Uhh, I'm sorry... If you didn't read the bonus (chapter posted before this one) I recommend that you at the least scan over it or else you will most likely be confused in this.
A lot of people wanted it, sooo...
Natsu is now a real member of the family!
Shh, it's a fanfiction, I can do it.
Nobody needs to know...
~Departed~
Something that is gone, or happened in the distant past.
~No one's P.O.V~
"Not much of a dancer I suppose?" The fairy hummed to himself, his feet barely making contact with the large flower he had levitated down on, "I'm actually not that surprised." The soft voice came once more.
"It's not that." Y/n admitted, opening her closed eyes to look up at the sky that was filled with fairies dancing with one another, "I just didn't want to disturb anyone."
She nodded towards the sky, where several Fairies danced happily with one another, flying above the ground amongst the twinkling stars. Some were dancing so high up that it seemed they had turned small, which made Y/n smile.
"Well then," A smile took its place on the male's lips, his bare feet lightly stepping on the large flower till he stood in Y/n's view from the dancing Fairies. He held a hand down to the girl, his other on his hip, "May I get this dance, M'Queen?" He asked, his eyes lightening up when she moved her arm from behind her head to take ahold of his soft hand, "You may, M'King."
The male pulled Y/n up, his long hair swaying as he did so. Y/n's feet slowly lifting from the flower. Her unoccupied hand went to his bare shoulder instinctively once her feet no longer had any surface to stand on.
"This still feels weird." Y/n laughed, looking down below her to find nothing under her feet. She looked back up at the Fairy carrying her higher into the air, "It's really different from when I'm flying myself."
Gloxinia smiled lovingly down at Y/n, adjusting his hand in hers to pull her closer, letting go of her hand when he had pulled it above his shoulder before his other hand went to wrap around her lower back. Y/n allowed her arm to wrap around his neck, being careful as to not pull on his long, red hair, "It is quite Magical, isn't it?"
His other hand went around her waist as well, holding her close as they slowly twirled in the air. The laughs and talks of the Fairies buzzing in the background.
Gloxinia leaned his head down to place his forehead against his hers. His hands tightened a bit around her, his body filling with a pleasant warmth as his large wings fluttered with joy. He hummed, hands caressing her sides, "You're doing great."
"It's not that hard when there's no steps." Y/n replied in a low voice. Almost scared to disturb the peace between the two, his fellow Fairies, and the night.
A pain rushed through Y/n's arm, making her grit her teeth. A pang hit her chest and she pulled slightly away from the Fairy to look into his ember eyes. His eyebrows furrowed lightly as she spoke, "Gloxinia... This... This is only make believe, right? That the two of us..."
"Oh..." Gloxinia swallowed, slowly lowering the both of them to the ground. The Fairies that danced around them had seemed to disappear and the once colourful forest now looked cold to the two of them.
Once her feet were just above the ground, Gloxinia let go of the girl. Her feet touched the ground the second after. Gloxinia crossed his arms over his chest, "Tell me, Y/n," He began, slowly lowering himself, "What are your real feelings?" He asked, his feet landing on the ground.
As if scared, Y/n backed up a bit, "Feelings?" She asked, biting her bottom lip. Despite not seeing anyone, she felt like there were so many eyes on her, waiting for her response.
"What do you feel?" He asked, slowly walking forward to keep the girl that walked further away from him close. When she didn't respond, he took his own guesses, "Happiness? Sadness?" The girl didn't speak, she only glanced down briefly before looking back at the Fairy King, "Jealousy?" He took another guess, tilting his head a bit.
"Jealousy?" She narrowed her eyes, "Meliodas." She could've sworn she heard rustling in the bushes. But it wouldn't be Meliodas. He wasn't supposed to be back just yet. But, then again, he wasn't always one for keeping the plan.
"Anger?" Gloxinia questioned, to which Y/n copied, "Anger...?" From within the forest, she heard a stick snap, making her snap her head to the side, "The Demon King." The name came out as a mutter.
Gloxinia halted in his steps, ember eyes filled with hope staring at the side of her face, "Love?"
Y/n was taken aback. Her lips poked out to lick her dry lips as she frowned a bit, turning her head back to give the Fairy in front of her a questioning look, "Love?"
He gave a nod, standing his ground, "Love."
Y/n's exhale came out hesitantly as she slowly began to shake her head, "Never heard of it."
"I think you have, Y/n." Gloxinia nodded, walking towards the girl that had stopped moving with slow steps, "I would say that you've felt it yourself. For something or... Someone."
Shaking her head, Y/n took three steps forward, standing right in front of the Fairy. She glanced down at her bandaged arm before leaning in, her lips grazing his ear, "Never." She pulled away, looking into his eyes, "Even the sound of it offends me."
"Y/n..." His hand reached up to cup her cheek, but she recoiled, backing away quickly, "Why do you spoil everything?!" She asked, manoeuvring in between the trees, mushrooms, large flowers and leaves, "I'm your friend! We have fun like that, don't we?! What's beyond that?!"
"There's so much more!" Gloxinia replied, finding himself to freeze in his spot when Y/n had returned in front of him within a second, a hand on the trunk of the tree beside him to lean on it, "What?" She almost spat, "What else is there?" She asked, and for the first time. Y/n had a look in her eyes that pleaded for him to tell her. For him to help her find the way she needed to go the way he had helped so many others.
"I... I don't know." He responded, looking back into Y/n's searching eyes, "I think it'll get clearer with time."
"Well, I don't have time!" She resorted, backing away before turning her back, "I don't have time to just sit around!"
"Y/n. Y/n, where are you going?!" Gloxinia shouted after the girl.
"You stay here with your feelings!" Y/n shouted before leaping into a tree, "I'm going home!"
"Y/n!" The Fairy shouted after her, looking amongst the large trees that she leaped from, only to find her figure gone, "Y/n, come back!"
Y/n closed her eyes, exhaling as she used a stick to push the burning wood around. She opened her eyes once more. The fire reflecting in her eyes, "I'm sorry Gloxinia." Her empty hand came to rest in her right arm, "I miss you, y'know."
~No one's P.O.V~
"Cap'n..." Ban's mutter came as he walked towards the blonde with his hands in his pockets. The Dragon Sin of Wrath had been waiting for him as he promised, on the mountain behind the Boar Hat, "Sorry to keep you-"
"Hey, Ban!" Hawk's voice cut him, making him open his eyes. Scarlet eyes soon widened at the crowd of people standing behind Meliodas, talking to one another with excitement yet a hint of fear, "You're the only one who's late to this party!"
"We've been waiting for you, Slowpoke." King muttered from his spot on his pillow.
"I just love a good festival!" Diane cheered from beside the Fairy, throwing her hands up above her head.
"I don't know what to do, I have the chills!" Gilthunder claimed, his body overflowing with excitement, "Oh, yeah, that's right! You missed the last Fighting Festival, didn't ya?"
Ban's eyes narrowed at the crowd, irritation filling them, "Damn it, Cap'n! Just what in the hell is going on here?! What's with all these freaking spectators?!" The Sin roared at his Captain, glaring at the blond.
He simply shrugged, "Don't ask me, I don't know." He looked back at the crowd, "I mean, by the time I got here, they were already whooping it up." He excused.
"How in the world did they-" Ban cut himself off, his breath coming to a halt for a second, "Hey!" He glared right back at the pink boar on Elizabeth's shoulder, "Master! This is your doing! You were listening in on my conversation with the Cap'n, weren't you?!" He shouted across the field.
"Sure, it's a fight after all. What could be better than having an audience cheering you on?" The boar reasoned, not taking the man seriously.
"How dare you try and turn my fight into some kinda damn festival?!" The male roared at the boar, making the third princess of Liones speak up.
"Sir Ban! I beg you, please don't be hard on Hawk!" She pleaded with the Sin of Greed, "When he heard you two discussing it, he asked all of us to come and watch! Because to Hawk and the rest of us, you and Meliodas ar-"
"Elizabeth..." Hawk cut the girl off, making her look down towards him on her shoulder, "At this point there's no need for you to spell it out for him, you know?"
"Fox Sin of Greed, Ban... Have you forgotten?" Another voice spoke up, earning Ban's attention as well as his glare, "As it clearly states in the Seven Deadly Sins' Seven Codes, Article Six." Merlin spoke loudly for everyone to hear, walking forward from her spot amongst the crowd, " 'Any fight to the death between fellow Sins must be stopped by the other Sins, working in concert.' " As she spoke, the three other Sins, Gowther, Diane and King all readied themselves, "In other words, if you and the Captain here are planning to fight to the death for real... Then the four of us will have to use all our might to stop you!"
"So it's like that, huh?" Ban's hands slowly clenched into fists from irritation, his left eye twitching, "Hey, Merlin! I dare you to say that again!"
Merlin held Ban's intense eyes with her own, not even blinking when she replied, "We'll stop you."
Ban's lips pulled into a grin, "Sounds like fun." At the statement, the crowd gasped, hearts speeding up and fear filling some of them. They didn't come to die!
"But..." Ban closed his eyes, opening them shortly after. Truth be told, he didn't want to kill his friend nor did he wish for Y/n to come for his neck, and he knew she would damn try!
"Right now, my only business is with the Cap'n. So you gawkers can shut up and back off!" He exhaled through his nose, "You could've saved all the fuss! I'm not planning on fighting to the death!"
Elizabeth exhaled, relieved with the news.
"The Seven Deadly Sins' Seven Codes, Article Five." Ban mentioned, making the Mage in purple nod to herself, " 'Any bad blood between fellow Sins must be settled through a fight,' huh?" She lifted her hand up, two fingers in front of her face, "Very well then, now we won't do anything uncivilised."
"Woaw, who knew we had a code like that?" Meliodas questioned, furrowing his brows.
"You were the one who thought it up, Cap'n!" King yelled from the crowd.
"In that case, if you're going to fight... Then do it no-holds-barred." She flickered her wrist downwards, "Perfect Cube!" In a second, the two Sins were lifted above the ground, looking down below to the ground from within the Perfect Cube.
"This thing is amazing!" Meliodas claimed, a large grin on his face.
"Now you can both brawl to your hearts' content without having to worry about collateral damage." The Mage looked over her shoulder to the crowd behind her, "Not to mention, we can sit back and watch with no fear."
"Alright then," Ban gestured for Meliodas to come at him, "Come at me, Cap'n! Bring it on!"
"All righty!" Meliodas nodded, jumping in place while in his fighting stance, "I'm not holding back, okay?" His lips pulled into a small smirk, "Ready?!" And he charged forward, standing in front of Ban in an instant.
~No one's P.O.V~
Taking a deep breath, Y/n walked slowly in a circle with her hand holding the blue fire. Inhaling, the flame dimmed down. Exhaling, the flame grew larger and brighter.
It was a familiar feeling in her hand, the burning hot feeling that made sweat fill her palm. Pushing her palm forward, the flame followed, catching onto the high grass that quickly burned down into nothing.
Soon, the girl stood in a large circle burned into the ground, a blue flame in her hand. She took a deep breath, sending one fireball out right above her before swiftly kicking the air twice, sending two mirrored flames into the sky as well, making all three of them collide, it almost looked like fireworks. The glimmering embers from the fire slowly falling down around her and a sleeping Yakul, lightening up the night.
She stepped out from the circle, watching as the embers fell the exact spot she wished for.
Today was the Day of the Departed, the day to honour those who you had lost along the way and who meant the world to you.
And she had lost so many.
Y/n hadn't been prepared to fight once she arrived in the small human town close to her home to retrieve Natsu from his date with Lucy, the blonde girl he had grown to like quite a lot, so when she entered the town to find it being taken over by savages, she panicked.
Natsu. Natsu. Natsu. She had to find her pink headed little brother - Who technically had grown to look older than herself.
And she did, she found him tied to the fountain in the plaza along with other villagers. It held Magical properties or so Natsu had told her after he had attempted to burn through the chains himself, ending up unsuccessful.
She had moved towards the fountain when a man leaped down from the rooftop of the small shop beside her, nearly cutting her head off with his blade.
Y/n's lips pulled into a smile as she dodged with a roll, easily picking the other blade strapped to his hip. Now, she stood in front of a grown man and it took her a solid minute to recognise who he was.
The man before her had been rumoured to take Dragons of all sorts down. To slaughter them in seconds despite his rather small figure. It was nothing but a rumour of course, but the man had been a nuisance recently, trying to get into the Dragons' land to hunt them down.
Y/n had been the one to keep him out.
"You wanna go?" The girl's grin widened as she asked, the blade held ready in her hand as she stared at the man across from her.
He had slightly curly black hair reaching his shoulders, covering his left eye slightly. His light brown eyes narrowed at her, his lips pulling slightly up into a snarl.
"Let's go!" She laughed, jumping at the man with a glint of amusement in her eyes as he blocked her blade with his own, "Not bad! For an old man!" She laughed, jumping when he went in for another hit with his blade, "I know what you are!"
"I'm the best there ever was!" Y/n laughed blocking his blade before pushing it back, spinning before clashing their swords back against each other.
"You're a tragedy!" The man shouted as Y/n back flipped above him, feet landing on his back to kick him forward before landing on the ground, "Me? Tragedy?" She questioned with a confused look at the man on the ground.
However, when she went to make the final move, he spoke up, "He was leaving you!" That made Y/n freeze in an instance, her blade held tightly above her head, "Your brother... Was leaving you." Taking a hesitant step back, Y/n slowly lowered her sword.
"Why should he stay?" She looked over her shoulder to face Natsu, who had furrowed his brows, glancing towards Lucy. The Dragon Child lowered her eyes to their hands, seeing Natsu's fingers intertwined with hers, holding her shaking palm, "What do you have to offer?"
Y/n's eyes slowly lowered to the ground, her hold on the sword loosening.
"No! Y/n, don't liste-"
"You are... Incomplete!" Y/n barely had time to block the attack that came from the man with her sword that nearly slipped from her grasp. He pushed it back, holding his blade against hers, "He'd rather stay with the beings that hates you with every fiver in their bodies than be with you." He spat, pushing the girl back, she slid across the ground.
"Let's take a peek into the future, shall we?" The man smirked cockily at the girl as she got up, "What's this I see? Your brother in a nursery with a child... The door is locked... The window is shut."
Y/n charged at him, swords clanging against one another in a fury of attacks, "I'll open it!"
The man shook his head, holding her blade back with his own, "I'm afraid the window is barred."
"I'll call out his name!"
"He can't hear you."
"No!"
"He won't see you!"
"Natsu!"
"He's forgotten all about you."
"Stop!" Y/n pleaded, tears slowly filling her eyes, "Please stop it!" Swiftly, the man removed his blade, kicking her in the stomach. She rolled back, scrambling to sit up, blade still in hand as she panted.
"Y/n!" Natsu called out to get her attention, "You know that's not true! I would never forget about you! I wouldn't leave you! You're my family!"
The savage took slow, taunting steps towards her, "What is this I see?" He tilted his head a bit, playing around with his blade, "He's got a new family." She scrambled to stand up, "He doesn't need you anymore!" He went to deliver the final blow, which Y/n barely blocked with her sword, resulting in her losing her grip on it as well as falling to the ground, head first.
The fights around the town soon came to a stop when they saw the girl down on the ground. Shouts and yells came to a stop. Natsu's eyes widened when she didn't get up, "Y/N! What are you doing?! Move your butt!"
The man before her placed the tip of his sword beneath her chin. Y/n looked up, slowly, she worked her way up to stand with the blade at her throat. Once she fully stood, the man kicked her back into one of the beams supporting a booth, holding her throat in his hand shortly before using the blunt end of his sword to hit her head.
She hissed, hands shooting up to clench to her head as she allowed herself to fall to her knees. The man grabbed her hair, pulling her head back up to look at Natsu and the other villagers chained to the fountain, "You'll die alone... And unloved."
"Y/n..." Natsu whispered, seeing the blood clearly running down along the side of her face, "I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean for this to-" Before he was allowed to finish, the man shoved Y/n back down on the ground, the back of her head hitting first.
She glanced towards Natsu. Despite not being able to hear anything, she could clearly see that he was furious. He was shouting and screaming, trying to get out of the holds that tied him to place. A small smile found its way back on her lips.
She looked at the man above her, "Even so... Even forgotten... Locked out... Unable to reach him. I still get to watch through that window, don't I?" She exhaled, her breath shaky, "If Natsu's happy... I'll be okay with that." A tear slid from her eye, "But I won't let you be the one to take him away from me."
A furious roar sounded over the village, making the man snap his head up to see a black and blue scaled dragon looking down at him from the sky. Y/n smiled up at the Dragon above them, "Guess uncle thought I took too long!" She grinned as the Dragon readied one of his bright blue beams.
Before her, the embers had landed, forming the picture of a dragon with open wings in the grass. Y/n took a bow, "I miss you all, y'know?" She smiled, eyes tearing up a bit, "It's not the same without you, but I'll get through."
She bit her lip, "I'm sorry I couldn't visit you in the Necropolis, but Ban wanted to see Elaine... I didn't want to take that from him." She lifted her arm, covering her teary eyes as if she was scared someone would look down on her, "I have to go soon. I came out of hiding not too long ago, to help my friends... I don't know if it was the right decision." Wiping her eyes, she lowered her arm back down, "I'm pretty sure they'd do fine without me."
She grinned down at the mark burned into the ground, giggling lightly, "I don't regret it though! I missed them, all of them! And we're still one Sin down!" She nodded, "Hehe! I guess I'll see you next year!" With a sad yet somewhat satisfied smile, Y/n turned her back to retrieve Yakul and head back home.
He was quite fast after all.
~No one's P.O.V~
Back in Liones, the two Sins had been fighting to their hearts' content as Merlin had said, the Perfect Cube now filled up with a cloud of smoke that the crowd couldn't even see inside.
However, the sound of the Perfect Cube breaking would sound over the entire land of Liones. The dust cloud filled the area.
Merlin's eyes widened just a bit. Did she cancel it?
"The hell is this?" Y/n questioned, standing in the cloud of smoke with Ban and Meliodas held by the back of their necks. Meliodas by her right, Ban by her left, "Merlin, why'd you let these two fight, you are aware that they never know when to stop, right?"
"Perhaps." Merlin nodded in agreement, a slight smirk on her lips from the girl's sudden arrival, "But I don't recon agreeing to babysit."
"Okay," Y/n shook her head, dropping the males of their faces, "Merlin one, Y/n zero." She rubbed the back of her head, her eyes shooting around on the Sins, Holy Knights and other towns people that had come to watch the fight, "You've been at this for a long time, haven't you?" She asked, sidestepping to look back at Meliodas and Ban.
"Yeah." Meliodas spoke quickly, "We have." Ban added while lifting his arm above his eyes, letting the shadow of it fall above them to stop the sun's shine from blinding him.
"Idiots will forever be idiots I suppose." She shrugged before crossing her arms across her chest, her expression turning stern, "Show's over! There's nothing more to see here!" She then smiled, "Either go home or come by the Boar Hat for some of the best ale out there!" She winked at the crowd before turning on her heels, heading down the mountain.
Her smile faltered to a smaller one before she looked up at the sky, stars beginning to litter the purple-pinkish sky from where she was, "Seems like the Day of the Departed is coming to an end." She glanced from the Boar Hat to the mountain behind her where she could see people making their way down.
She dug her hands into her pockets, lifting her shoulders as she smiled, "I guess, it's time to look forward."
A burned down land surrounded the girl that silently cried against her father's head. His lifeless eyes still open and staring blankly. She clutched onto the side of his head, his sharp, red scales cutting her hands and cheeks ever so slightly.
"I'm sorry... I'm-I'm so sorry... I couldn't, I didn't-" She cut herself off with a sob that forced its way out, "I didn't want this t-o happen..."
That night.
That week.
That month.
That year.
The flames never burned out. They were burning fiercely and brighter than ever before. Because from that day, a girl mourned not only for her father, but her mother, for her pride, for her race.
Now gone, with their blood splattered across her body. It was all her fault.