Keeping Secrets

Torn

Welcome back! Still plenty of angst but things are a bit more chill compared to the roller coaster of that was the last chapter.

Hope y'all enjoy!

KEEPING SECRETS CHAPTER 21: TORN

Upon returning to his room, Natsu collapsed on his bed face down, silently letting tears flow off his face and into the fabric. He had spent eight months away from Vistarion, five of which he had been fighting the worst battle of his life... he thought he and Zeref would get a chance to relax and catch their breath before they'd inevitably set off for Ishgar.

So much for that.

"Reality is often unkind" he could all but hear Zeref saying to him.

Sighing, he sat up and looked around his room. Natsu wasn't one to mope around, even with how awful he felt. He needed something to get his mind off of the tribulations that lay ahead... for now, at least.

His eyes caught something as his vision drifted towards his desk... sitting on it was a box, with several envelopes on top, that hadn't been there when he left. Curious, he made his way over the desk and inspected the little stack. There was a note on top of the envelopes-

Prince Natsu,

Here is the material you requested. I made sure to acquire all the issues up to the most recent one that your friend had written in. Just a heads up, there are some indecent photos in some of the issues, which I've marked for your convenience. I also included a report on your guild you might find interesting.

My men also took the liberty of bringing some pictures off your wall from your home outside Magnolia. They thought you'd like to have them for your room here. If you'd like them put back, just let me know.

Also, the leak in your roof has been fixed.

Jacob

Gratitude for the kindness of Jacob and his men growing, Natsu tore open the envelope to find a handful of pictures from his adventures with his guildmates. There was one of him and Happy drawing on Macao and Wakaba's faces after the two had fallen asleep after an intense night of celebration. Then there was one of Happy, Lucy, and him fishing. There were several more, but his favorite was one of his whole team in front of the guildhall shortly before they left for the x791 Grand Magic Games.

Picking up the next envelope, he noticed that it was dated 12/1/791. Remembering that was the last day before he and Zeref set out from the capital, he wondered if these were pictures someone had taken from his and the Twelve's outing at the bar. To his delight, it was- there was a picture of him, Zeref, and August laughing at the bar- one of Natsu looking very happy with his customized action figure from Wall- there were several more, but the best one, in Natsu's opinion, was a picture of him and his brother during their 'unforgettable' karaoke duet, Natsu looking very confident and like he was having the time of his life, while Zeref looked... well, the opposite. Smiling at the happy memories, Natsu set the pictures off to the side on his desk, deciding to find a place to put them on his wall later.

Tearing open the box, he found several papers stapled together labeled ' Report on Fairy Tail Guild: 7/16/792'. Looking through the report, Natsu discovered the guild had indeed reformed... spearheaded by none other than Lucy, Happy, Wendy, and Carla. Seems his old teammates had reunited at the 792 Grand Magic Games, with Lucy doing an article for Sorcerer Weekly on the games, and the other three just attending to watch, as Lamia Scale was not competing that year.