Thanks for waiting so long. I've had a lot going on and then on top of that, writer's block. I'm glad you are enjoying the story! I personally like it, but then again, I'm bias to myself. Once everything in my life clams down and I find inspiration, expect more updates! Just wait until the summer!

_ went through her 'day' with her 'mom' and 'dad'. She was released from the shackles and her dad told her to cook dinner tonight, so that's exactly what she did. While she was preparing spaghetti, she mumbled to herself talking about Natsu, to cheer her up. She took one of the pans and looked at herself in the reflection, the face looking back at her was definitely not her. The girl had eyes that looked empty, slowly turning black. Her lips were a vibrant red that resembled blood. Makeup was caked all around her face to cover up the marks her dad had made. _ set down the pan and sighed in defeat. Natsu wouldn't be able to find her, he has nothing to go on. He has no idea where she'd be. Right?

~With Natsu~

The sun said it's goodbyes as it slid underneath the horizon and out of sight. Gray and Natsu returned to the guild, empty handed. Natsu sat down at the bar and looked a Mirajane,

"Mira, can I get a cup of fire?"

"Of course."

Mirajane returned with the cup as Natsu gulped down the flames. He had given up, only for the day, and accompanied his blue companion to their house.

~Next Day~

Early that morning, Natsu was already in the guild asking his fellow guild members if they'd put up the 'Missing Person' signs that he had made. All of them agreed they were both saddened and touched by the desperation he had to save her. Natsu picked back up his search, he walked all around town with his nose held high to try to find her scent. After a few hours of walking around the town, he finally caught the scent he was hoping for.

~With _~

_ was standing in her old room before she had run away. Her eyes darted around to take it all in, the entire room was filled with dolls that terrified her. She walked over to a large cylinder container in her room. It looked like it could fit a human. That's when it all clicked. Her doll-like clothes. Her make up. Her eyes. She was a doll that her dad planned to display. _'s pupils dilated out of fear and she spun on her heels to dash towards the door. But, she was stopped when she put her hand on the doorknob, because it was already spinning to open. A familiar face peeked in,

"How's my favorite doll doing?" He said in a way too cheerful voice.

~With Natsu~

Natsu followed the scent to the outskirts of Magnolia, he saw a house that looked like in the past it was beautiful. Now it was covered in vines, dusty, and falling apart. The night was lurking once again and the sky grew darker. Natsu wrapped his scarf around his head and mumbled,

"Nin-nin to the rescue."

He snuck around to the backyard and climbed over the fence, once he was in the backyard he noticed the backyard was nicely kept. It had a working water fountain and a lovely garden. A bright light caught his attention as he noticed one last window that was lit. There was a black shadowy figure of a girl. Perfect. He clutched one of the vines on the side of the house and began to slowly climb up it, stopping every now and then because there were footsteps inside of the house. Once he had reached the lit window, he pried it open and climbed in, Nin-nin style. He froze up when he saw the room. There were so many lifeless dolls, but one stood out. The glass cylinder in the middle of the room held a human-sized doll. Natsu slowly moved closer to the doll and put his hand up to the glass. He could tell it was _, but she was different. She resembled the dolls with her life drained black eyes and everything else about her. _ wasn't moving at all, she was posed like a doll, her right hand resting on top of her left while resting upon her stomach. She stood up straight and even had the doll-support that was used to keep the dolls standing. Looking her over, Natsu noticed tiny marks on her. His anger began to build up slightly. Before he'd do anything stupid, he decided to investigate further. The lock on the glass cylinder looked pretty complex with several layers of security. Natsu didn't know what would happen if someone heard him freeing her, he wasn't sure of anything about _'s situation. To be on the safe side, he tried to clip the lock rather than attempt too many times and set an alarm off or make too much noise trying to break the glass. He mentally cursed himself for not bringing along Gajeel to bite away the metal on the lock. Looking back inside, he saw her lips turning blue. That's when it hit him, she didn't have any source of air. His panic level rose as he decided to burn the metal on the lock and break it. Luckily for him, everything went without a hitch. The lock broke and no alarms sounded. He slid open the door which gave _ a gust of air. She coughed and wheezed, clutching her chest. Natsu pried open the claws of the doll holding mechanism. _ collapsed into his arms and went limp. Natsu picked her up bridal style and set her down on the bed in the room. He desperately wanted to leave but he couldn't risk dropping or hurting _. While she caught her breath, Natsu brushed back her hair to calm her down. He had learned this move from Happy, in fact, Happy has been teaching him most of the things girls like because he heard them from Wendy while trying to get Carla to fall in love with him. The rest of the guild also had been helping him behind _'s back. They knew he couldn't stay dense forever. _'s eyes opened wide and her chest began to rise and fall slower than before. She seemed to have caught her breath and was calm. _ looked over at Natsu and said in a quiet voice,

"My dad...is...coming…"

Natsu tensed up as the door flew open, a fuming man flung himself at Natsu who easily hit him to the ground. He grabbed _ and put her on his back. Before _'s dad could get up, Natsu was already out the window with her. He jumped down to the ground and over the fence. He ran through the dark streets of Magnolia with only a few lamp posts protecting them from total darkness. Along the way, _ asked to be put down. After some arguing, he put her down since they were far enough away from her dad's house. Natsu held her hand and kept running though, he didn't want to hurt any of _'s family members but he also didn't want her to get hurt. Natsu and _ made it back to the guild and all eyes went to _, most of the girls felt bad and started complimenting her outfit which only made _ cry. She felt so defenseless and weak. Worried, Natsu announced she'd be at his house to which everyone actually understood. A few sexual jokes were made but most understood. Natsu walked with _ to his house and opened the door slowly, Happy greeted them as Natsu closed the door. _ responded to Happy but then directed her attention to Natsu,

"I want to change."

"I don't have any of your clothes."

"It'd be weird if you did."

Natsu removed his outer coat and handed it to her then turned around. _ changed so that she was now wearing his coat instead of the dress. She tapped on his bare shoulder. Once he turned around, his face began to burn up from seeing _ in his clothing. _ returned the blush since Natsu was just in his scarf and pants. She could feel herself shaking in fear still from the experience and hoped Natsu didn't notice. She tried to stable herself but her efforts were in vain, Natsu wrapped his scarf around her. _'s eyes widened and she stared at him, this was THE scarf. His signature scarf that he never took off. She felt special.

"T-This is your scarf."

"Aye."

"Y-You don't have to give it to me."

"It always makes me feel safe, so it can do the same for you!" He said, cheerfully.

"I-I love you." _ stuttered.

Natsu's face turned darker than Erza's hair, "I love you too."

_ hugged him tightly, crying into his chest. He hugged his mate back, unsure of what to do since she was crying. _ always seemed so tough, yet she was breaking down more than he has ever seen.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning."

"Beginning?"

"Of my life."

Natsu smiled and nodded, she knew everything about his life. Now he got to find out what made _ the way she was.

"It all started with…"

Me: Okay, I'm sorry yet again for any offensive materials in here. I don't mean for anything to hurt anyone.

Natsu: Aye, we both love you _!

Me: I appreciate the nice comments. There was one that complimented my writing and told me that they really liked my story. That comment made my day! It gave me the motivation I needed. I promise I read every single comment and respond to most. Thank you for the love. It means a lot more than you might think, it brightens up my day with everything I have going on. I always look back at them when I feel bad.

Natsu: Thank you, _-chan!

Me: Yes. Thank you.