Erza, whose back is facing Mirajane and Elfman, has no clue they are coming closer to her, while she still faced Gray and Natsu.
At first, she did notice the silence among this chaotic guild, causing this young Valkyrie to narrow her eyes, but she did not return around, not at first, not until she noticed that Natsu and Gray's attention wasn't any more on her, but behind herself.
This annoyed Erza, to the point she almost smacked them on their heads to regain their attention. However, Erza halted herself from hitting them, especially when she noticed their expressions, expressions she wasn't a stranger to.
An expression that filled with denial of reality before them, even if deep down they knew it is real, that is Natsu's expression.
While Gray's expression is someone who came to a realisation that they did not like, but cannot refuse like Natsu, causing the ice stripper to bite his lips, something Erza had seen many times… which caused her to quickly turned towards the guild itself.
She looked at her surroundings, as her brown eyes widen, seeing everyone else also has the same expression as Natsu and Gray… and among them is that third familiar expression, the one that caused Erza to tighten her fists unknowingly to herself.
The adults, those with experience, harden their resolves, accepted a truth they did not want to welcome, but they knew, they have no choice but to.
Erza stared at them, seeing thee expressions that she seen so many times in that tower, the expression when someone close to or in their group has… passed away?
Her brown eyes widen in a truth that even herself did not want to be real, as Erza turned towards where everyone is looking at, to the source of everyone's silence, and everyone's expressions.
She looked at the source, at the two siblings, at Mirajane and Elfman, who also wear familiar expressions, which only deepen the realisation she thinks of, especially how dead they seem to be.
How they did not notice their surroundings, how they moved if on autopilot, in a way that Erza is so uncomfortable familiar with, because this is not the first time of Erza seeing something like this, which is why knowing what this is, her heart also tighten in a familiar pain, that she also disliked as much.
Erza remain in place, as she watches the two, especially Mirajane, who about to bump into her.
Mirajane who about to bump into Erza, suddenly halted her lifeless steps, when her soulless blue eyes noticed a familiar armour before her downcast gaze.
This caused Mirajane, for the first time since she and her brother had returned back like this, to look away from the ground, and to look at the one before her.
Erza's brown eyes, and Mirajane's unfocused brown eyes met each other, for a few seconds, silence came to them, as none of them said or mention a thing among them.
And surprisingly, the one who broke the silence, was Mirajane herself.
"Sorry…"
A weak voice came out of Mirajane, a voice that hard to hear, if one wasn't close enough to hear it. And yet, with his Haki, Zack heard it, he heard that weaken and yet unfocused voice, which only caused his heart to tighten in discomfort, the most discomfort he ever felt.
This causes our clueless protagonist to unknowingly stand up, and about to take a step wards Mirajane, to reach for her, but someone else beat him to it.
Erza's respond wasn't with words, instead of words, she did something that carried more than words could do, she grabbed and pulled Mirajane into a hug, something that caused confusion in Mirajane, when the one she always seen as a rival, as someone to beat, has pulled her in a hug.
But among her confusion being hugged by Erza, she was also forced to look at someone, who had entered her confused and lost sea blue eyes, someone she knew very well.
Green eyes and blue eyes met each other, as Mirajane looked at Zack who entered her line of view while being hugged by Erza.
Mirajane looked at Zack while being hugged by Erza, emotions began to overwhelmed her, such emotions, that Mirajane has no clue which one that made her more uncomfortable, and unstable with.
The confusion caused by Erza, the sorrow and emptiness caused by something that had happened, something she should prevented, but failed to do so.
Or was it the emotions of shame and regrets?
The shame on what she done, the regrets of treating the person she actually has feelings for like that, how she threatens him, how she humiliated him.
Her sea blue eyes shaken, her breathing became hardier to breath by the passing second. She has no clue, which emotion that made it hard to breathe.
Which emotion that made her mind into complete chaos. The shame and regrets of her foolish actions, the sorrow and emptiness that came to her heavily when she… lost someone very important to her.
Or was it the confusion caused by the warmth of someone she supposed to hate, someone who she supposed to overcome to make her pride feel more better… but what pride she has left?
It was no wonder, why everything became hard for this rebellious teenager to breath, a part of her wanted everything around her to disappear, especially herself.
Another part of her, wanted to apologize, to say she is sorry, so sorry what she had done to him, even if she knew it is selfishness to apologize after everything, even when she knew she has no rights to do so.
And yet, no words came out, even when she opened her mouth to speak, as her eyes locked with Zack's, all that came out was a breath, a struggled breath that applies how hard it is for her to breath, as everything is too much for her.
Everyone who could see Mirajane's face, stared with either blank faces, or bitten their lips, not in resentment, because seeing someone like Mirajane, someone who so arrogance, so bold and so braveness, to appear no different to a frighten little girl, who became afraid of everything around her, as her mind unable to progress what made sense to her.
That made them feel their heart tighten, their tears almost slip out of their eyes, because this was not the Majin they fear or respected, but a little girl, who so lost in despair.
That heavily hit the Guild.
While in her confusion, in her panic attack of overwhelming emotions, a voice reached her, a gentle voice of the one who pulled her to a hug, Erza opened her month.
"I not going to say, that everything is going to be fine… because that not what you wanted to hear right now, and I know, you properly do not know this from someone like me, from someone who you dislike. But knew this Mirajane… I understand the emptiness, the sorrow, and especially the self-hatred you are experiencing, I know much about those feelings, that I hate to admit.
Because of that, it is okay, Mirajane. It is okay to cry, it is okay to show weakness, it is okay to admit to faults, and it is okay… to rely on others, because you and your brother are not alone in this."
When Erza said this, not in serious voice, but a gentle voice, along with her hands began to stroke the back of Mirajane's head.
Mirajane's eyes widen to the gentle voice, to the warm voice, and before Mirajane knew it, a tear fell from her sea blue eyes, and from a tear to a stream, and from a stream, her sea blue eyes flooded with tears, as Mirajane, for the first time in a long time she cried, aloud and in front of the guild that is unusually so loud, but they all fell in silence, while the guild filled with mourning and grief.
From the moment Mirajane cried, it would be a lie, to say this shocked the Guild, seeing someone like Mirajane, who often so braveness and indifferent to cry like this.
But this also made the Guild realised, something they no longer can deny, the realisation they came to, they no longer can deny what is in front of them.
That is why, everyone tried to remain as quiet as possible, even if some almost failed, holding back their own sorrow, that cannot match what Mirajane or Elfman are currently feeling, but even so, the guild felt it, the sorrow, the sense of loss that came with this realisation, that came along with this unwanted storm that is before them.
However, not everyone could understand this.
Among those that denied the realisation they came to, one of their denial was simply stronger, it's not like they cannot understand, their minds simply cannot understand the truth before them.
And that person, who cannot accept that silence truth, was no other than Natsu, who stared blankly at Mirajane, who is crying like a child in Erza's arms.
He then turned his dark eyes to the guild, the guild that remain quiet, some with harden expression, some with sad expression, some even with sorrow, but they held it back.
Than he looked for her.
He looks for the only person that should be here, that is no other than Lisanna Strauss herself, no matter how Natsu looked around, there is no Lisanna in sight, and each passing second, this only made his heart tighten, and the denial within him, also become stronger.
Many unwanted questions came to him, one after the other, with each question made him more and more uncomfortable.
Why is no one mentioning her?
Why is no one mentioning about Lisanna?
Why is no mentioning why they cannot see Lisana either?
Why is Mirajane is crying like child, in the arms of someone she supposed to hate?
And why… does Elfman looked like a sinner, someone dared not to cry, because they have no rights to do so?
None of this made any sense to the young Dragon Slayer, who felt something is wrong, very wrong. He already deep within him, guess what that is, but he refuses it, he simply refuses the obvious truth before him.
That is why, he must get up from where kneel, so he could get those answers personally. However, when he about to get up, someone halted Natsu from doing do, two hands, both belong to a different person each, grabbed his shoulders, preventing Natsu from standing up.
As if knowing, what kind of mistake this young Dragon Slayer is about to do. That is why Natsu snapped and turned towards the ones who held him in place, but when he face them, his eyes widen, because the ones who held him in place, was Gray and Zack, who at some point, stood beside Natsu.
Natsu's eyes turned from black to redness, showing he is about to activate his Magic to fight in his confusion and uneasiness. However, those flames in his eyes, faded, when he saw their expressions.
Gray's disappointment that hit him more than the seriousness and coldness that disappoint also carried with his gaze. And then Zack's expression, there no coldness, no seriousness, but a smile, a smile that has understanding what Natsu is currently experiencing.
This understanding, this disappointment, are the two things that cause Natsu to lose all the strength in his body. Because he knew, he knew he could no longer deny it, what kind of reality lies before them.
Upon seeing Natsu has lost the will to resist and remain in place. Zack removed his hand from Natsu's shoulder, and return his gaze back to Mirajane, who still crying in Erza's embrace.
Than he took his green eyes away from Mirajane, and turned towards Elfman, who looked like he going to cry at any given moment.
And yet, he also looked like he has no rights to cry, no rights to mourn.
That is why Elfman withstand his tears, held back the sorrow that barely hold inside him. Zack can feel it with his Haki, guilt, self-hatred, and sorrow behind those sea blue eyes, that frighten to flood with tears at any given moment.
Zack walked towards Elfman, who seems to noticed Zack when he became close enough to him. When Elfman and Zack's eyes met, it felt like the dam within Elfman was lift up, as streams of tears finally left his sea blue eyes, causing Elfman to speak along with the tears, words that carried his sins, and self-hatred.
"Z-Zack…? Za-Zack… because… b-because of me… because of me! BECAUSE OF ME… LISANNA IS…!!" Elfman went, like a sinner before the priest or confessor.
Zack can feel it stronger now, guilt, deep rooted guilt like a scar surfaced within Elfman, to the point he no longer seems like the shy teenager, but someone is confessing their sins to him, without a care if the guild, no, the world is watching him.
Seeing and sensing the guilt, and the hatred aimed at himself, Zack did not say a word, but he did not stand still either, like Erza did with Mirajane, he grabbed pulled the tall teenager to him into a hug.
"While I have no clue what has had happened… you can tell me that later, but before that… it's okay Elfman, it is okay to cry, because crying is not a shameful thing, especially when a man has a reason to cry, especially that reason, so cry, and then tell me all about it, after letting everything go."
Zack could only say, while Elfman who had heard him, finally let go, the stream of tears became like floods, as he cried, aloud without a care about his surroundings, just like how Mirajane, a cry with grief, a cry with guilt mixed with each other.
Silence came to the guild, but not in complete silence, with the heavy rain from the outside, and the sounds of two teenagers cried until they passed out, no one said a thing in this guild that mixed with rain and cries.
No one said a thing, in this storm, that no one ever wanted.
# # # # # # # #
Sad, right?
And was it better compared how I write it in the original fanfic?
If you had read the original fanfic, you knew we about to reach the end of this volume or arc.
I help you all been enjoying both this chapter and this fanfic so far, and like always, sorry for any grammar mistakes.