Frost

44

Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Loke, Gajeel, and Asa all made their ways to a more private location in the guild hall, weaving awkwardly through the crowd of curious wizards who wanted to get in on the action. Gray's eyes met Lyon's eyes, and the two stared at each other until Lyon was out of Gray's sight. He didn't get to talk to him yet, for he didn't see him earlier. Gray told himself that he would give him a big hug later. For now, there were more important matters to deal with.

Asa, was walking alongside Lucy. He kept his head lowered to the ground, following close behind Erza  with Loke and Gajeel trailing him to make sure both the ice mage or the dragon slayer didn't jump him from behind. His heart rate was increasing with every step, shouting at him to run while he had the chance. But he couldn't. He would get caught if he ran off, and he would be beaten. He was in a building full of wizards, and they had the advantage. He had no idea why he agreed to coming here in the first place.

Erza entered the infirmary and held the door wide open for everyone to enter. The tension was awkward, and Asa could feel the angry glares coming from both Natsu and Gray. If looks could kill, he would have died at least fifty times.

"You guys might need to sit down for this conversation," Lucy mumbled, her arms folded across her chest. Natsu looked over at Gray with wide eyes, and then he made his way over to one of the beds closest to the door. Gray followed, and they sat next to each other. Lucy made her way on the next bed and sat facing their direction. Asa was hesitant, but Loke gave him a little nudge and he made his way over towards the three wizards. Gajeel stood next to him. Erza was leaning against the door.

The silence from outside the room was lifted, and soon chatter began to fill the building. It was quieter than before, but it was better than sitting in a silent building. Natsu bit the inside of his cheek when Lucy started to speak. "Natsu, Gray, I need you guys to listen and to not interrupt." The celestial mage was rubbing her hands against her thighs. Gray could hear the shakiness in her voice—she was nervous. "That is Asa. He is going to tell you guys everything."

"You mean including why he did what he did to Gray?" Natsu scoffed. He immediately regretted it, for he felt a sudden grip on his left shoulder from Erza's hand. He gulped and said, "Sorry."

"She said no interrupting, but you did anyways," Gajeel muttered, earning a look from the fire dragon slayer. Natsu was going to say something, but he decided against it. After this conversation was done—whether it was meaningful or not—he would be able to decide whether or not this Asa guy deserved a beating. Just looking at him made Natsu want to punch him in the face.

"By everything, I mean the truth," Lucy sighed. She looked towards Asa, as did the eyes of everyone else, and the potion maker gulped. He honestly didn't know what to say. Where was the sudden burst of confidence he had? He really needed it back. The Natsu in the infirmary is a completely different Natsu compared to the one he saw on the street. He is more serious now, as well as angry. Asa couldn't even talk about Gray right now—he knew the ice mage was angry, but he was currently expressionless. He didn't want to know what kind of things Gray was thinking of at the moment.

"They're quiet. Might as well speak while it's peaceful," Loke spoke, his eyes on Asa. Asa wasn't even sure if the celestial spirit knew what had actually happened. But he did notice that Loke was more tense than he was in the tunnels. Asa cleared his throat. He really was going to regret this.

He explained everything, starting with the time he set up the stand to when he first saw Gray. The ice mage confirmed that this was true, for he remembered everything. The only thing he was oblivious about was that the liquid that was injected in him was some kind of potion that relieved people from hangovers after waking up from a wild night of partying. That explains why he woke up without a hangover, but anything could be a cover up. He didn't know Asa. Gray only recognized him from the street that night.

"I'm going to warn you guys, this is where things get wild," Asa warned. If he were being honest, he felt a little more confident now that he was sharing the story with both Natsu and Gray, who were listening pretty well. Neither of them interrupted, as well as anyone else in the room despite the weird looks he kept receiving from Natsu.

"Before we continue . . . Natsu, do you remember anything from that night?" Lucy asked right when Asa opened his mouth to speak. She wanted to make sure so that Natsu couldn't decline the truth. Lucy didn't know if it had actually happened, but Asa seemed like he knew what he was talking about in the tunnels. Besides, Lucy didn't describe Gray to Asa since they've known each other.

Natsu sat on the bed for a moment, his head looking down towards his knees. His hands clenched onto the fabric of his pants, and then he sighed before admitting, "I don't remember anything after leaving the guild hall."

"Okay, then you can't decline anything unless you have an actual eyewitness," Lucy muttered to herself. However, Gajeel overheard it, as did the fire dragon slayer. The statement made Natsu jump up onto his feet. "Does any of this have something to do with me?" Natsu exclaimed, his voice high. Gajeel was also about to say something as well, but Erza hushed them before anything else could happen.

"Just let the man finish his side of the story," Erza declared. Everyone settled down, and Asa continued without another word.

He mentioned how the invisibility potion was lying on top of his stand, and how it had looked similar to the other potions. Asa claimed he had no intention of injecting anyone with the invisibility potion, for he knew what the outcome would turn out like. He then continued on about how he met Natsu for the first time that night and how things were a complete mess. "You were drunk and wild. I was afraid you weren't going to get home that night. You were completely wasted, Natsu," Asa said, his eyes landing on the dragon slayer's green eyes. He wanted to make this easier for him—to persuade him that it wasn't his fault. Natsu was intoxicated, and he couldn't think straight. He was almost certain that Natsu was the one who injected Gray with the invisibility potion, whether that was in the morning, a few weeks later, or even that night. "I told you that the potion would prevent a hangover in the morning, so that's probably why you took the extra syringe. I assume you just took the wrong one by luck. I don't know what happened the rest of the night, but I assume you can connect the dots from here."

Natsu knew everyone was looking at him. They were waiting for a reaction, whether it be a sudden outburst, a few tears, or him throwing a punch at Asa because of how angry he was. But the dragon slayer wasn't angry anymore. He was confused and . . . only a little bit upset. But if Asa was the only other guy there, how does everyone else know that this is true?

So, Natsu came up with a conclusion. He simply told Asa that he did not believe him and quietly walked out of the infirmary. There was just no way he could accept it. No one knew what happened after Natsu "took" the syringe—he didn't even know what happened after he left the guild hall! Besides, Asa only assumes that Natsu took the wrong one. He felt as though he were being blamed for the whole accident.

The dragon slayer walked through the crowd of wizards. He wasn't grabbing as much attention as he did earlier. He could only hear his name being called by Levy and Juvia, and then Happy's voice soon followed after he reached the door to the guild hall. As much as he missed seeing his partner-in-crime, he needed some time alone. Maybe he could prove his innocence—that this wasn't his fault.

Natsu made his way to the park and sat on the bench, taking in his surroundings and pushing his thoughts aside. It only took a few moments, however, when he felt the tears well up in his eyes.