The Real You

Over and Over

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong To Hiro Mashima

Chapter 2: Over and Over

I feel it every day, it's all the same
It brings me down but I'm the one to blame
I've tried everything to get away
So here I go again, chasing you down again
Why do I do this?

Over and Over - Three Days Grace

Gray stood at the entrance of his house trying to figure out where to go. He very much doubted that Natsu would have taken the train, it gave him motion sickness and if he was planning on getting away he would probably evade places that would be easily reached through the train system.

Yes, the more he thought about it the more he thought that Natsu would have walked. Where would he have gone to? What place would he have felt comfortable enough to escape to? Here was the problem, Natsu walked more than any of them. He knew large parts of Fiore like the back of his hand. He knew the woods and the mountains too. Would he leave Fiore?

That thought gave Gray pause, could Natsu really leave all of them behind? He thought back to the way the Fire Dragon Slayer had been acting since the accident and with a heavy heart came to the conclusion that he very well might.

'You idiot, don't you realize we need you?' Gray thought, full of regret at how his inaction had allowed Natsu to plummet so far from his usual self , 'I need you.'

West, he would head west. There were plenty of mountains and woods and it was far away from the trains. For a moment he wondered whether he should go get Erza. He would be traveling by himself in dangerous parts of the country, ambushes were not uncommon and he would not have Natsu with him to sniff out danger. A drunk Erza was still better than nothing.

No, he'd go by himself this time. If he didn't find the Flame Brain, he would sober Erza up himself. He would start with the mountain range behind Crocus. He walked out of town worried, but refusing to believe that Natsu would even consider taking his own life.

Gray returned to Magnolia in defeat two weeks later. He looked and smelled dreadful, gaunt and sporting a full beard from having spent two weeks exploring the mountains. Food sources were scarce and there weren't many places to bathe. He went straight to the guild to get some food and walked straight into an angry looking Erza.

"How dare you?" Erza yelled at him.

Gray looked at her, tired and confused as to why she was angry with him.

"Mira, please get him some food." Erza barked at the bar maid as she grabbed Gray by the arm and shoved him into a seat at a nearby table. Gray noticed that she deliberately picked a different table from the one their team had always sat.

Once they had sat down, Erza's anger gave way to tears and all Gray could think was 'Shit! I made Erza cry. Flame Breath is going to kill me!'

But of course he wouldn't, he'd left them all behind. Too strong to be broken by the Council but too weak to ask his friends for help.

"When I snapped out of it, both you and Natsu were gone and no one knew where." Erza spoke through her tears. "I was all alone."

"I'm sorry, Erza." Gray said, debating whether he should hug the requip mage."I was trying to bring him back."

"Did you find him?" Erza asked even though she knew the answer. If Gray had found Natsu he would have brought him back, kicking and screaming if he had to.

Gray shook his head. "I'm going to go take a quick shower before Mira gets here with food."

Fifteen minutes later he returned to the table feeling much better. He ate a meal that Natsu would have been proud of and told Erza of his search. He had been ambushed several times by bandits and although he had gotten away he had been injured before he got to the mountains. He had still searched every cavern, cave, hollow tree and anywhere else he thought Natsu might have hidden. He had stopped in town and asked every vendor and everyone he could think of if they had seen Natsu, no one had.