It's Friday again, so here's the next chapter!! Before we start, I just wanna say that I'm really no good at writing combat, but I tried my best. I hope you guys like it anyway!
Enjoy!
"Man, this place sure is a maze," grunted Natsu, hauling himself to the top of a boulder. He offered Lucy a hand, and she gratefully took it, her skin sending a tingle up his arm.
"Are we sure this is the way they went?" she queried.
"This is where Jona told us to come," said Erza, who was behind the two, looking ahead, "but the hunters may have veered off the route at some point."
"If that's the case, this whole thing is a wild goose chase," muttered Gray.
"Ah, don't be like that. We'll find something."
They were about halfway up the mountain. It was a rocky slope, almost a sheer cliff face in some places, but they had managed to surmount it all so far. Natsu's scarf was back around his neck, and the others had ditched their masks. The air here was clean, if not getting thin.
"It doesn't look like it gets any better up there," Happy called from the air.
"D'you see anything that the hunters might have gone to?" Natsu yelled up.
"No," said Happy eventually.
The group sighed. "Well," said Erza, "all we can do is keep going."
"Can't we at least take a break?" Lucy begged.
Erza paused, then smiled. "I suppose it can't hurt."
Lucy sighed in relief, and Happy dropped like a stone from the sky. Natsu yelped when the Exceed almost hit his hand. "Hey, what's the big idea?"
"I'm tired," murmured Happy.
"You barely took a single step the whole way here!"
It wasn't long before Erza ushered them all to their feet again. "Every second we waste, more people fall ill. Let's go."
"Uh...where's Gray?"
The girls turned at Natsu's words. He'd noticed the ice wizard's silence, but hadn't figured anything was wrong - until it got too suspicious. Gray wasn't anywhere in sight, and his scent was slowly fading.
"He was just here." Lucy frowned, turning in a circle.
"No," said Natsu, something tickling his nose. He sniffed the air, and instantly knew what it was - or, rather, what it wasn't. "He didn't just leave. Someone else was here."
"What?" Erza took a step forward. "Are you sure?"
"I smell something, and it ain't Gray," Natsu snarled. While most of it was unrecognizable, there were some scents he could make out: leather, steel, sweat, and something that distinctly reminded him of the village. He took a step toward Gray's scent and turned his head one direction, and another - "That way!"
Without another word, he took off. It might be Gray, but he wasn't going to let anyone take someone from his guild, and if helping meant leaving behind Lucy and Erza, so be it. Happy caught up to him shortly, and the two of them tore through the forest. They were going downhill, so it was fairly easy to navigate the land. Easier than uphill, anyway. Gray's scent got stronger the faster he ran, until he spotted a clearing up ahead. He skidded to a halt just inside the treeline, grabbing Happy before he could fly past, and hid behind a tree.
There wasn't much to see. Two men were arguing, pointing different directions, about which way to go. One of them had something limp slung over his shoulder.
YOU ARE READING
The Memory of You (Fairy Tail / Nalu)
Fanfiction***This story takes places between the eclipsed celestial spirits and the Sun Village arcs*** As much as he hated to admit it, maybe he did like her. And when she gets taken away from him, nothing, not even a threat to his own life, will stop him fr...
