Natsu Dragneel

"You will figure out the power within you, Natsu..."

Flashback: Eight years ago...

"Daddy! Let's play!" I exclaimed as I pulled my dad's hand. My twin sister, Wendy, was pulling his other hand.

"Come on Daddy!" Wendy exclaimed.

Dad patted both of us on the head and messed up our hair. Both of us laughed because our hair tickled our skin. "Sorry Natsu, Wendy, but we are going to learn today."

Wendy and I were home schooled for a year by our dad when we turned eight. We never knew why. One day he just came to us with a serious expression on his face and told us that we were quitting regular school and he would teach us instead. Why? He never explained. Mom was a busy model so she couldn't homeschool us. At that time, Mom didn't drink as much. She was just an ordinary caring mother who loved us very much.

When Dad home schooled us for that year, nothing he taught us was normal. We studied legends about a dragon tribe and the elements of fire and wind. Only I studied fire, I never studied wind. For Wendy, it was vice versa. She studied wind but never studied fire. Why? I don't know. My dad was a confusing man. However, both of us studied the same myths and legends about dragons of different kinds: wind, fire, iron, light, dark, et cetera.

"Natsu, what does fire burn to turn green?" Dad asked me.

"Easy," I said, "Obviously copper."

"How about red?" he asked.

"Sodium," I answered immediately.

"Blue?"

"Gas."

"What do we usually use in stoves to burn fire?"

"Methane."

"Name an important matter needed to have fire."

"Oxygen."

I never knew why I had to learn such odd things. After all, I am sure that an ordinary eight-year-old never learned things such as methane. However, I never complained about learning such things. For some reason, I had a feeling that this all had a purpose. There had to be a reason why my dad was always so serious about fire. After all, my dad was a serious man.

The legends and myths Wendy and I studied weren't ordinary either. For example, there is this legend that both of us had never forgotten.

Wendy and I were reading about a male dragon who fell in love with a beautiful princess of a kingdom. Then the dragon and the princess secretly had a child which started the dragon tribe. Each member of that tribe was half dragon and half human. Each had a special type of magic that could wield the powers of a dragon. The tribe was nicknamed the "Dragon Slayers" due to their great amount of strength that was rumored to be able to kill even dragons.

"Wendy, why do you think that princess fell in love with such a scary dragon?" I asked my younger sister. "I mean, that dragon was a monster..."

Wendy scratched her head. "I'm not sure. Perhaps she didn't look at the appearance of the dragon. Maybe she fell in love with his heart and personality."

"How do you fall in love with a personality?" I asked in confusion. Everything I learned was so confusing. I mean, it was easy to learn but the reason why I had to learn it was confusing.

Even now I still wonder about that princess who fell in love with the dragon. And I still wonder why my dad was so serious about fire and air.

I guess I'll never know.

And it will remain a mystery to me.

End of Flashback

I am about to die from free falling from a cliff to save Lucy. The wind is cutting my skin and my hair is blowing around. My eyes are closed shut in fear. I am going to die.

But then I realize I can not die now.

I must live.

Because I promised Dad that I would take care of my twin sister Wendy and my drunk mom. If I am dead, who is going to make sure Mom doesn't drink too much?

Power, I think. Yes, that is what I need. I need power to save Lucy and myself. Suddenly, my chest feels like it just got caught on fire. Pain surges through me everywhere. What is going on?

"Natsu, from now on, you will be experiencing many hardships..." I remember Dad saying in my dream.

"Argh!" I scream in pain. It feels like someone is ripping my skin off of my body. It burns. It burns so much. It burns just like fire.

Fire, I think. Dad talked a lot about fire when he was alive. He told me about how fire could kill but if one used it correctly, he or she could save lives.

I need to save Lucy. That is all I care about. I don't care about anything else.

I slightly open my eyes for the last time to see that my whole body is on fire. Red flames spread on my chest. My head feels all fuzzy and my face feels hot. No wonder why I was feeling this odd burning sensation. My mouth begins to move on its own, saying things that I myself can not understand, even though it's in the same language I speak in.

"Fire Dragon's Wings!" my mouth exclaims loudly.

Suddenly, fire erupts from the center of my back. I can feel the fire that was burning my body centering toward that area, making two wings in the shape of a dragon's.

Slowly, I use the wings and float down to the ground carrying Lucy bridal-style. Once my feet touch the floor, my wings disappear into smoke. Lucy looks at me with fear in her eyes. I hope she is not afraid of me. I would be if I were her. I mean, growing fire in the shape of wings on my back? Obviously I would look like a monster.

"Natsu? Did you just make fire out of... nowhere?" she asks. "You looked like an angel..."

"An angel?" I ask in confusion. Then I was relieved. Thank goodness Lucy oes think I am a monster. I would hate it if she avoided me out of fear. However, Lucy feels cold and weak. "Wait, Luce! Are you alright though?" I ask in concern.

Lucy nods but her body is still shaking, probably from shock or fear. Slowly, she closes her eyes and loses her consciousness by fainting due to her shock of seeing my dragon-like wings.

I take Lucy's angelic blond hair and tuck it behind her ear. I need to find some way to get back up that cliff we fell off. When I look back up, I notice that the cliff is going to be impossible to climb, especially with one person unconscious. The cliff is just way too high.

Then my mouth begins to move on its own again. "Fire Dragon's Wings," I say again. Fire begins to erupt from my body once again and form dragon-like wings behind my back. I don't know how I can do this but I ignore that mystery for now. Now, I just have to get myself and Lucy back up that cliff.

I quickly fly up the cliff in great speed and land right on the edge. Safe. Lucy is lying in my arms, sleeping. She looks like an angel with that blond hair of hers that reflects the sunlight.

Wait a second, why am I staring at her? What the heck is wrong with me? My face is all flushed and I am not thinking right. If I have so much time to stare at her, I should be bringing her to the hospital.

I find my cell phone on the ground and quickly pick it up. Then I run as fast as my legs can take me up the mountain, where the closest hospital is according to the sign that shows directions. As I run, Gray and Jellal see me. But I ignore them. Lucy comes first before describing what the heck I am doing.

Gray and Jellal run after me. "Hey Natsu!" Gray yells. "What's wrong?"

I don't answer his question. I just run down that mountain as fast as possible. I can not afford to stop and talk. There was a chance that Lucy might have done more than just fainted.

My legs begin to feel heavy like lead. It is getting even harder to lift my legs up to run and the steep uphill of the mountain isn't helping. It is getting harder to breathe also. My throat feels like there is a match lighting in my throat whenever I breathe. I pant harder and harder but I don't stop running. The sooner I get to the hospital, the better.

As I run, I can still hear Gray's and Jellal's footsteps following me. Once I get to the hospital, I kick the door open and shout, "Please, anyone! Please save Luce!" My voice starts echoing across the huge lobby and every single doctor there is staring at me. It is embarrassing but I don't care at the moment. I just need someone to help her.

Quickly, a female doctor comes to me and takes her out of my arms. She carries Lucy into a room and lays her on a bed. Then she does a check-up on her. I close my eyes tightly. Please let Lucy be okay. Then I glare at Gray. Why the hell did he have to follow me here? I don't mind Jellal for some reason though.

"She just fainted from shock," the doctor says with a smile. "She'll probably wake up by tomorrow." Gray and I sigh in relief as the doctor walks out of the door and says, "Just let her rest for a while."

Then the door shuts close and Lucy, Jellal, Gray, and I are the only ones in the room. "Natsu, you can leave now," Gray suddenly says.

"Leave?" I ask Gray angrily. "Who do you take me for? A jerk? Only a jerk would leave his friend who is in need."

"Um... I think you forgot that I was here..." a voice says behind my back. I turn around to meet eyes with Jellal.

"You're Jellal Fernandes, right?" I ask him. "I believe this is the first time I've ever talked to you."

Jellal nods and bows to me. "My name is Jellal Fernandes. I'm am a member of the basketball team and-"

"Woah! Wait a second!" I exclaim. "You don't have to bow!"

"My apologies," Jellal says as he stands up straight. "I was taught to speak and act formally as a child so it is a habit. Anyway..." Suddenly, his face is bright red. "Um... ah... Do you happen know Erza Scarlet? She has scarlet hair and-"

"Erza? Isn't she Lucy's best friend?" I ask in reply.

Jellal nods.

"Then yeah, I know her," I say. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he replies coolly and turns to the door, but I know he is blushing madly because his ears are a bright scarlet red. "Um, see you guys around then. I'll wait outside." Then he slams the door shut, leaving just Gray, Lucy and I in the room.

"Why don't you go too, Natsu? Like I said, I can take care of Lucy myself," Gray says as he looks at me with that signature glare of his.

"I am worried about Luce too!" I shout loudly at him. "If you want someone to go out of this room so badly, why don't you get out?" Okay, I know that Gray loves Lucy. In the beginning, I wanted to cheer for him but now? Maybe in the past, I would give him some alone time with Lucy, but for some reason, now I just can't leave him and Lucy alone. It feels as if my heart would not allow it. I wonder why...

Gray just rolls his eyes and brings a chair next to Lucy's bed, sits there, and lies his head on her hospital bed. I guess he is getting sick of arguing with me. I am sick of him too. I also bring a chair over and lay my head on Lucy's bed.

I begin to think about the legend Wendy and I learned back when we were eight-years-old.

The princess and dragon fell in love and had a child, which started the dragon tribe known as the "Dragon Slayers". I knew this was a fairytale but for some reason, it just seemed so real. I mean, wings just popped out of my back, anything could happen.

Wait a second, if I remember correctly, the "Dragon Slayers" had a power within them that could wield the powers of a dragon. Power that could even kill dragons.

Wield the powers of a dragon... Why does that strike me so much? When I used that weird wing making thing, I remember my mouth saying, "Fire Dragon's Wings". Wait a second, that could only mean one thing. But that is impossible. Dragons don't exist and the legend is only a legend, not reality... I think.

The wings I created at the cliff looked like a dragon's wings. Okay, wait a second. Let me get this right. I basically summoned this monstrous fire power. Ugh, I am so confused. I hate confusing things. Now you know why I hate math class so much.

To make sure I can actually create fire out of thin air and I wasn't hallucinating, I decide to test my power to see if my theory is correct. I stick out my right hand behind my back so Gray will not see and take a deep breath. I close my eyes shut and begin to imagine fire erupting out of my hand. I gradually open my eyes afterward and gasp.

My hand is on fire and it doesn't burn at all this time.

In fear, I scream and shake my hand to put the fire out. At this point, I don't care if I sound like a girl for screaming. And don't you laugh. I bet you would scream if your hand was on fire.

"Woah, Natsu!" Gray shouts. "What's wrong? Why did you scream? There are patients sleeping here you know! Keep quiet!"

I stare at my hand. It went back to normal once I shook it. That's odd. My body trembles in fear. There is only one reason for this: I can use magic.

So this is why my dad always made me study fire.

It all matches up now, all those legends and information about fire I had to learn about back then with Wendy.

I am a descendant of that tribe.

That dragon tribe Wendy and I always read about.

I am a "Dragon Slayer".

In short,

I am a monster.

-End of Chapter 4-

Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter once again. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors. If you have any advice or constructive criticism on how I can write better, please PM me. I would really appreciate that! Anyway, please review and look forward to the next chapter!

~ Metallic Snow