The day was sunny and new. Natsu stretched his arms as he awoke from his deep slumber. Natsu couldn't help but smile as he stared out the window of his room. His team had returned from their little away mission yesterday and everything was just going perfectly, or it was until Natsu got a look at the calendar by his dresser.

The Hanami Festival was today.

Natsu's eye twitched. He grunted as he fell back onto his bed. This day always seemed to bother him. It wasn't necessarily a bad day, it just brought back unwanted memories. He was debating on his next action when he heard the clomping of feet nearing his bedroom. His door was swung opened by an over excited Nashi.

"Natsu!" she cheered, jumping on him when she got close enough. She sat on top of the man, smiling at him joyfully.

"Natsu, I saw a whole bunch of decorations outside! Is there some sort of party happening?" she asked. Natsu readjusted the child so she was now sitting on his lap. After their mission, Natsu could no longer deny how much the child truly meant to him. She was his light in a world that had lost it long ago. Her happiness meant everything to him if it meant she would no longer cry. With that in mind, he was even more determined to rescue her mother. Natsu flashed Nashi a kind smile.

"Today's the Hanami Festival, Nashi." Natsu was surprised to see Nashi's smile disappear. He thought little girls liked flowers.

"What's wrong Nashi?" he asked. The girl rubbed her neck nervously.

"You don't like to go to the festival," she responded. Natsu was surprised by her answer. Did she know about his secret on this day? He always made it a point to make sure he was alone so nobody saw what he had planned. But how the heck could she know, she lived five days away.

"How did you know about that?" The little girl blushed in response, avoiding Natsu's black eyes.

"I sort of overheard you and Lisanna talking about it."

"Wait, what?" he said flabbergasted, his face looking rather ridiculous. Nashi giggled and rubbed her chin with her finger.

"I was actually hiding in one of Auntie Mira's cabinet's the day before you met me and I heard the whole thing," her features softened, "this day meant something to you and Lucy, so you never spend it with anyone."

Natsu let his surprised face fall. He didn't like going to the guild picnic on this day. Since Lucy left, he had planned something special to commemorate how important the Hanami Festival was to them and he would always spend it alone, not even Lisanna was welcome. Today was no different, however, he had Nashi this time and he didn't want her to miss out on the fun with the rest of their guild. He placed a hand on top of Nashi's pink head.

"That's true," he said faintly, "but that doesn't mean you don't have to enjoy it. You can hang with Gale or Otoko. You can still have fun."

Nashi shook Natsu's hand off of her head. She flashed him a happy smile.

"But I don't want that. I want to stay with you, no matter what."

Natsu looked out his window with a downcast expression, "You wouldn't enjoy what I do on this day every year, that's why I spend it by myself."

"I don't care. I want to spend the day with you, Natsu. No matter what it is you do, even if we're going to spend the day inside. I don't want to be with the rest of the guild when I can be with you."

"It's always more fun when we're together!"

Natsu's eyes widened a fraction after hearing her last sentence. Memories of the blonde haired Celestial Maiden filled his mind. Natsu stared at the child sitting on his lap as she just smiled at him.

Why are you two so alike? He asked himself smiling.

"Okay, you can spend the day with me, but only if you take it seriously," he said, waving a finger in front of her face. Nashi's eyes twinkled when her father agreed.

"I promise," she said, sliding off the bed. Natsu followed after her. The two of them quickly ate breakfast and got dressed, ready to start the day.

"So, what exactly do you do every year?" Nashi asked, pulling her backpack over her shoulders. Natsu was putting on his flip-flops.

"You'll see. First, we need to do some shopping," he said standing from his spot. The pink haired duo strolled out of the house and into town. The streets were crowded with people as they all got ready for the flower viewing. Nashi held tightly onto Natsu's hand so she didn't loss him in the crowd. Natsu led Nashi into the market where he searched for different foods. While Natsu was looking at different vegetables, Nashi's eyes wandered until they landed on a colorful bento box. It held a variety of colorful food, and they were organized to look like cherry blossom flowers. Natsu saw what Nashi was staring at and smirked.

After the two finished their shopping, Natsu led Nashi back to his house. On the way, they ran into the Connell family. Alzack waved at the dragon slayer as he held Billy on his shoulders.

"Hey Natsu, getting ready for the festival again," he said, eyeing Natsu's bag of food.

"Yep, we're heading back to my place now."

"Do you want us to take Nashi to the picnic so you can have some time to yourself," asked Bisca, pointing at the little girl who was now speaking to Asuka. Natsu shook his head no, "She'll be fine with me."

The older couple was taken aback by the pink haired man. Since Lucy's disappearance, he had not come to one guild picnic and he had never let anyone tag along with him. To see him allowing a girl he barely knew accompanying him warmed their hearts. Maybe he would finally start going back to normal.

The Connell's told Natsu and Nashi goodbye as they made their way to the guild picnic. The father and daughter continued their trek back to Natsu's house, talking and laughing amongst themselves. When they got home, Natsu asked Nashi if she could help him prepare dinner.

"I didn't know you could cook Natsu. I always saw you as the kind of person who mooches off of other people," Nashi joked, earning a blush from her father.

"Yeah well, I don't normally make dinner, I usually just eat at the guild. However, I always make something to take with me on the Hanami Festival."

"So we're going somewhere?" Nashi deduced. Natsu nodded and Nashi let out a sigh of relief. She was secretly glad they weren't spending the whole day indoors. The two spent the rest of the afternoon preparing and cooking. Natsu would not tell Nashi what they were making which frustrated Nashi to no extent. Natsu eventually had Nashi leave the kitchen so he could add the finishing touches, by then it was almost sundown.

Nashi turned her attention away from Igneel and to her father who was leaving the kitchen with a picnic basket and a blanket.

"You ready, little girl?" he asked. Nashi smiled, clutching her dragon close to her dress.

"You bet. I'm all fired up!"

"Hey, that's my line," he griped playfully.

"Well now it's mine," Nashi giggled. Natsu shook his head and the two walked to the front door.

After closing it, Natsu led Nashi in the direction of the forest. The two walked at a gingerly pace down a small dirt path. Leaves scattered around them. A cool spring breeze blew as they walked side by side.

"Hey Natsu," Nashi asked. Natsu hummed in response, urging her to continue, "How come Happy didn't come."

"He understands that I want some alone time on this day, so he's hanging out with his girlfriend," he said.

"So, why did you let me come? If you don't even let Lisanna or even Happy come, why would you bring a little kid like me?" Natsu glanced at the child who was now kicking around a small pebble.

"I'm not sure," he answered, looking up at the treetops above the path, "This day is special to Lucy and I, and I just feel that you should be here," his eyes fell back on Nashi, "I think Lucy would want you here." Nashi smiled at him in embarrassment as the two of them continued through the woods.

Something small landed on Nashi's head while they were walking. She lifted a hand to grab it and pulled it in front of her. In the palm of her hand was a small pink petal. Nashi glanced up at her surroundings and dropped her jaw in awe.

Before them were hundreds of sakura trees. Pink petals fell to the ground gracefully, adding to the scene's beauty. Natsu continued to walk through the trees with Nashi running up close behind.

"We're almost there," he said softly, pointing out. Nashi followed his finger with her eyes. Her father was pointing at a single sakura, standing in the middle of a small clearing.

"What's special about it?" Nashi asked, hoping not to offend her father.

"Look a little closer look," he said, increasing his pace toward the tree. When they were a few yards away from the tree, Nashi could see why it held importance to the dragon slayer. On the trunk of the tree was carved.

Hanami Festival X784

To Lucy

From Natsu

Nashi placed a hand over the carving and brushed on it delicately. Natsu paid no mind to her as he laid out the blanket. When Nashi turned around, Natsu was siting on the blanket with a bunch of dishes they had prepared earlier laying out.

"Well, are you hungry?" he asked happily. Nashi skipped over to the blanket and plopped onto it. Natsu handed her a small box, which she opened merrily. When the box was opened, Nashi let out a gasp.

It was a bento box that reminded Nashi of the one in the super market, however, it had it's own touches like a rice ball that looked like Happy's face and the Fairy Tail guild crest.

"Thank you Natsu!" Nashi cheered, smiling happily at her father. Natsu smiled softly in response as he got his own food. The two ate their food quietly under the tree, enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Natsu, can you tell me why this tree is important to you and Lucy"?" Natsu put his food down beside him and let a small sigh fly from his lips.

"On Lucy's first Hanami Festival, she got sick," he said glancing at Nashi, "She really wanted to go. She had been talking about it non stop, and it hurt to see her so unhappy."

The pink haired man glanced up at the sakura tree, a petal landing in his hair, "While at the guild picnic, I got the idea, "If I can't bring Lucy to the trees, than I would bring the trees to Lucy." Natsu placed his palm against the bark of the tree. "I dug up this very tree and sent it on a boat to Lucy's house. The next day, she was so happy, you should have seen her Nashi," he glanced at the child beside him. There was a knowing smile on her face as she listened to him talk about her mother. She took notice of his smile as he spoke of the Celestial Spirit mage.

"You really love her, don't you?" said Nashi softly. Natsu stopped mid sentence to ponder Nashi's comment. The two stared at each other for what felt like hours. Eventually, Natsu's eyes traveled up to the sky above them, a blissful smile on his face.

"I do."

The two of them didn't say a word after that. The rest of the evening was spent playing hide and seek or tag. It had been years since Natsu had felt so young, it was almost as if Lucy had never left. Nashi had somehow revived his old behavior and he couldn't be happier.

It was getting darker outside and Natsu and Nashi had collapsed beside "Lucy's Tree" after a vigorous game of tag. Natsu glanced at the child and noticed her drooping eyes. He sat up and helped the child up as well.

"Wait just a few more seconds Nashi," he whispered. Nashi nodded and forced her eyes to remain open. Natsu smiled expectantly up at the tree's while Nashi's eyes fell on her lap.

Suddenly, the area surrounding them began to increase in light. At first Nashi believed it to be Natsu's doing, however, the lights from around her seemed to be different colors compared to her father's flames. Finding the strength to raise her head, Nashi looked up as her breath got caught in her throat.

All the sakura trees in the region were alight in a rainbow display. Petals of blue, green, yellow, and more fell around Natsu and Nashi. Nashi couldn't take her eyes off of the miracle in front of her. Natsu wrapped a firm arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to him. He watched as Nashi's brown eyes shined with unspeakable joy.

"Natsu," she spoke softly, "thank you."

The dragon slayer did not respond as "Lucy's Tree" showered the father and daughter with the rainbow petals.