The Curse of Memory
During Those 400 Years (part one)
400 years ago (roughly)
It has been months since Igneel "disappeared", Natsu started a quest to train and explore the world. Meeting new people, learning unusual magic, and observe history being written. He wanted to get the full human experience. It was actually quite ironic, not being able to truly experience human life until he was a demon. Natsu laughed out loud then continued following his nose down the path.
The dragon slayer had to be careful of losing his focus while walking, if he were to aimlessly drift his demonic instincts would take over and lead him towards his brother. Although he could suppress the urge till it was much weaker, that was only if he was focusing. This made Natsu immensely depressed, for he loved his brother and it only served to remind him of his ugly destiny. On the bright side the pink haired boy could communicate with his brother if need be, for all of Natsu's thoughts were connected to the book, so if Zeref wanted to speak all he would have to do was write inside.
Shaking his thoughts away from depressing matters Natsu focused on the task at hand. The village in the valley were complaining that bandits were hiding in the woods, attacking everyone that tried travel along the path. The village elders had been trying to get the Magic Council to send reinforcements but all attempts had failed thus far. This was due to the fact that the new body of government was in shambles and had no real chain of command, so that meant no one had time to deal with a small trading village in the middle of nowhere. So, when Natsu told them he was a wizard they offered to pay him handsomely if he were to get rid of them, which the boy graciously accepted since "the human experience" didn't come without a price, more specifically food. He didn't need lodging since he was more comfortable outside (and no one would let a ten-year-old without supervision in), but he did need food.
Suddenly a rustle in the woods knocked him out of his thoughts. The sound had come from behind two large oaks, Natsu could see a dark figure looming behind them. Unfortunately, curiosity had gotten the better of him as he decided to get closer. As he was inches away vines shot out from behind the trees. Lucky for Natsu, he has great reflexes and dodged before they could hit him. The dragon slayer quickly got into his fighting stance a few feet away, followed by the figure unveiling themselves.
The figure turned out to be a man with long hair that reached the ground. His hair was a dark purple mess that covered most of his face, but it could be seen that he had black eyes. His tall and lean figure was covered in dirt and branches, not to mention the clothes he wore looked like they were coming apart at the seams. But what really caught Natsu's attention was his smell. It wasn't human, and it faintly smelled of his brother.
"Damn you child. Stay still so I can kill you!", Natsu mentally shouted, 'No one would do that you idiot!', after the proclamation of the man. Soon thorny vines began to shoot out of the ground, attacking Natsu from all sides. For a few minutes the dragon slayer was dancing around, trying to avoid the rushes of vines in their attempts to rip him to shreds.
Finally reaching his limit Natsu released a large torrent of flames, igniting the plants and stopping the attack. This seemed to shock the man for his jaw dropped for a second before he recollected himself and smirked.
"Impressive child, for such a display I will award you my name. Listen carefully human for this will be the last name you ever learn. I am Mard Geer."
"That's great but why do you smell funny?", Natsu shouted. Meanwhile Mard had a look of uncertainty, 'Smell?'. Sensing his confusion, the mage added," You don't smell human."
The man laughed, "Yes you are right, I am not human. I am a demon, a demon from the Books of Zeref!"
Natsu's eyes widened, but not from fear, from shock. He was not expecting to meet any of the demons his brother had created. And his brother made clear instructions to steer clear of them at all costs. Well since Zeref-nii isn't here now…
The demon, seeing the child's face, thought that he was well terrified and began his next assault.
Xxxxxxxx
20 minutes later
The two fighters now stood on a plain, the trees in the surrounding area were now uprooted and burned. They were battered and bruised but still revving to fight, both running towards each other to get the final punch. Both fists collided and a surge of wind blew whatever remained standing, down. They smirked at each other before collapsing on the ground.
They stayed like that for a while then Natsu just burst out laughing.
Mard Geer was very confused and more than a little annoyed but he was also impressed with the boy's skills. It had then dawned on him that he never bothered to ask the boy's name, realizing his mistake the demon implored the child, "Human! Since you did so well, I shall ask your name." That just motivated Natsu to laugh harder. Now Mard was getting more annoyed, "What is so funny wretched imp!"
"Well,", Natsu stood up and walked over to the demon with the biggest shit eating grin on his face, "First off I'm not human. I'm like you, a demon of Zeref. And Secondly you just got your ass handed to you and you're still acting all high and mighty." The pink haired boy stretched his hand out to Mard Geer, "My name is Natsu. Natsu Dragneel or E.N.D whatever you prefer. That was a good fight, want to be friends?"
The demon was speechless, how could his hubris let him be so blind. How could he have not detected Natsu was a demon? Mard wanted nothing more than to smack that hand away and spit on himself for being so weak, but then he looks at the boy's face, more specifically his smile, for it had turned genuine and for some reason Mard only wanted to follow that radiant smile for the rest of his life. With that the demon grabbed his hand and Natsu lifted him up. Their injuries were already healing as the two demons began walking towards the village.
Xxxxxxxx
At the village
By the time the two demons reached the village they were fully healed and the only evidence of them being in a fight were their ripped clothes. On the way to there Natsu had a talk with Mard Geer about human culture and how he couldn't just kill everyone on sight. When Mard asked why, Natsu said that humans were very limited thinkers and tend to blame anything not normal for the cause of their problems, also that since there is more of them, it would be best to stay under the radar. But most importantly so that you could get food from them, as they make delicious cuisines. Of course, the older demon sweat dropped at this, but before he could comment they had reached the trading village.
As they entered Natsu whispered to Mard, "Whatever I say go with it okay?"
His jaw dropped and was about to reply when he was interrupted by an old man who had hobbled over to them asking, "Did you defeat the bandits boy? And who is this with you? He wasn't with you before."
The villagers had now gathered, whispering, some had even grabbed weapons that they just barely hid. Doubt was hovering over their heads like a sword. Mard was quickly losing his composure and began to gather the ethernano in the air, but then he looked over towards Natsu and he didn't even seem fazed. His face was stone, as he observed the crowd then like a switch, he smiled the same grin that he had given the defeated demon.
"Your bandit problem is no more, as for this man, he is my brother.", the dark-haired demon's jaw dropped and once again before he was allowed to say anything he was cut off, "He was always with me, you just might not have seen him as he is extremely shy."
Mard was waiting for the villagers to start rallying together, calling him a liar, a demon. But it didn't, instead they simply stood there then nodded and began to walk away, thanking the boy that saved their town. He was astonished and confused. Why aren't they questioning him?
The same elder as prior coughed, getting the attention of everyone before he brought out a large bag filled with coins. "For your help boy, here is your reward."
Natsu nodded before taking the bag, "Thanks old man, alright we're gonna stock up before heading out."
Whispers spread again, but the man silenced them once more, "Are you sure you don't want to stay, the world isn't safe for a young man and his little brother."
"No, we're fine, we both know magic so if anyone thinks to mess with us then they're going to have some trouble."
Xxxxxxxx
Later That Night
Now it was dark as Natsu and Mard were sitting around a fire, cooking a deer they had hunted together. Although it was manly the dragon slayer and his senses that had been responsible for the meal.
As they waited, Mard's mind kept going back to their villagers and their earlier confrontation. Somethings just weren't making sense, Are humans really that gullible or was Natsu just that convincing? And the way they just accepted his lies, it just doesn't connect.
The pinkie seemed to pick up on the other's uneasiness because he calmly asked, "Is something wrong Mard?"
"Oh, ah…", he stammered unable to find the right words, "Well", he took a breath then continued, "So, when we were at the village, why did you say we were brothers?"
That got Natsu to stop tending to the fire, but he quickly trained his eyes on the flames, "Well it would have been easier to say we were friends but then they might have thought that you were a pedophile and that wouldn't have been good. And you couldn't be my father as you're too young. So, brother worked best in that situation. When I get older, we can say that we're friends if that makes you more comfortable."
Mard nodded, "Yes that would be best, also why did those villagers just believe you? Surely those pathetic humans could tell what you said were lies? Why did they trust you so easily?"
Natsu's eyes hadn't moved yet, he almost seemed mesmerized by the flickering light, "Well I guess you could say I earned their trust, I had been there a couple of days before I went after you. Also, I'm only ten so that also probably helped. Everyone thinks that children are too naïve to lie."
The demon wasn't convinced, "But why?! It doesn't make any since! There is no way those lowly humans would just— "
"Shut up!", Natsu hissed.
And that he did, well for a few moments at least, before another question came to mind that should have had priority in the first place, "Why is it that you consort with humans anyway?"
A sad smile formed on his face, "Because while they can be a little quick to assume, they can hold so much compassion for those they care for, and also there is so much to learn from them. They have this unique ability to create the most beautiful things,", which is something I really miss, "and even in the toughest of places they can band together to find hope." Another thing I've found myself lacking.
Mard thought on this for a while, contemplating what the younger demon had said, "Yes, I suppose so."
Seeing that the food was ready the two ate in silence, Natsu still watching the fire and Mard Geer the sky. Eventually the dark-haired man fell asleep, leaving Natsu in his fire gazing. The dragon slayer got tired and decided to lay down next to the source of heat. His eyes never left the fire once. As he felt his eyes grow heavy Natsu whispered one last thing before he went to sleep.
"I miss you nii-san."