Several weeks ago
Matza Valley
Nashi:

I felt something cool fall onto my cheek, not wanting to wake up I wiped it away, which is what I would have done if my arm wasn't throbbing with pain. My eyes shot open, when my vision adjusted I saw that I was lying on the grass in a forest. There was something warm and sticky underneath me.

When I managed to sit up, there was blood on the ground... my blood. My eyes went wide with fear.

Where am I? What happened? How did I get here? These questions and many others swarmed my mind as panic settled in. My arm... Looking over, it was obvious that my right arm was out of socket. Using my left arm, I quickly surveyed the rest of my body. I found a deep knife wound in the left side of my abdomen. The knife had been removed. Whoever had done it had taken the weapon and left me to bleed out.

Wait a minute. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember a single thing. Come on, what was the last thing I remember. The eclipse gate, my death, my resurrection, my team, and that woman. Was this her doing?

Calm down. I took several deep breaths to steady my speeding heartbeat. Take these things one at a time.

First, fix my arm. If whoever did this comes back, I'll need both of my arms to fight them off.

Second, patch the knife wound. I won't get far away if I bleed out.

Third, figure out where I am.

Fourth, get back to Fairy Tail. As long as I can make it back to Fairy Tail, I can get back up and I'll be safe.

Alright, I've got a plan, time to put it in practice. Hobbling over to a nearby tree I lined it up with my bad shoulder. "One... Two... Three..." I slammed my dislocated shoulder into the tree trunk. There was a loud popping sound as my shoulder fell back into socket. I let out a shriek at the pain. It then subsided and my arm was feeling much better now that it was back in it's place.

"Number two, patch the knife wound," I muttered. I looked around for something to patch the wound and noticed a backpack I hadn't noticed before. I rushed over to it, dumping its contents onto the dew-covered grass. There were supplies for camping, a few jewel, and papers I didn't bother reading.

Letting out a sigh, I looked down at what I was wearing. It was my orange tank top, shorts, and denim jacket. They were dirty and tattered beyond repair. "Sorry Gale," I said pulling off the denim jacket she had made for me on my 15th birthday. The material was worn out and thin, I rubbed my thumb over the Fairy Tail guild patch sewn onto the shoulder. "I'll be home soon," With that, I ripped the jacket and tied it around my waist to hold pressure on the wound.

Carefully sliding the backpack onto my shoulders I came to a stand. I managed to find a nearby stick that was big enough to be a walking staff. Using the staff, I made my way out of the woods and eventually caught sight of a small village in the center of a valley.

An older woman and her husband nearby were herding sheep back into the valley. "Are you alright Miss?" The woman called out. She came running up the hill in my direction, her husband telling her to be careful. "Are you alright?" She asked again.

"Uh..."

"Oh my goodness you're bleeding! Was it bandits?"

"Y-yeah. Bandits," I answered, not wanting to delve deeper into the subject.

"Don't worry dear, we'll get you to the doctor in no time," She assured.

A few hours later, the nice woman and her husband had gotten me to the doctor. He gave me eight stitches for the knife wound and told me not to do any heavy lifting or exercise for the next two weeks. He also went on and on about how I was lucky the knife didn't hit any major organs.

"We've never had bandits in old Matza before,"

"Is that where we are?" I asked. That nice woman from before had offered to let me stay with her and her husband for the next few days. They said I could stay as long as I needed to, but I wouldn't feel comfortable overstaying my invitation. The three of us were sitting in the kitchen of the cozy little cottage the couple lived in while we ate breakfast.

"Oh honey, did you hit your head in that robbery?" The woman asked. "This is Matza Valley,"

"How far away are we from Magnolia?"

"Magnolia eh?" The woman's husband pondered aloud. "Well, you couldn't be farther away from that rowdy town," I nearly choked on my tea resulting in a coughing fit. "Take it easy girl," The man chuckled.

"Paul!" The woman scolded. "She's choking,"

"No, I'm fine," I coughed. "I just wasn't expecting to be so far from home,"

"Oh? You're from Magnolia?" The older woman questioned.

"Of course she's from Magnolia Janice, look at that there fancy guild mark on her shoulder," Paul pointed out.

"Oh, are you a wizard then dear?"

"Y-yeah," I sheepishly answered.

"You are a long way from home then. What brought you all the way to this side of Fiore?"

"Just visiting family," I lied. "I was on my way home when I got lost in a huge storm then I got attacked by those bandits,"

"Goodness gracious! Your family must be worried sick!"

"Yeah... I bet they are," I looked down into my teacup thinking about how sad Natsu and Lucy must be feeling. They still think I'm dead.

"Come now dear," Janice said comfortingly rubbing her hand on my shoulder. "We'll get you home A-S-A-P."

"Thank you. Could you tell me where the nearest guild is?"

"Absolutely! Let's see, the nearest guild would be... Saber Tooth right Paul?"

"That sounds about right," Paul answered.

"Oh..." I moaned.

"What's the matter dear?"

"She's from Fairy Tail Janice. Don't you remember? The fairies and tigers don't get along, it was pretty obvious in the Grand Magic Games a few months ago." Paul pointed out.

"Oh, that's right,"

"Wait... Did you say the Grand Magic Games were a few months ago?" My heart was beating over 100 beats per minute. What happened to the past three months? I thought I was only missing a few days or weeks at most, but three months?! I was in disbelief.

Janice must have seen my distress, "Is there something wrong dear?" She questioned.

"I... I need to use the bathroom," I got up and pushed in my chair at the table as I made my way to the bathroom. When I closed the door and looked in the mirror, I didn't even recognize myself. My hair was long and pale compared to what it used to be. My eyes were hollow and sunken in as if I hadn't slept in days. As for the rest of my face, the only word I could think of to describe it was bleak.

I didn't like the girl in the mirror, she was nothing like me. The girl I saw didn't have any hope in her eyes. Her eyes were dead and hollow, devoid of all life. I know for a fact that my eyes are always shining with joy and energy. However, as I continued to stare at the girl in the mirror, the more it sunk in. That girl isn't me, she's the result of whatever happened in the past three months. It's my job to bring the real me back.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"I can not thank you enough," I said. Paul and Janice had been letting me stay at their home for the past five days and I figured it was time for me to start heading home. 

"Oh Nashi dear, you are welcome here any day!"

"Don't be a stranger ya hear?" 

"I promise I'll come to visit as soon as I can," I assured. "Thanks for the clothes too,"

"You're very welcome dear, I modeled them after the clothes my niece wears," 

The clothes Janice and I were referring to was an outfit she had already been working on when I arrived. They were going to be a gift for her niece, but she insisted that I should take them because she could always make more. It was a black halter top with white shorts, long black fingerless gloves, tall socks, and boots. 

"You both really are the best," I said, giving the older couple one last hug goodbye. 

"Make sure you stay safe now!" Janice called out as I started to walk away. 

"I will,"

"Tell your folks we said hello," Paul added.

"Yes sir,"

I smiled and waved at them one more time before trudging up the hill in the direction they told me was East. I would have to bring the future team back here sometime. Paul and Janice reminded me of the grandparents we never had.