In the dimly lit room, Lucy, who had been lying in bed all day, propped herself up and rubbed her eyes.
'Seriously, I slept the whole day...'
Lucy looked around the gloomy, quiet room and couldn't help inwardly scolding herself.
Even though she was sick and her mind was all over the place, she had still managed to sleep incredibly soundly.
Lucy's complexion was noticeably better than the day before.
She stretched, hugged her knees to her chest, and leaned back against the headboard, quietly lost in thought.
In this day of near-comatose sleep, Lucy's mind had inexplicably wandered through countless memories, flashing by like a revolving lantern.
Moreover, all these thoughts were entirely about the guild.
From the very first time she met Natsu in Hargeon, to when he descended from the sky to rescue her from Bora's ship.
To her first visit to Fairy Tail, witnessing those famous, rowdy Mages fighting over trivial things.
Her first real mission, where that idiot Natsu had actually made her pretend to be a maid to seduce an old man—and what was worse, they had actually failed miserably.
And then... forming the strongest team.
Bravely storming the Tower of Heaven.
Defeating that annoying Phantom Lord.
Figuring out her own future, breaking ties with her overbearing father, and the eventual, tearful reconciliation with him later.
Then there was participating in that bizarre Fairy Tail competition.
The most embarrassing part of that night was when fireworks that made her and Natsu look like a couple were launched into the sky for everyone to see...
She had also faced incredibly powerful enemies she once thought impossible to defeat, and with her friends by her side, she had emerged victorious.
And now, the cherry blossom viewing party...
All these memories, from joining the guild until now, became even clearer after waking up.
Unconsciously, a slight, warm curve formed at the corners of her lips.
'If... Natsu hadn't brought me into the guild back then, what would I have become?'
In the quiet of the night, being alone makes one prone to wild thoughts.
Lucy began pondering those "what ifs," imagining dreary stories from parallel timelines that never happened.
Gradually, her ever-changing mood shifted, and Lucy started feeling somewhat lonely.
After all, she had missed the cherry blossom viewing party entirely.
And... those two heartless guys, Natsu and Happy, didn't even come to check on her after it ended!
"Sigh..."
Just as Lucy sighed and was about to lie back down to continue sleeping, she suddenly noticed a change in the room.
The windowsill by her bed was already bathed in scattered, colorful, shimmering lights.
"What is... this?"
Lucy threw off her blankets, approached the window, and lifted it open.
What greeted the young girl's eyes made her breath catch in her throat.
It was the silent, yet breathtakingly beautiful, Rainbow Cherry Blossom tree.
It was floating on the water under the night sky, captivating enough to make everyone on the street below stop in their tracks and stare in awe.
The night sky stretched above like a vast piece of dark silk, studded with stars that twinkled with faint, mysterious light.
They seemed to be guarding the small boat carrying the massive cherry blossom tree.
It drifted swayingly before her window.
The cherry blossom tree, amidst the interlacing rainbow lights emanating from its magical petals, resembled an elegant and charming spirit displaying its beauty on the small boat.
Even the evening wind playfully lifted the colorful petals, swirling them through the air and helping transform the ordinary street into a fantastical dreamscape.
Between the moonlight and the water's reflection, amidst the starlight and the glowing blossoms, the ordinary flowing water of Magnolia's inner river seemed to turn into the Milky Way.
Yet tonight, it carried affection across to the other shore, dyeing the passing galaxy with brilliant rainbow colors.
The faces of everyone on the street were illuminated by the wondrous neon glow.
Under the moonlight, the Rainbow Cherry Blossom cast a layer of warmth into everyone's hearts.
Lucy was no exception.
Leaning against the window frame, her shimmering brown eyes fixed unwaveringly on the rainbow cherry blossom.
A brilliant, genuine smile spread across her lovely face.
"So beautiful," Lucy murmured softly.
The gloom and loneliness that had risen in the darkness just moments before were instantly cleansed away by the perfectly blended colors of the cherry blossom's rainbow light.
Her mind was still quite sluggish from the cold, not yet processing exactly why or how a giant, deeply-rooted cherry blossom tree would be drifting down the river on a boat right in front of her house.
But her heart already knew.
She felt deeply that setting that tree adrift downstream seemed exactly like something a certain someone would do.
Lucy was still beaming brightly, yet no one knew whether she was delighted solely by the beauty of the flowers, or by something else entirely...
...
No one could tell if Natsu was smiling, but no one knew just how absolutely miserable he was at that exact moment...
Beyond the streets and the river overflowing with romantic ambiance, hidden deep in the shadows beneath the distant bridge arch, Natsu clung desperately to a thick mooring rope.
He was completely submerged in the freezing river water up to his chest, straining with both hands to control the speed and direction of the heavy cherry blossom tree boat.
His muscles bulged from the immense exertion.
'Hmm... if I just let the boat drift freely, the current will take it too fast. Lucy would probably only catch a quick glimpse of it...'
"Ready yet, Happy?!"
Bracing his boots against the slippery rocky wall under the bridge, Natsu had the ropes wrapped tightly around his arms.
His face was contorted with effort as he gasped the question through chattering teeth.
Happy cautiously peeked out from under the bridge arch, spotting Lucy leaning out of her window admiring the cherry blossoms in the distance.
He quickly flew back under and replied:
"Lucy just noticed it, Natsu! Hold on a bit longer! She's smiling!"
"Easy for you to say!" Natsu retorted before continuing to strain like an ox, desperately pulling back on the ropes to fight the river's current, trying to keep the beautiful scenery in place a while longer for her.
Only someone with this reckless fool's sheer, dragon-like brute strength could manage such a feat—anyone else would have collapsed or been dragged down the river halfway through...
In the distance, a young man bathed in the moon's gentle glow sat perched on a high rooftop, watching Lucy's illuminated window and the struggling figure under the bridge with amused exasperation.
"That Natsu... really putting in the effort..." Ankh murmured, resting his arms on his knees. "Though it's all brute force."
Just as Ankh was enjoying the view from the rooftop, a voice sounded behind him.
Turning around, Ankh chuckled knowingly and asked, "Did you all help out too?"
Gray plopped down beside Ankh, propping his chin on his hand as he looked down at the river.
"Yeah. We rented the boat for him. That idiot still thinks he snatched it himself."
Erza also sat beside Ankh.
She gazed at the Rainbow Cherry Blossom with slight yearning as she smiled softly.
"I negotiated with the boat owners to temporarily clear the riverway so it wouldn't crash into anything."
Wendy, holding Carla, stepped up to the edge of the roof.
She blushed shyly and admitted, "We ran into Natsu-san on the way to the river... he begged Carla and me to keep it a secret from everyone..."
Carla couldn't help but throw up her paws in complaint. "Did that guy and the tomcat even consider how incredibly conspicuous it is to carry a massive, glowing tree all the way to the upper river on foot?"
Juvia stood closely by Gray's side as always.
Her eyes were filled with admiration and emotion as she stared at the sea of blossoms floating below.
She whispered softly, "Juvia also subtly controlled the water flow from beneath to keep the heavy tree from sinking the small boat..."
She sighed dreamily. "Ah... Juvia wishes someone would uproot a giant cherry tree and deliver it to her doorstep too..."
Gray completely missed her underlying meaning, merely joking with a smirk, "Then you'd better pray that person has a really strong back..."
"Gray-sama would definitely manage it!" Juvia swooned.
"Huh... What?!" Gray blinked, entirely lost.
Ankh shook his head at their antics and turned his gaze back to the street, which was now being showered in rainbow petals drifting on the wind.
Suddenly, he spoke up. "Seems I have to take back those words I said earlier today."
Erza snapped out of her tranquil thoughts and asked curiously.
"What words?"
"When I said that the ceremonial atmosphere, the flowers, the ambiance, the delicious food—all those things are what make the festival very appealing to girls."
Erza looked puzzled.
But Ankh grinned and pointed down toward the struggling, freezing, panting figure hidden under the bridge arch.
"Those things are indeed attractive. But the most captivating thing is right there."
Ankh leaned back. "What's so romantic about a bouquet? The romance lies in the person bringing you the flowers."
"What's so romantic about that cherry tree? The romance is that pink-haired monster himself."
Silence fell around them on the rooftop, as if they'd all just heard something completely unbelievable.
Gray finally broke the quiet, his face deadpan: "I bet Natsu never imagined he'd ever be associated with the word 'romantic' in his entire life, did he?"
"Hey... Lucy-san will definitely be so happy tomorrow!" Wendy beamed.
"Juvia thinks she's already quite happy now..." Juvia added, watching Lucy's bright smile through the window.
"If you ask me," Erza crossed her arms, a competitive glint returning to her eye, "we should've pulled up a few more trees to make the scene even more spectacular."
"Too much of anything is bad, girl..." Ankh sighed. "I'm rather looking forward to seeing Natsu get scolded tomorrow morning."
"Hahaha!" Gray laughed out loud. "He pulled out the biggest tree in the whole park—he's definitely going to get an earful from the old man!"
Amid the laughter and cheerful voices of the guildmates, these helpful bystanders vanished once more into the peaceful yet bustling night, returning to their own homes, their good deeds unknown to all.
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