Bonus Chapters every 200 Power Stones
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X791]
~ With Shisui ~
Shisui pointed at the tied-up kidnappers in the corner. "We had some uninvited guests while you were sleeping."
Natsu's eyes followed the gesture, taking in the four unconscious figures bound with rope. His gaze shifted to the beds where Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica lay unconscious but breathing steadily.
"What happened?" Natsu's voice had lost all its usual energy.
Shisui kept his explanation simple and direct. The kidnappers had entered and had probably knocked anyone awake unconscious. They then grabbed Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica but left Natsu alone. Shisui had arrived just in time to stop them from leaving. And now, the kidnappers were secured and no one was hurt.
Throughout the explanation, Natsu's face remained completely still. No anger, no surprise, nothing. When Shisui finished, Natsu gaze simply looked towards his hands resting on the bedsheets. Then, one of Natsu's hand slowly closed into a fist, clenching hard, before he suddenly punched himself in the face.
The impact echoed through the medical bay, though none of the unconscious people had woken up. Before Shisui could react, Natsu hit himself again on the other cheek. Then again. And again. Red marks bloomed across his face with each strike when the punching finally stopped.
"They were going to be kidnapped…" Natsu's voice came out small, almost broken. "While I laid asleep in the same room, doing nothing."
He raised his fist for another blow. But this time, Shisui appeared beside him and caught his wrist. Natsu pushed against the grip, trying to complete the punch, but Shisui's hand didn't move at all. They stayed frozen like that for several seconds before Natsu's arm went slack.
"Are you done?" Shisui asked softly as he released Natsu's wrist.
However, instead of replying to Shisui, Natsu's fingers dug into the bedsheets as his knuckles went white. That had given Shisui all the answer that he needed. Shisui sighed.
"It wasn't your fault, Natsu. You were still sick and recovering from the contest earlier. Nobody would have blamed yo-"
"It doesn't matter if the others blamed me!" Natsu's voice cracked as he shouted. "I would've blamed myself for letting them get taken from right under my nose! I'm supposed to be a Dragon Slayer! Yet..."
His voice dropped to a whisper. "Yet we almost lost them."
The room fell silent. Shisui understood just what Natsu was going through. The dragon slayer magic came with enhanced senses that should have detected intruders. The fact that he had slept through it all was eating at him.
"And yet the kidnappers failed." Shisui said simply.
"No thanks to me." Natsu's reply came out bitter.
Shisui crossed his arms. "Even if I wasn't around, you would've picked up their scents the moment you woke up. Your nose would have led you straight to them before they got far. So whether I saved them or you saved them doesn't really matter. What matters is that they're safe now, don't you think?"
Natsu didn't respond immediately. His shoulders, which had been tensed up near his ears, slowly lowered. The death grip on his bedsheets loosened. After a long, painful moment, he took a deep breath.
"You're right." His voice sounded more like himself again. "They're safe now. That's all that matters."
"Exactly."
"Thanks, Shisui. I needed to hear that."
A soft yawn interrupted them. Both men turned toward the sound as Wendy sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes with one small fist. She blinked a few times before her vision focused on them. "Oh? Shisui-san? What are you doing here?"
Shisui let out a mock sigh of defeat. "You know, you had the exact same reaction as Natsu when he woke up. Is this like a Dragon Slayer specific thing?"
Natsu burst out laughing at that, while Wendy tilted her head in confusion. Her gaze wandered around the room and landed on the tied-up kidnappers in the corner. The sight snapped her fully awake.
"What... what happened while I was sleeping?"
Before either of them could answer, movement came from the other beds. Carla's eyes fluttered open, followed shortly by Porlyusica's. Both of them sat up slowly, shaking their heads as if clearing fog.
"My head..." Carla muttered, pressing a paw to her temple.
"Sleeping magic…" Porlyusica said with certainty.
Once all three were fully alert, Shisui repeated his explanation. This time he included more details about how he'd sensed something wrong and arrived to find the kidnappers mid-argument.
Wendy's face went pale. "We were almost kidnapped…? If you hadn't been there..."
"Thank you for saving us." Carla said formally, though her voice shook slightly.
"Yes, we were talking about the matches when everything went dark." Porlyusica confirmed. "They must have used an area sleep spell."
Wendy wrapped her arms around herself. "But who would want to kidnap us? And why?"
"Raven Tail." Natsu's voice had gone cold. The name came out like a curse.
Shisui did not confirm nor deny Natsu's accusations, as he himself could not rule out the possibilities. But there was something else that had been eating away at his mind.
"There's something else."
He'd been turning the kidnappers' words over in his mind, and one detail kept standing out. "They said 'bring the girl who was in the infirmary'. Was. Past tense."
Carla's eyes widened. Porlyusica's expression turned grim.
"That means..." Carla started.
"None of us were the actual target," Porlyusica finished. "We were here currently, not in the past."
Shisui nodded. "Which means they were after someone who had been here before but left."
"Who else visited the infirmary recently?" Wendy asked. "Another woman, I mean."
The answer came to Natsu, Porlyusica and Carla all at once.
"Lucy…" Carla's voice came out as barely a whisper.
The room went quiet again, but this time it was a different kind of silence. Heavy and worried.
Shisui stood up. "We need to report this. I'll inform Master Makarov immediately. He'll decide our next move."
He then looked at Natsu. "Can you get the Royal Guards? They need to take these kidnappers into custody."
Natsu jumped out of bed immediately. "On it."
Natsu rushed out the door first, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Shisui waited, making sure the others were settled and calm. Only when Natsu returned with three guards in tow did Shisui prepare to leave.
He placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder. No words were spoken, but the message was clear: protect them.
Natsu gave a firm nod.
Shisui body flickered and vanished, leaving Natsu staring at empty air.
"That's so cool…" Wendy said quietly.
"Yeah." Natsu agreed, taking up position by the door. "He really is."
~ End of Chapter 114 ~
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