Back to the Start(nalu)

29- Newfound Hope

I start walking down the sidewalk, my nose leading my path.

"Do you smell that, Happy?"

"Nobody smells what you smell, Natsu."

I ignore him and continue walking where the scent is more prominent.

"Natsu?"

My feet movie on their own, drawing me towards the familiar smell that drifts into my nose, sending a flurry of emotions with it.

"Natsu?!"

I stop and scowl.

"Shhh, Happy! Don't distract me right now."

He goes silent and follows silently beside me. I walk swiftly down the sidewalk, bumping into a shoulder or two without any care.

This smell...

Could it be?

I shake my head.

It can't be.

I don't want it to be...do I?

My feet move while my thoughts contradict each other.

I'd know this smell anywhere.

If I ever forget this smell then I'll have given up everything.

The smell is getting stronger. I can tell I'm getting closer.

I yearn to get to the source, to see if it's true, but part of me feels the need to run away from it, far away...

But my curiosity just can't help but get the better of me and I'm down the block, the smell coming from the street to my left.

I turn the corner, the smell becoming stronger as I do so. My eyes scan the street quickly and stop suddenly at the door of a shop.

A head of blonde hair stands in the middle, holding open the door with one hand as she says something to someone inside.

Lucy...

My feet plant themselves into the ground and a smile starts to pull at my lips.

Lucy waves inside and smiles wide before turning around and making her way down the street in the opposite direction of me.

She looks so...alive.

She walks down the street with a slight hop to her steps from being in a good mood.

I fall to my knees and my hands slide down my face. I let out a breathy laugh as she disappears from view completely after turning a corner.

She's alive!

I did it... I actually did it!

And she looks okay. She seems happy.

She doesn't need Fairy Tail.

She should have never joined in the first place. If I would have known that death is all Fairy Tail would bring her than I would have left her alone.

She seems fine where she is...

I look around me at the lively street and all of the shops and restaurants that keep it that way.

So, this is where she's been spending her time, huh? At least recently.

I wonder if she lives here. How long she's been here? If she has friends here?

I grimace.

Or if she's in a relationship...

I shake my head.

She could have a life here and that's all I could ever want...

But there's been a spike of crime in this town.

What if something happens to her?

I get to my feet and wipe the dirt off my knees.

"No more messing around, Happy. Let's go find Erza and Gray."

I'm going to catch the guys responsible and make sure that this place isn't a danger to her.

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Here's the actual chapter👍🏼
Time for things to pick up pace a little