Natsu x Reader: Foresaken Pt.3 (alternate ending)

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A/N: Thank you to @max_corn for the request!

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When the search group found the small cabin, there was only one sound - Natsu's cries. Nobody knew what to expect, but once they found the scene in the bedroom, it all came together. There she was, finally found. Just...gone. Nobody could bear to look at the scene for more than a couple of seconds. Least of all Natsu. But at the same time, he couldn't look away. That was the person who meant the most to him. And she was gone. And what's worse? They had no idea what happened. All they knew was that she disappeared six years ago, and by the state of her body, it looked like that's also how long she had been dead.

After Natsu was able to finally pry his eyes off the graphic scene, he stumbled into the living room and sat on the couch as he cried. The cries turned into frustrated screams before he went quiet.

"Natsu, I'm so sorry," Lucy tried.

"I wasn't here for her. I promised that I'd never leave her alone, and...and I did."

"It wasn't your fault," Gray defended. "You had no choice in how long we were stuck there."

"I just wanted her to know that I would never abandon her like that, but that's all she thought for a year."

His feet took him back to the bedroom, taking in the scene once again. Hands turned white from the clenched fists he held, and tears continued to flood down his cheeks.

"She's gone," he repeated. "She's gone."

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After that day, Natsu had refused to go on any requests, which means that he was lucky he didn't have rent to pay. No money came to him without jobs, but he didn't seem to care. He wasn't eating much these days anyway, so why bother with a food budget?

Everyone tried their best to be supportive, but they couldn't even begin to figure out how much it hurt. She was the person he held dearest. He loved her with all his heart, and she was torn away from him.

And what's worse? Knowing that she thought that she had been abandoned again. That's why she was out on the request in the first place - she was trying to forget. It didn't end well, but if everyone was being honest, they kind of knew that. Numerous search parties were put together while the Tenrou Team was missing, both for them and for her. Everyone came up empty on both searches.

The dragon slayer refused to talk to anyone about the situation. Everyone could tell how he was feeling, but they also had no idea what he was feeling at the same time. It was devastating, and Natsu held onto that guilt.

On most days, Natsu would sit at the same table that they would all sit at. Completely silent, completely fine with it being quiet, completely content that there wasn't a fight happening. He would sit at the same table that was used when they would come into the guildhall. It was Team Natsu's original table, but nobody wanted to sit here anymore. Natsu wouldn't let go of those memories, so he sat in the same place where she would be right by his side.

There wasn't a day when they would be separated for more than an hour. It was her fear of abandonment that was to blame, but Natsu didn't mind in the slightest. He would always be there to reassure her that she wouldn't be left alone.

How stupid of a promise that was.

Natsu refused to let go over her, desperately clinging to the memories that they had made together. All the weekends just laying in bed, all of the requests that they went on, all of the walks in the park, all of the stargazing...everything.

So when the new member of the guild appeared, he hated her. That same (H/C) hair, the same sparkling (E/C) eyes. Same height, same posture. Hell, her clothes even resembled her. This new member smiled brightly as she introduced herself to Makarov. Natsu was the first to notice her, and for a couple of seconds, his heart jumped, tricking itself into thinking that she had finally returned and that it was all just a dream.

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