A Past Forgotten, A Life Remembered

1

Lucy's POV

"Hey Luce," Natsu calls over his shoulder. "Why are we doing this again?"
"Because somebody had to go and destroy the whole village, you flame brain!"
"Stripper!" Natsu counters, butting heads with Gray instead of helping Erza and I reorganize Fairytail's library.
"Gray... Natsu..."
I shiver at the aura surrounding Erza and restock the shelves faster.
"Are you two, by any chance, fighting?"
A glance to my right shows that she has yet to turn around, frozen in place with a hand still on the last book she stacked.
"No!" They chorus, shaking hands.
I sweatdrop and shake my head. Ridiculous, but at least Erza's gone back to work.
A loud noise makes me jump. Sure enough, Natsu and Gray have started a full out fight and things have gone flying.
"No fighting!" Erza hollers, slamming their heads together while I duck to avoid being hit by a particularly thick scroll of parchment.
The boys growl at each other when Erza turns away from them.
Laughing nervously, I brush myself off.
"Natsu, Gray, why don't you let Erza and I handle this and go see if there's anything you could do? Maybe help Mira at the bar?"
I send a telepathic sorry to Mira for suggesting these two 'work together' at her bar.
"But Lucy, this is the job the master gave us."
Erza frowns at me when I wave the rambunctious duo goodbye.
"It's not like they're going to be productive anyway," I whisper in her ear in case Natsu is still close enough to hear with his great hearing. To emphasize my point, I gesture at the mess their fight caused. They pretty much wasted an hour of work.
"True." She nods seeing my point.
We finish the library in no time at all and in comfortable quiet, the guys' consistent complaints no longer present to distract/ annoy us.
"I'll go tell the master we're done," Erza informs me on her way out.
I hum in response, my nose buried deep in a book.
When halfheartedly running my hand across a row of a burgundy collection to make sure none were sticking out, I'd noticed the little black book nestled between the bigger volumes purely by chance, when my hand dropped to the gap where a larger book should be. The title, 'Celestial magic; keys to the mind?', had intrigued me immediately. Next thing I knew, I was reading it, cross-legged on the floor. I feel a tad guilty for abandoning Erza in the last few minutes, but she would've said something if she really minded.
I finish skimming the intro, which is half illegible anyway, and turn the next page to the first real chapter.
"Lost return to us, replacements vanish too, remember the truth," I read the opening haiku out loud, failing to make much sense of it.

Erza's POV

"Master, we've finished."
"Good-Hic- girl Erza." He downs another bottle of beer.
"Master Makarov-"
"Master!"
Before I can chide master Makarov about drinking with Cana, Gray yells for him, throwing the guild doors open.
"What is it brat?" Master stands on the counter, letting go of his beer and immediately sober.
"It's Natsu, we were fighting as usual, then..."
"Then?" I march up to him demanding answers fast. Gray wouldn't look so worried over nothing, especially if Natsu's involved. I fear something bad's happened.
He calms down but still hesitates. "He kinda fell from a tree."
I breath a sigh of relief along with the rest of the guild, then thump him on the head.
"What the hell Gray?"
"Yeah! You had us all worried!"
I save my reprimand for later, listening to the guild give theirs. I'm closest so I must be the only one who sees that Gray isn't kidding around.
"I'm serious guys, I just don't know how to explain it, but something's wrong." He goes to leave when I lay my hand on his shoulder.
"Take me to him. Now."
I reequip out of my library outfit and into my usual armour and skirt.
He nods and I follow him into the forest.

Gray's POV

What was that flame brain thinking?
We were in a middle of a fight, but instead of pouncing, he just flopped limply to the ground. And the rise and fall of his chest was so slight, it couldn't be normal sleep.
He wouldn't wake up either... Not even when I tried freezing him.
"Gray, slow down."
I slow my pace, unaware I was picking it up unconsciously.
"Sorry."
"It's all right, you're worried." Erza pauses. "Explain in detail what happened."
I reflect on the incident.
"We were fighting as normal and nothing seemed to be off. I had just lunged at Natsu, but he'd dodged me by jumping into a tree branch. My back was to him and I was off balance, so I was sure he'd get me, but instead he just... fell. It wasn't a big fall or anything, but I couldn't wake him up, and he's so still it's like he's been petrified-"
"Aaaaaah!" A terrified scream from a little further in interrupts me.
"It's coming from where Natsu is!" I exclaim. We both start running.
When we reach the spot I left Natsu in, I panic when I can't find him, but calm myself down. He's actually pretty strong for a fire idiot, he'll be fine.
It's the person crying, trapped up in the tree Natsu fell from earlier that I should be concerned for.
"Ice make... Lance!" I attack the Vulcan going after whoever's in the tree, distracting it while Erza tries to get the person down.
"Ice make, shield!" A shield of crystalline ice encases my arm, allowing me to redirect the charging Vulcan.
It lets out a loud roar before running back into the trees and away from us.
"You done yet, Erza?"
I turn around. She's sitting on the ground, looking up into the tree's canopy. No one else is with her, but the leaves shift, showing the Vulcan's prey is still there.
"Gray, I think you need to see this."
Great, what now? "Can't you just-"
I collapse when something, er, someone, lands on me. "Thank you sooo much mister!"
"Off!" I shove at the person then freeze when I make eye contact. Pink cherry-blossom hair and a scaly scarf frames his face. Onyx eyes, wide open and innocent, still brim with tears.
"Natsu?" Shocked, I stop resisting and let him hug me.
"Did brother send you?" Natsu asks furrowing his brow as he lets go.
"Brother?" Erza circles around us warily, examining Natsu. "What do you mean by brother?"
"No-nothing!" He stutters. "A-anyway, if brother didn't send you..."
The glare on his face is so childish, yet freaky since I've only ever really seen his smile directed at anyone in the guild.
"How do you know my name?"
"A person asked us to find and help you, but we don't know if it was your brother, we couldn't see his face."
Erza lies kindly, treating Natsu like a kid. Why is he acting like this anyway? Does he really not remember us? If this is some sort of prank, that pyro is going to regret it!
"But he might have been, so won't you come with us to our guild?"
"Guild?" His eyes light up. "Isn't that one of those magic places full of wizards?"
He's jumping up and down, smile wide. "You'll really take me to one?"
"Yes."
Forget the whole deal with Natsu, Erza is being so good at handling this situation it's creepy.
"Then let's go!" He grabs a corner of Erza's skirt, and tugs it impatiently;
he must've forgotten his strength too, because, already unbalanced (she was taking a step) she falls on him.
"Sorry miss!" He cowers when Erza slowing dusts herself off, eyes never leaving him.
"Stupid," I mutter.
"Meanie," he mouths back before turning away.
"Gray!"
I stand up straighter when Erza barks at me.
She turns Natsu's face towards her. I see tears.
Since when is he such a crybaby?
"Are you feeling okay Natsu?" Erza coos, comforting him.
"I'm fine... I should be used to it by now. Stupid isn't the worst thing either."
Pity and curiosity flickers across her face but she quickly hides it. "What about physically?"
"Phy-what?"
"How does your body feel?"
"Umm...." He thinks. "Heavier? And overall weird. It also seems like I'm up somewhere high too."
"I see. And how old are you?"
He bites his lip. "Dunno."
Now Erza looks troubled.
"Hey Natsu, until you get used to suddenly being bigger... how about Gray carries you to the guild?"
I'm about to protest when she glares at me.
I sigh, reluctantly allowing the exuberant kid-teen onto my back.
How can he think he's heavy?