Fate/Burning Will

Chapter 14: Moment of Respite

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I'M SO SORRY FOR MAKING Y'ALL WAIT THIS LONG! After so much delay from a variety of things including but not limited to my mental health and school being a pain in the neck, I can finally update this thing! I really appreciate how patient you guys have been with me, and hopefully I can deliver a quality story that's worth the wait. In fact, I appreciate y'all so much that this chapter is over 7000 WORDS! That's basically 2 chapters in one, so hopefully you guys enjoy this 2-for-1 sale.

However, PLEASE check my A/N after the chapter ends. I want to promote something really cool.

With that said, here's chapter 14 of Fate/Burning Will.

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Honestly, Natsu didn't even remember falling asleep.

Following Zouken's death and the destruction of the Matous' mansion, the Dragon Slayer had fallen asleep on the spot; this forced Rin to carry him back to the church. Needless to say, that wasn't a fun experience, as carrying Natsu was an arduous struggle. Now, though, he had woken up inside the church, the pouring rain being the only sound that echoed throughout.

"Natsu? Are you finally awake?"

The sudden voice caught him off guard, but Natsu was quick to turn to the source: Rin Tohsaka. Taking in his surroundings for a moment, Natsu noticed that he was lying down on one of the church's pews. In addition, he himself was covered from head to toe in bandages. Unbeknownst to him, this was Kirei's work.

"How long was I out?" the Dragon Slayer questioned.

"It's been a few hours," Rin answered, "Kirei tended to your wounds, and now he's focusing on Sakura."

"Any idea if she's going to be okay?"

"He hasn't said anything since he finished treating you."

A silence soon filled the church, as neither Natsu nor Rin had anything to speak of at the moment. That is, until something came to the former's mind: he still believed Rin should make up with Sakura. He wanted to talk about this, but he was stopped from saying anything by the emergence of Kirei from the room in which he was treating Sakura.

"I have finished my treatment of Sakura Matou," the priest simply stated.

"How'd it go?" Natsu asked.

"It was a success," Kirei answered matter-of-factly, "She has awakened."

"Really?!" Rin asked, shocked. Meanwhile, Natsu was already past the shock and was elated at the news.

In fact, he was so excited that he immediately rushed to the room where Sakura had been treated to see her. The excitement, though, was short-lived. When the door burst open, Natsu saw that the room was completely empty. The Matou girl was nowhere to be seen, a fact that Rin took notice of as well when she entered the room soon after Natsu did.

"Where is she?" Rin asked Kirei.

"She had not left when I was in here," Kirei explained before looking outside, seeing that the nearby window had been opened, "It looks like she escaped through that window."

"But why would she do that?"

"Doesn't matter," Natsu interjected, "I'm going after her!"

Before Rin or Kirei could respond, Natsu jumped out the same window and began running after her, using her scent to track her down. After all, she couldn't have gotten very far.