SPOILERS! Yay, Lisanna came back to Fairy Tail! Now, the S-Class trial is going to begin in the next episode! By the way, in episode 96, I totally didn't expect Edolas Fairy Tail and the Royal Army to have some final scenes! I'm gonna miss them, though. I'm hoping that they all somehow get into an OVA or something. I'm a fan of Edolas Fairy Tail! :D In episode 97, I totally became fired up for the S-Class trial (even though I already read it)! I heard two new osts in there too! Finally, that part with Natsu looking over Magnolia…struck me somehow. I don't know why, but I felt sad when he touched his scarf all of a sudden. Fairy Tail makes me so emotional! :'(

Anyways, this is my third NaLi/very slight NaLu story! I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: *Spoilers

*Swearing

*Possible OOCness

*Death

Disclaimer: I will never own Fairy Tail. Not even in my dreams!

Gone

.OoOoO.

It was just perfect.

Mira, Elfman and Lisanna were going on a mission today, apparently.

They said it would take them about two or three days to finish, depending on the situation.

And once they came back…

"Natsu!" Lisanna called out one more time.

The said Dragon Slayer turned to see her with one hand raised to the sky.

"I'm off!"

Grinning, Natsu returned the gesture.

'I'll be watching over you.'

…He would tell Lisanna that he loved her.

It was the right time, after all. He would welcome her home after the mission by confessing his love to her. If she returned the same confession, his life would be…filled with happiness and joy just by being around her everyday. Happy would even approve, as well as half of the guild.

The confession was in his favor.

Now, if only Lisanna said that she loved him too…

.OoOoO.

Day one.

Waiting for the trio to return wasn't easy for the fire mage.

Natsu didn't dare take any missions during the while she was gone. He wanted to be there the moment Lisanna returned. He would be there at the guild at their arrival, then he would take the Take Over girl to the cliff beside his house where you could see all of Magnolia. Finally, he would confess. Natsu chuckled victoriously as he went over his plan. And people thought he wasn't romantic! Take that, Gray!

After spending a full day at the guild, the Dragon Slayer and cat went home to call it a day.

.OoOoO.

Day two.

Natsu caused commotion all over the guild, as usual. He smiled, he fought with Gray, creating a chain reaction of which caused the rest of the guild to fight as well. The wide guild-brawl lasted for the entire day before Erza and Makarov came back to see the guild look like it was hit by a tornado.

When half of the guild blamed Natsu for the mess, he called them traitors before Erza and Master dragged him off for a punishment.

But the punishment didn't matter at the moment.

What mattered was that Lisanna wasn't home yet, and that he'd have to wait another day to confess.

The pink-haired teen was getting a little impatient. Hell, waiting for the moment was killing him inside!

.OoOoO.

The third day.

It was expected that the Take Over siblings were to return today.

Natsu was even more energetic than usual, eagerly waiting at the front door for his white-haired crush to arrive. Happy had to bribe him to come and eat lunch.

Sitting at the table for less than two seconds, the fire mage swallowed down his full-course meal in one bite and washed it all down with one cup of fire whiskey before going back to his position at the door.

"He sure is excited for Lisanna to return, isn't he?" Cana mused to Wakaba beside her.

The smoking mage nodded dreamily, "It's nice to be in love when you're young..."

Gray joined the conversation, "Hopefully Flame Brain doesn't screw this up."

For the rest of the day, Natsu sat beside the front door, like a puppy waiting for its master. And speaking of which, Master Makarov forced him to go home, reassuring that someone would go tell him if Lisanna had returned or not.

Lying on the couch, Natsu stared at the ceiling. They were supposed to come back today. Did something happen?

These thoughts swirled in his mind for a while before coming to a conclusion.

'Nah, Mira and Elfman are with her. Everything's just fine. They probably just missed a…train or something.' Natsu almost became nauseous at the thought of his worst enemy-transportation. Luckily, he shook the feeling off and went into a deep sleep…

.OoOoO.

The rhythm of life…

Bodies wither and perish…

Souls thrive and endure…

.OoOoO.

Natsu yawned and stretched his arms. It was a new day…maybe those three would come back today! The fire mage got up from the couch and went to change into his normal outfit and to wash his face and hair. After all, he wanted to look nice during the confession.

Before going to wake his partner, Natsu glanced at the clock on the wall. It was twelve o'clock…

Wait…twelve?

"OH MY GOD!" Natsu rushed over to his partner, "HAPPY, HAPPY WAKE UP! WE OVERSLEPT! LISANNA MIGHT ALREADY BE AT THE GUILD!"

Happy shot up in an instant, flew to get his bag (and whatever what was in it) and ran out the door with his partner.

Running through Magnolia town, the duo avoided crashing into people as much as possible, grins on their faces, hoping that they had returned to the guild by now.

"Hey! You two there!" a man called out, making them halt.

"What is it, old man?" Natsu cried, "We're in a hurry!"

The man narrowed his eyes, "I want to know why you're in such a hurry, is all."

"We're gonna meet a friend that came back from her mission today!" Happy stated.

Frowning, the man told them, "Three mages passed by here and went to Fairy Tail this morning, but…one of them…"

His patience running out, Natsu bolted towards the guild to see his friend (s) with Happy flying right behind him. What happened? Did something…go wrong?

.OoOoO.

Where are you right now?

Oh, how I want to see you…

Please just come back soon…

.OoOoO.

Finally reaching the guild's gates, panting from the long run, the fire Dragon Slayer noted the double doors were unusually wide open. Gaining his breath, he and his partner stood at the door and searched for a certain white-haired girl with wide, frantic eyes through the guild which emitted a strangely dark aura…only finding Mira, bandaged, and crying on the table. Actually, Elfman and a bunch of other guild members sat around her, also weeping.

But…why was everyone crying?

And where the heck was Lisanna?

"There was nothing left…" Elfman sobbed, "We should at least bury her…"

Finally noticing his presence, Mirajane sadly looked up at Natsu. Natsu and Happy took this in with eyes the size of plates, slightly shaking in their respective places. Elfman's words replayed in their heads:

"There was nothing left…we should at least bury her…"

"There was nothing left…"

"Bury her…"

"her"

Realization hit hard.

Very, very, very hard.

"Natsu, she…" Mira tried her best to tell the boy, only to fail as tears continued to fall from her blue eyes.

Natsu turned his heel and ran away from the building, leaving his cat partner behind.

.OoOoO.

I knew you so well…

I couldn't tell you before…

I am so sorry…

.OoOoO.

Running blindly through Magnolia, the teen was given looks of sympathy from the townspeople. They knew the relationship between him and Lisanna better than some of the members in Fairy Tail. Carelessly bumping and crashing into things wildly, Natsu dashed into the East Forest, to a place he knew well from his childhood.

.OoOoO.

Finally catching sight of the little straw 'house', Natsu collapsed inside and broke down. Bawling his eyes out, he shook the ground beneath him with several punches.

"LISANNA!" he called out to thin air, "COME BAAAACK! LISANNA! LISANNA! LISANNA!"

Panting and gasping for breath, the Dragon Slayer grit his teeth in frustration.

"Why…why did you have to die…Lisanna…I was supposed to tell you…"

Staring at the cold ground, Natsu realized it again.

The one who had believed everything he said…

"I heard that you were raised by a dragon! That's amazing!"

The one who encouraged and helped everyone with nothing wanted in return…

"I'm visiting the grave of Elf-niichan's parakeet."

"He really loved that parakeet."

The one with a pure white heart…

"When I grow up, can I be your bride?"

She was gone.

"Well, we all have to die someday, right?"

Clutching his pink head, in a mixture of tears, snot and rubble, Natsu screamed for his love.

.OoOoO.

~Two years later…

Wearily searching for his foster father- following rumors of a so-called salamander-Natsu and Happy entered Hargeon. A man undergoing the name of 'Salamander' was crowded by countless young women.

After somewhat figuring out that the man was most definitely not Igneel, Natsu spied a blonde girl coming toward him.

"Thanks for saving me."

This girl…she was pretty…

"I'm Lucy! It's nice to meet you!"

And kind…

"Um…Natsu and Happy, was it?"

Almost like…her.

In his head, Natsu laughed a sick, twisted laugh.

This Lucy…she would be her replacement.

Because he needed someone to love again.

Because shewas already gone.

.OoOoO.

A/N: And thus starts the cliché stories of which Natsu loves Lucy, and once Lisanna comes back, Lucy feels replaced, and that's what she is in this story.

Thank you for reading.

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