The Salamander's Sister

Salamander's Sister Christmas Special #2: Save The Madison Family

Natsume's pov

"Natsume?" I stared at Haruto, shocked that he was the client that we were working for. I couldn't believe he was the one who was now married and had kids, he's not much older than Natsu and I. "Oh my god, Natsume. It really is you!" He rushed over towards us, pulling me into a tight hug. I stood completely still in my spot as he hugged me, my entire body feeling tense as I was both shocked and very uncomfortable. "I can't believe you really are here. And you are a Fairytail member now! It's so good to see you." It seemed that Haruto got the message that I wasn't going to hug him back because he let go of me and backed away, smoothing out his shirt. "Sorry, I forgot." He cleared his throat, looking regretful. "It's fine.. We haven't seen each other in a very long time, I know how that can make old friends feel." I waved it off, "So how have you been? I see that you were able to join Fairytail." He motioned for everyone to sit down, they all looked stunned and Gray, well.. He looked jealous. "I've been good. Been through a lot but I'm doing okay." I took a seat, Natsu sitting to my left with Gray sitting to my right. "Did you ever find your brother?" He asked, "Yes, actually.. He's right here. Haruto meet Natsu. Natsu meet my old friend, Haruto." I introduced, the two of them shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Natsu. I've heard a lot about you." Haruto smiled, I looked away from Haruto to his wife who seemed like a sweet young woman, she looked no older than Erza. "It's nice to meet you too, Haruto. Any friend of Sume is a friend of mine." He said, giving him a warm smile which I know Haruto appreciated. He had always talked about getting in Natsu's good graces if he met him, he wanted Natsu to know him for who he truly is and not as how some people depicted him. "Natsume, I'd like you to meet my wife, Jana. Jana, this is Natsume.." I shook her hand, giving her a small awkward smile. "Oh, it's so nice to finally meet you, Natsume. Haruto talks a lot about you, after all, you two were a thing before he found me." She laughed, making everyone look between Haruto and I. Gray looked at me, quirking an eyebrow as he was shocked to hear this. Lucy and Erza both looked to me for answers but I only shook my head, signaling that I didn't want to talk about it at all. "Oh no," Lucky muttered, shaking her head. Gray and Natsu both looked at me, wondering why I didn't tell them about this. "Honey, how many times have I told you not to bring that up?" Haruto asked, "Sorry. I'm just finally glad to meet her." I curled into myself, sighing as Haruto shook his head. He gave me an apologetic look, knowing that I didn't want our past to be talked about. Not when it really affected me and not in a good way, Lucky hated when the subject was brought up too. She hated the way things ended between Haruto and I, she felt that a good friendship was lost because of it. Erza looked at me, the two of us making eye contact. She sensed that I was uncomfortable so she decided to change the subject, "Mr. Madison.." She started, "Please, call me Haruto." He interrupted, giving her a warm look.

"Very well then, Haruto.. When was the last time you saw your youngest daughter?" Erza asked. Jana and Haruto looked at one another, both of their expressions looking grim. "Monday morning was the last time we saw Joyce. The two of us had an important meeting so we left her home in the care of her uncle, Jana's brother, Jeremy. When we got back it was pretty late and Jeremy had already put her to bed. So we just headed to sleep." Haruto explained.

"What about your other kids? Were they home as well with Jeremy?" Laxus asked.

"Yes and no. Hani and Henry both were both home for most of the morning, but they left around mid afternoon to an event they had with friends and decided to stay the night with friends. When we went into Joyce's room the next morning, she wasn't there." Haruto explained, "I feel like I let her down," Tears formed in Jana's eyes, I could see how heartbroken she was. "I should have checked on her the minute we got home. I had this horrible feeling in my gut that something was really wrong and I didn't listen to it. And now, Joyce is missing and we have more people threatening our two oldest kids." Tears rolled down Jana's cheeks, Haruto wrapped an arm around his wife and tried to comfort her.

"We're going to do everything that we can to find your daughter and get her back." Lucy spoke up. "Is there anyone that suspect may have taken Joyce?" Gray asked, "No, not really." Jana shook her head, I shifted my eyes to Haruto and noticed him looking at me with a strange emotion in his eyes. From his body language I could see that he wanted to say something but it seemed like he couldn't. The two of us made eye contact, with his eyes, he motioned to his very distraught wife before looking back at me. Lucky shifted in my lap and I could tell that she was super uncomfortable with this whole thing. "The more I think about it, the more worried I become. What if whoever took my Joyce is hurting her?" Jana only seemed to become more hysterical, prompting Haruto to call in a maid to take her out of the room for some air. Once she was out of the room, Haruto sighed heavily and the look on his face changed. I could see that there was something that he wanted to say and now he has no reason to hold back, he was free to say whatever it was. I looked at Natsu, who sensed the change in Haruto's demeanor and we weren't the only ones to know. Everyone else in the group saw the change in his demeanor and body language, I could tell that Erza knew he wanted to say something. "Haruto, is there something that you have to say? I can see that you wanted to say something earlier but you didn't because your wife was in the room." Laxus questioned, sitting forward in his seat.

"I have an idea as to who might have been involved in taking Joyce. I couldn't say it in front of Jana because it involves someone she knows." He stated.

"Who is it?" I sat forward, looking him in the eyes.

"Jeremy. I have a feeling Jeremy is involved in all of this." The room became silent, we didn't expect him to accuse his brother in law. "Why do you suspect Jeremy? Was he involved with the people threatening you?" Gray asked, looking confused. "Jeremy knows the people who are threatening us. He once did business with them.. And he was the last person to be with Joyce. He dismissed all of our maids and butlers early and was alone with Joyce all day." I looked at Laxus and Erza, both of them looking a little suspicious of Haruto. I brushed it off, thinking nothing of it and turned my attention back onto Haruto.

"Where can we find this Jeremy?" Natsu asked.