Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Rise of the Guardians
It took some time for Zeref to gain the nerve to return to Burgess. He spent most of the night in the forest, thinking about his past and who he had become. Still, he found he had no answers for the question posed to him by the Sandman. He knew his name and he knew his past, but Zeref did not understand what it was he even wanted out of life. His existence was massively altered, and while Jack wished to be seen, Zeref felt no rush to achieve that goal for himself. Natsu was the only person Zeref truly wished to speak to for now, and even with him, Zeref felt content with merely observing the boy in silence.
On his way back to town, Zeref could still see the trail he left when he fled. Death littered the forest. Blackened trees were scattered in areas, and near them, Zeref could occasionally spot a lifeless squirrel or raccoon on the snowy forest floor. He did his best to avert his gaze from the sight, feeling his stomach churn. He had killed them, and while it appeared to be painless, Zeref felt as if their lives ended too soon. Perhaps all things end up dying, but it did not mean life was not valuable in some form. He had no right to steal it away like this, yet it appeared to be exactly what his gift did.
He walked into town, sneaking between two homes as he gazed out amongst the people getting ready for the day. As usual, Natsu was moving to join Gray and Erza to avoid doing his own chores on the farm. Igneel was not a strict father, Zeref had noted, and Natsu often avoided work when possible.
"Hey, Natsu. Avoiding work again?" Gray asked, shaking his head at the boy. He put a hand in his pocket, moving to walk down the street.
Natsu's gaze flickered over towards Zeref, his eyes widening slightly. He seemed to hesitate, before eyeing Gray instead. "Uh, yeah, I guess," he muttered. Natsu rubbed the back of his head, frowning again as he stared at Zeref.
Wondering what was wrong with him, Zeref stepped closer with a frown of his own. "This is odd. What is wrong with Natsu?" Zeref questioned.
The pink haired boy narrowed his gaze, glaring over at him. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here, you bastard! I don't care if you're Death itself, I'll beat your ass if you even think about messing with any of us," he shouted, making Zeref's eyes widen. He blinked hesitantly, unsure of if Natsu was being honest or not about speaking to him.
Turning towards his friends, Zeref could see Erza staring at him with a frown. "Natsu, if you wish to shout, please do so elsewhere. I was planning on enjoying a nice quiet morning, but you appear to be intent on ruining this peaceful setting," she stated, looking mildly irritated.
Gray shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't bother with him, Erza. I think the flame brain has finally lost it. No one is there, you idiot, so why don't we get going? Don't you want to come get some breakfast today?"
Scowling, Natsu turned back towards his friends. "What do you mean no one's there? He's right here. Can't you see the guy in the black robe?" he insisted, gesturing towards Zeref. Glancing down at himself, Zeref could see how his outfit could be considered a robe. He did not recall changing, something he thought was odd, but his clothes were completely different than they used to be. Dark black robes covered his body, with a heavy white sash wrapping around it. Extra fabric from the sash hung over his shoulder like a cape, making him wonder how he missed the extra weight.
"Hmm…it appears as if Natsu is in ill health today. Perhaps we should take him to the local physician for help," Erza commented, studying her friend.
"Damn it, I'm just fine, Erza! You guys are the crazy ones, how the hell can't you see him? He's the one that killed Levy's tree last night, I saw him do it! At least…I think it was him. That dark stuff was kind of creepy…but then again, he is Death so I guess it makes sense that it wasn't all that pleasant to watch," Natsu commented, glancing over towards him.
Shaking his head, Zeref slowly began to snap out of his daze. "Natsu…you see me," he stated quietly, a small smile growing on his face. "I…I did not expect to be so pleased with that fact. Death…I suppose it is close enough to my name, one who reaps death, a grim path for anyone to live through. Perhaps that is what the origins of the name is…Grim Reaper, though I prefer Zeref."
"I don't care what you prefer. If you go around killing people, there's no way I'm letting you stick around for long," Natsu countered, glaring back at him.
Chuckling, Zeref shook his head and took a step back. Erza and Gray shared a look, both of them seeming to grow more concerned for their friend. "Natsu, are you sure you're alright? You seem kind of…well, you're talking to thin air. Obviously there's something wrong with your head, or at least, more wrong than usual at least," Gray commented.
Turning towards Natsu, Zeref sighed. "They cannot see me. I do not know what it is that allows others to see me, Natsu, for you are the first to ever do so. You claim to wish for me to leave, however, I have no where else to go. Believe it or not, I was born in this town…nearly sixty years ago."
With a glare on his face, Natsu huffed and turned back to his friends. "Fine, but you're gonna show your face to them soon. I'm not going to have my friends thinking I'm crazy, so if you want to make up for what you did last night…figure it out and show them that I'm right, okay, Zeref?"
Erza and Gray still looked doubtful, but Zeref nodded with a smile. "Of course, though it may take time. If it helps, I know you are not crazy."
This time, Natsu seemed to have learned not to reply to him. Instead, the boy just forced a smile, laughing lightly as he focused back on his wide-eyed friends. "Sorry about that…I just got a feeling that some creep was stalking us. Kinda reminds me of the invisible force from before…"
In response, Gray smacked the back of Natsu's head. "We told you before, there's no such thing, blockhead."
With his brief smile fading, Natsu raised a fist towards Gray. "Yeah, well I say there is. You wanna try and prove me wrong, ice princess?"
"Like you stand a chance of beating me. Besides, we've got better things to do with our time today." Crossing his arms over his chest, Gray gave Natsu a slight smirk. "With the weird weather we've had lately, school's been canceled. Erza and I were planning on enjoying our freedom for a bit by building a fort in the snow."
Lifting her head slightly, Erza smiled proudly. "Indeed, it will be a magnificent structure by the time it is complete. In fact, we may just create a snowman in addition to the fort, to stand guard over our awe-inspiring creation." Her exaggerations made Zeref sigh, shaking his head. She often got dramatic with things like this, but it did not make her less entertaining to observe. Likely, she would try and micromanage their every action in the creation of this fort, ruining the fun for both Gray and Natsu in a way. However, something would happen that would leave them all laughing anyway, restoring their odd friendship back to normal.
Glancing towards Zeref, Natsu frowned for a moment before shaking his head and giving Erza a slight smile. "Sounds like a plan. Do you think we could make a dragon too? Every castle has got to have a dragon inside."
"What kind of idiot tries to make a fire-breathing dragon out of snow?" Gray stared at Natsu and rolled his eyes.
Giving Gray a toothy grin, Natsu laughed. "Who said it'd breath fire? This dragon will be…a snow dragon! Fear his mighty frozen roar, capable of freezing over entire cities in an instant!" His own imagination made Zeref chuckle, shaking his head. However, the noise made Natsu's smile vanish, frowning as he studied Zeref closely.
"Sorry, I am not used to being heard." With his own smile fading, Zeref frowned and observed as the three friends stopped. They stood towards the edge of town, just at the border between Burgess and the forest that contained the lake Zeref had come from. "It is strange, how used to it I've become. All of this time…I've spoken to others, but never once have I looked for a response. Time has made me used to silence, to being alone…and I had given up on being seen."
With a grunt, Natsu crouched down in the snow and began clumping pieces of it together. Jack had been hard at work, with just how much there was on the ground. Gray joined Natsu, while Erza stood over them. "Now, our structure must have symmetry! Gray, stop padding that side with too much snow, it is making our fort lopsided!" With her order sending shivers down his spine, Gray quickly moved away from Natsu to establish more length to the beginnings of the first wall of their fort.
Walking over to the other side, Natsu now crouched down to face Zeref. With nothing else to do, Zeref sat in the snow with his legs crossed, watching him work. Their gazes seemed to lock for a moment, while Natsu sighed, his breath making a light fog in the air. "I always had an odd interest in your family, I suppose. Your mother…she was the last person I spoke to. We were not friends, nor did she even care for me…in fact, I am almost certain she hated me." Natsu blinked up at him, before seeing Erza pause and turn towards him. Spotting her glance, he quickly focused back on his work.
"Even before….before I was like this, I was not like others. People my age did not grasp the simplest of concepts, and I often found it tedious to deal with them. To be quite honest, this forced isolation has brought me…an odd peace, of sorts." This time, Natsu seemed to have figured out how to listen without reacting too much. "I can speak my thoughts openly, without fear of being reprimanded for their dark nature. People often were afraid of me in the past…because I did not shy away from death. It is a natural cycle, endless and always a part of life…yet, I do not wish to be part of what causes the end of anyone's path."
His black eyes lifted to see Natsu slowing his pace on patting the snow. Their wall was growing already, and Erza was now joining in along with commanding their every move. "Your mother hated me…for I was capable of seeing when it was hopeless to save another life. She wished to save her brother, yet he was already too far gone to be saved. As I was the one who pulled her away from his body…she blamed me for his final end. I've always been left wondering…am I truly nothing more than this? If I bring nothing but suffering and pain, why am I here? What purpose do I serve?" Thinking back to last night, Zeref glanced away and frowned at the snowy ground. Pushing away the snow, he let his hand sink into the dirt road beneath him, just as it had last night in the grassy forest. Beads of dirt seemed to wrap around his fingers, allowing it to sink deeper into the cold surface. "Perhaps that is not what I wish to know. If no one sees me, and no one hears me…just how can I know that I even exist? If I am just a spirit wandering through this world…why should my existence matter? Why am I alive…and…just who am I meant to be?"
There was a desperation in his tone, one that had grown the more he spoke. So long, he had been the only voice to speak in his own world. Others could be heard, but no one responded to his calls. Now, his rants could be heard. However, this boy could not reply with the others around. Within him, he felt a restless energy begin to stir slightly. His hand pulled free of the ground, resting on the snow beside him. Zeref stared at his palm as he placed the back of his hand in the cold snow, relaxed despite the tingling growing underneath his skin. This magic truly did react to emotion, just not the emotions Jack tried to appeal to in the past.
With his head hung low, he didn't see the way Natsu glanced over towards his friends quickly, biting his lip before moving closer to Zeref. The others continued working, not noticing as Natsu slipped just a little ways away from them. In a quiet voice, he began whispering to Zeref as he gathered a pile of snow together by his feet. "I don't really know you…so I guess I can't say much about it." Nodding, Zeref felt his hair fall over his eyes, obscuring his vision slightly as his hand clenched into a fist. His other arm moved to curl into his lap, hidden within the soft folds of his robe.
He felt a hand pat his shoulder, making him jump back slightly and lift his head immediately. A choked noise escaped his throat, a cross between a squeak and a grunt as he turned towards Natsu. A slight laugh came from the other boy, who noticed Zeref's discomfort. "You weren't kidding, you really aren't used to being seen!" Natsu grinned and let his hand fall away, instead returning to the snow. "Still…I guess you aren't as bad as I first thought. I guess I just kind of scared you by seeing you yesterday, huh? I mean, that'd explain why you decided to go crazy and start killing things, if you thought I was trying to hurt you or something."
Closing his eyes, Zeref took a deep breath and pulled his other hand back into his lap. Folding them together, he inhaled deeply yet again, before shaking his head and opening his eyes. "No…I do not think that was the cause. In fact…I am not entirely certain why I kill…it has not happened before, and thinking about it happening again…" He trailed off, frowning as his brow furrowed. His head tilted forward yet again, and his thumbs began to twirl around with his grip loosening in his lap.
Seeing his expression, Natsu nodded and glanced towards his friends again. Erza seemed to have just noticed that Natsu had moved away from their main fort, and she was moving to correct his actions. "Well, you don't have to talk about it yet. When you get it figured out…I guess I'll still be around to help you through it. I mean, if it helps my friends see you so I don't seem crazy, I'm all for it. And…I guess you're kinda my friend too. We haven't talked or anything…but you said you've been watching me for a while, so you're kinda like my guardian angel or something, right?" He lifted an eyebrow at Zeref, who only stared at him mutely. "Anyway, Erza's coming and trust me, you don't want to make Erza mad. I've gotta get back to work, so I'll talk to you later, alright?"
This time, Zeref nodded, watching Natsu return to his friends. Rising to his feet, he gave the boy a slight nod, catching Natsu's attention before he turned to leave. He was not going to interrupt him again, not when the boy had a normal life to live. Perhaps it would have been better to not be seen by anyone. Despite his wish to have just a single person to speak with, it seemed oddly wrong to bring others into his own problems. He would find a way to deal with this power on his own, and afterwords, he would determine just why it was that Natsu had suddenly gained his ability to see Zeref.
The pacing of this story feels so slow to me...but I guess drafts turn out that way when I'm trying to think of a plot while I write them. A lot of the bonding between characters becomes important later on, but if it feels too slow for you guys, feel free to let me know and I'll try to adjust it a bit better. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!
