Bitter Lullaby
Warning: Gore, profanity, sensitive material ahead. Proceed with caution.
"How can I sleep at night? There's a war inside my head."
The guild was being burnt down from the inside out and Kiyoharu was watching it crumble into ashes.
Citizens ran in the opposite direction as Kiyoharu approached the burning building with slow and uneasy footsteps. His face showed dread and disbelief as he reached out towards the building, his mother's still in there.
"Mom...?"
He soon stood a few meters away from the doors of the burning guild and before he could take another step forward, he was knocked down onto the stone ground. He fell forward, colliding with the cobblestone pathway, and he fell into something warm and sticky.
Kiyoharu scrunched his nose, it smelt like iron. It was a strong, strong scent of iron.
He pushed himself up onto his knees and lifted his hands up, they were dyed in a deep red.
His eyes widened, it was blood. He fell into a puddle of blood.
No... Not a puddle. It was a goddam lake of blood.
His whole body began to shake, because when he looked ahead of him, he saw the one person he cared about the most, his mother.
She was lying on the cold ground, lifeless and covered in blood. She looked like she has been ripped apart by some sort of monster. She had deep gashes along her stomach— the primary source of all of the blood.
Kiyoharu was covered in his own mothers' blood.
The worst part was, his mother was staring right at him. Her eyes were wide open, and they were staring right back at him.
Kiyoharu shook his head. No! This couldn't be real! This is a lie! His mom isn't dead! This has to be all a dream!
Kiyoharu covered his face with his hands, only for his face to be smeared with blood. He let out a scream of anger and pain.
This was all his fault.
All his fault.
"Mom!" Kiyoharu cried out as he jolted up in bed.
His heart was pounding and he was sweating up a waterfall. Kiyoharu covered his face, another nightmare.
He always dreamt about the same damn thing every time. The guild burning down and his mother...
It was like a broken record on a never ending loop. Everyone would be in his dream, everyone but Natsu, his own goddam father didn't even show up in a nightmare; multiple nightmares in fact.
"Kiyo?" Lucy called out from the kitchen. She came into view with a glass of water in her hands, she looked concerned and very confused at his sudden outburst, "Are you okay?"
"I… I'm fine." He muttered as he laid back down and buried himself underneath the thick pink blanket. He rolled onto his side and he stared out the bedroom window silently. His erratic heart beat slowed and eased into a more normal and calm pace.
As he thought about his dream, and his past, he let out a frustrated sigh as he rubbed his left eye, it was irritating him.
That was when the bed behind him dipped and he felt a hand on his head. He froze stiff as the hand ran itself through his blond locks in a soothing and comforting motion. He buried his head into the pillow as he listened to the sound of Lucy's humming.
She was humming a tune that he knew all too well.
"Hold to me, you've nothing to fear, for your dreams are not far away." He sang softly as she hummed the rhythm.
It was a lullaby that Lucy, from his time, would always sing to him whenever he had trouble sleeping or he had a nightmare. It was a tune he knew since his birth, and hearing it again, even thought she didn't know the words just yet, was comforting.
It was like he was back in his home, in his time, being comforted by his mother as they waited for his father to come back home after a mission.
Usually, Lucy would go along with him, but ever since Kiyoharu's birth, she had been frail and weak. Giving birth to him took away a lot of her energy and strength, but she didn't regret a second of the pain she endured, because the sound of her baby's wail brought tears to her eyes and warmth in her heart.
His mother loved him with all of her heart, and nothing would change that.
Lucy ran her hands through his blond locks as she hummed the lullaby that she had taken a liking to. With a soft smile, and watched him slowly fall asleep to the sound of her hum.
Lucy doesn't know what will happen seven years from now, but if her own son travelled all the way back to the past, something horrible must've happened. Kiyoharu also seemed so attached to her, so would that mean something happened to her?
Lucy's smile weakened, did she cause Kiyoharu to travel quite the distance for her?
She hoped that's not the case.
Morning came around and Lucy woke up, she was expecting to see Kiyoharu by her side, but she was greeted by an empty bed. Her eyes widened, "Kiyo…?"
There wasn't a trace of him.
She got up from her bed and searched her apartment for the blond boy, but she had no such luck.
Was it all just a dream? No, that wouldn't be right. Kiyoharu wasn't just some kid she dreamt up. That would be impossible.
That was when she remembered something. When Kiyoharu first came to her home, he shoved his backpack underneath her bed. She got down on all fours and dipped down to check for the item, and sure enough she found it.
She pulled the backpack out from underneath the bed and examined it throughly.
It was dirty and it seemed really packed.
What was inside this old thing anyway?
She turned the backpack around and she ran her thumb across the yellow stitching on the large pocket, Kiyoharu M. —, the rest of it was either ripped off forcefully or it just came undone. There was a few traces of the yellow thread, but it wasn't enough to form an actual name.
With pursed lips she glared at the missing name, she could've figured out who his father was.
Her brown eyes trailed down to the latches of the backpack, was she really about to open Kiyoharu's bag?
This is Kiyoharu's privacy here. She's invading his privacy, but she is his mom… she should have the right to.
She unlatched the first lock and it came off with a pop, she dragged her hand over to the second lock, and in a swift motion, she popped it open.
Her heart raced as she nervously took a hold of the covering fabric.
Why was she so nervous?
She held her breath and in one swing, she swung the fabric over the bag and she peered inside.
She found a bundle of clothes, empty snack wrappers, and a particular piece of clothing that she couldn't make out just yet. It was white, but she couldn't see much because it was being crushed underneath a bunch of books and the bundle of clothes.
She was about to reach in and grab it, when she heard her front door open and close. Her eyes widened and quickly she covered the bag back up and shoved it back underneath her bed.
Kiyoharu came into view and he stared at his mom with a curious expression, "What are you doing?"
"I-I am cleaning!" Lucy quickly stated as she patted the ground awkwardly and erratically.
Kiyoharu blinked in confusion and then he let out a laugh, "You're weird, mom."
Lucy laughed nervously as Kiyoharu placed a white plastic bag onto the table.
She approached him curiously, "Where did you go? I was worried about you, you know."
"I didn't think you would've wake up before I got home, sorry." He apologized nonchalantly.
"Well, where did you go then?"
"To the bakery. You like sweets, right mom?"
Lucy's eyes widened at what he pulled out of the plastic bag. Her mouth watered as she gazed at the contained sweets with admiration, "Those are the new assorted dream breakfast bundle from Larmé Cafe! Those are impossible to get a hold of! They're always sold out! How?!"
Kiyoharu charmingly smiled, "Mr. Aki's daughter almost fell into a well when I was walking to the guild for breakfast. I saved her, and he gave me this in return to show his gratitude and thanks."
Lucy's heart melted as she grabbed him and hugged him tightly, "I love you so much, Kiyo! Mommy's so proud of you!"
Lucy didn't even catch herself calling herself, mommy, she was too busy praising her son to realize what she was saying.
Kiyoharu just giggled as his mom swung him around the room in complete and utter blind joy.
A smile grace her lips as she unknowingly smothered her son in kisses, and even though he missed and loved his mom, he tried to escape her overbearing grasp.
Lucy sighed loudly as she fell onto her floor in satisfaction and joy. She just ate the whole package and she was satisfied, but later on she'll regret eating the whole thing in one morning.
She turned over to where Kiyoharu sat and watched him.
He pulled his bag out form underneath the bed and opened his bag up. He dug his arms into the bag and began to shuffle them around, looking for something.
He pursed his lips in anticipation, and when he pulled his arms out, in his hands was a velvet box and Lucy's eyes widened.
"W-What's that?"
"A box." Kiyoharu answered.
He opened the velvet box up and gently pulled out the item inside. It was a gold necklace with a crescent moon and diamond star pendant; it was beautiful.
Kiyoharu stood up and walked over to his kneeling mom, and he put it around her neck.
Lucy blinked in confusion, "Is it for me?"
Kiyoharu nodded, "Yeah, you gave it to me before…"
Kiyoharu looked away with a troubled expression, but he shook it away and gave her a smile, "I just thought you would want it back… even though it doesn't really belong to you yet…"
Lucy gave Kiyoharu a bitter smile, "Kiyo…"
"What's wrong? You don't like it?"
"No, that's not it…" Lucy muttered as she brushed away his blond hair form his face, "I'm just thankful… that's all."
"Thankful?"
"I raised such a good and handsome little boy. I can't wait to met the Kiyo in my time."
Kiyoharu's eyes widened, and he frowned deeply, "What… What if you don't get to meet him?"
"Huh?" Lucy's body slacked at the sudden question. That one question held so much weight and meaning, what if she doesn't get to meet her son in her own time?
"What are you talking about, Kiyo? You're here, you're alive, how will I not meet you?"
Kiyoharu bit his lip, "N-Never mind…"
Lucy gazed at him with a concerned expression, what did he mean?
Kiyoharu turned away from her and sat back down next to his bag. He shuffled through his bag once again, avoiding any contact with Lucy until things settle down and the uneasiness that was lingering in the air fades away.
Concern and worry invaded Lucy's sense and she wanted so badly to ask him what he meant behind that question, so she did.
"Kiyo—!"
The door was suddenly kicked open forcefully and Lucy let out a scream, "W-What the hell is going on?!"
Kiyoharu jumped to his feet in a defensive stance as three brutes came into Lucy's small apartment. Lucy backed away towards Kiyoharu and she hid him behind her.
"W-Who are you guys?"
"Humph, that is the brat? You don't look anything like your father, but I guess your hair works." One brute snorted as he towered over the two.
"Hey! Stay away from us!" Lucy snapped, "Don't come any closer!"
"Eh? Is she going to fight us?" Brute 2 raised his brows.
"She's pretty hot. There's no harm in playing with this one, right?" Brute 3 teased.
"There isn't at all." Brute 1 smirked evilly.
"Hey! Back off!" Kiyoharu barked as he stepped in front of Lucy.
"Kiyo, what are you doing?"
"This brat thinks he can take us on." Brute 1 chortled, "That's hilarious."
"Hey, I think we should leave before blondie calls her boyfriend." Brute 2 stated and they all nodded.
Lucy flinched when they leaned forward, but nothing happened.
Instead, she heard rude remarks coming from Kiyoharu.
"What the—! Get your hands off of me!" Kiyoharu shouted, "Where are you taking me?"
"K-Kiyo…?"
Lucy opened her eyes and she found the brutes carrying Kiyoharu out of her apartment. She quickly chased after the kidnappers, "Hey! Stop!"
"What the hell do you want from me? Let me go you piece of shit—!"
Kiyoharu has the amazing ability to swear when he finds it necessary. In fact, he may seem like a very polite and gentlemanly boy on the outside, but in reality, he has a badass temper and he can swear like a sailor without batting an eye.
His mother used to punish him for swearing, but ever since her death, no one had ever stopped him from screaming the profanity out of his mouth.
Lucy was particularly stunned by his foul language and the fact that Kiyoharu was the one that got kidnapped and not her. She watched them disappear into the horizon and Lucy turned right around and ran towards the guild.
Kiyoharu got kidnapped. Her son got kidnapped right in front of her.
She threw herself into the guild, gaining everyones individual attention. She let out gasps as she tried to catch her breath.
"Lucy!" Natsu ran to her side, "What's wrong?"
"Kiyo…" Lucy panted, "Kiyo got kidnapped!"
"What?!" Everyone screeched in disbelief.
"What happened?" Erza jogged over to her side.
"These brutes— huge guys— kicked my door open and just took him!" Lucy waved her arms around frantically, "We need to get him back!"
"Calm down, Lucy. Can you tell us what they looked like?"
"Ah… um… they were huge muscular guys and… I don't know!" Lucy bit her lip, "They just took Kiyoharu away from me and I—!"
Lucy buried her face into her hands, "I just watched them go! Oh god… what if something happens to him? It's all my fault."
Natsu crouched down to her level and gave her a serious gaze filled with determination, "Don't worry,Lucy. I'll bring him back home… I promise."
Seven Years into the Future
"Natsu, you need to rest."
"No... I can't." Natsu gritted his teeth, "He's still out there somewhere and I ain't sleepin' until I find him!"
"Natsu..." Lisanna whispered, "Natsu, please! You're going to kill yourself if you don't get some rest!"
"I told ya', I'm not sleeping until I find him!" Natsu snapped, "Besides... I'm not going to let myself get the easy way out..."
"Natsu." Gray sighed.
"Just hold on, Lucy! We're coming back right now-!"
"No! Natsu, please, get the medicine. We still have time, Kiyo is more important than me."
"But, Lucy-!"
"I'll be fine, please, Natsu."
"... Okay... I just- I love you... You and Kiyo."
"We love you too, Natsu, you idiot. We'll get through this. We always have."
Natsu gritted his teeth as he stood on a hilltop that was looking over a town, "I'll find him, Lucy. I'll find Kiyo and I'll bring him back home... I promise."
Thank you for reading.
Favourite, follow, and review, please and thank you.
So, it took me a long time to write this short chapter. I'm not on a roll anymore
This chapter is a little confusing because of all the time skipping and jumping from timeline to timeline, but at least we get to see some sort of version of Kiyoharu's past and future Natsu's view.
So, how is the story so far?
Thank you for all of the support, I feel very loved.
Anyway, as always guys, I'll see you all later.
Please advise. I do NOT own Fairy Tail, NOR do I own the cover image. All rights go to their respective owners/author/creator. Thank you.