Bonus Chapter - Natsu's POV (Chapters 23 & 24)

I shiver from the winds that blow in the night. I really wish that I still had those fire powers I had in my last life because relying on just my body heat is the worst. I cross my arms around my body to create more warmth. I'm so cold.

I look at my phone. It is almost midnight.

Looks like I won't be able to find her again.

I sigh as I make my way back into the Fairy High dorms. I still need to do my homework when I get back. Well, I can just catch some sleep during class tomorrow. I always do that anyway. I'm more of a visual learner anyway, so the lectures do not help me much.

Making sure that the security guard is not watching, I climb over the fence that sets a barrier over my school and jump down into the property. I look at the guard again. Like I thought, he is sleeping on the job again. Seriously, someone should get him fired. But then again, because of him, I am able to escape so many times.

I quietly run over to my dorm building and tap on the window of my room. The window opens and a hand sticks out. The curtains open. It is my roommate Rogue Cheney.

"You're finally back, Natsu?" he says. "Geez, who are you looking for all the time for you to be out so late every day?"

I shrug as I take his hand. He pulls me up, helping me climb into the window. Students at Fairy High aren't supposed to be leaving school property after six o'clock in the afternoon without permission, but I break that rule every night. Luckily, I got a room on the first floor, so it is pretty easy to sneak in and out. That lazy guard really helps too.

I yawn as I grab my homework papers. Time for work.

"Hey," Rogue says with a worried face. "Why don't you take a nap? Your grades are high enough! So just take a night's rest, okay?"

"I can't," I reply. "If I don't stay in the top ten, my parents will force me to go back to the countryside."

I was born in the countryside, but to find her, I need to be in the city. Fiore is the biggest city in this country, so being accepted into this prestigious school was my ultimate goal since I was a child. Also, she is really smart. At least in her past life, she was. So since Fiore High is famous for only accepting the best out of the best, there is a high chance that she may attend this school someday.

Rogue goes to sleep earlier than me like usual. I turn on my dim lamp so I don't disturb him and continue to do my work.

"Hey, Natsu!" Rogue exclaims. "Wake up! It's time for school!"

"Huh?" I say with a yawn. I look at my phone. It is seven o'clock. "There's still thirty more minutes," I grumble. I put my bed sheets over my head and attempt to go back to sleep.

"Natsu!" Rogue says angrily. "You know that Mr. Clive has been pissed at you because you always come late! What if he lowers your math grade? He did threaten to do that before, remember?"

Lower my grade? My eyes widen. Holy crap. No. Immediately, I jump out of my bed. I grab my uniform and begin to change my clothes. I grab my bag and headphones and brush my teeth at the same time. Then Rogue and I run to the school canteen to grab breakfast. Some of my friends are already there.

"Morning Natsu," my friend Erza says. She is the dorm head. Sometimes she catches me in the middle of the night sneaking back. She is the scariest person I ever met in my life.

"Morning Erza," I reply with a yawn. I go grab some bread and wave bye to my friends. I want to get to class early so I can take a nap on my desk. This cafeteria is too loud.

I plop my head on my desk once I get inside my classroom. To block the noise outside, I put my headphones on.

"Natsu, wake up!" someone nudges me awake.

"Huh?" I sit up and stretch my limbs. Then I look up. It is Rogue. "Is class over?" I ask.

"Yeah," Rogue replies. "It's lunch now. Let's head to the cafeteria to meet the others."

I stand up and walk with Rogue. We find our usual table. Erza is already there, early as usual. But there is someone missing.

"Juvia isn't here today?" Rogue says. "She's usually here before us."

"She said that she wanted to invite a classmate," Erza replies. "So she'll be late."

Oh, a classmate? If it were a transfer or something, I would be interested, but this school is so small, so I already know of any old ordinary classmate of Juvia and everyone else. I put on my headphones and lay on the table. I am too tired to stay awake. Last night, I slept at four a.m. and I am still not recovered. It's bad for a daily habit, but I need to find her, as soon as possible.

Ah… Things would be so much easier if she could just magically appear before me. Haha, realistically speaking, maybe come to Fairy High as a transfer.

"Hey! Natsu!" I hear Rogue shout, shaking my shoulder. "Come on, lunch is going to end soon and you're not going to introduce yourself to the new kid?"

Ugh, why won't he ever let me sleep? I yawn and straighten my back, sitting up. I take off my headphones, resting them on my shoulders. I stretch my arms and crack my neck. Lying on desks isn't the most comfortable position, but it is better than getting no sleep at all.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Time for you to introduce yourself to the new transfer!" Erza scolds, pointing to the other side of the table. "Now if you actually slept on time instead of running off every night, you wouldn't be sleeping during lunch every day!"

Transfer? Could it be…? No, I am bringing my hopes up. There is no way that she would just appear before me that easily.

"Okay, okay," I say, a bit annoyed. I turn to look over at where she is pointing. "Geez, Erza. You're such a-" I make eye contact with the girl in front of me. I take a deep breath. No way.

No way.

I try to speak, but it feels as though something is stuck in the back of my throat.

She looks exactly the same as when I first met her. Her blond hair. Her brown eyes that I could stare into for ages. She is the same. There is no mistaking it. I know for sure that it is her.

"Lu… cy?" I say.

The girl looks at me in shock. "Y-Yeah," she says, scratching the back of her head. Even her voice sounds the same. "That's my name! How'd you know?"

"You," I manage to choke out. "It's you."

"Huh?" she says. Her face is full of bewilderment.

My heart drops. Oh yeah… I had forgotten. She has no memories of me. It was expected, but it still hurts. All those moments in our past life, she had forgotten every detail. Now I am only a stranger to her.

Losing my memories sounds scary, I remember Lucy saying. But I believe in you, Natsu. I believe that you can help me remember all the times we spent together. All the moments that we treasured in this life. So… I'm not afraid.

I shake my head and slap my cheeks. No, I need to stop thinking about this. I promised her… I promised Lucy that I would recover her memories. Well, to start off, I should make myself sound less stalker-like and more of a… new friend I guess.

"N-no, nothing!" I say with a laugh. "S-Sorry! I must have sounded like a creep! I just heard about you from some other people in the halls, saying that there was this new student, haha!"

The girl raises one of her eyebrows. I can tell that she is not convinced, but maybe she would let me off for now. I gulp.

"Um… I'm Lucy Heartfilia," she says awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."

"Lucy Heartfilia," I say. Even her name is exactly the same. Oh yeah, I should introduce myself. "Ah! I'm Natsu Dragneel, a senior."

The bell begins to ring, signaling the end of lunch.

"Come on, Lucy!" Juvia exclaims. "Mr. Makarov gets in a horrible mood if anyone is late!"

Lucy quickly grabs her things and runs off with Juvia out of the cafeteria. But, without thinking, I stop her, grabbing her wrist.

"W-Wait!" I shout.

She turns around, meeting her brown eyes with mine again.

Oh crap, I didn't think this far ahead. Why did I even grab her? Now she is going to think that I am a creep or stalker for sure. I am so dead. Suddenly, I remember that annual festival that is happening today at Fiore. Maybe if I bring her there, she could recover some memories. I doubt it, but I already got myself in such an awkward situation. This wouldn't make that much of a difference in awkwardness, right?

"If you don't mind, do you want to hang out sometime?" I ask. I can feel my face getting redder. Her eyes seem to pierce through me. I cover my red face with my arm. This is so embarrassing. Everyone in the cafeteria is watching too.

"Uh, I mean like after school," I add on. "Like um… I can walk you to your dorm! Or we could get a drink together…"

Lucy's mouth goes into a little o. She smiles. "Sure!" she exclaims. "Thanks so much!"

Pew. I am so relieved. Thank goodness she didn't reject me. "No problem," I say.

I look at Lucy again. I remember some distant memories. It would really be great if she could recover her memories of me. Pretending to be a stranger to her is so hard when all I want to do is wrap her in my arms.

"Here," suddenly, I hear her say. Crap, was I spacing out again?

"You seem to be spacing out a lot," she says. "So this may wake you up."

Huh? I look at her hand. In it is a can of coffee. I recognize this brand from the school's vending machine. I let go of her wrists and take the coffee, accidentally touching her fingers. Her fingers are so warm compared to the cold coffee drink. I haven't felt her hands in a long time. I make a soft smile. They felt the same as they always did.

I look over at Lucy. Huh? Is it just me, or is her face really red?

"Hurry up, Lucy!" Juvia shouts. "We'll be late!"

"Okay!" she shouts back. She begins to run back to her.

"I'll wait for you after school!" I yell.

She looks back at me and nods. Then she turns around. I watch her back go farther and farther away.

I turn back and get my things. Rogue nudges me with a smirk. "What was that?" he says, teasing. "Got a crush on the transfer?"

"S-Stop!" I hiss. "Well… I guess you could say that."

"Eh?" Rogue says, trying to hold back his laughter. "Well, I do agree that she is pretty cute."

I glare at him.

"Don't worry," he says with a laugh. "I'm not aiming for her, relax!"

Rogue and I get our backpacks and begin to walk to our next class. On our way, I see a group of girls crowded in a corner. There is one in the center. Maybe it is a short club meeting. One of the girls spots me. "It's Natsu!" she shouts.

Instantly, all the girls turn to me and wave with a smile. "Hi Natsu!" they all say.

Ah, I remember that Rogue did mention that a few girls made some kind of fan club for me. I wave back, but I do feel a bit awkward.

"Wow, popular much," Rogue says with a laugh.

"Shut up," I say as we walk into class.

I get up once I hear that bell ring. I grab my backpack and jump out of my seat. I remember Erza mentioning that Lucy, the new transfer, was Juvia's classmate, so I run over to Juvia's classroom. It is pretty awkward for a senior like me to walk through the junior side of the school, but people seem to be pretty nice, especially girls, waving to me as I pass.

I reach the classroom and I tap on a random student's shoulder nearby.

"Hey," I say. "Can you call out the new transfer kid for me?"

"Sure," he replies. "Hey, transfer!"

A girl in blond turns around. It is Lucy. Whew, I got the right classroom.

The boy points to me. "This guy is looking for you."

Lucy looks over at me. Her face turns slightly pink. She quickly grabs her backpack and walks over to me.

"Hey," I say. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she says with a nod. "But where are we going?"

"A festival," I reply. "Come on!"

Lucy tilts her head slightly to the right. "I've never been to a festival before," she says. "What is it like?"

I feel my heart drop a bit even she says that. I want to tell her that she has with me before, back in the Dragoon Kingdom, but she would never believe me. But then I smile. Even in this life, she has never been to a festival until I come along. That makes me feel a bit better.

"You'll understand once we get there," I say, reciting my past self from centuries ago. I use the exact same words, hoping to trigger her memories, but of course, it is futile.

We walk off school grounds. I lead her to my motorcycle.

"That's yours?" Lucy asks.

"Yup," I reply. "We're going to ride it there."

"I never rode a motorcycle before. How does it work?" she asks.

Ah… of course she won't remember those rides I gave her on my motorcycle in the past. It is expected, but it still hurts.

"Sit behind me. I'll show you," I recite myself again.

Suddenly, Lucy grabs her head. She closes her eyes tightly and begins to scream in pain. Tears run down her cheeks.

"Lucy?!" I exclaim. I hold onto her shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong?! Get a hold of yourself!"

Lucy's eyes open, but instead of seeing her eyes, I see images. I see two people having a conversation in her eyes.

"Fes… ti… val? What is that?" Lucy says in an almost inaudible voice. She almost sounds like she is hissing. She is holding her breath, trying not to continue screaming in pain.

My eyes widen. Those were the exact same words we exchanged back in the Dragoon Kingdom. Then I realize it. Those two people in her eyes were me and her a few centuries ago. Could she be recovering memories right now?

Lucy continues to hold onto her head, reciting our past conversation. She screams in between words.

Finally, I can see her natural eye color go back. She breathes in deeply as if she just had a nightmare.

"Are you okay?" I ask, extending my hand to her. "You seem tired."

"No, no!" Lucy says, taking my hand and sitting behind me on the motorcycle.

What was that just now? I am sure that Lucy was just recovering her memories. Perhaps she had mistaken it for a dream. At least I have gotten one step further. But… I never thought that she would be in so much pain just to recover one memory.

I twist the handle, turning on the engine. "Hold onto me," I say.

Lucy grabs onto my shoulder. Immediately, I laugh. She hasn't changed at all.

"Idiot!" I exclaim. "My waist! Not my shoulders!"

"O-Oh," Lucy says. She lets go of my shoulders. "H-Hold on! There's no way I am going to hold onto your waist!"

I turn my head toward Lucy and stick my tongue out. "Suit yourself."

I step on the pedal hard. Instantly, once the bike lunges forward, Lucy wraps her arms around my waist. I feel my heart leap.

Lucy recovering her memories… must be really painful. If she has to go through all that pain, maybe I shouldn't recover her memories at all. I rather start new than see Lucy go through that. I don't want to see her hurt ever again, not since I saw her die from Zeref's attacks. I rather be a stranger to her than hear her screams.

"Losing my memories sounds scary," Lucy said. "But I believe in you, Natsu. I believe that you can help me remember all the times we spent together. All the moments that we treasured in this life. So… I'm not afraid."

Ah, it hurts. My heart hurts. Why do I keep remembering her words? Even though she said that, I still don't want to see her in pain whenever recovering memories. But, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't lonely. It really does hurt to be forgotten like this. I remember that time I first met her as a young ten-year-old boy. She had saved me from dying alone on that dirt road. And then when I saw her again in my palace, I couldn't believe it.

No, I need to stop thinking about the past. I need to look at the present Lucy. Even though I can not recover her memories, I need to at least become friends with her again.

"We're here," I say once I see the festival. I park the bike and jump off. I help Lucy off the bike and then guide her into the colorful festival. Her reaction was just as I expected. Amazed.

"I always meant to bring you here when I found you," I say happily.

"Found me…?" Lucy asks, confused.

"Ah!" I say. I quickly cover my mouth. Why do I always have to run my mouth like that? "Hey! We can get takoyaki over there!" I exclaim. I try my best to change the topic. "Let's get some?"

Lucy looks at me, obviously wanting to ask me more about what I just said. But then she nods, shrugging off what I just said. I sigh in relief. Thank goodness. I led her to my favorite takoyaki stand that I always went to. I see the same old lady in the booth.

"Oh," she says when she sees us. "It's you again, Natsu. How have you been?"

"Pretty good," I reply. "Can we have an order of takoyaki?"

She looks over at Lucy, staring at her for a bit. "Oh my!" she says. "Why! Is this your girlfriend, Natsu?"

"Ah!" Lucy immediately says. Her face glows bright red. "No, I'm just a friend-"

"Oh my!" the old lady says, ignoring Lucy. As usual, she is jumping into conclusions. She looks at me happily. "Congratulations! Let me treat you to takoyaki today, my dears. It's on me, okay?"

"Oh no," I say. This scene is too alike to that time I spent in a festival with Lucy. At this rate, she may recover her memories again! "It's fine!" I grab my wallet and try to shove it toward her, but she refuses to take my money.

I walk over to the bench with Lucy, sitting down.

"The old lady seems to know you," Lucy says, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," I say. "When I was a kid, I used to run away from the dorms all the time and go to her takoyaki stand to eat."

Lucy chuckles. My heart beats again. She is really cute. "You must have really hated school."

I shake my head. "No," I say. I look at Lucy, remembering her personality back when she was an assassin. Now that she is a normal girl, she does not have to hold her emotions in anymore. I love her even more now. Maybe now that I am no longer a prince and she is no longer a knight of the enemy country, we can finally be together without any judgment.

"I was always searching for this girl," I say, reminiscing a bit. "Ever since I could remember, I was always looking for her day and night. I was so obsessed with finding her that I used to even miss class just to keep searching."

Oh, shoot. I ran my mouth again. What if she recovers her memories again? Me and my big mouth.

I glance at Lucy, hoping that she is alright. To my surprise, she looks a bit irritated and upset. But then she quickly catches me looking at her and smiles brightly. "I hope you find her soon," she says with a comforting voice.

I laugh a bit. "I already did."

"When?" Lucy asks.

If only she knew. "Today," I simply reply.

"Your takoyaki is ready!" the old lady shouts.

I go get our food and place it between Lucy and me. Now that I think about it, Lucy in this world is only a year younger than me. Back in the old days, she was three years younger than me.

Hold on, during junior year, I do remember that we studied Fiore's history. Knight Lucy Heartfilia was one of the main lessons. If Lucy ever takes that history class, there is no doubt that she would recover her memories and go through that pain again. I gulp. How do I stop her from taking a class, though? I remember the Knight Lucy Heartfilia section was taught during the second semester, so I only have a few months to stop this lesson.

"Hey," I say. "Do you know the history of Fiore?"

Lucy shakes her head. "No, why?"

I shrug, making myself look casual. "It's nothing. I was just curious." Inside, I am sighing in relief. Thank goodness. At least I have more time.

I look at her again. But how will I stop the history teacher? There is no way he would believe my bizarre story. Lucy looks back at me, questionable. Ah crap, she must have noticed me staring at her.

After we finish eating, I bring Lucy back into the dorms. We exchange some small talk.

I leave her and then as I go on my way, I see a group of girls hiding in a corner, talking. I hear my name come up a few times, so curiously, I walk over and hide behind a tree to listen. I know eavesdropping is bad, but if it is about me, I can not help but be nosy.

"We need to protect Natsu!" I hear a girl say. "That stupid transfer has him hooked onto her leash. Who is she anyway?"

"She transferred into my class," another girl replies, rolling her eyes. "Her name is Lucy Heartfilia."

"Ugh, Heartfilia," a girl says, obviously irked by her name. "We need to do something about her. Who does she think she is anyway? Taking Natsu from all of us."

Huh? What is this? Don't tell me it is one of those fangirl clubs. It is not like I ever hated them in the past. I mean, they were always so kind to me. But… I never knew they were like this behind the scenes.

"We should mess up her locker," a girl says. "Or maybe bring her out and have a talk with her-"

"Have a talk with who?" I say loudly, without thinking. I walk out of my hiding spot and glare at the group of girls.

"O-Oh! Natsu!" a girl says. "It's not what you think! We just wanted to-"

"If you do anything to Lucy," I say angrily. I tilt my head to the left slightly and crack my neck. "I won't let you see even the next millisecond the next day."

Immediately, the girls run away. Looks like I lost some fans, but I could care less. I never knew that they were such horrible people. I wonder if they bullied all my female friends like that, like Juvia or Erza. Well, knowing Erza, she wouldn't be hurt at all.

I yawn. I am getting a bit tired. Maybe I should go back to the dorms for some sleep. I need to keep a close eye on Lucy, though. I don't want her to be bullied because of me.

My phone rings loudly in the middle of the night. I groan as I check who is calling. It is Juvia. Seriously man? It's two in the morning. Couldn't it wait?

Regardless, I pick up the phone. "What is it?" I ask angrily.

"N-Natsu!" Juvia says. She seems to be crying. "It's Lucy! S-She… She-"

Immediately, I sit up. "What about Lucy?" I shout. "Tell me now."

From her side of the phone, I could hear the sound of an ambulance car running. No way. This isn't what I am thinking, right?

"I am in the ambulance with Lucy right now!" Juvia cries. "She collapsed and we are heading to the closest hospital right now."

"Which one?" I shout. "I'll head there now!"

"University Hospital!" Juvia replies.

Instantly, I hang up. I grab my jacket and open the door loudly.

"What's with the noise?" Rogue, my roommate, says.

"Tell you later," I say, running out the door.

I take my usual path to escape school grounds. Then I take my motorcycle and drive as fast as I can to the hospital. This is all my fault. If I had not taken Lucy out today, she may have not collapsed. It is highly likely she collapsed from recovering memories again.

Once I get to the hospital, I jump off my bike and run to the front desk. "Excuse me!" I shout. Instantly, all the nurses around me stare. I try to ignore them. "Where is Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Ms. Heartfilia?" the worker says. "She came here not too long ago. She is in room 326."

"Thank you so much," I say between pants. I run over to the elevator and then get on the third floor. I find Lucy's room and open the door abruptly. "Lucy!" I exclaim.

Inside, I see Juvia and a nurse. Lucy is lying on the bed. I walk over and hold Lucy's hand tight. "H-How is she?" I ask.

"She's fine," the nurse says. "She must have collapsed from fatigue. She will be okay."

I sigh in relief. Thank the gods. The nurse leaves the room. Juvia turns to me and pats my back. "You really do worry for her, huh?" she says. "Tell me the truth. She's the one you have been looking for, right?"

My eyes widen. "H-How did you know?"

Juvia points to her brain. "A woman's intuition is very impressive, you know?"

"Yeah, she is," I say. "I missed her so much, Juvia. I missed every day that I could not see her. I love her."

"But she forgot about you, right?" Juvia says.

I open my mouth to answer but I have no words.

"Don't worry," she says. She takes Lucy's other hand. "Even though she may not remember who you are, you can always make new memories." She turns to me with a smile and lets go of Lucy's hand. She walks toward the door and turns to me. "I'll cheer for you." Then she leaves.

I lay my head by Lucy's side. I hope she wakes up soon.

Two days later…

I feel someone combing my hair softly. I open my eyes to see that it is Lucy, patting my head. No way, if she is acting this affectionately, could it be that she remembers me?

Instantly, once she sees that I am awake, she takes her hand off my head. But I immediately grab it.

"You remember?"I ask. "Lucy, you remember?"

"Huh?" she says, confused. "What are you talking about? Remember?"

"O-Oh," I say, letting go of her hand. Why did I bring my hopes like that? I need to stop. I absolutely can not allow Lucy to recover her memories. I don't want to see her collapse like this ever again. "Nevermind. S-Sorry, I was half-asleep. I'll call the nurse over since you're awake. I'll call Juvia and the others too."

I walk out of the room. I look for a nurse nearby. Maybe it would have been better if I never saw Lucy again after this. I should go back to the town I grew up in. If I continue to be close to Lucy, she will definitely be in danger like this. What if she goes to the hospital again because of me? I need to leave her alone.

I find a nurse and tell her about Lucy's condition. Immediately, she goes to check up on Lucy. I am asked to leave the room, but I can hear their conversation inside. It seems like the nurse is telling her about how she collapsed from exhaustion. However, Lucy is replying, saying that she is getting enough sleep and was never tired at all the day she collapsed.

"Also," the nurse says. "You did show symptoms of amnesia."

"Huh?" Lucy says.

Oh crap, I instantly think.

"But, it seems like you know who you are and who your family members are," the nurse says. "So we can rule out that."

I sigh in relief. It will be okay.

"You can leave the hospital once it is morning," the nurse says. "For now, you can stay the night."

"Thank you so much," Lucy replies.

"You know, you are very lucky to have such a nice boyfriend!" the nurse exclaims.

My face instantly turns red. What is that nurse talking about?!

"Boyfriend?" Lucy asks.

"The boy with the pink hair?" the nurse says. "He has been with you this whole time. He hasn't left the hospital since you have been admitted here."

I feel blood rush to my face. Why did the nurse have to tell her that? Ah, I am so embarrassed now.

The nurse walks out, giving me a smile. I walk back inside. Lucy is sitting up, looking healthy as ever. "Hey, are you feeling better-"

Lucy grabs onto my arm. My eyes widen in surprise. "You," I say. "Do I know you?"

Huh? What is she talking about?

"Why are you so kind to me?" she asks. "No ordinary person would do things like this. I just met you, but you already brought me to hangout and even stayed at the hospital this whole time for me. Why-"

Someone opens the door, interrupting her. It is Juvia. Instantly, Lucy lets my arm go.

Thank god for Juvia. If she didn't come in, I wouldn't know where the conversation would go.

"Hm?" Juvia says in a teasing tone. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" Lucy shouts.

"Anyway," Juvia says. She walks over to Lucy and hugs her tight. "I'm glad that you're okay." She goes into her bag and takes out a textbook, handing it to Lucy. My eyes widen. I recognize that cover. "Here's the history book you wanted."

Crap! If Lucy sees that book, there is no doubt that she will collapse again. I can not allow her to know about her past life.

"Thanks," Lucy says.

Immediately, I take the book out of her hands. "Don't read that!" I exclaim.

Juvia and Lucy stare at me,

"I mean, uh," I say, scratching the back of my head. I need an excuse. "I have a history test tomorrow so I'll be taking this!"

"That's a junior history book," Juvia says bluntly. "You're a senior, so why would you have a test out of that?"

"W-Well…" I say. I glare at her. Dammit, Juvia. Help me out here. "W-We're having a review test on the history we learned last year!"

Lucy is still staring at me. She raises one eyebrow. She is suspicious of me, crap.

Suddenly, she screams and grasps onto her head again.

"Lucy!" I exclaim. I grab her shoulders. "Are you okay?!"

Her eyes open and again, I am seeing images in them. I can see clearly what she is seeing this time. It is me and her back when we met at my castle. I was pinning her onto my bed.

"I'm not weak!" Lucy hisses. "Just to let you know, I have the title of the strongest knight in my kingdom!"

My eyes widen. No, she is remembering again. I need to stop her. I shake her even more. "Come back to your senses!" I shout. "Lucy!"

The images clear out of her eyes and her brown eyes come back. She looks back at me, confused.

"Lucy!" Juvia shouts. "Have you come to?"

She nods. "Y-Yeah." She makes eye contact with me as if she were scanning me. Crap, what is she finds out that I am the man in her memories.

"What is it?" I ask, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"N-Nothing," Lucy immediately says, staring down at her hands. "I'm feeling a bit tired, so I'm going to sleep now."

"Okay," Juvia says. She grabs my arm. "Come on, Natsu. If you stay here, she won't be able to rest."

"Fine," I say. "Night Lucy." Then I leave with Juvia.

Juvia walks out of the room. Immediately, Juvia begins to question me, as if she were some detective from the police.

"You," she says. "What was that? I saw it. Those images in Lucy's eyes."

"It's nothing," I say. "Y-You were probably just imagining it."

We are in front of the train station. Juvia stands in front of me, stopping me from getting on the train. "I read some of the history book while I was on the train," she says. "Prince Natsu Dragneel… looks a lot like you."

I cringe. "Well, I am related to the royal family," I say. "He's my long-lost relative." I am not completely lying.

"Oh?" she says. "Also, that assassin, Lucy Heartfilia, looks very familiar as well. And… back when Lucy was screaming in that hospital room, she said something about being the strongest knight in her kingdom."

"Maybe she was just spouting gibberish," I say. "Don't mind it. She probably had some kind of nightmare while unconscious."

"Tell me the truth, Natsu," Juvia says. "What is going on?"

I can tell by that look that I can not escape. Maybe letting one person know of Lucy and my situation wouldn't be that bad. Juvia also seems like she would be a close friend of Lucy in the future too. She could help me out.

I explain the situation to Juvia. I tell her how Lucy and I are reincarnations. I also tell her that I can not allow Lucy to regain her memories because she would be in pain if she did so.

Juvia nods. "Honestly, all of this seems like a joke, but nothing else can explain those images on Lucy's eyes. So magic, guardians and all, I'll believe you. There is no reason why you would lie to me either."

"Juvia…" I say. "Thank you so much!"

Our train comes. We are about to go on when suddenly I hear someone shout "NATSU!" loudly. That voice… no way.

I stop and turn around, making eye contact with those chocolate brown eyes. She is crying. Immediately, she runs to me, arms wide. She collapses in my arms and hugs me tightly as if I would disappear.

"Lucy?" I say. "Hey! Lucy!"

Lucy pants, grabbing onto me even tighter. "Natsu… I… I remember."

"What?" I say. No way. My heart pounds faster and faster. There has to be no way.

She stands up straight and puts her hand on my cheek. "I'm sorry for the wait," she says with a smile. "His Highness Prince Natsu Dragneel."

Is this a dream? I begin to cry. My warm tears trail down my face. I can feel them. I can feel Lucy. This is real. I wrap my arms around her small body and hug her tightly. "I love you. I love you. I love you," I say over and over again. I can't stop saying it. It has been so long since I have embraced her like this.

"I know," she says, crying into my shirt.

"Don't lose your memories ever again," I cry.

"I know," she says again.

I hug her tighter. "Tell me you love me," he says, his voice sounding desperate.

"I love you," she says.

I breathe heavily. My heart is nonstop beating. I never thought that I would hear those words ever again. "I waited for centuries to hear that again," I say like a child. "You owe me."

Lucy laughs. She loosens our hug and stares at me. She wraps her arms around my neck and closes her eyes. She goes on her toes, trying to match my height and uses force to bring my head down, giving me a peck on the lips.

She looks at me mischievously. "Are we even now?"

I can feel my face boiling. "No," I say like a whiny kid. "Do it again."

"Pervert," she says with a cute pout.

"Only towards you," I say, kissing her again.

Finally, after all these years... she is mine. And this time, I will never let her go. I failed to protect her in my last life as a prince, but this time, I will protect her with my life as an ordinary boy.

Dating as ordinary high school students... Thank you, Crius. Our dream has been fulfilled.

- End of Bonus Chapter -

Hi guys! Thank you for reading the last chapter for this story! My new one-shot will be released very soon, so please look forward to it! Here is the summary for you guys to see.

Microwave Boy

-Based on a True Story- When I first sat next to her, I thought that she was beautiful. Her golden hair and her warm eyes entranced me. So I introduced myself. To my surprise, she told me that she recognized me… as the dorky guy who took forever in front of the microwave during lunch. I was remembered as the microwave man by the cutest girl at school. What a great first impression.

- Metallic Snow