sea shells | natsu dragneel

chapter forty

Rogue

They have him. 

I stare at my phone in horror. 

Lucy looks at me, and then to my phone. She goes white as well– looking up at me, worried. It was the first time she'd acknowledged Rogue's appearance since that day, and it definitely did not go the way you wanted it to. 

"Do you believe him?" she whispers to me, even among the cheering and blabbering of Fairy Tail. 

"Absolutely," I promise, staring into her chocolate brown eyes. I feel sick to my stomach- Natsu is with Sabertooth. What does this mean? Is he hurt? What will they do with him? And most importantly, how will this rivalry push Sabertooth to hurt him in any way? 

"Alright," Lucy nods. "Fairy Tail! We have a problem." 

Everything stopped. That was the effect of a family- everybody listened intently. 

"It's about Natsu–" Lucy starts, before getting interrupted by Gray. 

"Oh god, what has he done now?" he complains, rolling his eyes back and tipping a drink down his throat. "did he trip and fall out a window again? I swear to god,  someone else lend him a first aid kit, I'm literally in debt at this point–"

"–it's not about Natsu," Lucy finishes, glancing nervously around her. Others already noticed her strange behaviour (of how she did not snap at him) and sat straighter. "we... meaning (y/n) and I have reason to believe that something has happened to him. But–" she quickly adds on as people open their mouths to protest. "–you have to trust us because we can't tell you what we're basing this on. Please." 

"Lucy, you didn't even have to ask," Laxus rumbles, standing up and sticking out like a sore thumb with his height. 

"Agreed," Mira smiles. Other mumbles go around, as well as head nodding. 

"Thanks, you guys," the blonde replies, voice thick as if she's about to cry. "it might have something to do with Sabertooth. I want us to split up and go look for him. (y/n) and I will go straight to his place, while the rest of us split up into teams. Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman will stay here and guard the town. Erza and Cana will go North until the border, Laxus and the Thunder Legion will go East, Levy and Gajeel West, and Gray and Juvia South." 

There were no arguments. 

"If we find something, we call each other." 

And Fairy Tail sped off- so quickly and quietly, like assassins slipping into the night. Juvia and Gray in particular, who did not even need to talk, and seamlessly melded into a team. They ran across the coastline. 

Lucy and I went to Natsu's house- jitters in my stomach all the while. What would be the chance we would find something here? 

The sun was almost down- hovering on the ocean, sending ripples of orange into the water. I had never been to Natsu's house before, and I definitely did not like the fact that Sabertooth and a possible kidnapping caused me to visit. 

But there we stood, the two of us- by his house. It was surprisingly simple- with cream-coloured walls and a terracotta roof. A chimney climbed up the side of the house, and I was pretty sure a tree was growing out of it. A little bit of the pressure in my heart was instantly released- so far, there wasn't anything out of place. 

And again, I was wrong. 

The house was trashed. 

Half of the house was almost collapsing- the wooden pillars holding up the roof cracked and splintered. Furniture was thrown upside down, and feathers littered the room- with unmistakable shapes of fists in the walls. And on the floor, painted in royal blue graffiti, was a strange symbol of an animal. A sabertooth tiger. 

Natsu had put up a fight. Against more than one person, definitely.

And he lost. 

Lucy took immediate action, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the destroyed living room. 

"Guys? I- it's me," I wince at the slight tremor in her voice. "Natsu was definitely taken. Sabertooth's symbol is on the floor. Okay. I think that's a good idea. Be careful everyone, and please look out– they definitely have a plan." 

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a fuzzy blue object sticking out from under a chair. I walk closer, to find Happy shivering. I pick him up, cradling him in my arms. A small tear slips from my eye and lands on his once-bright fur, now stained with dust and debris. 

"Alright, this is what we're going to do (y/n)," Lucy comes up behind me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "we're going to infiltrate Sabertooth. In the same teams, we will surround their guildhall from different sides. You and I are going straight North, okay?" 

I nod, mute, and let Happy go. 

It was dark now. We were walking into territory I didn't know- and I look down, seeing Lucy's hand trembling as well. I frown and feel guilty about only thinking of my own pain. 

I take her hand, steadying her shivering. "Let's do this. We're part of Fairy Tail, right? We won't lose." 

She gives me a small smile- face pale. "Yes, of course." 

The scenery around us changed steadily, and not in a good way. 

Fairy Tail's side of Laguna Beach changed- the bright colours of the houses turning bleak and drab. Gone were the flowers, the aesthetic, the positive feeling that the place emitted. Instead came crumbling cement and dirt, houses with looming windows and thorny plants. 

I shiver. Thank goodness I decided to go to Fairy Tail, and not this wretched place. 

"Awful, isn't it?" Lucy whispers, as we sneak from alley to alley. We were careful- but nobody seemed to be present in the town. 

"Well, well, what do we have here," something came from ahead, and we stopped in our tracks. The voice was deep and rolling, like fresh honey. Except it was dark, and laced with lust and bloodshed. 

Lucy swallowed and pushed her behind me. 

Ahead stood a man- a very beautiful man. 

His eyes, blue like the ocean, almost glowed in the moonlight. It was a striking contrast with his platinum blonde hair and the lonely crystal earring in his left ear. Despite this, a cruel grin shaped his face, and his eyes had nothing bright in it. 

But the words were caught in my throat when another figure appeared behind him– so close, like a companion. 

And Rogue stepped through the shadows.