Outside of Oakwood village:

A dark-skinned child with short black hair who was no older than 4 wandered aimlessly through the woods at night. He was walking as blood dripped down from his face to his t-shirt or landing on his shorts and leaving a trail behind him as he ran. He was tired from running, he ran because his village was being raided from random criminals. They were killing people and not leaving anyone alive. He was running because he left alone.

"Pant*, pant*, pant*" he was tired. His knees gave out and he was cold, dying actually. He then remembered the two people he had become friends with then they became siblings. They took care of him more than the caretakers did at the orphanage before they ran away. And when he was sick, they would find and steal medicine from others for him. And yet after all that... They left him, left him behind. Like he never even mattered to begin with.

"Ayaka, Darian. Why…why did you leave me?" Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered the last words they told him before he was left behind.

Abandoned Home (Earlier):

The three kids were hiding upstairs from the bandits inside their home. Darian heard the commotion from the shed and Ayaka saw it from the boarded-up window before hiding herself from the view. Shu was in his room covering his ears. He was afraid of the bandits coming to in their home. Then he realized that he didn't have his sister or brother with him. He had to find them even if it meant running into the bandits. He slowly got from under the bed and went downstairs slowly. He then saw a figure coming from the door, he jumped over the rail and hid behind the couch. The door opened and he saw two hooded figures with knives in their hands. He then heard them speak.

"Why are we in here, this place has been abandoned for years no one comes here?" the first hooded figure asked. The figure sounded like a male, and then next one sounded like a female.

"Not true, there have been rumors that three kids live here. Tired of dealing with the rough treatment at the orphanage, those three decided to run away and live their own lives." The female hooded figure said.

"Do you have any idea what they look like?"

"Only two. The first child is a 6-year-old girl that has short black hair with twin ponytails wearing a blue sweater and pink shorts while the other 6-year-old boy has short blonde hair wearing a short sleeve t shirt and black shorts." She summarized making her partner raised an eyebrow at her."

"Hey, you forgot about what the last one looks like."

"I'm getting to that dumbass." She said agitated before taking breath to calm down. "The other two leave the building more than the third so it's hard to figure out what they look like."

"Well then what about the orphanage, shouldn't the previous so called caretakers have history on the kid?"

She sighed in annoyance. "No. Apparently, the caretakers didn't care to put information on any of the kids they've been taking care of all these years." "They only thing i found interesting is that out of the three children, two of them are more grown up than the others. The files said that they have the minds of an adult instead of child which means they're smart."

"Whatever, let's just find these three brats and get this over with." He said with a malice smile on his face. Shu needed leave quietly and find his siblings as soon as possible. But the next words they said froze him in terror.

"I doubt we would find them here, but that's doesn't mean we could capture one of them and torture them. Once they scream then they would come crawling to find them leading to us.." She finished with an evil smile. Shu eyes widened in horror. They would capture his siblings and torture them just to find him.

"I can't let that happen, I love my family and family protects one another." he thought ready to give himself up. He started crawling away from the couch into the kitchen before accidentally hitting a table alarming the two intruders.

"Darn it." He yelled silently before feeling two shadows over him. He turned around and froze in fear. He saw the two figures in front of him.

"Well what are you doing in here, shouldn't you be running away from this place instead of standing here kid?" the male said revealing his knife. Shu saw the knife and couldn't help but be terrified, he then felt something on his face. He turned his eyes away from the male to the female, she was on her knees in front of him one hand on the knife in her cloak while the other was on his cheek.

"Now, now Teri, that's not a nice way to introduce yourself to a child, a scared child if I may add." She said not taking her eyes off Shu.

"Seriously Fera, are you lecturing me on introductions? What have you taken an interest on this child or something?" he asked looking at her, she didn't answer back. He then realized something, she wanted this child. She usually wants something when she's all quiet but this is something different, there's a reason for this.

"I have taken an interest Teri but not for manipulation or killing him once we're outside." She said stroking Shu's cheek back and forth sending tremors through his body. Teri eyes widened at her gesture towards the boy, it meant one thing. She wanted to raise him as her own child.

"Oh god, you actually want to raise this brat as your child!? Fera, we're here for the three children not this piece of trash!" he yelled agitated at her. And scaring Shu. Shu didn't like loud noises, it made him feel terrified of people. He was crying but he couldn't scream, he was still shaken by the two figures so instead he held in his cries of terror. Fera saw this and wiped away the tears on his eyes before giving Teri a look of killing intent.

"I would be careful if I were you Teri." She said. "Yes, I know we are looking for the three kids but I think we found one of them right here, and yes I want to keep him and raise him as my own." She finished before pulling Shu to sit on her knees and stroke his hair in comfort.

"Screw that! If you don't kill that child right now then I will do it myse-" Teri was cut off as he gasped in pain and saw a knife stabbed right through his heart. He looked up and saw a shadow of Fera in front of him smiling evilly before fading into the ground and return to her.

"I told you to be careful Teri but it's just who you are. You never listen to my warnings and always took me too lightly. And now you pay the price." She finished as Teri collapsed on the floor dead at her feet. Fera turned her eyes back to the child who was now extremely terrified of her and trying to get away from her.

"What's your name?" she asked in a gentle tone. Shu was surprised at her voice change while struggling to get out of her hold, he turned around and look at her in the eyes. It wasn't the eyes of a killer that was after him, it was something else something he couldn't describe. Calmed down, he was looked at her in awe.

Fera giggled at the sight of Shu's expression. "Sweetie what is your name, I know it's rude not to answer someone when their talking to you?" she asked again. Shu didn't want to answer her. For all he knew, she's dangerous and could kill him at any second, but why isn't she doing anything? Either way, if he wanted to see his siblings again or keep them alive at least, he would just answer her questions.

"Umm…my name is….um" he tried to answer her but he couldn't he was never good at talking to anyone but Ayaka and Darian so he couldn't help but stutter.
"Is…S-S-Shu. It's just Shu, I'm sorry I don't have a last name." Fera just smiled at him.

"Shu… huh that's a weird name for you don't you think?"

"B-B-But I like it, m-m-my name I mean."

"You don't have to stutter to me ok. Don't be afraid I'm not going to hurt you." She told him closing her eyes. Shu was about to answer her back before seeing Darian creeping behind her with a shovel. Ayaka was behind him putting a finger to her mouth signaling for Shu to keep quiet and not alert their presence to Fera, so he just nodded and looked back at Fera.

"It's n-not that. It's just t-that I-I've never really talked to a-anyone other than my brother and sister who take c-care of me so I not used to people." He said quietly and looked at her.

"Well don't worry. You can be easy around me, I won't hurt you because I like you but…." She trailed off before disappearing and reappearing behind Darian and grabbed him by his throat.

"This one I don't like." She said before grabbing Ayaka and lifting her up in the air.

"DARIAN! AYAKA! PLEASE LET THEM GO!." He shouted at the Fera trying to reach up and grab her but instead he grabbed her hood as he came down revealing her face. She had pale skin with bright green hair flowing down to her back and pink eyes.

"Oh, I don't know they just tried to attack me so I think no." she said squeezing their throats and making them gasp for air. Shu didn't know what to do. He wasn't strong enough to free them or attack Fera.

"Please let them go." He pleaded to her. Fera just smiled darkly at the him before asking him.

"And why should I do that!?" Shu then blurted out his answer.

"Because if I do, I'll go with you!" he shouted shocking all three of them. Fera just turned back at the crying child seeing the desperation in his eyes.

"If you let them go, I'll come with you. Y-You wanted to be a m-mother right? Well if I go with you willingly, you can have your own child a-and be the m-mother you wanted to be." he said furiously wiping away his tears and keeping his gaze on the floor.

"S…..Sh…Shu"

"Shu…n..no" Darian and Ayaka said feeling the grip on their throats lessen. Fera then dropped the two to the ground, walking back to Shu. She dropped to knees and tilted his chin up with her hand.

"Do…do you really mean that?" she asked staring into his eyes. Shu didn't want to answer but he knew that if he did not, she could kill Aya and DJ the next second.

"I-I…I do. Just please let them go." He said as tears flowed down his face and as he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Fera was happy, not only was this child willing to give himself up to save those two but he would be her own child and wouldn't try to get away from her.

"I'm so happy that you would do this for me. I think you and I are going to get along fi- AAAGGGHH" she shouted at she collapsed on the floor. Shu looked up at her attacker and saw Darian holding the shovel from earlier.

Shu was frozen until he felt Ayaka come up to him and pull him into a hug. "Thank goodness you're okay." she exclaimed with tears coming out of her eyes as she hugged him tightly.

"We can do that later right now we need to get out of here. We can go through the back yard to the forest." Darian asked as he ran to the back door. Ayaka pulled back from the hug and grip Shu's hand pulling him with her. Darian looked both ways before signaling them to follow him, Ayaka and Shu followed and the three ran to the forest not noticing that Fera was watching them.

"Heh heh, I tried to be nice and let them live but all they did was attack me and took away what belongs to me." She chuckled before sighing in defeat.

"Oh well, it's not like they can hide him forever. When I want something, I get it by any means necessary but for some reason I don't feel angry. I'm calm, because I know that no matter where they take him, no matter where he'll hide, he will always come back to me." She started walking off in the other direction before smiling evilly.

"Don't worry Shu, I'll see you again. Until then, I love you." She said with a cruel smile on her face before disappearing.

Darian, Ayaka and Shu stood on top of a hill watching their home round up in flames, seeing people get killed or dragged out of their homes. It was chaos.

"I'm sorry guys." Shu said silently avoiding both their gazes. "I-I didn't know what else to do, I-I…" he was interrupted when they both engulfed him in a hug.

"It's okay Shu, if we were you we would do the same then. You would keep us safe, even if it meant never seeing us again." Darian said.

"I don't care, I'm just glad you're safe." Ayaka said. Shu thought that they would be mad at him but they weren't they were concerned and frightened for him.

"I'm just glad to be with my family again." He said smiling at them.

"I know idiot, which is why I have to do this." Darian said gripping the shovel before pulling back.

"What do you- Whack." Shu couldn't finish as he was hit in the head and fell to the ground. Ayaka became angered at this and grabbed Darian by the shoulders.

"What did you do that for, why did you hit him!?" she yelled.

"I had to! If I didn't then he would never be safe!" he shouted back at her only angering her more.

"What do you mean by that!?" she asked seeing him frown.

"I heard some of them earlier while I was in the shed, they said that he was some kind of special child and that he needed to be killed. If he stayed with us any longer, then he would've been dead. We wouldn't be able to protect him."

"Did you actually believe all of that? Shu is only a child, he's four years old!" Ayaka yelled.

"I don't!"

"Still that doesn't give you a reason to knock him out!" she slapped him hard.

"Ok, I deserve that but I have an idea and you won't like it."

"Why?"

"It involves us leaving Shu." He said only to receive another slap to the face. "Ow." Ayaka looked furious and just grabbed him by his collar.

"Are you insane!? You just said we wouldn't be able to protect Shu and now you want abandon him!? What's wrong with you!?" she shouted.

"Hey! I don't like this anymore than you do but what else can we do, we can't protect him all the time. We can take care of ourselves but Shu can't and as long as those people are looking for him, he isn't safe." He said, Ayaka just looked at him with a frustrated expression before letting Darian go and walked over to her little brother.

"Can't we just find a place to hide him for a bit until they leave and then come back for him?" she pleaded silently, but Darian just shook his head.

"No, if we do that then that would be shortening his time to be captured and we would be basically be sending him to his death wish." He said. He walked up to his sister and grasped her hand.

"Aren't we already doing that?" she whispered harshly.

"Sis, I don't like this more than you do but we have to do this. I rather have him alive and mad at us than be dead and bury him the next day." He said sadly. Ayaka just couldn't believe this, the younger brother that she loved so much and willing to protect now had to be left behind. She didn't know what to do but she had to do what it takes to protect him, no matter what.

"Just tell me where to put him down at so they can't find him." She said firmly.

"Follow me." He said before walking. Ayaka just picked up her little surrogate brother and followed Darian. They walked for a bit before seeing a cave with tree branches hanging over it.

"This is where we are going to hide him." He said as Ayaka laid Shu down on the cold floor.

"And you're sure that he'll be safe here?"

"He will, I promise. There is a small road from here that leads to a town." He said before looking at Ayaka.

"If you want to say something to him, say it now. Who knows how long it will be before will see him again. I already said my words to him last night, thankfully he thinks it was story I was telling him." He finished. Ayaka set Shu down and laid his head against the rough layer of rocks, she was about to speak until she heard him speak.

"...Aya-nii..." he spoke quietly as Aya and Darian both gasped in shock at seeing him awake. "Where...are we?" Shu asked in a scared tone as he notice the dark cave around them.

Ayaka quickly straightened herself and gave him a sad smile. "We're staying here for the night, our village was gone along with everyone in it. Those bad people are still looking for survivors so we hide here until they're gone." she spoke in a soothing tone.

"B-but...what if they find us?" Shu asked with fear laced in his voice. His head was then guided to Ayaka's chest as she laid against the wall of rocks and placed her chin on the top of his head rubbing circle on his back.

"Don't worry, your big brother made sure that we wouldn't be spotted. Only me and him know this place."

Shu silently nodded his head before yawning loudly signaling his siblings that they only had little time. "I'm so tired."

"Go ahead and go to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" he whispered quietly and looked straight into her eyes which caused her to inwardly flinch. It broke her heart that she now has to lie to him and break a promise, it was killing her.

"I promise...go to sleep little brother." she said hoping he would go to sleep. Her words cause him to curl his lips into a smile as he closed his eyes and snuggled into his sisters warmth.

"I trust you Aya-nii goodnight." he whispered before letting darkness take him. Ayaka was doing her best not to cry right now, those words hit her deeply to the core as she gazed at him. He was only two years younger and he places so much trust into her that she'll be here...but she won't.

"Shu… I'm sorry I have to leave you like this but I want you to know that it's to keep you safe from those who want to hurt you." she started only hearing his soft snores in the quiet cave. "I don't want to leave but... no matter what happens, just know that you're not alone, we'll always be right with you. Goodbye Shu, I love you my little brother." She finished as she kissed his forehead.

"Time to go sis." He said as he looked as Shu one last time before walking away from the cave. Ayaka also took one last look at her brother before catching up to her brother and disappearing out of sight. Shu woke up as soon as they left. He looked around his surroundings and saw not one of his siblings with him. He then ran out of the cave and into the woods looking for them.

Shu (Present):

His legs were tired as he dropped to his knees and stop. His head wound was getting worse if he didn't get it treated soon. Well what was the point anyway, the two people he cared about left him to die, just like his parents. He was dying and cold, he didn't feel cold from the temperature but he was sure it was from the blood coming out of him.

Now slowly dying...he gave into his despair and spoke as fresh tears flowed down his cheeks.

"I don't belong here so why am I still here? No one wants me, and I'm alone. I guess 'they' were right, I'm nothing more than a mistake and I should ju….st…..d…ie….he…..re…" he said as his eyes closed and he fell forward, he felt his head hit something as soft as a pillow before going into unconsciousness.

Two teenagers were wondering in the woods. They just came back and dealt with the criminals that had raided the village. They were too late. They found the village not too long ago in flames and corpses all around. After consuming and dousing the flames all around, they searched every house hoping to find anyone alive. They found no one alive. They decided to bury all the people and left the place. Now here they are walking to their destination, one walking in rage while the other was behind him, twirling around water in her hand in case he was gonna erupt at second.

"It's messed up. Sila, it's messed up." the pink-haired male teen said gritting his teeth in anger. He was wearing a red long sleeve and a black jacket with black trousers and sandals. He also had a white scaled pattern scarf around his neck.

"It is... Natsu but what else could we do...Natsu" the lilac-haired female teen responded. Sila was wearing a blue sweater and a purple combat skirt with high black boots and like her brother she had a scarf but instead was wrapped around her waist and was also white.

Sila, sensing her brother's decision to burn everything within a mile radius from them threw her hand out at him and splashed him in the face.

"SILA!" he shouted with tick marks appearing on his head while she just laughed at him. "What the heck!?"

"To keep you from blowing a fuse and blowing up the forest along with it." She told him.

"I would've had it under control." He mumbled looking away from her in sadness. She was right, he would have blown up the forest without thinking. His magic was tied to his emotions and was hers, they've always looked out for each other.

"Natsu, I know how angry you must feel but we couldn't make it in time. Those criminals got there earlier than we thought and killed all those innocents. Trust me, there's nothing more I want to do right now then tear all those criminals apart right now but that wouldn't be honoring those who died would it." She said turning his face towards her.

"Dammit." He cursed silently. He knows killing wouldn't be right but all those people that died at the hands of Gator's Grave were innocent.

"Natsu…..remember I'm right here okay, no matter where you go I go. We are both dragon slayers and half demons after all." She said wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged back, glad that he had someone like Sila along with him.

"I know Sila, the same goes for you too okay?" he said right back at her. Sila removed her head from his shoulder only to flick him in the forehead.

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm okay as long as I'm with you." She said while smiling at him. They both laughed at each other until they both heard sound. On alert, Natsu and Sila both separated from each other and activated their magic thinking someone was attacking but upon closer inspection…..

"Natsu wait."

"What is it?"

"Listen closely." she said as she shushed him. He did what he was told and blocked out all sound except for the one they heard. He then heard what sounded like a sob as if someone was…

"Crying." he muttered knowing Sila would hear him.

"Mmhm, someone is crying but I don't know who. We not that far though, we should follow the voice and….." she trailed off.

"Huh, Sila what's wrong? Is there someone near u…" as soon as he walked up to her he trailed off as well. They stopped because their noses smelled something coming from the voices' direction. Blood. They also see some of the red liquid on the ground in front of them leaving a trail.

"Natsu… do you think?"

"I…I don't know Sila but we can't just let them die if they are still breathing. Come on let's go!" he shouted as she nodded and they both ran to where the voice was leading them. They heard it getting louder meaning they were close. They came into a clearing and saw nothing but bushes and trees all around.

"What the... it was coming here I'm sure of it." He said.

"Wait listen?" she said. They both listen to their surroundings before hearing a rustle in the bushes in front of them. They both got in their fighting stances waiting for them to come out but what they saw wasn't an attacker it was a small boy. His clothes were tattered and he was bleeding all over, plus he was crying. Both dragon slayers got out of their stances and ran over to the injured child.

"Oh my god, are you okay, what happened?" Sila asked on her knees checking for any other injuries he may have. The child was unresponsive as he just stared at them, not knowing there were people in front of him. All he could think about was his two siblings who abandoned him as he continued crying.

"I don't belong here... so why am I still here? No one wants me, and I'm alone." he said. They both frowned at his words but he said next broke their hearts. "I guess 'they' were right, I'm nothing...and nothings are..." he couldn't finish as he went into unconsciousness and fell forward alerting them both. Sila caught him in her arms as his head laid on her chest. Natsu examined his head wound and his eyes widened in horror.

"He's dying."

"Oh no!" She pressed her hand against the kid's forehead and gasped in horror. He looked so pale and he felt so cold...along with the blood all over him."Shoot!" she muttered to herself.

"Leave this to me." She said gathering water in her hand and placed it over his head healing him. The wounds slowly closed up as the water flowed around Shu's body. after a few moments Shu's body was completely healed but the blood stains on his clothes remained."Ok, this should keep him stable but he's gonna be asleep for a while." She said told her brother.

"Well that's gonna be a problem. We can't just leave him here on his own and there's no other village near here that will watch over him." He said not liking the options they had. Sila came up with an idea.

"Why don't we just take him with us?" she asked him. "At least until he wakes up."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I just hope he doesn't panic at seeing two people who saved his life." Natsu said agreeing with her.

Sila didn't say anything and just looked back at the child in her arms. She then remembered his words from earlier.

"What do you think he meant when he said that he was nothing?" she said silently. They were both angry at the fact the someone drilled that into poor kid's head but they were also sad for him because they could relate to him.

"I don't know. It sounds like he was abused...you don't think..." he trailed off growling at the possibility of the child before them was like this because of his parents not knowing that he was an orphan.

"I'm not sure but we won't know until he tells us when he's awake." She said. "Come on let's go home."

"Right." Sila lifted the child in her arms, one hand underneath his legs and the other in his hair and walked with Natsu to the train station. Both hoping the child would wake up soon.

Natsu and Sila were heading back to Jasmine. They were in a compartment resting as they waited for their guest to wake up.

Now they've been on the train for about an hour resting, Sila was up on the bed waiting for the child in her lap to wake up. She looked up from him towards Natsu who was sleeping on the bed well halfway. Half of his body was dangling over the edge of the bed, he could fall at any time but there have been no bumps on the rail so he was fine. For now.

Sila planned on waking him up if the child did. Speaking of him, she turned her gaze back at him and heard him groan. Seeing this she formed water in her hand turning it into a ball and threw at Natsu's head.

"AGH!" he shouted before falling over and landed with a hard thud. He got up and looked at Sila with tick marks on his head.

"Sila, what the heck was that for?" he questioned. She put a finger to her mouth gesturing him to shush and then pointed to the child who was groaning in his sleep.

Shu wasn't expecting to feel okay, he thought he was dead back in forest. Being around nothing but trees and bushes, and the sounds of…..rumbling. Now that he thought about, it didn't smell like the forest. Instead he smelled the ocean and ash. And his head it wasn't in pain anymore either. Shu then opened his eyes, lifting up his head out of his pillow of what he thought was a pillow. He looked at the two people in front of him, a teenage girl with lilac hair and a teenage boy with pink hair. He looked around his surroundings and saw that he wasn't in the forest anymore, he was in a cabin or something like that. He was brought out of his thoughts when the girl called out to him.

"Hey there."

"Huh" he turned to her and saw a gentle smile on her face. He remembered when that woman Fera gave him that smile, it terrified him. Seeing that smile again he quickly rose his arms in defense in order to protect himself.

"P-p-please d-d-on't h-hurt m-me." he said fearfully. Both teens were shocked at the child's scared tone. He was scared to death and he was shaking like a leaf terrified of what would happen next.

"Hey. It's okay...no one is going to hurt you...we won't hurt you." Sila said in a soothing voice hoping it would calm him down. Shu was still scared but hearing her voice made lessen his arms a bit just for them to see his face. Sila slowly raised her left hand out to him and noticed that he was staring at it skeptically.

Slowly and hesitantly Shu removed one of his right hand and place it into her own before feeling something he hasn't felt in a long time.

"See, we just want to help you." she stated as she suddenly found herself being cuddled as Shu buried himself against her.

"...Warm..." he muttered as both teens looked at each other with frowns. The way he said sounded like he's been treated badly and they both hoped that it was not the case.

"U-U-U H-Hi." Shu said his shyness coming out.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes I'm okay. Um…who are you?" he asked looking at her forcing himself not to look away. Sila just giggled at his shyness thinking it was cute. .

"My name is Sila." He then looked at Natsu waiting for him to introduce himself. "And my name is Natsu."

"What's your name?" he asked him. Shu didn't want to tell them who he was but it didn't even matter anymore. Darian and Ayaka left him behind, just like his parents.

"My name is Shu. I don't have a last name though, sorry for that." he told them. The dragon slayers instantly noticed a change in his demeanor and both wondered what was wrong.

"It's okay, there's no need for you to apologize for something like that." Sila told him.

"Yeah don't worry about. Not everyone has a last name." Natsu said trying to cheer him up but it didn't work. Sila looked at Natsu mouthing words to him. He nodded at her mouthing that it was ok.

"Sweetie, what happened to you at the forest? You were dying of blood loss, if Natsu and I hadn't come to you in time you would've been dead. Why were you out there alone?" she asked carefully. Shu flinched at the word alone but he didn't care about the rest of her questions.

"I….came from a village. It was being raided by some mages that were killing people and burning up buildings." He told them. Sila and Natsu both tensed up when he said village.

"Was the name of the village Oakwood?" Natsu asked. Shu nodded his head making them both flinch. They both had to tell him that his entire village was destroyed by a dark guild.

"Listen, I'm sorry that we couldn't save them but your village was wiped out by the time we got there. I'm sorry we couldn't get there sooner." Sila said frowning at him.

"You don't need to be sorry, I really don't care about it anymore. It was never my home to begin with" Shu told them. They were both shocked at him for not caring about his home but even more shocked when he said it was never his.

"What do you mean it was never yours?" she asked him. Shu flinched at her question. He wanted to cry and just disappear. He wasn't important, he was just a kid who people wanted dead for no reason.

Natsu and Sila noticed Shu silently crying as tears flowed down his face.

"I'm...hated. I'm alone...I was always alone." he started not bothering to wipe away his tears. "My parents...abandoned me 2 years after I was born and was left in an orphanage. No one was nice to me, not even other kids. I was the only who didn't have any friends or anyone to talk to." he finished as both teens stared at him in sadness.

"But I wasn't always alone." They perked up at his response. "I had two people who cared about me. Aya-nii-...Ayaka and Darian." He took out the nii honorific as soon as he thought back to them. "They took care of me during our time in the orphanage, when there was too much abuse from both kids and caretakers, they ran away and took me with them and found in old house to live in. They always took care of me." Shu said frowning at the happy memories he had of Ayaka and Darian.

"That was until you guys found me…..well before that. When the village was raided we got out and ran over to the hill that overlooks the area. We were talking and then I got hit in the head. When I woke up I was in cave but Darian and Ayaka were gone." He frowned again, tears flowing down his face again. Natsu and Sila couldn't even begin to describe how they felt.

"I ran….. I ran looking for them but they were gone…They left me just like my parents. I didn't want to think it but...I remember hearing Ayaka's voice in my head but it sounded so sad and I saw Darian with the stick...They left me too…...They were right…everyone was right." Natsu and Sila both were furious at this. They couldn't even imagine how hurt and alone Shu feels right now...he went through abandonment twice, cold treatment of the orphanage they lived in from kids and adults and betrayal from those who he thought cared for him. It hurt their hearts to see and hear that happened to child no older than four.

"What did they tell you?" Natsu asked silently not wanting to hear any more negative thoughts. Shu then started crying as he tried to wipe away his tears.

"They…they said…that….I…..should've….never been born. I'm not worth being cared for…...adults and kids told me that all the time in that orphanage but what my parents said hurt more than anything else." Sila grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze trying to offer comfort. Natsu placed his hand on top of hers doing the same thing. But what got them is that he had parents...parents that intentionally left him to fend for himself in that orphanage. That made them angry.

"They said…that I….i was…" Shu trailed off because he it hurts. It hurts him too much that he can't think straight without having nightmares that would keep him up all night. The teens stayed silent thinking that they heard the worst of his story but what he said next filled them both with sadness and anger.

"To them…I was…..nothing more….than a mistake they've made." Sila pulled Shu straight into a hug as soon as he said that. She felt wet tears soak her sweater but she didn't care, she was more concerned for Shu. Hearing something like that from your parents is the worst thing to go through. No child should ever be told that. . A child unloved by his parents, hated by his village for no reason, and abandoned again by two of his closest friends that left to die in the forest. The fact that this kid was thinking suicide or revenge on those who hurt him was surprising to them.

"Is it true?...Am I really a mistake?" he asked with fear. Natsu made his way over to them and placed a hand on top of Shu's head giving off warmth.

"Shu, you are who you are and that's all that matters. Don't listen to what other people say about you, if anything they are all jerks for doing that to a child." He said his piece. Shu then looked at them both with desperate eyes.

"You mean…. You don't hate me, or see me as a mistake?" Sila put her hand under his chin tilting his head up towards her.

"Shu, you are not a mistake. You are a small but precious child who deserves to have a good life and no one should take that from you." Sila explained to him. Shu then looked down at the bed thinking about where else was he suppose to go now. He had no one to rely on and he couldn't just ask they people to take him in, he's already been enough of a burden to everyone around him...so what's the point?

Sila and Natsu both seemed to know what he was thinking and already decided on what they were going to do.

"Would you like to live with us?" Sila asked making Shu looked up at them with desperate eyes. They could see that he what he wanted was someone to give him the love and care of someone who will genuinely give it to him. They didn't know why but they were willing to take him in and raise him as their own...because they chose to.

"Do you-do-want me to live with you-" he asked timidly as they both nodded their heads. "Won't i be a burden to you...you already wasted your time saving me...so won't i just-" he was cut off as Sila instantly held him to her chest not letting say anything bad about himself.

"Listen to me...we're not doing this because we're forced to...we're doing this because we want to. Shu, I'm choosing to take care of you and raise you. Natsu is willing to take of you because he choses too. We all have choices...and we're choosing to do this and you have one too." she stated feeling him stiff a bit.

"We won't force you to come with us Shu. This is your choice to make, This gives you the freedom to think about it. You can go or you can stay with us...If you go then you go but don't think we'll let you go empty-handed, you got to have something to survive the world. If you stay, then we'll you know the rest. This is your choice and your choice alonene else gets to decide what you want." she said releasing herself but Shu remained in her stomach quiet.

"...Stay..." he mumbled. Thinking they didn't hear him he lifted his head and faced them with his own eyes unknown to him that they heard him the first time. "I want...to stay." Both teens smiled at him happy that he muster up the courage to look at them, and that he chose to stay with them.

"I guess that means we have new family member huh Sila."

"Mmhmm it does." she stated gently as she gently kissed child's forehead making him blush and bury his head further in her chest flustered. she couldn't but giggle at his embarrassment glad it was replacing the sadness that arose earlier.

Both hearts filled with so much joy, Sila wrapped her arms tightly around the little kid as Natsu wrapped his arms around them. If someone walked in on them now, they would see a young couple welcoming an orphan into their hearts.

"Welcome to family Shu."

Read, Review and see you next time.

HellLaser descending back to Hell.