Chapter 4
Danger to Everyone Else
Gray sat in the infirmary room, his chair pulled up beside the bed in which Natsu slept. The pink haired boy looks distraught, even in sleep. Gray frowned, watching Natsu closely as his chest rose and fell steadily and deeply. Since they had gotten back to the guild, Gray had tried to figure out why Gajeel insisted he be the first Natsu sees. Why was he so special? With a sigh, Gray sat back in hi chair and crossed his arms. They had been back for two hours, and nothing new had happened.
The black haired boy was about to get up to stretch when Natsu's expression abruptly turned to one of pain, before his eyes quickly opened. He groaned, raising an arm and laying it over his eyes. Gray smiled slightly, recognizing this body language from the Natsu he knows; he's tired and his head hurts. Gray concluded this easily, watching the other. Natsu suddenly sat up, sniffing slightly before turning to look at Gray.
"Gray?" He asked, confused.
"What's up, pinky?" Gray grinned, crossing his legs. Natsu's eyes shifting through what could've been a million small emotions, before settling on relief. Natsu smiled a little, looking down at his hands in his lap, as if embarrassed.
"I'm going to find Gajeel," Gray announced, after watching Natsu for a few moments. At this comment, Natsu began to rub his hands together, and lightly scratch at them. He nodded though, and watched Gray leave the room. It was only a few minutes before Gray re-entered the room, being followed by not only Gajeel, but also Lucy, Happy, Erza, and Gramps.
"Now, Gajeel and Natsu, explain what is going on." Erza immediately demanded, hands on her hips. Gajeel stared at her, unfazed by her bluntness. Natsu, however, bunched his hands into fists, staring down at them quietly.
"Now Erza, don't be so demanding. They will surely explain." Gramps said more gently, looking at Natsu with concern. Gramps turned to Natsu, his voice calm as his spoke.
"Dreh hi mindok fin komyet?" He asked. Everyone in the room shared a confused looked, then glancing at Natsu as he slowly shrugged his shoulders. Gabriel frowned, moving to sit in the chair that Gray had occupied before. Natsu turned to face him, his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. He only wore sweatpants, which was very different from his usual attire. Gray found it hard to divert his eyes from Natsu's body, looking at each curve of his toned muscles. Blushing lightly, he tore his eyes away, looking back at Gajeel.
"Fen nust mindok ol pruzah?" Natsu's voice was quiet and nervous, looking over at his friends briefly, eyes locking with Gray's before turning back to Gajeel.
"Some of it." Gajeel replied.
"What are you saying?!" Happy asked loudly and dramatically, earning a small laugh from Natsu.
"What's happening?" Lucy spoke up, arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes confused. Gramps quieted everyone with a raised hand, nodding to Gajeel to continue what they were doing. Natsu took in a deep breath, looking at his fellow dragon slayer's eyes. There was softness there now, very unusual for the typically uncaring man. The metal dragon slayer places his hands, palms up, on Natsu's knees, and Natsu place his hands palms down in Gajeel's. Leaning toward each other, Gray tensed when he thought this would result in a kiss. About to protest, he quieted when the saw them simply touched their foreheads together and closed their eyes. In a mass of magic energy, both men's scales covered their bodies, Natsu's covering further than before, now on his stomach as well. There was silence for a long time before something happened. Natsu's face changed from an odd peacefulness to one of pain, tears began to trail lightly down his cheeks. The others shared a quizzical look.
"Gajeel, what is going on?" Gramps asked. Without movement from the dragon slayers, a transparent screen of light magic came together in front of them. On the screen, they could see what they assumed Natsu and Gajeel were sharing, as well as hear.
/On the screen/
"Don't tell them..." a deep voice whispered.
"Don't tell them..." a higher voice said softly.
"Secret, secret, secret," a dual pitched voice sang. Gajeel stood in a vast nothingness, surrounded by darkness. The only other thing that could be seen was Natsu, standing across from Gajeel.
"Tell me." He demanded, though gently. Natsu shook his head, tears in his eyes.
"They'll hate me," He replied, looking at the ground, hands in fists.
"Hate you, hate you." the higher voice sang.
"Despicable child." The deeper voice growled. Gajeel took a step toward Natsu, and as he did, the nothingness changed into a scene; a small house where a young, pink haired boy sat on the floor and played with a toy. Gajeel watched the young Natsu, and also looked up at the current one. The scene began to play out, and they watched quietly.
"Natsu, honey! Come on outside!" A woman's voice called. The boy smiled wide and got up, running to the door and going outside. A beautiful woman stood in the yard, her hair long and pink, the same color as Natsu's. A man was beside her, his arm around her waist lovingly.
"Mom, dad..." the current Natsu whispered. Gajeel watched as he reached out a hand, a longing to touch them evident in his eyes. Suddenly then, the scene changed to one of mass chaos. Fire billowed from the house, and the yard was blazing. There were distant screams of agony and fear as the fire grew bigger. Sitting on the front steps to the small house, the child Natsu hugged his knees to his chest. He was crying, and shaking. The scene panned to what the child was staring at, and suddenly his is immense sadness and anger became clear.
Two grotesque figures lay on the ground, charred beyond recognition and beginning to fall apart into ashes. Gajeel looked up at the Natsu he knows, looking at his face carefully. He looked utterly broken, tears running down his face uncontrollably, and violent anger in his eyes.
"You're disgusting!" the dual pitched voice shouted.
"Everyone will hate you!" The higher one added.
"Alone forever. No one will love you." The deeper one said slowly. The scene vanished and Natsu held his head in his hands.
"Shut up!" He shouted. The three voices repeated themselves, and Natsu began to breath raggedly.
"Go away!" He screamed, fire erupting from all around him. Gajeel backed away, his eyes betraying him as he felt honestly afraid.
/Screen breaks and vanishes/
The room was absolutely silent. Gajeel and Natsu moved away from each other, their scales vanishing. Natsu looked unexplainable angry, and upset, and afraid. He was shaking, but was trying to keep his fire inside.
"Natsu, what happened to your parents?" Gramps asked softly, stepping forward and placing his small hand gently on Natsu's leg.
"Zu'u kriaan niin," He mumbled through tears. The old man turned to Gajeel, not understanding the language. Gajeel felt Natsu hold his hands, squeezing them tightly as he waited for Gajeel to translate.
"He, uh..." He looked at Natsu, and then at the group, keeping his eyes on Gray.
"He killed them."
/
A/N: Translations:
Gajeel: Do you know the issue?
Natsu: Will they know too?
Natsu: I killed them