Edolas Natsu

I remember being pretty young at the time. I lived with my family. My father would work for the local inn while my mother would stay at home due to an illness that permanently limited her mobility drastically. Because of this, Father would work many long hours to compensate. We barely see him.

Zeref was extremely fond of Father, so those few times he came home, Zeref would savor any moment he had with him.

However, a shooting had happened at the inn. Father was one of the victims. Zeref was shatter beyond belief. Everything changed.

Due to no one being able to work, we had little money to work with. We sold almost everything. But if that were to only problem, it wouldn't be as bad.

The worst about it was not the shortage of cash.

It was Zeref.

I never thought father meant that much to him, but he did. He was no longer a quiet kid, but a bully. Worst than anyone I had encountered. But he didn't just abuse me. He targeted my mother. We were both at his mercy. Anything we said to him would fall on deaf ears. There was nothing we could do...

"Zeref! What are you doing?!"

"Shut up!" He punched my mother, and the next thing she knew, she was tumbling on the floor, limited by her paralysis.

One of his favorite things to do with me was toss me against the wall. I had my mother's small frame, so it wasn't hard to do so. There were bruises all over my back, some still there as discolored skin. Whenever I went to school, I made excuses for each new visible mark.

I couldn't tell anyone, because no matter what Zeref had did to me…

...I still loved him.

One day, Zeref was having fun with me again. My eye was swollen and my limbs began to ache terribly. I could barely move.

"Zeref, p-please…" I begged, unmoving. His fist clenched once again. I closed my eyes, but I heard something. I opened them, and my breath left my body.

Mother, somehow standing tall, had grabbed Zeref by the wrist, stopping the punch from ever happening. Her black hair shadowed her face. Two guards had surrounded her. Zeref's expression changed drastically when he realized what he was getting into.

Without saying a word, the guards took Zeref away. He was sent to Juvenile prison and therapy until his adulthood.

However, even after he left, Mother felt extremely uneasy. In the end, fearing my safety, she put me up for adoption, hoping that I would be safe from Zeref if he decided to target us once again.

Eventually, Igneel, who turned out to be a retired famous racer, had adopted me. When he questioned my black eye, I just looked away from him, not talking to him for the entire car ride. I had refused to talk to him.

One day, I let slip that I wanted to be a racer when I grow up and he became ecstatic. He would always take to the go-cart place and teach me how to drive. At first, I was extremely hesitant when I realized I was putting myself in the mercy of the other's who were likely much better than I was.

But the moment I took the first turn, all of that slipped away. My previous anxiety was replaced with so much joy, I couldn't stop talking about when we left. From that point on, I began to best most of those at the race track.

Sadly, I was hit with hard news. Mother's weak body could not handle all the anxiety she was going through. She died from a heart attack a few months after my adoption. When Igneel comforted me of the matter, I confessed of the abusive behavior of Zeref and how it felt like Mother and I were hostages. I locked myself in my room for the rest of the day.

Years later, I left the care of my Igneel and decided to join a guild (before guilds were illegal). As a parting gift, he gave me his old goggles, to which I wear to this day. He actually felt like a father to me.

After King Faust was banned from Edolas, I decided visit my birth parents' grave. I placed mother's favorite flowers at her grave.

In my peripheral vision, I saw flowers being placed at my father's grave. "Huh?"

My eyes bugged out of my head.

Zeref.

He was standing right there. He didn't look crazy, or hateful. He just looked like Zeref. He turned his head and met my eyes, to which I flinch.

Zeref didn't do anything. He just turned around, stuffed his hands in his pocket, and walked off. I barely heard the words that came out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry."