The Hardest Mission: A NaLi Fanfic: Ch 2

The Hardest Mission: A NaLi Fanfiction
Chapter 2: Change of Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters.


Natsu walked back to the guild hall with a huge smile on his face. He had not only finally managed to ask Lisanna out on a date, but she had agreed to it as well. Natsu doubted anyone in the world was as happy as he was right now. He was also feeling rather proud of himself for actually doing it at all. Up until just a few weeks ago, he hadn't even considered dating or doing anything even remotely romantic but then one night something happened which forced him to think more seriously about such matters.

It all started on a night like any other. Natsu had just returned from a job and was sitting at a table in the guild hall chatting with his fellow guild members. After a while of idle chit-chat he decided to head home.

As he exited the guild and started towards home, he noticed a familiar scent and looked around to find the source. Upon a quick survey he noticed someone lying on the ground just outside the gate. He ran over and what he saw stopped him in his tracks and caused his heart to skip a few beats. It was Lisanna.

She was lying face down, her clothes were dirty and tattered, numerous cuts and bruises dotted her skin and blood flowed down her face. She was unconscious, and her breathing was shallow and quick.

It took several seconds for Natsu to recover from his initial shock of seeing one of his closest friends in such a state. Once he did he immediately ran back inside and ran up to Mira.

“Mira, come quick, I need your help!” said Natsu, with a frantic tone in his voice.

“What’s going on Natsu?” Natsu’s tone was worrying her.

“It’s Lisanna. I found her collapsed outside. She’s hurt really bad.”

Natsu didn't need to say another word. Mira grabbed a first-aid kit from behind the bar and quickly followed Natsu outside. Natsu led her to where Lisanna was and Mira looked her over briefly.

“This is bad. Natsu, take her to the hospital right away. I'll go inform master.”

Before Mira had finished speaking, Natsu had picked up Lisanna and was already on his way towards the hospital. When he got there, Lisanna was immediately admitted to the emergency room while Natsu was asked to wait out in the waiting room. While he was waiting he tried to calm himself down. For some reason he couldn't explain, he was a lot more worried than he had expected he would be. He kept telling himself that she would be ok, but for some reason that didn't really help.

A short while later Makarov and Mira joined him in the waiting room. They sat down next to him but neither of them spoke for several minutes. Makarov was the first to break the silence.

“Has there been any word yet?”

“Not yet.” Natsu’s voice was dangerously close to cracking.

They continued to sit in silence for a while until a nurse approached the trio. All three rose to their feet to hear the news.

“Well, how is she? Will she be ok?” The concern was easily evident in Natsu’s voice.

“Your friend is stable. However, she did receive a rather nasty blow to the head which may cause a bit of memory loss. We’re not sure on the specifics yet but we’ll let you know when we know.” The nurse turned to leave.

“Wait!” The nurse turned back around. “Is she awake? Can we see her?”

“She’s asleep at the moment. I’ll send someone to get you when she wakes up.” The nurse left before Natsu could ask anything else.

Even with what the nurse had just said, for some reason Natsu couldn't stop himself from worrying. He started to pace back and forth in the waiting room.

Several hours went by, but Natsu, Mira and Makarov stayed put. The next morning a nurse came and told them that Lisanna had finally woken up. They followed her up to Lisanna’s room. She was sitting up in the bed, staring out the window. She looked over when she heard them enter and a big smile crossed her face.

“Hi guys!” she sounded rather cheerful, for someone who had been so badly hurt.

Natsu breathed a sigh of relief. She was alright. As his worry departed, it finally hit him why he was so worried in the first place. It was because he was afraid, afraid of losing his childhood friend. The thought that he might not get to see her again had terrified him. Without realizing it, tears sprung to his eyes and he ran over to her bedside.

“Natsu? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just that I’m so glad you’re alright, Lisanna. I was so worried about you.”

Lisanna was surprised. She’d never seen Natsu this emotional before. While she was glad he was so worried about her, at the same time it broke her heart to see him in such a state.

“Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m fine so cheer up!”

Natsu composed himself before looking up at her.

“You’re right.” He stood up. “I’m glad you’re ok.” Natsu left the room before he could start crying again.

“Thanks for coming Sis, Master.”

“It wasn't a problem. Say, do you per chance remember what happened?” asked Makarov.

“Not really. All I remember is leaving for the job and then waking up here.”

“Hmm. I guess the nurse was right about there being a bit of memory loss.” Makarov appeared deep in thought. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

After a few more days in the hospital to regain her strength, Lisanna returned to the guild. After that, everything returned to normal for everyone, except a certain pink-haired Dragon Slayer. This incident had scared him more than he would have expected and he didn't want to feel that way again. He resolved to do whatever it took to stay close to Lisanna. He was going to protect her so that this never happened again.