Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter~ ヾ｜￣ー￣｜ﾉ
Sorry for the confusion. I accidentally posted this chapter when it was incomplete. Well, now that's explained...
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ read on~
And there lay
His mother's rotting corpse.
Natsu wanted to scream, but he couldn't. It was his fault, his fault.
His
Fault.
And all of a sudden he started laughing, and laughing, and laughing. The laughs soon evolved into pain filled sobs. And soon enough, he was laughing in between his heart wrenching cries of despair. He couldn't stop. This made the team way beyond worried.
"N-Natsu?..." Wendy said, her voice more high pitched than usual due to fear.
"Fault...h-his fault?" Natsu exclaimed between laughter and sobs.
"He needs help.' They all thought. But they couldn't blame him for needing such thing. I mean, he's been beaten and has been forced to watch people get brutally murdered, and if they'd heard right before...
"No, I DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM!" Natsu had screamed, clearly reliving a traumatic experience in his dream. He shifted, turned, and thrashed on his bed, his breath quickening as sweat started to form on his brow.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...
Otōsan..."
"I swear, I saw it happen!" Happy informed them one day at the guild. He filled them in on what happened that night and what Natsu had said in his sleep.
And if what Happy had said were true...
Had he been forced to commit murder
To his own father?...
It was a wonder how Natsu managed to stay in one piece after all that in front of them.
Lucy was now thankful that she let Levy test the truth serum out on Natsu.
She was going to help him, wether he accepted it or not.
His laughter soon died down, and it turned into downright anger and sadness, the anger outweighing the sadness.
The emotions that he had kept bottled up for so long... were finally set loose.
"You." He said darkly, still emitting some hiccups here and there. The team had never seen Natsu this fuming mad before, and it actually scared Gray, worried him. The last thing he wanted right now was for Natsu to get himself seriously injuried or possibly maimed. (A/N: Dobby didn't mean to kill anyone. Dobby only meant to maim or seriously injure. Sorry not sorry).
And if Gray's eyes didn't deceive him, he could've sworn he saw Asagi's malice filled smile waver a bit.
Nevertheless, that smile stayed put.
"Mad, are you now? Well, don't go taking out your anger on me, remember, it's your fault."
Asagi spat on Natsu's mother's face, and that's all it took for Natsu to have enough. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening Natsu was dashing towards the man, obviously seeking revenge. All fear for this man was long gone... now replaced with a strong loathing. He didn't care what happened now, all that mattered to him was the man be dead.
With incredible and astonishingly fast and flexible movements no one in the room even knew he possessed, he somehow ended up with the dagger that Asagi had pocketed on the side of his belt. He pointed it towards Asagi and Asagi swiftly got into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself. Natsu felt confused, lost in this sudden hurricane of emotions.
He was more than knee deep in his problems.
So he did the only thing that came to his mind, his instinct. 'Kill him, give him a taste of his own medicine.'
Give him what he deserves, Natsu. Do it. DO IT!
And Natsu charged at Asagi's prepared form, dagger raised above his head, ready to lower and puncture any part of Asagi he could reach.
And then the most unexpected thing happened. The rest of the team were suddenly released from their restraints. They looked around, confused as fuck, until their eyes landed on Kuro. Her eyes were brimmed with tears of regret and remorse, and she mouthed:
Go. Help him.
They knew that she meant Natsu, not Asagi. Erza gave her a smile of gratitude, knowing that she really didn't mean what she had done, giving the whip to Asagi to torment Natsu with.
After all, she didn't seem like she'd be the helper of a murderer. She just didn't have the aura, it didn't seem like it'd be a part of her nature.
And they wasted no time in rushing to Natsu's aid.
"Natsu, calm down! Please!" Gray tried his best to hold Natsu back but to no avail. He struggled and kicked, scratching and flailing as he tried to free himself of Gray's grip.
And all of a sudden Asagi took the form of...
(A/N: yes, he's a shapeshifter).
Natsu stopped so eruptly the team Looked to see what he was looking at.
That
Son
Of
A
BITCH.
Standing there, in his new form, was Natsu's father. "Natsu..." he spoke softly. Natsu's eyes widened. His voice... sounded exactly like his father's. Full of warmth and passion, care.
Except...
Those emotions didn't reach the man's eyes, unlike how it did with his father's.
Natsu knew that it wasn't his father, only that horrid man in disguise, but-
He just couldn't bring himself to do it.
He was too weak.
Past memories threatened to consume him whole, but he held back. He had to stay in the present. He couldn't let his team down just because of some past trauma.
"Natsu..." he called again. He spread his arms a little, as if expecting a hug.
Natsu almost took a step forward in desperation, to speak so many apologies, his form being so realistic. The fiery red hair sticking up in every direction like his, except his hair was salmon/pink, like his mother's, and he had that same scar that ran from the side of his eye to the middle of his right cheek. His eyes were the same color onyx like his, too. He was an exact replica.
But he managed to stop himself.
'Look into his eyes.'
He looked into the man's eyes. They were dark, empty, cruel.
'Dad's eyes were never like that. Cause it's not him.'
He kept contact with his eyes. If he was to kill this man, he had to know it was him, not his father.
"Natsu." This time it wasn't the man.
It was Gray. Natsu looked at him, their surroundings completely forgotten.
"Gray, I-I-"
"You can do it." He whispered softly.
Natsu nodded and turned around only to be met with a blast of magic. It hit right through the spot he once was in, as Gray pushed him down. He groaned in pain, sadly used to being pushed down harshly, though he knew Gray did it to safe his life, and looked up. Gray was offering him his hand.
He shakily accepted it and was pulled up from the dirty ground.
The man was still in the form of his dad, though he stopped acting like him. He was getting ready to fire another attack, and this time Natsu was prepared to fight back, as well as the team and Kuro. Erza was in her heaven's wheel armor and she had all her swords floating around her, positioned at the man and at the ready.
Lucy had Loki's celestial key out, ready to summon him with her left hand resting atop of the rest of her spirits' keys.
And Kuro, who knew what magic she had. But she was definitely ready.
And it all happened in one flash. Next moment everyone was in combat, including Takeshi and Susumu. Turns out Kuro had Earth magic, as she forced roots to sprout from the ground at her strong will. They made way to bind the people they were against. Lucy was trying her best at fighting, being a celestial wizard and all. (A/N: before you start, no, I'm not trying to imply that Lucy's weak. 'Cause she's not.)
She was doing good at it too. She managed to trip Takeshi off his feet momentarily and land a kick on Susumu where the sun don't shine. She went to punch Asagi when he caught her hand and, with incredible strength, threw her over his head like a rag doll, and she slammed into the wall, sliding down unconscious with blood leaking from her scalp into her golden locks. Loki turned towards Asagi, seething with anger.
"Some sonofabitch you are." Erza muttered, and hollered a command for her swords to rain upon Asagi, careful not to set them on her comrades and Kuro.
Natsu expertly dodged Takeshi's punch by crouching down, sticking his foot out and swiping him off his feet. Takeshi landed on his back with a groan and a thud, but quickly recovered. He was on to Natsu again when Gray cast an ice make: lance, though Takeshi stood prepared, and held his sliver blades in front of him in an x position to shield himself from Gray's magic. He slid back a few feet.
"Ice make: floor!"
That's when things started slowing down. It was hard fighting when you were constantly slipping and sliding. Wendy fell on her face, though that would've happened anyways, ice or not. She was known for being a bit clumsy, tripping every now and then.
And then there was Gray, laughing at their reaction towards the ice, and being the only one normally continuing to kick ass, aside from Erza who was in mid-air, this time in her Black Wing armor.
Natsu used his fire magic to help him run and fight.
"You fools! Get up and fight!" Asagi screeched at Takeshi and Susumu, who were attempting to get up but instead looked like they were doing some awkward dance while laying down.
Asagi unexpectedly grab Natsu wrist and twisted it harshly, making it snap. Natsu cried out in pain, gathering the attention of everyone, except Lucy who was still unconscious.
"You are not getting away from me again." Asagi breathed into Natsu's ear, making him shiver in disgust. Everyone has now forgotten that they were supposed to be dueling one another, and instead watched with bated breath.
"Yeah?"
And next thing they knew
Gray had fallen to his knees, bleeding out onto the icy floor. Asagi had thrown his dagger which, with good aim, had stabbed Gray's abdomen.
And then there was screaming, a scream that sounded so broken, so pitiful and desperate, and it took a moment before Natsu realized it was coming from himself.