Relentless
Chapter IV: Out of the nest
R&R
"You moron, do you have a death wish, if so wouldn't it be a lot easier if I put an end to you?" The question with death was an enigma to Natsu, now many thousands of meters up in the air on top of a mountain, at a significant loss of oxygen, listening to his 'dad' go on and on about why he is so reckless, Natsu truly wished to be classified as dead, yep, dead. When the rosettes foster father got started with his various lessons about life they were most likely to end at least two hours later or more! They sucked, and to make it even sweeter, Natsu already knew most of the stuff his 'dad' told him about, like how to not just rush in and kick some ass, when the chance of a tactical 'retreat' or whatever his foster father said it was, to be blunt it means to run...
"Are you listening?" Acnologia said that as he smacked the blunt side of one of his talons, preventing an accidental decapitation, it was hard nonetheless, and it hurt. Right Natsu hadn't had his lunch yet...what time was it now, one can't really see from up here since the clouds obscure the line of sight, but the black dragon king guessed the time to be somewhere around dusk.
"Yeah, I am, but as I told you earlier I am fine," He wasn't fine...His whole body was covered up in bandages... "But I require food as every other living being!" And of course hunger was what occupied his mind, he nearly got every bone in his body broken still he can whine about the temporary lack of food.
"I shall give you the food you hold so dear if you tell me exactly what happened down there!" The fight between Natsu and Krosis still was an unclear subject, Acnologia was curious to exactly what the ancient priest had told the rosette to make him angry enough to successfully obtain dragon force.
"I already told you once, he was bad mouthing you, spouting crap like how weak you really are, and stuff, but I know you are the strongest out of all dragons!" Natsu was very certain that his 'dad' was the strongest being he had ever been with, well, it wasn't like he had been with someone else to be able to compare the monstrous strength his dad possessed, but that 'Kriso' guy down at the catacombs really spouted some weird crap, like how Acnologia hasn't always been a dragon. A dragon is a dragon, how the hell would a dragon not have been a dragon before, wait, this was getting way to complicated and deep for Natsu's taste, anyhow the fight was interesting at least, Mr.-I-like-to-sleep-in-dusty-coffins actually was a tough guy for just consisting of skin and bones.
"NATSU! That is what you said earlier! I want details!" This was some very crucial information about the evolution of dragon slayers, dragon force that's controlled by emotions is an unique ability only Natsu has achieved as of yet, and emotions are the easiest to stir up, yet it was pretty inconsistent to have this as an ability, when Acnologia would be done training the rosette he would not stay the same, for the sake of the wellbeing of the boy, Acnologia would have to have him take after some of his traits, to survive Natsu would have to learn to hate...
"Details, huh, I don't really remember!" This brat, he really was an insolent fool; he has yet to realize the dangers of not knowing the enemy. What if the priest wasn't in such a weakened state, what would have happened to the rosette? The black dragon king hated to admit it but somewhere deep inside the dark abyss that was his heart, he held some very vague parental feelings for the brat; it disgusted him to no end, made the dragon want to hurl. The kind of relationship that Natsu thought he had with dragon king was sham, a lie, many lies piled upon each other, right from the beginning Acnologia knew that the brat was the bonding type, when Acnologia…would leave, Natsu would probably come looking for him, but to no avail, there would be a time when Natsu would have to cook his own meals…read for himself…make a living for himself, if Acnologia would stay with him for an extended amount of time the brat would turn spoiled. It was for the greater good, in order to grow as an individual one would have to experience pain and suffering as much as happiness and hope, they were all the same side of a coin.
In about two years the dragon king would have to sever the relationship between them, by then the summers day boy would be an adept dragon slayer, the chaos magic would serve him well in this world of hard ship and cruelty. During those two remaining years the black dragon would turn Natsu into the ultimate weapon against other dragons, the fires of war loomed closer and closer, if everything went as planned.
"Stop spacing out! I am still hungry, you know!" Natsu's 'dad' was being strange again, he used to act like this sometimes, not very often but every now and then this happened, maybe Acnologia had something important on his mind. "Dad, you know that you can tell me if something is bothering you, right!"
Such an innocent child, always thinking about the people he held dear, Natsu wouldn't make it far in life if he kept going like this, being 'nice' had its limits, and the dragon kings patience ran thin, Natsu had to be disciplined.
"Natsu, will you never learn? I am not your dad! Somebody else is!" In the heat of the moment Acnologia had gone ahead and said something inappropriate, Natsu's parents were a thing that Natsu shouldn't have got to know yet, well, on a second thought maybe it wasn't all that bad? The longer Acnologia waited, the harder it would get to explain exactly why his parents weren't around.
"Then who is?" Natsu gave the black dragon a blank stare judgingly, it seemed that Natsu was oblivious to the fact that he was an orphan, or was made an orphan.
"Do you really want to know?" This very question could save many of the dragon king's brain cells from taking suicide, everything past this line wasn't his fault, for Natsu was doing this by his own free will.
"If I ask you isn't it obvious that I want to know?" This kid is gutsy, openly challenging Acnologia like that, the black dragon wouldn't back down, as the dragon let out an irritated sigh, Natsu just continued to stare while resting his fist on his cheek, seemingly pondering about something.
"Natsu, you know me, I won't sugar coat anything for you!" Natsu wasn't dumb; he would know that asking the black dragon about anything like this would end up in a very blunt and equally direct answer.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you!" The boy had the resolve it seemed, more and more clouds had moved in over the sky, wiping off the colorful scenery bellow, the trees that previously were visible were now hidden behind the clouds, the sun was dotting through the layer of clouds where ever it could find a blue opening, the snow clad ground gave out an annoying shimmer when the sun was shining down upon the ground, right here Natsu would know of his origins.
"Natsu," Acnologia began slowly. "Your parents are dead." This wasn't how Acnologia imagined how Natsu would learn of his parents, or to be precise mother, since the black dragon king really didn't have any idea were the father was holding up.
Upon hearing this the boy was seemingly close to breaking, but he didn't, summoning all the strength inside of him, he suppressed the urge to openly bawl, it somehow seemed that he was expecting this, that was clear sign that indicated Natsu's maturing mind.
"I-I see, do you think they were good people?" The poor brat had not the slightest idea, what his parents were like, well, he is an orphan. So it's pretty obvious...
"Yes, they were! Anymore questions?" If Natsu's parents were good people was an alien question to Acnologia, the dragon hadn't socialized with human for hundreds of years, knowing whether or not the rosettes parents were good people Acnologia had no idea, but if one took the summarized first and supposedly last impressions of the brats mother Acnologia, could draw a vague conclusion that his parents, or at least mother was a good person, the father was a mystery, the black dragon didn't know what was up with him, he probably died at the village attack along with the rest of the villagers. "Show him relentless love and affection!" That very line still haunted the dragon king to this very day, the mother was very serious, and the blue mark on Natsu's right shoulder was proof of that, however upon finding out that Natsu's dragon force wasn't really affected by the mark, but by his emotions the dragon king had learned to ignore it, but the fact remained that amounts of the pink haired mothers magic remained in the brats magic circulation system was slightly troubling, but with time they would also vanish.
"That's nice to hear, were they also dragons like you?" For the love of god, what kind of question is that? As much as Acnologia found the sole question dumb, but there were no dumb questions only dumb answers, well, that's how the saying goes but the dragon king wasn't so sure anymore. While letting out an even more tired sigh, Acnologia proceeded to answer with the following: "What do you think they were?"
Natsu took his time, first looking at his own bandaged body, then gazing upon the dragons gargantuan body, when he was finished the brat furrowed his brows and said: "That's easy they were humans!"
"How did you know...?" The voice which grazed the dragon's words was monotone and sarcastic, now that the question of which race his parents belonged to was over, they could proceed onto more important matters!
"So who killed them?" The way this very line was pronounced sent chills down Acnologia's spine, never had he heard Natsu speak with this level of hateful intentions, was the situation really turning into what the dragon thought it would lead into? But before anything else Acnologia needed confirmation.
"Why do you ask?" The dragons eyes were scrunched together effectively narrowing his eyes at his student, this whole situation could get defused depending on the brats answer. Actually this whole situation was playing out just as the black dragon wanted; Natsu was asking questions which allowed Acnologia to manipulate him to the fullest.
"Isn't it my right to know?" Somehow the dragon king wasn't surprised, yet one part of him actually was quite surprised, the boy who just barely some days ago was complaining about how little his food plates could hold and why he was forced to eat with cutlery, was now fighting a war between his heart and mind, things had taken an interesting turn. "I want to find out why they were killed, and then I'll tear the killer apart!" After his previous remark had gotten completely ignored Natsu went ahead revealed his true intentions?
"Stop being naïve Natsu, even if I told you have no chance of beating said person!" Especially when the 'person' isn't a person but a dragon instead, Natsu had positively no chance of beating Igneel, yet...Acnologia would teach him everything he knew about dragon slaying, and since the dragon king himself was one, or to be exact were formerly a dragon slayer with the chaos attribute. Natsu was the perfect tool to use as the perfect living weapon only serving to make the grand scheme that the black dragon had planned com into reality.
"That's not true, I am the chaos dragon slayer, student of Acnologia, and I will beat anyone!" It was good Natsu was confident, but this was just simple ego boosting, he still had a long way to go, after all only a dragon can kill a dragon, or a dragon slayer with powers equivalent to a dragons might. Natsu was a fast learning pupil. the pink haired brat probably make a name for himself, after all he was the black dragons pupil, just that would make some individuals legs tremble and their hearts doubt, but names wouldn't win battles, skill and wit would, Natsu was the holder former but lacking in the latter, anyhow he had improved. But not nearly enough.
"Natsu, you have come along a long well as a dragon slayer, but to become truly powerful you still need to learn much more!" The power Acnologia had to offer the boy was no joking matter, with that power the brat would bring out change into the world, with that power Natsu could obtain everything, what he chose to do with said power was absolutely up to him, as long as he obeyed the black dragon's words without fail.
Natsu didn't answer, but instead responded with a nod, upon a closer look one could see that the brats face was sickly blue, never had the dragon seen Natsu in such a bad state. "Hey, do you still have that food pack around?"
"Well of course! Eating your food was a joke, human food is distasteful!" Even though the dragon king was a former human his palate had changed into one of a dragons, as well as the rest of him, human food wasn't as appealing as it was some hundreds of years ago.
"I think I am going to..." No more was said from the brats tongue as Natsu collapsed from the combined exhaustion of the thin oxygen levels of the mountain and his starved stomach. The fatigue got the better of him, nonetheless Acnologia was proud of him, and defeating Krosis was a great deed for a nine year old boy, even if the sky dragon was right about the fact that the dragon priest was nothing more than dust.
From this day on, the summer days boy would have to work a lot harder, in order to survive on his own...
One and a half year of restless training later...
"Natsu, you are pathetic! Why is this forest still standing? I thought I told you to decimate it!" Since that day at the throat of the world Acnologia had intensified the brats training on several levels, the time of easy assignments and laps around the lake were over, this training was for Natsu's own good, this was the final preparations for the brats debut in the vast world outside this hidden valley in the mountains misty shadow, the lakes warm currents were constantly being disturbed by the reappearing ripples created by the chunks and splinters that flew like around in the calm wind currents, it was spring, the exotic birds, splattered with all the colors of the rainbow were flying over the sky as the last grey cloud flew past, allowing the relentless attack of the sun to seep past.
Beads of sweat ran down the pink haired boy's forehead, effectively re-moistening the previous sweat trails that were by now sticking to the rosettes skin. He was exhausted, bruised, bloodied, the sharp tree splinters had dug themselves neatly into the pink haired boy's fists, making them bleed. However they were not the important thing that was on his mind, how he could get rid of the lush lake side forest was the pressing matter on his mind at the moment. "Hah, ugh, ngh, I-I don't have any more magic left, my powers won't activate any longer…ugh…" He was at his limit, however, that was not a valid excuse to Acnologia, in order to evolve as a mage the exceeding of ones limit was a must, only when over exhausting one's body would the body develop so that the limit would be increased, and that's what Natsu was trying to achieve.
"Natsu, how can you call yourself my student if some petty trees will defeat you?!" Natsu was making pitiful excuses, to achieve great power one had to suffer in equal worth to that power, that's the simple truth.
"For your knowledge, the trees you are talking about are in reality a FOREST, and they are 2 meters thick, damn it!" Natsu was tired of his foster fathers constant nagging about trees, they were at least one thousand year old, at first it was kind enjoyable punching holes in some random trees but when two hours had passed and there were still a good amount of said trees left, the rosette felt weak, weak for not being able perform his dad's bidding, weak for not being able to do anything about his father's mockery, it was mostly pent up frustration that was getting on his nerves and not this training exercise, still he kept on going at it, he wasn't giving up, he just wouldn't, it went against his principles.
"Save the details for somebody that cares, now focus!" The black dragon said. Truth to be told Acnologia was aiming to make Natsu angry, really angry, in that aspect he would with relative ease demolish this entire forest. "Natsu," The dragon king began. "I thought you said you were strong? Didn't you? From what I have seen today you are quite the opposite!" With that the rosettes rage boiled over and in all his anger he entered dragon force, this was the kind of training Natsu had went through with, this wasn't exercises that was there to quicken Natsu's anger but to make his body familiar dragon force, soon he would be ready to learn how to tap into the dragon force power at will. That would benefit him greatly in the next stages of his training. However, Natsu would have to train on his own behalf in order to achieve the next levels of dragon slaying; Acnologia only left him with the tools, or rather the fundamentals that could be used as stepping stones.
With his veins bulging out on his forehead and the dragon scales forming on his body Natsu entered dragon force, a new surge of magical power ran through his body like a warm breeze, it felt refreshing, now he could achieve the task at hand. "How Many times have you called me weak already? I AM NOT WEAK, DAMN IT!" An ear deafening blast of air that was produced by Natsu's sudden release of humongous amounts of magic, azure colored currents of dragon slayer magic started circulating the area, tearing the surrounding woods, but this was only the prelude to the summer boy's rampage.
The black dragon king didn't look that impressed if one were judging from the facial expression he wore, the bored facade Acnologia wore was only a means to further agitate Natsu, to see were his power limit lies, and by the looks of things it is pretty high. The emotions running wild in the brats mind was exactly what Acnologia wanted, if he now proceeded to destroy the forest to then the dragon would consider it a bonus. Natsu's training was rapidly pacing towards its end, to the point where Acnologia wasn't needed, it was true that Acnologia now days saw him as the strict but fair father figure but anything more than that was damaging, damaging to his own and the boys feelings. It was something they couldn't possibly have...
"Apocalyptic Roar!" Now this was interesting the brat was using some very advanced spells, although Acnologia felt disgusted with the amount of spit that flew out as he said the name of the attack, the Apocalyptic roar was quite different from the normal dragons roar, firstly it could only be used in dragon force and the modes that surpassed it, so to say it was still early for Natsu to go around using said move, nonetheless it was impressive, it seemed he had accomplished some personal training recently.
As the azure magic shot out from the brats dragon lungs, it formed a pillar that drilled right through the forest, pulverizing the rest of the wildlife surrounding the area, it was hard to notice due to the excessive light that blinded one's eyes but the pillar was growing in a cone like shape, effectively tearing down more and more forest with it. A few seconds later a great deal of forest that mere moments ago was filled with lush and bolstering wildlife had been turned into a vast no man's land, the ground was cracked and the trees ripped out from the ground with their roots above the earth, it was magnificent display of a dragons supreme might and prowess.
The boy was no longer conscious, having over worked his body by pushing his anatomical limits to match the ones of a dragon, that was no small task any average dragon slayer could achieve, Acnologia was truly proud of his foster son, even if the dragons stern facade didn't show it as much.
Sometime later...
A great shadow loomed over the soundly sleeping boy, he didn't snore at least, and although every time Acnologia tries to pull the sheets over the brat he just kicks them away half an hour later. Natsu had been asleep for two days now, the black dragon was starting to get really frustrated with the brat, who the hell slept this long!? But just watching Natsu's chest slowly rise and fall in a seemingly perfect rhythm was all that was required for the black dragon kings frustration to completely wipe itself from his mind. Natsu a severe case of magic exhaustion it seemed, well, if it wasn't that what could explain his ongoing sleeping marathon, but he had done well, that was the dragon's sincere thoughts.
A great deal of thoughts raced through the dragons mind, as in the near future he was going to leave Natsu's side. Acnologia wondered if Natsu would miss him when he was gone, what his goals were for the future. The dragon had noticed that Natsu had completely forgotten his quest for revenge about a year after the reveal of his origins at the top of that mountain, the restless pursuit for power had left him without a goal in life. Natsu was blank, as blank as freshly fallen snow. However Acnologia would give him a goal, which was the least he could do...
Right, Acnologia had almost forgotten, it had been so many years since that day among the rubble and ruins of the village Natsu's mother resided in, when she had handed over the small bundle that was Natsu at that time, as he took the baby from the mother Acnologia noticed that he was delicately wrapped in a white scaled scarf or shawl, Acnologia didn't really know, it was too thick to be a scarf, while lacking the length department to be a shawl.
Whatever that piece of clothing was, it was going to be handed over to Natsu on this very day, but the problem with Natsu still sleeping remained, if he wasn't awake then nothing would be given to the brat. Using the tips of his talons to get a firm hold of Natsu's clothing Acnologia proceeded to shake him around like a ragdoll, till he woke from his two day long slumber. After a while it was obvious that it wouldn't work, therefore another method had to be exercised.
The black dragon figured that some cold spring water freshly collected from the river would wake the summer's day brat once and for all. Quietly stepping out of the cove and making sure no unnecessary sounds were made Acnologia spread his massive feather like wings and took of soaring down towards the mountains side lake at the center of the valley. Acnologia didn't bother touching down, instead just flew over the water surface of the lake while scooping up some water with his claws. Now loaded with some lake water the black dragon flew back with great haste towards the cove in which the rosette slept soundly. Acnologia's charge towards the cove stopped just ten meters away from the entrance of the cove, the momentum of his previous flying still remained, and as he opened up his palm the water shot off towards the cove, effectively washing out Natsu.
"Pfftsht, what the hell, why am I wet, what did you do?" The results were astounding to say at least, Natsu was wide awake. Even though ended up being a bit soaked from the cove 'cleaning' earlier. Natsu was currently continuing to spit up the huge amount of water he had swallowed.
"Natsu, I have something for you!" This was the dragons first time giving a gift to someone, even if this scarf wasn't initially from the dragon, it still felt really awkward doing this, what was he supposed to say, what if the brat started asking questions? Humans were so particular about these things. It really mattered to them.
"Oh, really? Then hand it over!" This brat, was being a freakishly rude about things, Acnologia really started to regret ever considering giving something to the brat, what he really needed was to get going and destroy a few more forests.
"Here you go, you ungrateful brat!" Acnologia didn't really bother striking up an argument at the moment, it was for the better, taking into consideration that the black dragon kings time with his pupil was up, it actually wasn't as sad as Acnologia had imagined, now finally the dragon could have a few quiet years of meditation, but Natsu was going to be missed that was for sure, how long has it been already, twelve years, twelve years of headaches and frustration, now the black dragon could look back at it and amuse himself, the other dragons like Grandeeny and Metalicana, would only keep their students for about ten years, Acnologia was currently one year over that mark. But did he regret it, no, his student was now able to enter dragon force at will, that was no small feat, and besides, Acnologia was no ordinary dragon, he wouldn't bother with petty activities such as going into hiding from the rest of the world, it was pathetic to hide from humans, after all they were nothing more than appetizers, with a few exceptions of course.
With that Acnologia took a quick look at his foster son, he looked like he appreciated the scarf, as his cheeks had changed color from his ordinary skin color to a unusual shade of red, was the kid blushing? The dragon king couldn't help but to snicker at his students antics, he was so innocent and unknowing.
"Thank you, Acnologia!" The dragon hated being thanked for something that was as trivial as this, but the Acnologia part was surprisingly fulfilling, of all the thank you phrases the dragon had received from the rosette, this was the one with the most thought behind it.
"Wear it and stay warm, so you don't get sick again!" Even after all these years Acnologia still remembered the horrors of Natsu getting sick, it was pure hell…
"And you say that after soaking me to the bone, how considerate of you!" The brat was giving one of his trademark grins; even if they were becoming less and less frequent Acnologia knew that they still held the same meaning behind them.
"You are welcome brat!" It was nice being able to have a decent conversation once in a while, but there still was one thing the dragon wanted to ask his foster son.
"Natsu, will you miss me if I suddenly left you?" There, the words were said, the dragon king sure hadn't been kingly with the time he had spent with the summer's day boy, and it disgusted him to no end that these tragically sentimental words were even leaving his mouth.
"Nope!" It was as simple as that, the dragon felt relieved that there would be no extra bonds that had to be severed, the good bye was going to be quick and simple, Acnologia would leave in the night and their paths would separate, Acnologia would be able to roam the world freely again, without any more concerns, he now had a successor to his title as the black dragon slayer.
There were still a few more sentimental words that had to be said. "Natsu, the shadow of the black dragon will always loom over you, remember that." The brat had no idea what that meant Acnologia meant, it was quite easy to tell from the perplexed look Natsu was giving the dragon king, but sooner or later he would understand the dragons words, in the meantime Natsu would make his debut in the vast world of opportunities that awaited him, he would have to be strong, mortals had a tendency to try hiding their weaknesses, and create small social circles called guilds, or creeds or whatever. The purpose of guilds were pathetic to Acnologia, but Natsu's well-being was the dragons concern and to be honest it didn't really matter that Natsu used some guild as a shelter, till he was ready to move on.
"Huh, what's that supposed to mean?" Natsu really had no idea what his mentor was talking about, shadow? Wasn't Acnologia the chaos dragon?
"Don't worry about that, it'll come to you soon enough."
"If you say so…" Natsu always didn't like when Acnologia was…let's just say 'complex' when he instead just could be straight about it. Well whatever he would just have to ask about it tomorrow, right now Natsu wondered what he was training on, maybe a new spell, well, he just had to wait and see.
That very same night, in the year of X777, Acnologia disappeared…
AN: And with that the training arc is done and over with, next chapter will be about the plot build up. Pairings are still an open question, I'll try to narrow down the potential girlfriends Natsu can be together with, to two, max three otherwise it will be too complicated. I already have two candidates Mirajane and Erza. With that I'll go ahead and say se you guys later.
Thanks for all the reviews and follows, I really appreciate it; I hope you guys keep enjoying my story!
Leave a line or two, mean a lot to me!
