out the door, her footsteps fading down the hallway.
Natsu stood in the empty apartment for a moment, looking at the rumpled bed, the discarded clothes, the swords on the wall gleaming in the morning light. Then he pulled on his vest, adjusted his scarf, and walked out into the city.
The streets of Magnolia were waking up. Shopkeepers were opening their doors. Children were running to school. The smell of bread and coffee drifted from cafes. Normal life, continuing on, oblivious to the weight he carried.
He walked toward the guild hall, but at the last intersection, he turned. Not left toward the familiar doors, but right. Toward the forest. Toward the quiet.
There was something he needed to do. Something he had been putting off since the tower. Since the moment he swallowed those crystals and felt the power surge through him.
He needed to understand what he had become.
He needed to remember what he had known.
***---***
The morning sun filtered through the trees, dappling the forest floor in shifting patterns of gold and shadow. Natsu sat cross-legged on a moss-covered stone, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and even. Around him, the forest was waking, birds calling to one another, small creatures rustling in the undergrowth, the steady pulse of life that had nothing to do with the world of mages and guilds and wars.
He had been here for hours.
After leaving Erza's apartment, after the breakfast that felt more like a beginning than an ending, he had walked in the opposite direction of the guild hall. Not toward home, not toward Lucy, not toward anyone. Into the forest. Into the quiet. Into himself.
The stone was cool beneath him, the air fresh with the scent of pine and earth. He let his mind drift, let the tension of the past weeks, the battles, the transformations, the revelations, slowly unwind.
And then he reached back.
Further back. Past this life. Past this body. Past the fire and the dragon and everything he had become. To a small apartment in a city that no longer existed. To a man who had spent his evenings watching screens instead of fighting gods. To Toshiro Hamada.
'Dragon Ball,' he thought. 'That was the first. The best.'
The memories came easier now, clearer than they had in months. Goku's first Kamehameha. The World Martial Arts Tournament. Piccolo. Vegeta. Frieza. The first time he had seen a Super Saiyan transform, golden hair blazing, power crackling through the screen like lightning. He had been twelve years old, and nothing had ever been the same.
'No matter what anyone says,' he thought, 'Dragon Ball is the greatest. Everything else is just... chasing it.'
He pushed deeper. One Piece. The crew, the ships, the endless sea. Luffy's laugh. Zoro's swords. Nami's maps. He had loved that world too, had followed it for years, had cried when Merry burned and laughed when Usopp lied and cheered when Luffy punched the celestial dragon. It was second. Always second. But second was still something.
And then... Fairy Tail.
The memories were fuzzier here. He had watched it in college, in the late nights between exams and work, when his life had been a blur of spreadsheets and instant ramen. He remembered the characters, the fights, the arcs. But the details had always been soft, impressionistic, like trying to read a book through fogged glass.
He focused. Pushed harder.
The Harvest Festival. That was coming. He had seen the posters around town, the advertisements for the parade, the stalls, the celebration. Two weeks. Maybe less.
And with the festival came Laxus.
The memories surfaced slowly at first, then faster, pieces clicking into place like a puzzle he hadn't known he was solving.
Laxus, angry. Always angry. Angry about the guild's reputation. Angry about the Phantom Lord war, about the destruction, about the way the council looked at them now. Angry that his grandfather hadn't chosen him to lead, hadn't seen his strength, his vision, his worth.
And Gajeel. Gajeel had joined the guild. Natsu had forgotten that. The Iron Dragon Slayer, their enemy, now wearing the Fairy Tail mark. It would happen soon, if it hadn't already. Levy would be the one to bring him in, her kindness overcoming her fear, her forgiveness outweighing her pain.
'Levy,' Natsu thought. 'She forgave him. After what he did to her, what he did to Jet and Droy, she forgave him. And the guild accepted it. Because that's what Fairy Tail does. Accepts. Forgives. Moves forward.'
He remembered more. Jet and Droy, furious about Gajeel's presence, attacking him in the streets. Laxus, watching, then intervening. Not to protect Gajeel, but to make a point. To show how weak they were. To prove that Fairy Tail needed a stronger leader. Someone who would cut the dead weight.
And then the Miss Fairy Tail contest. A stupid beauty pageant that Laxus would use as cover for something bigger. Natsu couldn't remember the details, just the shape of it, the feel of the event spiraling out of control.
Laxus and his crew. The Thunder God Tribe. Freed, with his runes. Bickslow, with his dolls and his madness. Evergreen, with her eyes that could turn people to stone. They would be the ones to enforce Laxus's will, to trap the guild, to force them into a battle royale for leadership.
'Fighting Festival,' Natsu thought. 'That's what it was called. A battle inside the guild. Everyone against everyone. And Laxus at the top, watching, waiting, ready to take what he thought was his.'
He opened his eyes.
The forest was still around him, peaceful, oblivious to the storm gathering in his mind. A squirrel watched him from a branch, its tail twitching, its eyes bright and curious.
He had a better picture now. Not perfect, not complete, but enough. Enough to plan. Enough to prepare.
Laxus wanted to prove he was the strongest. Wanted to purge the weak from Fairy Tail. Wanted to remake the guild in his image.
He would use the Harvest Festival as his stage. The Miss Fairy Tail contest as his distraction. The Thunder God Tribe as his enforcers. And he would force the guild to tear itself apart while the world watched.
But Laxus didn't know about the Dragon Force. Didn't know about the Domain. Didn't know that Natsu had swallowed Etherion crystals and emerged something more than human.
He didn't know that the fire inside Natsu had been waiting for a target worthy of its full fury.
Natsu stood, stretching muscles that had grown stiff from hours of stillness. The squirrel on the branch darted away, startled by the movement.
'Two weeks,' he thought. 'Maybe less. Time enough to train. Time enough to plan. Time enough to remind Laxus what happens when you threaten the people I love.'
He started walking back toward Magnolia, his steps light, his mind clear. The forest parted around him, sunlight streaming through the leaves, painting the path ahead in gold.
He thought about Laxus, about the Thunder God Tribe, about the battle that was coming. And he smiled.
'He wants to prove he's a real Dragon Slayer? Fine. I'll show him what that actually means.'
He emerged from the forest onto the road leading into Magnolia. In the distance, he could see the spires of the guild hall, the banners flying, the familiar shape of home.
Lucy and Erza were waiting there. He didn't know if they were together or separate, laughing or sparring or just existing in that comfortable space they had carved out for themselves. But they were there. Waiting.
He picked up his pace.
The Harvest Festival was coming. Laxus was coming. The battle for Fairy Tail was coming.
And Natsu Dragneel was ready.
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Next Time: Gray and Juvia