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Time is the Path to Strength	By : Repiece Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 47113 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Chapter 18: Natsu, Cana, Lucy, Mirajane

It's been two days since the battle between Natsu and Alastor. Two days since the Guild War between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord ended. This was also the same time period that our friendly neighborhood Dragon Slayer has been sleeping, recovering from his big fight against the red haired demon. Since the guild was destroyed and in the process of being rebuilt, Natsu was staying at the Magnolia Hospital. Many of the Guild Members visited him during the two days he was sleeping and the guild member that was currently with him, by his bed side, was Mirajane.

She hummed and smiled as she put new flowers into a vase that was on top of a bed table next to him. Once she finished, she looked at the sleeping Dragon Slayer and gave him a warm smile. She sat down on her chair and picked up a plate with a knife and apple on it. She placed it on her lap and started to peel the skin off of the apple.

She stopped peeling halfway to look up at Natsu. She was so happy that he was okay after what happened to him. When she watched the fight with Alastor, she was not only impressed but amazed at how powerful Natsu has become. She had never seen a fight like the one they all witnessed. She always knew Natsu was strong, there was no doubt about his strength, but to see just how powerful he became after two years was just incredible. There was also the fact that she knew she could count on him. He just had that special trait that you could count on him. That he would be there to save the day. He sure showed that. She wasn't there when he woke up, but she heard about it from the others. To her, I must have been a remarkable sight.

"You really are amazing...Natsu..." She blushed as she said that. She took a closer look at his face and saw how much he has grown. She remembered when they were kids, how cute Natsu looked, especially when he cried. She loved to tease him, but it wasn't like she did it to be mean or anything, she just loved seeing how angry he got because it just made him look even cuter. Maybe she did it so that she could see him cry, but she would never admit that. However, now that he was older, she was noticing just how much manlier he has become. "You really are strong..." She didn't know why, but she felt kind of uneasy saying that. It could have been because of what happened with Lisanna. She remembered Natsu wanting to go with them on that request, but she refused because she didn't think he was strong. Yet, she wondered why she took both Elfman and Lisanna with her. She looked down at her hands with a frown.

Ever since then, she regretted the decision of not bringing Natsu along. She didn't know if it would have made a difference with the outcome, but she was sure that it would have done something. She truly believed that it was her fault. The conversation she had with Natsu in front of Lisanna's grave helped her a lot, but there was still that part in her heart that made her blame herself. Suddenly, she heard a groan coming from the bed in front of her and she quickly raised her head.

Natsu slowly began opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was the white ceiling. He blinked to adjust his vision. Once it was clear, he yawned. He quickly sat up and stretched his arms up. "Aww man...how long did I sleep?" He asked to no one but himself, thinking he was the only one on the room.

"About two days..."

Natsu made a noise in surprise at Mirajane's voice as he did not notice her there at all. "Mira...wow...I didn't even see you there...you kind of surprised me..." She giggled.

"Sorry about that."

"Ah...no...it's alright...so two days, huh?" She nodded her head.

"Yep!"

"How are the others?"

"They're helping out with the construction of the guild." She told him. "I made the plans for the new guild that they're using." She told him with a lot of pride in her blue print.

Natsu chuckled remembering the design she came up with, which was dissed by Gray, but turned out to be really good after the new Guild was rebuilt. "I'm sure the guild will turn out great!" Mirajane blushed.

"Thank you. How about you?" She asked.

"I'm hungry..." She couldn't help but giggle, fully expecting him to say that.

"Alright then! I don't have anything that might help fill that stomach of yours, but I'll try to get you something when we go back to the guild. For now, how about some apples?" She told him and he nodded in understanding. He waited patiently for her to finish peeling and cutting the apple in her hand to pieces. When she was done, she handed him the plate and then started peeling the next apple in the basket next to her, while he ate.

Natsu threw a slice in his mouth and chowed down on it. He opened his eyes and took a look at the former Majin. He saw her smiling while peeling the apple and thought back to the conversation he had with Elfman. The reason he talked to Elfman in the first place was because he knew what happened to him during this war. He almost lost control of his powers and the last time he did that, Lisanna died. He knew that it worked out in the end, but seeing how everything he thought he knew was not the same, he didn't want to risk anything happening to his friends. Natsu remembered what the younger Strauss sibling told him about Mirajane.

Then...when you were gone for the past two years...Nee-chan's expression became worse...

Nee-chan wasn't the same when both you and Lisanna were gone.

...when you returned...I don't see that look on her face anymore...she has been more happier than usual...

He didn't know if what Elfman said was true, but he could tell that Mirajane was a bit different. He couldn't really put a finger on it. He could try asking her, but wondered if he would be stepping on something personal. This was something new to him so he couldn't give wise advice like Makarov could, but even someone like him can help her.

Mirajane noticed him staring at her and blinked. "What is it, Natsu?"

"Hm? Oh...ah nothing..." He looked back down to his plate, blushing from the embarrassment of staring at her for too long.

'Is he...blushing...?' Mirajane couldn't help but smile. She thought he looked cute when he cried, but when she saw him blushing, it was cute on a whole new different level. She wanted to just stand up and hug him, but resisted seeing as he just woke up from a tough battle. She quickly finished peeling and cutting the apple before placing them on his plate. "Here you go!"

"Thank you, Mira!" He said and grabbed another slice. He noticed that Mirajane picked up another one and was getting ready to peel the skin off, but he stopped her. "You don't have to do that anymore, Mira."

"Eh? But I want to and besides you need to eat after sleeping for two whole days." She told him, pouting a bit, but also being stern.

"Ah...but..."

"No buts!" She told him.

"R-Right..." Natsu couldn't argue with her. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't. He sighed and just let her do what she wanted.

He didn't know how many apples she had in the basket, but he knew it had to be more than ten. It's not like he didn't mind what she was doing for him, in fact he was grateful, but he just didn't want to burden her. After eating all the apples, Mirajane finally let him get out of bed.

"So...how do you feel?" She asked, smiling at him.

"I'm great!" He exclaimed in excitement. "I can't wait to see the others!" He told her and she giggled.

"I'm sure they'll be excited to see you too." He grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah!" He shouted with a fist pump. He took one step, one single step and his foot accidentally caught the end of the blanket that was dangling from the bed and he crashed down to the floor, bringing Mirajane along with him. Natsu groaned in pain as he managed to catch himself with his arms. "Damn...hey Mira are you-" He stopped when he saw the look on Mirajane's face. Her hair was sprawled all over the floor and he could see the slight pink hue on her cheeks. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him.

Mirajane was frozen in place. She could feel her heart beating against her chest as she looked up at the pink haired Dragon Slayer. Her cheeks felt warm and found it difficult to breathe with him on top of her. She wanted to say something, but her mouth just wouldn't move. She suddenly felt her entire body get hot under him. 'Why am I feeling this way...?' She wondered. 'It's so hot...but why...?' When she looked at his face, she could see his cheeks turn red again. 'He's blushing again...I wonder if...'

Natsu's eyes widened when he suddenly felt her hand touching against his cheek. "M-Mira...what are you...?" He couldn't finish his sentence as he watched her put on a big smile on her face.

'His cheek...it's warm...' She couldn't help but smile at that. She felt this weird tingling sensation in her chest and it only increased the moment she made eye contact with him. "Natsu...I..." She was finally able to make words come out of her mouth. Natsu wondered what she was going to say next, but the door to the room suddenly opened and a woman's voice echoed throughout it.

"Natsu-san! I'm here to give you your daily checkup!" A nurse exclaimed with a wide smile on her face. When she saw that his bed was empty, she tilted her head in confusion. "Natsu-san!" She called out while looking all over the room.

"Ah! I-I'm here..." Natsu suddenly popped out as he chuckled nervously at the nurse.

"Oh! There you are! I was worried you left the hospital without being medically clear to do so. After all, you did suffer some pretty serious wounds that had to heal. By the way, why were you on the flo-" She stopped walking and talking after she saw Mirajane on the floor with him position in front of her. She guessed in what position Natsu was in before getting up and blushed. She lifted her clip board and used it to cover her blushing face. "I see..." She mumbled into her clip board. She then suddenly started scurrying away. "I'm sorry for interrupting..."

"Ah! Wait a minute! Where are you-" Before he could finish, she closed the door behind her, leaving a confused Natsu and a blushing Mirajane in the room. He sighed before turning back around to look at Mirajane who was now sitting up. They made eye contact before looking away, both blushing a bit. 'W-What is going on with me...?' He wondered, not sure what was happening. 'I haven't felt like this since...' He slightly widened his eyes. '...since Lisanna...' He wondered if the way he was feeling now and the way he felt back then were the same. He wasn't too sure, but it wasn't like he didn't mind this feeling. He turned his head to look at her and then sighed. He stood up and walked over to her. "Mira...let's go find that nurse and go see the others." He told her. She looked up at him and both blushed once more before she nodded her head and took his hand.

They found the nurse, who was still blushing after what she saw and after convincing her that nothing happened, she gave Natsu his checkup. When she was done, she told him to not do anything that might give too much stress on his body. He nodded and they both left the hospital.

The walk back to the guild was a relatively quiet one. Both of them were too nervous to break the silence. Natsu felt a bit agitated at the silence between each other, but figured it would have been better to keep silent so that he didn't bother or surprise Mirajane. He never was in a situation like this anyway so he didn't really even know what to say.

Mirajane on the other hand wanted Natsu to be the one to break the silence. However, she also didn't want him to do it. She felt many mixed emotions that it might be better just to be quiet. She could still feel the warmth in her cheeks and wondered if her blush was visible as well. She really didn't want to have the others worry. They might think she was sick and blame Natsu and that was something she didn't want to happen. So, she did her best to try and calm down her heart and cool down her cheeks.

When they arrived at the Guild, or Guild being constructed area, Natsu was greeted with cheers at his recovery.

"Yo! It's Natsu! He's awake!"

"Natsu! You feeling alright?"

"It's good to see you awake!"

Natsu couldn't help but grin in happiness at the warm reception he got from everyone. "Yo! Everyone! I'm back!" He shouted.

"Like we wanted you back...it was much nicer when you were asleep..." Gray smirked as he walked up to him.

"What was that, ice boy?" Natsu glared at Gray. Mirajane only giggled at them as the two of them were now glaring at each other.

"Are you two arguing again?" Both mages stopped and put their arms around the other as they looked at Erza with nervous expressions on their face.

"No...not at all Erza..." Gray chuckled nervously. "Ain't that right, Natsu?"

"Aye!"

"I see...well it's good to see you alright, Natsu." Erza smiled and then turned to Mirajane. "When did he wake up?"

"Hmm..." Mirajane put a finger to her chin and thought about it. "I think about an hour ago..."

"I see...is he alright then?" She whispered.

"Yeah, he's fine. The nurse just told him not to do anything that might cause too much stress." She replied, while both Natsu and Gray were glaring at each again behind Erza's back.

"Yeah...that makes sense. You hear that Natsu!" She turned her head and the two went back to hugging each other.

"Aye!" He responded sounding like Happy.

"Gray, that means that we have to do double the work." She told him.

"Huh?" His jaw dropped to the ground at what she told him while Natsu snickered behind him.

"Let's go!" The scarlet knight told him and Gray walked behind her with his head down in disappointment, as Juvia looked at him from afar with heart shaped eyes. Natsu saw her and smirked before walking over to the area the others set up for guild members to rest up and eat. Mirajane followed and told him that she was going to get the food she promised ready and he grinned at her in excitement. She blushed again and before she went off to get him the food, the sound of a familiar voice echoed throughout the entire area.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't believe how low this guild has gotten! It makes me sick seeing how weak and useless you all are!" Laxus laughed as he had his arms crossed against his chest and right leg over his left. "I mean come on, all of you could have at least defended the Guild!"

"Laxus..." Mirajane growled in anger as she clenched her fist.

"Calm down, Mira..." Natsu whispered to her. She looked at him with a worried expression.

"But..." He looked at her and smiled. He then began walking again.

"And all of this was because of the new girl! It's quite a shame!" Lucy, who was sitting in a chair in front of the newly made bar frowned and clenched the hem of her skirt. Laxus received many glares from the others as he only continued to laugh. It was then that he spotted Natsu approaching and smirked. "And would you look who arrived, the hero!" The others turned their heads and smiled at the sight of Natsu. Lucy had the biggest smile of them all as she was glad Natsu was awake and feeling better. Happy was the happiest flying cat in the whole world.

"NATSU!" He shouted.

Natsu stopped and looked at Laxus. He then smiled at him. "Yo Laxus! What's up?"

"Oh...aren't you all so cheerful. Well, it's not surprising that you are, after all you are the hero that saved the day. I was impressed when I heard all the talk about how awesome you were. But honestly, the only thing I managed to catch from all that talking was the fact that you got your ass kicked by Phantom. I mean how can you lose to someone like Phantom. If I remember, everyone was talking about how much stronger you were than me, but you almost got killed by Phantom. Hahahahahaha! I knew you were weak."

"Laxus!" Mirajane shouted as she glared at him.

"That's enough Laxus!"

"Yeah...how can you be so heartless?"

Laxus only laughed at them. More yells were heard and that caused the ones who were working on the guild to head over to the eating area to see what was going. Lucy only frowned as she felt guilty that Natsu was being laughed and mocked by Laxus. She also felt angry, but she believed she had no right to yell at Laxus, especially at someone who was as strong as he was.

Natsu raised his hand and when everyone saw this, they stopped yelling and looked at him. Laxus smirked as he waited for what the pink haired Dragon Slayer was going to say. "Your right." Everyone gasped at what he said. However, he continued. "I was weak. I was too weak to do anything and because of that I almost died. I was too scared...scared of my own power. However, someone made me realize that my power is nothing to be scared of as long as I can control it. Thanks to him, I was able to control my power and saved the Guild. You can laugh at me, I don't care because I know you are right."

"Natsu...w-what are you saying...?"

Makarov eyed Natsu from his seat a top of a large pile of lumber and waited for what he was going to say next.

Lucy on the other hand was shaking and had tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.

"However..." Natsu once again spoke and she lifted her head to look at him. Everyone's eyes widened. Even Laxus had no choice but to widen his eyes at the glare Natsu was giving him. "...DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH OR BLAME LUCY FOR ANY OF THIS!" Lucy gasped and the tears started to fall, but not from sadness or guilt, but from happiness. Laxus was stunned at the tone Natsu used against him. So stunned that he couldn't say anything in response. He gritted his teeth and scoffed before standing up and walking away from everyone.

"Just wait...all of you just wait..." He mumbled in anger as he was walking. Once he was out of hearing distance, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Wow...that was...amazing...

"Did you see Laxus's face?"

"Yeah, I never seen him so scared."

Natsu sighed. 'Well, I guess I had to do that...man...I can't wait for him to be nicer again...I hate this Laxus...'

Makarov chuckled and smiled at the way Natsu handled himself with his own Grandson. Natsu only continued to impress more and more with every single action he did.

Lucy moved her hands to wipe her tears away as Natsu was walking up to her.

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed and flew to hug his best friend. Natsu chuckled in response to the flying cat's hug.

"It's good to see you too , Happy." He smiled at him.

"Aye! That was so cool the way you told Laxus off." He grinned and started to mimic the way Natsu told Laxus off. Natsu could only chuckled at his best friend's antics. He then turned toward Lucy.

"Natsu...I..." Lucy started, but was having trouble getting her words out.

"Hey cheer up! I told you before didn't I? No one is blaming you for what happened. Don't listen to what that idiot said." He told her, trying to comfort her. The Celestial Spirit Mage lifted her head and blushed when she looked at him. He grinned and it became contagious as she too smiled back.

"Yeah..." She responded with a nod as her tears stopped. Lucy was finally convinced. Thanks to Natsu's words, she found the answer she was waiting for. She smiled at Natsu. "Thank you, Natsu! I finally know what to do!"

"Great!" He grinned back. "W-Wait...do what?" He asked confused. He then remembered that this was a very important moment for Lucy. This was when she told her father that she was going to stay with Fairy Tail. He didn't know if he helped her or not, but he hoped he did.

"It's nothing...don't worry about it." She told him and giggled.

"O-Okay then..." He scratched the back of his head.

"That was very impressive Natsu." Erza suddenly said as she walked up to the three, with Gray right behind her. "I wouldn't have never expected to see such a reaction from Laxus. I guess you see something new everyday."

"I guess you did alright, flame brain..." Gray responded feeling a bit jealous at the fact that his rival was able to make Laxus look like a scared child.

"Well, I got tired of him making fun of others. Someone had to say something." He told them.

"Yeah, I guess your right." Erza agreed.

"Natsu! Here's your meal!" The pink haired mage grinned from ear to ear at the mention of food and turned around to see Mirajane walking over to the group with a plate of flame food on a tray.

"Sweet! I'm hungry!" He exclaimed and licked his lips in anticipation of a great meal.

"Hey Natsu..." Natsu reverted his attention from the food at the mention of his name. Before he could even see who it was or even say anything, he felt something on his lips. His eyes widened when he realized what just happened. He heard the sound of collective gasps and screams, as well as the sound of a plate clanging against the ground. The one who was kissing him was none other than Cana.

Natsu was too stunned to do anything. It was like his entire body froze. No matter how much strength he had, none of it was enough to even lift a finger at the sudden kiss. He was so shocked that he wasn't even sure if he was alive. In fact, he could hear or feel his heart beating at all.

Soon enough, Cana pulled away from the kiss, leaving a blushing, shocked Natsu standing there. Cana smirked at him and then gave him a wink. "What you did to Laxus was so cool that I really had no choice but to give you a kiss." She told him.

"W-W-W-W-What...?" Was the only thing that Natsu could say.

"Did I just see that?"

"I can't believe Cana just kissed Natsu..."

"The lucky bastard!"

"I thought I would never see the day..."

The ones who didn't say anything were too shocked. Gray's cheeks were a slightly tinted red with his jaw dropping to the floor. While from afar, Juvia blushed at the kiss and started to imagine Gray kissing her like that until she fainted. Happy was as shocked as Gray. Erza blushed many different shades of red at the kiss and looked like she was shaking. Lucy was also blushing, but she felt a strong pain in her chest that she couldn't explain why. Mirajane was too stunned to do anything. She didn't even care about the fact that the food that was on the plate she dropped on the ground getting covered in dirt. She was blushing, but felt something she never thought she would feel about the pink haired Salamander. She was jealous.

"I got to admit though, I never thought I would see you as someone who was cool. However, you sure have impressed me with how cool you have been lately." Cana was telling him. "Oh...by the way...was that your first kiss?" The entire area became tense at the question. Everyone wanted to know the answer to that question. Lucy, Erza, Cana and Mirajane were the ones who wanted to know the answer to that question than anybody else. Natsu blushed at the question.

'W-Why is this happening to me? W-Why would Cana suddenly kiss me and then ask me such a question? Ah, this doesn't make any sense! There was no way she would have kissed me back then, so why now?' Natsu gulped, feeling nervous for the first time in a very long time. In fact, he never remembered the last time he was so nervous. He knew he had to answer the question. He knew that they would know if he was lying or not. If he wasn't so nervous then maybe he could lie, but the problem was that he was nervous. He thought about telling them that it wasn't his first kiss, but it could make the situation worse by being bombarded with more questions. There really was no win-win situation. "T-That..." He began as everyone leaned forward almost at the same time.

"Well...Natsu..." Cana asked, smirking seductively as she leaned a bit closer to him.

'Ah man...I have no choice...' He gulped once more and prayed that the consequence wasn't going to be as painful as he thought it would be. "Y-Yes...that was my first kiss..." He finally revealed. The entire area grew silent as a slight breeze blew by everyone. Cana's seductive smirk grew wider.

"Really now? Well then...I'm glad to have been your first." She told him and winked.

"Ummm..." Natsu really didn't know how to respond to that.

"That was Natsu's first kiss?"

"I can't believe we actually witnessed something like that!"

"Our Natsu is growing up!"

"Lucky bastard..."

"Natsu..." Erza growled as he turned his head to look at her. He shook in fear as he saw a demonic aura around her.

"W-W-W-Wait a minute Erza...this wasn't...Lucy...help me..." He turned to the Celestial Spirit Mage for help. He saw her blushing face, but instead of answering to him, she turned her head in embarrassment. "Lucy...Happy!" He turned to his best friend for help, but he was petrified at the sight of Natsu getting kissed. 'Crap...he's not gonna help either!' He turned to Gray despite not wanting to. The Ice Make Mage saw him look in his direction and smirked.

"Sorry hot head...you're on your own..." Natsu gritted his teeth in anger at him. He then turned to Mirajane, who he knew would help him if he was in trouble. "Hey Mira...tell Erza that..." He stopped when he saw Mirajane. His eyes widened and he made a noise in surprise as she was looking down at the ground with her eyes narrowed and what seemed to look like tears in her eyes. 'Mira...w-why are you...'

"I'm sorry Natsu..." She spoke and closed her eyes before running away. Natsu's eyes widened further when he saw droplets of her tears fall from her eyes when she turned. He couldn't believe that Mirajane reacted like this with Cana kissing him. He wanted to go run after her, but he met Erza's wrath and everyone cringed as they watched her pummel him.

Cana noticed Mirajane's reaction and frowned. 'Crap...I might have hurt Mira's feelings...but...hey all's fair in love and war...right?' She wondered if she should have thought something like that as Natsu's screams of pain were heard behind her.

Makarov witnessed the whole thing with interest in his eyes. He was shocked at the fact that Cana kissed him, but what intrigued him was the way the three other girl's reacted. 'Oh boy...Natsu...you have entered something every man wishes he had and something that no man wants as well...I wonder if I should give him some advice...' He suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. 'W-What was that...I wonder if I'm getting a cold...'

Mirajane didn't know why she suddenly ran, but she did. 'Why...why do I feel this way?' She wondered. She finally stopped running and hid behind the large pile of lumber that was set up for the construction of their guild. She leaned her back against the lumber. 'I just don't understand...'

"Is there something wrong, my dear?" Mirajane's eyes widened and turned her head to see Makarov smiling at her.

"Oh...Master...it's nothing..." She responded. Makarov very well knew she was lying. He could tell she was lying. It wasn't just that he saw what happened, but he could tell from the sound of her voice. To say he was shocked wasn't really the word to describe what he was feeling. Lucy, Erza, Mirajane and now even Cana. He didn't know what happened or why it was, but from what he could tell they were acting differently when Natsu was involved. From his own personal experience, he understood what this meant. It may not have been love, but he was sure from the way they all reacted to the kiss that they started developing feelings for Natsu. That was the most shocking part of it all. There was nothing really wrong with that, but it just felt strange.

"Come on now...you know better than to keep things bottled up...you can talk to me..." He reassured her.

"I know...but..."

"I understand..." He said and started walking away. "However...it is best if you go talk to Natsu...I'm sure that if you do...you'll feel much better..." He smiled at her while he continued to walk.

"Okay...Master..." Mirajane frowned and lowered her head. 'Natsu...'

"Ow...Erza really doesn't know how to hold back..." Natsu groaned in pain. "Thankfully she didn't reopen any wounds..." He sighed as he rubbed his slightly swollen cheek.

"A-Aye..." Happy responded, stuttering a bit as he flew next to Natsu.

"What's wrong?" He asked his best friend.

"I'm still shocked about the kiss..." Natsu blushed and looked away.

"Yeah I just don't get her..." Natsu responded.

"Your blushing Natsu...oooh you like her..."

"Shut up!" He yelled back at his teasing. 'Just you wait...once Carla gets here...I'll be teasing you endlessly...' He chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing..."

"Come on tell me!"

"Nope!"

"Come on!" Happy shouted flailing his arms up and down. The two of them continued their antics as they walked, but Natsu still couldn't quite understand Mirajane's reaction to the kiss. It just seemed so weird to him. He knows that he had to talk to her, but he felt kind of uneasy of doing so. What if she hated him now? He panicked at the thought of her being angry with him. He sighed and let his head hang. "What's wrong now, Natsu?"

"Nothing..." He said in a tone that said depressed all over it. Happy sweat dropped.

As the two of them were walking down the road, a man wearing a black hooded cloak was walking in the opposite direction toward them. When he stood next to Natsu, he whispered something to him. "You should be careful...or otherwise...your maiden's heart will be mine..." Natsu's eyes widened at the man's words and quickly turned around, only to see that the man disappeared.

"W-What the...?"

"Hmm? What is it, Natsu?" Happy asked, wondering why he stopped.

"No...it's nothing..." He replied before walking again. 'Who the hell was that? What did he mean by that?' Natsu turned his head back to see if he could see the man again, but there was no sight of him. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he had to be very cautious.

His attention was soon gone as he froze in place. He stared at the person in front of him with slightly widened eyes. "H-hey...Lucy..." The Celestial Spirit Mage looked at Natsu and the memory of his kiss with Cana resurfaced in her head. She bit her bottom lip, closed her eyes and walked past him. "Huh? Ah! Wait...Lucy!" He called out to her, but as he did, she quickened her pace. "Luce!"

"Leave me alone!" She shouted.

"But wait! I didn't do anything!" Natsu tried to tell her.

"Lucy is jealous..." Happy teased.

"What was that, you cat?" She glared at him causing Happy to shriek in fear and hide behind Natsu.

"Lucy is scary..."

"Come on Luce! I didn't do anything! Cana was the one who kissed me!" Natsu tried to reason with her.

"So what? It's not like you did anything to stop her!" She shouted. She didn't know why she was angry nor why she was blaming Natsu for what happened when it clearly was Cana the one who kissed him.

"W-What was I supposed to do? I was in shock! I couldn't do anything!" He told her, but Lucy still couldn't forgive him. "Come on Luce!" He walked up to and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping it could calm her down. At the feeling of his hand on her shoulder, Lucy blushed and quickly spun around before kicking him in the groin area. Natsu screamed in pain as he grabbed his groin and feel down onto his knees. Lucy realized what she just did, flailed her arms around and started to panic.

"I'm so sorry Natsu...I..I..." She didn't know what she could say and did the only thing that came to her mind. She turned around and ran. "I'm so sorry Natsu!" She yelled again as she left an ailing Natsu and shocked Happy behind.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Ghfhjsj..." He grumbled in pain.

"Sorry...I can't understand you..."

By the time Natsu recovered, the sun was setting in the distance. Everyone who saw him walk, looked at like he was weird. This was mostly because of the way he was walking. Due to the intense pain that Lucy inflicted on him, he had a hard time walking normally and each step he took made the pain worse. "I can't believe this is happening to me..." He lowered his head.

"You sure have bad luck today, Natsu." Happy said the obvious.

"You don't have to point that out." He sweat dropped as the two of them were walking toward their home. "I just want the day to end. Hopefully tomorrow will be better."

"Aye!"

However, his day was not getting any better. Both of them were in total shock at what they saw when they got home. Their eyes were as wide as saucers and jaws dropped all the way to the floor. They just couldn't believe their eyes. Their home was no longer there. It was burned to the ground. "W-W-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO OUTR HOUSE?" Natsu screamed in horror.

"No! My things! What happened to my things?" Happy cried out.

"What the hell is going on? Who the hell did this?" He yelled in anger and rushed toward his burned down house. He started digging and searching to see if anything survived, but no matter how much he searched, he saw nothing except for debris. Natsu sighed. Today really wasn't his day.

"N-Natsu...w-what do we do?" Happy asked with a frown on his face.

"I don't know Happy..." He sighed when he said that. 'Who could have done this...? Wait a minute...could it have been that guy?' Natsu looked down. 'That bastard...no...I don't have any proof that he did it...in any case it seems we won't be able to stay here for tonight...I could try Lucy, but she might kick me again and I really don't want to feel that excruciating pain again. Erza is out...I really don't want to get pummeled again. Gray is also out of the question. I really don't want to ask him for help. Oh man...what are we going to do?'

"Natsu..." He looked down at his best friend and gave him a reassuring smile. He placed his hand on top of his head.

"It's going to be okay Happy...come one, let's go." He told him and sat up. The two of them then headed back down to Magnolia.

"What was the point of you burning his house to the ground?"

"I thought this could give him a little push..."

"Push for what?"

"Hehehe...love is both a powerful and cruel thing my friend."

"Are you getting senile old man?" Alastor raised an eyebrow.

"I told you not to call me that."

"What about their belongings?"

"Oh...don't worry, they're right here." He said and took a small box.

"You're weird...so...what are you going to do next?

"We are gonna build him a new house."

"Huh?"

"See I have the blue prints right here." He showed Alastor.

"You suck you know that..."

"It's not the first time I heard that..."

It was nightfall and most of the stores were closed. Happy and Natsu were walking in the streets with their heads down feeling depressed over what happened. They didn't have money to pay for a hotel room so they couldn't do anything but find a spot somewhere in the city to sleep for the night. Happy asked about staying with Lucy, but Natsu told him that he didn't want to get kicked again and give her some time to calm down after what happened.

They eventually arrived in the park and both dropped down on the bench and let out simultaneous sighs. "I guess we have no choice but to sleep in the park for tonight."

"Aye."

"Well look at it this way...at least it can't get any worse, right?" Just like that, it started pouring.

"Natsu..."

"Don't. Say. Anything."

Mirajane was shocked by the sudden rainfall. Luckily she brought her umbrella with her as she went shopping, but she didn't expect it to rain so hard. She quickened her pace so that she could get home quickly before her dress got completely wet. As she was heading home, she suddenly stopped when she saw something at the corner of her eyes. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of both Happy and Natsu sitting on the bench in the park in the pouring rain with their heads dropped down. She wasn't sure why they were there, but she had this feeling of guilt wash over her. She hesitated for a moment, but ignored the feelings she felt earlier and ran over to them. When she got behind them, she lifted her umbrella so that it covered all three of them as best as it could.

The two friends turned their heads to see Mirajane looking at them with a mixture of confusion and worry. "Natsu, Happy...what are you two doing out here in the rain?"

"Ah...Mira..." Natsu was the first to reply. The events that happened earlier that day resurfaced and it stopped him from saying anything else.

"Mira!" Happy cried as he hugged her. "Because of Natsu I'm having the worst day of my life!" He cried.

"Don't blame me!" He yelled. It only made matters worse as Happy cried even louder. Mirajane frowned at Natsu. "Ah...sorry...I just had a rough day..." He apologized and sighed.

"What happened?" She asked.

"After what happened with Cana, I met Lucy and she was still angry with me so she kicked me. Then when we went to go home...we found our house burn down." Mirajane gasped.

"W-What? But who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know...but in any case since we didn't have any money to got to a hotel...and I'm scared to ask Lucy to stay at her place...the park was our last resort. However, it then started raining and that is when you found us." Mirajane frowned at what he had to go through and figured that her overreaction didn't help him either. She just couldn't let the two of them stay in the rain.

"Come on." She suddenly said and both looked at her.

"Huh? Where?"

"It's not good for you if you stay here in the rain...you might catch a cold, so let's go back to my place." She offered, smiling at him.

"A-Are you sure...we don't want to intrude..."

"What are you talking about Natsu? We barge into Lucy's apartment all the time." Happy said.

"You do what?" Mirajane asked, looking shocked.

"Well...that's...that's because she..I mean...Gray and Erza do it too!" He blamed the others as he couldn't find an excuse for barging into Lucy's apartment all the time.

Mirajane giggled. "It's okay Natsu...I was just teasing you...I already know that you do that Lucy..."

"You do?"

"Yeah...she talks about that a lot..." She giggled. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah...thanks a lot Mira." Natsu thanked her with a big smile. With that, the three headed toward Mirajane's home.

"Welcome to the Strauss Household." She greeted them as both Happy and Natsu excused themselves inside and out of the rain. This was the first time in who knows how long since Natsu was in Mirajane's house. In fact, he doubted that he ever came here. "Please make yourselves at home." She told them and placed the shopping bag on the counter.

"Ah thank you!" They both said.

"Is Elfman here?" Natsu asked.

"No...he's away on a job request. He said he'll be back tomorrow." She replied and started to take out food from the bag.

"I see..." Natsu then made a sudden realization. 'Wait a minute...that means that me and Mira are going to alone...well Happy is here, but he's the type to fall asleep really quickly. Ah man...after what happened earlier that day what can I tell her...maybe she won't ask me about it...but I just get the feeling that I should talk to her about...but what If I do she might get angry at me...ah this is so confusing!' He scratched his head in frustration.

"Natsu? Are you okay?" Mirajane asked when she saw what he was doing.

"Huh? Y-Yeah I'm great! Hehehehe..." He chuckled nervously. He felt like an idiot the way he was acting. The day was not very kind to him.

"Okay...if you say so..." Mirajane frowned at the way he was acting. From the way she observed him, he looked nervous. She wondered why? 'Why is he so nervous?' She wondered. 'I mean it's just me and Natsu and...wait...me and Natsu...alone...why is my heart beating so fast all of a sudden?' She asked as she felt it beating against her chest and her face felt warmer than usual.

"Hey Mira...do you have any fish?" Happy suddenly asked as he jumped up onto the counter. Mirajane looked at him and then smiled.

"I'm sure I have some in the refrigerator." She told him and went to go look.

"Aren't we lucky, Natsu." Happy told him as the pink haired Dragon Slayer nodded his head. He sat down on the couch and started fidgeting with his fingers.

'Crap...why do I feel so uncomfortable being here? I was never like this when I was over at Lucy's apartment.' He pondered so hard that it made his head begin to hurt. He heard the cheerful voice of Happy as he looked over to see him eating one of three fishes that Mirajane brought over to him. He smiled, but was still feeling a bit uneasy.

"Are you sure you're okay, Natsu?" Mirajane asked him as he jumped a little in surprise.

"Yeah...I'm fine Mira..." He told her with a bit of a chuckle in his voice.

"Alright...here...I got you something too." She handed him a plate of food.

"Ah! Thanks Mira!" He accepted it and when he went to go take the plate, their hands accidentally touched one another. At the contact, both of them looked at each other with blushes on their face.

"What are you two doing?" Happy suddenly asked, taking a break between fishes.

"Huh? Nothing...!" Both shouted. Natsu quickly took the plate and placed it on the table in front of him. Both felt embarrassed at what just happened.

"Ummm...I'm going to go...take a bath..." She told them and walked toward the bathroom.

"R-Right..." Natsu responded to her as Happy watched his best friend.

"Hey Natsu...your face is red..." He pointed out.

"No it's not! You are just seeing things!" He retorted.

"Hmmm..." He hummed and took another fish. "Today sure has been weird..." He mumbled with the fish in his mouth."

"Yeah...you can say that..." He agreed and sighed while frowning.

Mirajane didn't know what was going on with her. Her mind had nothing but Natsu in it and she wasn't exactly sure why. She didn't know exactly when she started feeling like this, but she assumed it began when Natsu returned. Maybe it was even back when they were kids, but she didn't think it went that far back. It was strange. The way she was acting was similar to the way she saw anyone else who had feelings for someone else. 'Do...I like Natsu?' She also felt something else when she thought about the pink haired Dragon Slayer. It was guilt.

Mirajane felt guilty having these feelings for Natsu. She knew very well that her younger sister used to have feelings for Natsu and because of that, she felt guilty having these feelings for him. It was like she was betraying Lisanna. That was the last thing she wanted to do. She pressed her knees closer to her as the water in the tub moved along with her motions. She didn't know what to do. Should she try to fight back these feelings for Natsu or pursue them? She was so confused that it made her heart ache at the thought of picking one or the other. If she did pursue her feelings then she would feel like she was betraying her sister. If she fought them, then she would feel so bad that it would just make it difficult for her and Natsu to go back to what they were before she had these feelings.

She didn't know what to do. There was also the thing the Master told her. But how could she talk to him when her feelings were conflicting with one another. She never thought she would feel this way. She assumed she would eventually find the right guy, fall in love with him, get married, have kids and then live happily ever after. But she did find someone and the someone was someone who her younger sister had feelings for, heck, even might have been in love with him. She just couldn't do this. No matter how much the back of her mind was telling her it was okay because Lisanna was dead, she just couldn't. She had to forget about him. She couldn't betray her younger sister.

When Mirajane was done with her bath, she wrapped a towel around her. It was then that she noticed forget her pajamas. Her face got red at the realization. Should she walk out of the bathroom with just the towel. No, it would be too embarrassing especially with Natsu, the man who made her have these conflicting feelings in her home. 'What am I going to do?' She thought about it and there was really only on thing she could think of. "N-Natsu!"

Natsu raised his head at the sound of Mirajane calling her. He looked at Happy, who shrugged, and then stood up and walked in the direction her voice was calling from. "Mira! What's wrong?" He asked as walked toward the door.

"It may sound a bit of embarrassing...but...I forgot my pajamas and...I was hoping...you could go get them..." She asked, while blushing at her request. She heard a sound from the other side of the door and figured he must have been taken aback at her request. "C-Can you do it?"

"Uhh...y-yeah...s-sure..." He gulped. "W-Where's your room?"

"It's at the end of the hallway." She told him.

"O-Okay...I'll be right back..." He gulped once more and walked toward her room. He slowly opened it and took a peek inside. It looked like any other bedroom he ever seen before. He saw some stuff bears in one area of the room and wasn't that surprised by it. But if he saw this room three years ago, he would be shocked to see any stuff bears in her room. He slowly looked around and saw a shelf and assumed that's where her pajamas might have been. He opened the top shelf and his eyes widened as well as a large blush appeared on his face. The shelf he opened had a large pile of her bras. He had the look of horror as he couldn't believe his bad luck today. He quickly close the shelf and sighed. 'Damn it...why am I having such a crappy day...' He groaned and tried the next shelf. Thankfully he found the pajamas. He grabbed them and quickly ran out of the room. He closed the door behind him and sighed. "Here you go, Mira! I'm putting them in front of the door."

"O-Okay..." He heard her say and then he left to rejoin Happy back in the kitchen. Mirajane waited a few more seconds before opening the door and grabbing her pajamas. She quickly dressed herself into them and then walked over to her mirror. See saw her face was red. 'N-Natsu was in my room...I hope he didn't see anything that might have been embarrassing...' She hoped, but he did and there was no way he was going to tell her that. She brushed her hair before getting out of the bathroom. "I'm done." She announced and walked over to him. "I'll go set up Elfman's room for you, okay?"

"Ah no, that's alright! I'm fine with sleeping on the couch." He told her.

"I can't let you do that, you are my guest and it's only proper for my guests to sleep on a comfortable bed." She replied.

"If that's the case where would have Elfman slept."

"The couch." She smiled as she said that.

"Hahahaha! That's funny, Mira. However, I want to sleep on the couch. I'm sure Happy would like the same." He said and turned to his best friend.

"Thanks Mira! I'm going to sleep in Elfman's bed now!" Happy thanked her and flew off to Elfman's room.

"Dammit Happy!" Natsu shouted after him and then sighed. Mirajane couldn't help but laugh. It's been a long time since her house was as lively as it was. "You have a nice laugh, Mira..."

"Huh?" Both Mirajane and Natsu blushed. Natsu's eyes widened in horror at what just came out of his mouth. Mirajane couldn't help but blush at his compliment.

"T-Thank you..." She said and Natsu scratched his head. Mirajane couldn't believe it. No matter how much she tried, he just kept on pulling her feelings for him right back in. It just amazed her. To think that Natsu Dragneel can make a beauty like Mirajane fall for him deeper and deeper. However, she had to fight it. She had to or otherwise the guilt would just eat at her. "If you want to sleep on the couch...then it's fine...just come tell me if you need something...I'll be back with a pillow and a blanket." She said and went to get the two items.

Natsu sighed when she left. He couldn't believe what he just said. He just blurted something he never thought he would ever say. It wasn't a lie though. He loved the way she laughed. He just never thought he would say that out loud. 'Jeez, just what is going on with me? Ever since Cana kissed me I've been feeling so weird around Mira.' He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'm back." She announced and placed the pillow and blanket on the couch. "I hope you'll find them comfortable."

"Thanks, Mira." Mirajane smiled at him before getting ready to go to bed herself.

"Good night, Natsu." She told him.

"Ah! Good night, Mira." Natsu smiled at her and she smiled back before heading to her room. Natsu sighed and placed the pillow on one edge of the couch. He then laid down on it. 'At least the day is about to end...this really was the worst day of...no it's not...the worst day of my life was when I couldn't protect them that day against Zeref...' He clutched the blanket tightly. He sighed one final time before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

How could you...

No...wait...please don't hate me...I...I didn't mean for this to...

I can't believe you did this...I thought you knew...

I did...but...I...

I can't believe you...you knew I loved him...

I'm so sorry...Lisanna...I didn't mean to...

I can never forgive you...Mira-nee...

Lisanna! Wait! Don't hate me!

"Lisanna!" Mirajane woke up screaming as she felt her entire body sweating from the nightmare she just had. She did her best to calm down her very fast beating heart. She took deep breath after deep breath to settle herself down. Everything that she worried about, everything that held her back from truly committing her feelings toward Natsu came up in her nightmare. She just couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't handle the guilt that came with having feelings for Natsu. It just hurt too much. She suddenly heard a knock on her door. She jumped in surprise at the sudden knock. "W-Who is it?"

"Mira...is everything okay?" It was Natsu.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." She responded.

"O-Okay then..." He replied back. Mirajane bit her bottom lip. Suddenly, she felt tears stream down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She repeated as Natsu listened from behind her door. He clenched his fists tightly. He couldn't stand the sound of her sobs and cries. The tone of her voice made him feel like shit. He then remembered the conversation he had with Elfman. He was right. She felt so guilty over Lisanna to the point she was now crying in her room. He couldn't just leave her like this. Without any warning, he opened the door and walked into her room. Mirajane was surprised by what he did. The sight of her crying form made him feel even more like shit. "Natsu...what are you...?" He then did something that surprised her. He hugged her. She felt his warm arms wrap around her body and press her body closer to his chest.

"Please stop it Mira..." He whispered into her ear. "I don't want to see you cry anymore...so please...stop crying..." He continued. "I don't know why you are crying, but I just want you to know that I'm here for you...so please...stop crying..." He embraced her tighter. Mirajane couldn't stop herself from burying her face into his shoulder. Natsu could only frown and hold her in his arms. He didn't to see her or any one of his friends cry. He couldn't let her take the blame and pressure all by herself. If she needed him, then he'll be there for her. That was the least he could do, right?

The two of them stayed like this until she calmed down. She stopped crying and when she did, she pulled herself away from his chest. "Natsu..." She whispered.

"Are you okay, Mira?" He asked.

She lifted her head to look up at him. She then asked him something he never thought she would ask. "Please...kiss me..." He felt his cheeks get warm and there was no doubt that his cheeks were red as well. He couldn't believe she just asked him to kiss her. "Please..." She repeated with pleading eyes. He didn't know why, but his body started moving on it's own. His head slowly descended and Mirajane's head slowly was rising toward his. Their lips were inches away from each other. It was then, that it happened.

A sudden explosion that forced both Natsu and Mirajane to fall down on the floor. Mirajane's head slightly hit against the floor causing her to lose consciousness. Natsu groaned in pain as his head hit the floor hard as well, but not enough to knock him out. He lifted his head up to see if Mirajane was okay. "Hey Mira...are you okay?" He asked, shaking her a bit. She didn't respond and he cursed under his breath. "What the hell was that?" He asked no one in particular and wrapped his arms around Mirajane and lifted himself up to a seating position. He looked in the direction of the explosion and a rather large dust cloud appeared. He then saw the silhouette of a man walking in the smoke. "Who the hell are you?" He screamed.

"Hand her over." The man spoke. The smoke started to fade away and Natsu's eyes widened when he recognized the black hooded cloak wearing man.

"Y-You..." The man didn't respond. He raised his arm and a magic circle appeared in front of it. Suddenly, weird looking shapes appeared on Natsu's body. "W-What the hell is this?" The man closed his hand into a fist and when he did, Natsu felt his entire body froze and get tighter as if he an anaconda was wrapping itself around him. "W-Why can't I m-move..." He groaned.

The man walked toward him and then lifted Mirajane up in a bridal style position before looking down at Natsu. "Thank you."

"W-Who the hell are you and what do you want with Mira, you bastard?" Natsu managed to yell.

"There is no reason for me to answer that...as she is my bride."

"Y-Your what?" Natsu's eyes widened.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to give you an invitation to our wedding. This will be the last time you will see my bride, Salamander." With that said, he started walking toward the hole he made with the explosion.

"You bastard! Get back here! Give Mira back!" He screamed, but no matter how much he struggled, the tightness he felt only became tighter. 'What the hell is this magic? Why can't I break it? Damn it!' Natsu did all he could to release the spell, but it was no use. "MIRA!"

To Be Continued...
- 17
- 18
- 19
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Time is the Path to Strength