Curse of Compassion

Chapter 9

Mikal met up with Natsu a few days later in hopes that he and his guild had found something related to her curse.  They met in a small park a few blocks away from Sabertooth.  As she was waiting for Natsu to meet at the designated spot, she watched children play with their families and pets. 

"It's nice to see such bright smiles," Mikal mumbled to herself as she watched the children play tag. "I feel like I've been smiling a lot more lately, too. Is it bad to enjoy Sabertooth's company, to make friendships once again?" Will I be able to live my life without touching another human being? Her mind wandered to her memories with Kylo, then to Rogue. "What if he ends up liking me, too? Would we be able to stand that kind of torture?"  That's ridiculous. I would leave before allowing him to develop feelings for me.

"What're you mumbling about?" Natsu sat down on the bench beside her. 

"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about some stuff, I guess." Mikal tucked a pesky strand of hair behind her ear.  "Has there been any luck?"

"Nothing definitive," he replied with a serious tone. "There have been rumors saying that he had made a book specifically for curses, but I don't think we can trust the sources we heard them from. We've searched every inch of our guild's library, too."

"I see." Mikal watched the ants crawling around on the pavement beneath her feet.  She felt smaller than them as she listened to Natsu.  Her hands tightly gripped the edge of the bench.  "I feel like it's right beneath my nose, but I still can't think of what the cure could be. Something tells me that breaking the curse is a lot simpler than I've previously thought."

"Maybe. There is a possibility that the key to breaking it is similar to breaking the curse of contradiction, but that would involve two people. And even then, it might involve dying."

Mikal couldn't think of how to respond. She just kept her eyes on the ants beneath her. The gods probably watch me as I am watching the ants. What a pitiful sight, seeing small creatures unable to help themselves.

"We won't stop our search, though." Natsu added with determination as he watched the kids run around on the grass. 

"That's okay, there's no need for you to waste your time any further on the matter. There are more important things for wizards to do."

"Are you kidding me?! This IS one of the important things," he faced Mikal head-on. "Curses can be broken. We're going to help out our fellow guilds just like they helped us fight Zeref and his army. Not because we're returning the favor, but because we're all friends."

Mikal's eyes wavered as she witnessed the pure determination and will-power possessed by Natsu. She found herself encouraged by his words and his optimistic attitude. "Thank you, Natsu."

"We may not be from the same guild, but I do consider Sabertooth as friends. That includes you too, even if you decide to leave the guild." He patted her head with a warm hand, before yanking his hand back as if he thought of something. "Wait a minute."  His eyebrows knit together as he contemplated something.

"Huh?"

"That could work..." Mikal could practically see the gears turning in his head. "Our first master knew Zeref. I left him to her after I defeated him. I don't know the exact details of what happened after I left, but they both died. I'm thinkin' we could try to contact her spirit and see if she knows anything!"

"That's insane. Could that even work?"

"We've done it with a dragon's spirit before. If we could do that, talking to a dead girl should be a piece of cake!"

"Right," Mikal muttered under her breath, still not convinced of his idea.  If anything, Natsu's idea made him look crazier.

"We have to try everything we can think of! I'll see what Master and the others think. I'll let you know if it worked and if we found out anything!" Natsu shot up to his feet and was about to run back to his guild, determined to raise the dead.