***3RD PERSON POV***
Gray bursts through the room, wide eyed and shouts. "Katsumi is gone!" He shouts as they all freeze in their spots. "She's not in the room at all!"
"What?!" Erza exclaims, slamming her hands on the table. "Where could she have gone at this time of night?!"
Lucy then pats Erza's shoulder, attempting to calm her down. "We need to focus on finding her first. She could be in some serious trouble."
Natsu nods seriously. "We need to go. Now."
The group agrees and sprints out of the hotel, panic striken.
"So where to now?" Lucy questions, glancing around. "She could be anywhere..."
"We'll all split up." Erza orders as the group nods furiously. "Whenever one of us finds Katsumi, we'll send a signal up into the sky, so pay attention."
"Hai!"
"Split!"
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Gray rushes off to the field, where he thinks Katsumi would be training or daydreaming. His mind was full of possible circumstances. A shadowed body was seen in the distance by a cresent shaped tree as his mind was filled with worry.
"Katsumi!" He screams, running towards the young girl's body. "Katsumi! Can you hear me?!" He questions worryingly.
He places his hand on her forehead and quickly widens his eyes. 'She's much too cold...'
"H-hey Katsumi, hang in there!" Gray shouts, summoning an ice bow. "Ice Arrows!" He shouts, shooting up towards the sky. The arrows explode in a firework style as Gray strips off his shirt and wraps it tightly around Katsumi.
"Katsumi... Wake up please..." Gray practically begs, as soft crystals begin to rain down. "Katsumi... Say something... [I'm giving up on you XD]"
Katsumi, hearing a familiar voice from the darkness in her mind, wretches her eyes open just a crack. "Gray..." She croaks, followed by a series of violent coughs.
"Katsumi!" Gray exclaims, hugging the sick girl close to his bare chest. Blood rushes to his face but he doesn't care. " Katsumi, you made everyone worry, you know?"
Katsumi slowly blinks and snuggles closer to Gray's chest. "G-gomen...G-gray..." She stutters from her chattering teeth.
"O-oi! Are you cold?!" Gray exclaims, as Katsumi shakes her head weakly. "Katsumi you're freezing..."
"I-I'm... Not c-cold..." She whispers, closing her dull blue eyes. "Not... Cold..."
"What happened?" Gray asks quietly, stroking her golden hair softly. "You don't have to say."
"Snake... Cold... Daishi..." She whispers in a rasp voice, shivering slightly. "I... I was.. Careless."
Gray hugged her close, not letting any space get between them. "It's alright. Okay? I'm here for you, Katsu-chan."
"Gray..." Katsumi says in a soft voice. "Arigatou, Gray..."
Her breathing heightens as she starts to breathe more raggedly. Gray senses it on his bare chest as he starts to cradle Katsumi for warmth.
"Stay with me, Katsu-chan." He growls softly. "I couldn't live without you..."
"Gray!" A loud voice errupts from the other end of the field. "We saw your signal!"
"Erza! Over here!" Gray shouts away from Katsumi's ears. "She's freezing!"
"Katsu-chan!" Natsu shouts worryingly. "Did you warm her up, ice princess?!"
"Baka! Of course I did! I wouldn't let her freeze to death!" Gray argues back, holding Katsumi protectively.
"Enough!" Lucy screams, growing a tick mark. "Katsumi is here, freezing to death, and you two are bickering about it!"
"Lucy's right." Erza says in a serious tone. "We have to take Katsumi back to the hotel."
"Okay, I'll carry her." Gray says in a serious tone as well. Happy whirls around Gray with a teasing tone.
"He likes her~ He likes her~"
Gray attempts to avoid any trace of him blushing. Good thing it was dark out, for his cheeks were as pink as Natsu's hair.
"Are you sure she isn't too heavy?" Erza asks. "I can carry her if you wish."
"Psh, I think Erza feels like Katsumi isn't safe with that pervert over there." Natsu snickers while Erza death glares at Natsu.
Lucy sweat drops and smiles. 'For some reason I think that's true...'
Gray blinks before smirking. "You think I have no muscle like flame brain over there? Think again."
"So~" Happy mews happily. "Is she lighter then Lucy?"
Lucy glares at Happy with clenched fists. "Urusai-ne Happy."
Happy shrinks back behind a laughing Natsu.
"She isn't heavy at all. She feels as light as a snowflake." Gray says with a tint of pink brushing his cheeks.
"Awww~" Lucy cooe's/fangirls. "That's so adorable!"
Erza subtly nods in agreement.
"O-oi! Urusai."
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***TIME SKIP***
"Oi! Katsumi! You should be resting in bed!" Gray scolds as Katsumi rubs her eyes. "You're supposed to rest!"
Katsumi blinks before blushing, remembering the events of last night. "A-ah. I feel better now, so I have decided to help."
Katsumi steps forward to the bathroom before bumping into Gray, who blocks her path. "Gray?"
"Are you sure you're feeling better?" Gray questions seriously. "You were sick just a night ago."
"If it weren't for you Gray..." She says softly, her eyes softening a bit. "I wouldn't have gotten better so quickly, so thank you."
She hugs Gray very loosely as Gray hugs her tight.
Blushes spread onto both of their cheeks before breaking apart.
"U-um, so I'm going to get ready!" Katsumi says energetically. "Wait for me, alright?"
"Hai." Gray says, leaning against a wall.
In a few minutes, Katsumi was out and wearing her usual outfit. T-shirt with fingerless gloves and shorts. Her golden blonde hair was tied up in a high pony tail.
"Yosh! Let's go Gray!" Katsumi cheers excitedly. "We have to meet Erza and the rest outside right?"
Gray nods hesitantly. "Yeah."
The two walk out of the hotel and are greeted by the three other members and a flying cat.
"Katsumi, you look better this morning." Erza smiles warmly. "Are you still okay to do this mission?"
"Of course boss!" Katsumi mock salutes with a silly grin. "I'm not at a hundred percent, but I'm sure that I'm qualified to do this mission!"
Erza grins. "Good. We'll be going into three sections. Natsu and Lucy, Gray and Katsumi, and myself." Erza explains, pointing to a small map of the forest sections. "I will take the middle, Katsumi and Gray will go left, and Natsu and Lucy will go right, understood?"
"Aye!" Happy mews.
"Hai." Everyone choruses.
"Good, now let's split!"
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A:N
Hey! Sorry for the short chapter! I hope you liked the little 'affection' moment!
I don't know about you guys, but I found that little scene kawaii =//^//=
But yeah, I hope you liked this little chapter continuation.
Any comments? Drop them in the box!
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I would really appreciate it!
Arigatou gozanimasu minna!
-AwkwardzUmbreon :3