NaLi

NaLi is the het ship between Natsu Dragneel and Lisanna Strauss from the Fairy Tail fandom.

Canon
Natsu and Lisanna are childhood friends who became very close before Lisanna’s apparent death. Their relationship is defined by Lisanna’s constant light hearted teasing of Natsu, especially about the two getting married one day. Ultimately, they have great love and respect for each other and still remain good friends following Lisanna’s return to Fairy Tail. It is heavily implied that Natsu and Lisanna had feelings for each other as children, but it appears that has mostly subsided since Lisanna’s return.

The two first met when Lisanna found Natsu stood outside, alone, in the rain after being mocked about his claim that his father is a dragon. Lisanna initially tries to encourage him to come inside but he refuses, she than starts talking about dragons to him and how amazing she thinks they are, prompting Natsu to enthusiastically talk about his father, Igneel. The two began to grow close and their bond strengthened when they found an egg that they assumed was of a dragon. Together, they raised and eventually hatched the egg, much to their surprise, a cat popped out who they named Happy (it is later revealed that Happy is an Exceed). A few years later, Lisanna joined her siblings, Elfman and Mirajane, on a S-class Quest where she reportedly died at the hands of Elfman when he lost control of his powers. In reality, she had been taken to Edolas, via an Anima, by chance and had been living there as Edolas Lisanna (with the original Edolas Lisanna having passed away) until Natsu and his friends arrived. Following the end of the Edolas arc, she returned to her true home.

Lisanna has great love for Natsu as her friend and was the first person to take him seriously about his story regarding Igneel. Although she was prone to teasing Natsu, she was always sincere and cared for him deeply. She gleefully viewed Natsu as her husband and Happy as their child, believing they had developed a family bond by raising and eventually hatching Happy. She felt she had seen a much calmer and kinder side to the normally brash Natsu that many other people do not get to see, and asked him to be her future husband one day, but tried to brush it off as a joke. After being in Edolas for so long, she accidentally joined the rest of the Fairy Tail guild members in returning to her true home. Realising where she was, she joyfully revealed to Natsu that she is the Lisanna he grew up with and hugged him in tears of joy.

Following her return from Edolas, she has shown to have great faith in Natsu, like many other members of the guild, and believes he will accomplish anything he sets his mind to. She still teases him about the two getting married, as seen during the Grand Magic Games when they both participated in a round where they had to pair up as bride and groom, but Natsu ultimately ended up with Lucy, although Lisanna giggled over this. During the Tenrou Island arc, she found herself in the same cell, naked, as Natsu and constantly blushed and became irritated whenever he looked at her. Lisanna has shown to prioritise Natsu’s happiness, as she seems very pleased to see how close he is with Lucy and has gotten herself on good terms with her, at one point telling Lucy to stay with Natsu as he is stronger when people he is close to are nearby.

Natsu found great comfort in befriending Lisanna, as she was the first serious friend he made. Despite his outgoing nature, he found himself playing to Lisanna’s whim and once said it was impossible to win an argument with her. He very much enjoyed raising Happy with her and once referred to the idea of him and Lisanna being Happy’s father and mother as not a bad idea. He was very prone to blushing at Lisanna’s comments of the two getting married one day, despite being startled by the suggestion, and appeared to enjoy the idea. A few years later, he was shown to be jealous when Lisanna went on a S-class quest and envied her. When he found out she had died Natsu was left devastated and promised to find a way to bring her back one day. He built a grave for her in the spot where they once built a hut to help hatch Happy out of his egg.

Since her passing he has deeply missed Lisanna, evidenced by his serious demeanour when Gildarts brought her up to him. When he arrived in Edolas and saw Lisanna, he was overjoyed and went to hug her only to be stopped by Edolas Lucy, as he correctly believed Lisanna was the Lisanna from his world before then assuming that she is actually Edolas’ version of Lisanna. Later, when it is revealed to him that Edolas Lisanna is, in fact, Lisanna from his world he becomes overjoyed and attempts to hug her back but is stopped by Erza. Since her return, he still views her as a close friend even though his interactions with her are scarce. It appears Natsu has lost any feelings he had for her, as when Lisanna teases him about being husband and wife during the Grand Magic Games he did not blush like he did when he was a child. However, he comments that she looks beautiful when he sees her in a wedding dress. When she expresses concern about their dire situation whilst imprisoned, Natsu reassures Lisanna and is able to put a smile on her face.

Although it is certain that both Lisanna and Natsu had romantic feelings for each other during their childhood, there has been no evidence that those feelings have remained. This is due to the lack of relationship development since her return, with Lisanna joining her siblings as a team and Natsu continuing to be Lucy’s partner and a member of Team Natsu. Furthermore, Lisanna has shown to be accepting of Lucy’s role in Natsu’s life and has even shown support for their close friendship.

Quotes
Lisanna - “When we grow older, how about I be your wife?”

Natsu - ''“W-What? Where’d that come from?”''

- Lisanna teasing Natsu as usual.

Fanon
Although not as much as NaLu, the NaLi ship is still fairly popular due to the fact that both Natsu and Lisanna had feelings for one another and that they are close childhood friends. Their rival ship is NaLu.

When Lisanna was younger, she was very kind like Elfman was as a child. She wanted to help Natsu raise an unknown egg to see what comes out of it, being a little more knowledgeable than Natsu. After seeing a softer side of the usually flamboyant Natsu, she stated that he was a lot like her sister and joked that perhaps later she should become his bride/wife which predictably embarrassed him. Whilst raising the egg with him, Natsu learned it was "impossible" to win in an argument with Lisanna.

NaLu shippers are somewhat hostile to NaLi shippers, with both groups being the primary cause of shipping wars in the Fairy Tail fandom.

There are currently 252 works of NaLi on AO3.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

WIKIS
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Trivia

 * Following his return, Gildarts talks to Natsu and refers to Lisanna as his girlfriend (unaware that she had died since he last visited the guild).
 * Fairy Tail author, Hiro Mashima, has produced a fan art of Natsu and Lisanna on twitter.
 * Lisanna and Natsu are seen as the original parents of Happy, however, quite a few in the fandom now believe it is Natsu and Lucy.
 * In France, 2019, Fairy Tail author, Hiro Mashima, contemplated who Natsu would be better off with and stated that "it would be a shame for a nice girl like Lisanna to end up with Natsu" before confirming that Lucy would be the better choice.
 * Natsu is flustered when Lisanna proposes a “marriage” between them; while Lisanna is smiling.