Erza and the others brought Natsu to the infirmary in the guild hall. His body had cuts and bruises along his chest and arms. The knight hated the fact they had to hurt him, but there was time to beat herself up over it later. She focused her gaze on him and him only.
She noticed the dark circles under his eyes, the red puffiness to them. ‘He must've been crying for so long,’ She thought as her hand rested on his.
Bandages were wrapped around his wounds as he lay there. Erza watched him intently as his chest raised and lowered to his gentle breaths.
She smiled softly, her hand gently caressing his cheek. “You've been through so much. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner.”
Natsu stirred in his bed as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting slightly at the bright light above him. His gaze turned to Erza, who gave him a warm smile. “Where.. where am I?” He asked.
“In the infirmary,” she responded, gesturing to the room around her. “We took you here after…” she paused for a moment, afraid to say anything more in case he didn't remember what happened.
“After I attacked you and everyone at the guild?” He asked with a sad smile. “I remember bits and pieces…” Natsu gazed down at his hand, “I… I'm sorry…”
Erza rested her hand on top of his. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” she interjected with a sad smile. “We should be sorry…,” her gaze went to the floor as she clenched her other hand tightly. “We pushed you away, all because we were afraid.”
Natsu turned his gaze away from her, “you had every right to be afraid of me. Look what happened…” tears were welling up in his eyes. “I could've hurt any of you or worse…”
Erza grabbed both of his hands to get his attention. “Look at me,” she sternly demanded as he did so. “Don't let guilt swallow you up again. I don't want to see you turn into that thing ever again. We pushed you to this breaking point. It is nobody's fault, but our own.”
Natsu let out a sigh, lowering his head. “I just… tried to forget about E.N.D. I still remember the conversation I had with Igneel in my head.
Erza’s eyes grew wide, “when did that happen?” She asked, leaning further into her chair.
“It's when I lost control the first time,” he looked down in shame. “I thought that girl from spriggan 12 killed Lucy, and I snapped.”
She frowned, remembering the fight between him and Gray. “So that's why you and Gray were fighting to the death.”
He nodded, “after you stopped us, I lost consciousness. It's like I was inside some kind of mindscape,” a small smile grew on his face. “That's when I met my father again. He told me the seeds inside my body were fighting for control, more so the demon seed.”
“I thought Igneel got rid of the dragon seed?” She raised her brow in confusion.
Natsu shook his head gently, “he shrunk it with the antibodies he created so I wouldn't become a dragon. But when I lost control of my emotions, the demon seed inside my body grew out of control. Igneel told me I was dying because I was so conflicted on who I truly was,” his gaze went down to his bandaged hands. “Was I a dragon?” His left palm opened, “or a demon,” his right palm opened.
Erza knew she didn't stick around to see what happened to Natsu, but the information still shocked her. She frowned, “what did you say to him?”
“I said I was neither. That I was human through and through,” he smiled for a moment before frowning. “But I guess all that did was shrink the demon seed, not destroy it like Igneel thought it would. When Gray said what he said, including everyone in the guild,” his eyes were becoming misty. “They looked at me like they didn't know me anymore. Hell, I didn't know who I was anymore.”
أنت تقرأ
The Demon Inside {COMPLETED}
أدب الهواةNobody looks at him the same anymore. Looks of fear, anger, and sadness radiate off his guild mates. Gray tried to accept it, but Lucy tried to forget it. But nobody could forget the fact that he was the most terrifying demon from the book of Zeref...
