The apology stunned Erza. She hadn't been expecting that to be the topic even if she had wanted to take this opportunity to make amends. She mirrored Natsu's star-bound gaze and said nothing for a few moments.
"I knew you would react that way, in some way I suppose... I tried to prepare myself for it when I did what I did."
She could weather all sorts of punishment, stand against any foe without fear, but the words of her friends was one her greatest vulnerabilities.
"Leaving all of those people to die without so much as a warning. Deceiving you so that I wouldn't lose any of my own friends. Those were two of the most difficult, and selfish, decisions I've ever had to make."
She bowed her head, fighting the tears that attempted to creep into the corners of her eyes. It occurred to her now that, even in all of her solitude, she had refused to cry over what she had done. Not because she felt no remorse but because it would make the reality of it all so much worse.
"I knew you would never leave, you would have died before that; I couldn't let that happen. I won't apologize for that. As much as I despise myself for it if I had to do it again I would. Even if it meant that you would hate me forever..."
no subject
The apology stunned Erza. She hadn't been expecting that to be the topic even if she had wanted to take this opportunity to make amends. She mirrored Natsu's star-bound gaze and said nothing for a few moments.
"I knew you would react that way, in some way I suppose... I tried to prepare myself for it when I did what I did."
She could weather all sorts of punishment, stand against any foe without fear, but the words of her friends was one her greatest vulnerabilities.
"Leaving all of those people to die without so much as a warning. Deceiving you so that I wouldn't lose any of my own friends. Those were two of the most difficult, and selfish, decisions I've ever had to make."
She bowed her head, fighting the tears that attempted to creep into the corners of her eyes. It occurred to her now that, even in all of her solitude, she had refused to cry over what she had done. Not because she felt no remorse but because it would make the reality of it all so much worse.
"I knew you would never leave, you would have died before that; I couldn't let that happen. I won't apologize for that. As much as I despise myself for it if I had to do it again I would. Even if it meant that you would hate me forever..."