Fairy Tail: Black Blood [Book 2/2]

Chapter Nine: You Call THIS Training!?

     Lucy

     Juvia and Levy had left with smiles on their faces as the kids followed them out of my apartment. I asked what they were so happy about and they told me that they finally got Natsu to talk about his problems, and that if I were to talk to him more he would be much happier.

    "I don't understand, was he depressed?" I had asked.

    "In a way, yeah, he was having some internal problems, so I highly recommend you try talking to him as much as possible," Levy had said, smiling. Ever since Gajeel had come out of the hospital she spent as much time with him as possible and was smiling a lot more, whether it was the relief that Gajeel didn't have any medical problems or if she was smiling for his sake, either way it was good to see Levy smile again.

    "Mhm, Juvia and Levy-chan will be taking the kids home now. Let's meet at Ate Island for breakfast soon, Lucy-san, good day!" Juvia agreed, and the two ladies took the kids hands and walked them home. They were waving good bye to me and I waved at them until they vanished from sight.

     I was in the kitchen now, thinking of ways to help Natsu out. I took in a deep breath and walked towards our bedroom and held open the door. Natsu was gone and the house was quiet, a note was on my desk with a poorly drawn smiley face on it, the writing was that of Nashi's.

     I made way over to the note and opened it, it was poorly written but still better than Natsu's handwriting, and the note said:

     Hi, Mummy!

Taiyo, daddy, and me will be off in the forest for fishin and training! Oh and Happy too! By by!

    Nashi

     Yep, her handwriting is still better than Natsu's, I thought. I folded up the note and left the room, stuffing it in my skirt. I left the apartment, making sure to lock my door before I left, and made way to a forest that I was sure I'd meet Natsu and the kids in.

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     As I was walking through the forest I began hearing singing, confusion rather than fear began settling in and the deeper into the forest I went the clearer the words became. What the...? Why do I hear...

     "OOOOOO! SHOT THROUGH THE HEART! AND YOU'RE TO BLAME! C'mon, Nashi, sing it with me!" Natsu's voice sang out in the forest.

    "YOU GIV LUO~V A BAD NAME!" Nashi's high pitched voice followed along, laughing rang out in the forest. The hell is going on here?  I thought, a sweat drop forming on my head, I peeked past the trees, any of them, in hopes to find my family.

    "I PLAYED MY PART AND YOU PLAY YOUR GAME!" Taiyo sang out, I followed his voice to a clearing where I saw... ASHES. Ashes everywhere, the trees were burnt, there was no grass, and there were some strange glinting things, like ice, in the ground. It didn't look recent at all, it looked old and scarred, no saplings or anything new growing out of the cold dirt. Ashes... Cold dirt? This was where Natsu and Gray foght six years ago, I realized. And guess who was dancing in the middle of the mess? Natsu, Taiyo, and Nashi, they held sticks up to their mouths and were prancing around in circles, singing You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi (A/N: I love this song. T3T).

    "YOU GIVE LO~VE A BAD NAME!!! BAD NAME!" Natsu and Nashi sang out after Taiyo cheered on his line. They began laughing and danced in circles. Is this seriously Natsu's version of training?

     "SHOT THROUGH THE HEART! AND YOU'RE TO BLAME! YOU GIVE LOO~VE A BAD NA-"

    "NATSU, TAIYO, AND NASHI DRAGNEEL. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I screamed, Taiyo and Nashi stopped dancing and paled while Natsu continued dancing around like an idiot. "WHY ARE THE KIDS HERE OF ALL PLACES?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE TRAINING!"

    "Who~a! You're a loaded gun!" Natsu laughed, singing as he scooped up the kids in his arms, laughing as Happy (who was hovering in the air while dancing with a plushy of Carla, yeah, don't ask how he got it) watched us curiously.  "You give lo~ve a bad name! C'mon kids! WHOA you're a loaded gun! Whoa! There's no where to run! No one can save me the damage is done! Sho-"

    "NATSU! Be serious with me for a second! Why are you here?!" I demanded, snatching the sticks out of the kid's hands and harshly stealing away Natsu's. I snatched the kids out of his hands next and put them down, they ducked behind me as I glared off Natsu. He pouted with his arms crossed and looked away.

    "Training, DUH," Natsu said, blushing while scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

    "Since when is prancing around like a lunatic and singing Bon Jovi training?! You were supposed to teach them Rainbow Fire and Dark Matter today, damn it! You shoul-"

    "'You should learn to be a better father, Natsu! I'm Lucy and I don't know how to have fun for some reason! Nah nah nah nah PFFT'!" Natsu said, mimicking me while dancing around, he grabbed his pants and pranced around like a school girl, the kids began snickering while I felt my cheeks flare out in a mad blush. I do NOT act like that!

    "Natsu, you are seriously getting on my nerves right now!"

    "SHOT THROUGH THE HEART! AND YOU'RE TO BLAME! LUCE, YOU GIVE LOOOVE A BAD NAME!" Natsu sang, pointing at me with a troll face (A/N: Imagine that XD). I felt the blush of anger completely overcome my face and almost felt steam fire out of my ears. "Ooo! Looks like I hit a nerve with ya! HAHA!"

    "Natsu, YOU'RE the one giving love a bad name! Why? Because you're useless as fuck around the house, you never keep your promises, and all you ever do is either sulk or play with the kids! I  PLAY MY PART WHILE YOU  PLAY YOUR GAMES! WHY CAN'T I EVER RELY ON YOU ANYMORE?!" I screamed, stomping over to Natsu, poking him roughly in the chest. The two of us glared at each other, one of anger, the other of hurt.

    "You know what, Lucy? I obviously ain't the best husband, alright? And I never was a good dad, I admit it! But you can't seriously expect me to live up to your every expectation! I am not your damn prince charming who is perfect in every way! I am me! I am ME and NO ONE else! And if you don't like it then why the hell are you still pestering me about it?! If you don't love how I live my life and how I do things then why don't you go find someone else?!" Natsu shouted.

     Now it was my turn to glare with hurt and Natsu with anger. His eyes widened and he looked away and clutched his scarf, some sorts of mask of pain reflecting in his eyes. He looked back at me and smiled apologetically. Huh-?  Natsu held out his hands and grabbed my arms, be brought me in for a fierce hug. I felt my blush become tomato red as flashes of confusion flashed over my mind. The hell? Usually Natsu would go storming off when something happens between us, why is he-

    "Sorry, Luce, you're right..." Natsu whispered in my hair. OK, what the actual fuck?

    "Natsu, what's happening to you?" I said, finding my voice in a hoarse whisper.

    "Sorry..." Natsu whispered again.

     Is this what Levy and Juvia meant by Natsu acting strange?  He pulled away from me, the moment he did I felt a strange absence in my chest. He walked towards the kids, Nashi was curled up on the floor with her hands covering her ears with her eyes shut, tear tracks lining her cheeks. Taiyo sat besides her, watching his dad quietly approach them as he held his sister. Natsu knelt down and scooped them up in his arms and held them tightly. Taiyo looked genuinely confused while Nashi accepted his embrace and hugged her dad back. Taiyo and I looked at each other then back at Natsu, he stood up with the kids and walked off into the forest the way I came. I hesitated then followed Natsu, keeping up just enough to watch his back and the kids. Taiyo was still confused, but he looked relieved, watching his sister as she leaned into Natsu's neck, smiling with her tears drying.

     There's something going on, isn't there?  I thought, a small smile forcing it's way up my lips. Why are you so mysterious when it comes to these things, Natsu? Can't you just open up to me for once? I hate watching you fake a smile and force a laugh, I want you to smile truly like you used to...

     Is this about Acnologia? Is this about us? Zeref? Or is this about you?

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(A/N): I love forcing characters through internal conflicts in my stories. It's messed up but I hope I'm not the only one out there who likes that shit. :3