Life After Near Death

A Steep Price to Pay

"When people are protecting something truly special to them, they truly can become ... as strong as they can be."

― Masashi Kishimoto

The progress was slow, but every day Gray improved little by little. By the third day, Erza stopped going into the back room. The last time she went, she came back looking like she just vomited. Lucy was worried about Natsu, but Erza was stern: "Don't go back there!"

After a week of treatment, Gray could feel most of his left leg. His breathing was clear. The horrific surgery scars across his stomach began to fade. During one particularly painful session, Kenta had to do an emergency operation as the healing device began to regrow the leg bone that the hospital doctors had replaced. He showed his true skill in surgery and healing by numbing Gray, quickly cutting open his leg, and removing the metal rod the doctors had inserted. By the end of that day, the bone had replaced itself, and the surgical cut had healed until not even a scar was left.

Gray began to smile as he walked more. He felt amazing! It was like this machine was giving him life.

Then suddenly, after ten days, the machine quit. At the same time, the stone that Kenta held onto made a strange noise and began to glow. Cursing, he ran into the other room.

"What's going on?" Gray asked, trying to sit up, but the straps over him prevented that. "Why is he running to the lady's restroom?"

"Stay there," Erza shouted, chasing after Kenta. "Lucy, stay with him. Don't get off the bed." Then she ran off, too.

"Seriously, what's going on?" asked Gray.

Lucy stood beside him, but her worried gaze was at the doors. "Something must be wrong with ... the battery."

When finally the second door opened and Erza rushed in, rather than the moans and screams of Natsu in pain, the room was silent. That immediately alerted her to something being very wrong. Then she realized Kenta was breathing into Natsu's mouth. He puffed air in, and then he pounded on the Dragon Slayer's chest.

"Oh my God," Erza whispered. "Is he...?"

"I won't let him die," Kenta insisted. He breathed more, inflating Natsu's chest.

"How did this happen?" Erza screamed.

Happy sat to the side in tears. "He kept saying he was okay. I kept asking, and he kept insisting he was okay."

"You!" Erza yelled at Kenta.

"Not now," he snapped back. "Unless you really want him to die." He compressed Natsu's chest again, counting softly to himself, then plugged Natsu's nose and breathed into his mouth.

"Ten days!" Erza shouted. "He's been living with you for ten days, under your roof, in your care. You should have seen signs."

Kenta glared up in annoyance. "Yes, I saw signs! I saw his fatigue the very first day. I warned him!" He focused back down, thumping into Natsu's chest. Then he felt the side of his neck again and cursed in frustration. "I've been warning him for days. I saw it was bad. He'd look pale, unable to sit up, he'd sleep for hours, but by evening he'd look perfectly normal again. He kept insisting he felt fine, that he was a Dragon Slayer, and we all know those sorts are super powerful. He laughed and told jokes through dinner. He smiled the same as always. Yes, I saw how pale he was after sessions, but after a few hours he showed no signs of fatigue. None!" The man glared up at Erza again. "I'm a healer who uses magical devices because I'm not a wizard myself. How the hell should I know if he's not okay when physically he looks perfectly fine?" He began to pound Natsu's chest harder in anger. "Damn stubborn boy!"