How Natsu and Zeref resemble their Parents:
Natsu - has Kyo's features, skin-tone, eye colour and hair texture but has Tora's eye shape and pink hair. Natsu also has Tora's smile.
Zeref - has Tora's features, pale skin, eye colour and hair texture but Kyo's eye shape and black hair. Zeref also has Kyo's laugh.
E.N.D. Rises
Chapter 11:
The Demon's Past
...441 years ago...
A limp pale-green toy dragon was squeezed in the elbow of its owner as the little boy sucked his thumb with the same arm. Tora carried her frail son on her hip as she went about performing normal household tasks. Her 4-year-old was remarkably tiny and light for his age as if he'd never grown from being a toddler. Natsu rubbed his scruffy pink hair against her as he rested his head on her shoulder.
"Momma? Will I be able to go out and play tomorrow?" he asked, looking up at her.
"I don't think so, sweetie, you're still quite ill," Tora said, her voice gentle as she disappointed the boy.
Natsu looked down with sadness when he was suddenly pulled from his mother's arms and put on his father's shoulders. Kyo held onto his son's ankles as he bounced him around. The pink-haired boy laughed as his newsboy cap fell in his face.
"Kyo! Be careful!" Tora scolded.
"Ah, relax, Tor-Tor!" Kyo laughed "He's okay! Ain't ya, little buddy?"
Tora rolled her bright green eyes when her husband pulled her to his side with one arm. He kissed her to get her to lighten up and she laughed at him. Kyo always was the goofy one...
"Mama? Papa?"
Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel looked back to see their older son had returned from getting water from the well. The 7-year-old dropped the bottle of cold ground water by the door and walked over to the rest of his family. Zeref took his mother's hand and pulled to get her to crouch down before him. Tora did so and the black-haired boy climbed onto her back. Mrs. Dragneel stood up and the little boy reached out to his younger brother. Kyo jerked Natsu out of reach and the pink-haired boy giggled.
Natsu suddenly went quiet and his tanned cheeks turned red. Seeing this, his father lifted him off his shoulders and held his son in his arms. Natsu suddenly coughed and blood splattered onto his cream-coloured shirt. Immediately afterwards, the Dragneels went into "take care of Natsu" mode with Tora going to prepare a warm meal for his stomach, Zeref going to retrieve his little brother's medicine and Kyo taking Natsu to bed. Within 10 minutes, the ailing 4-year-old was back in his nightgown with an empty bowl of soup on his bedside table and tucked up in bed. He fell asleep quickly...
...Later that night...
Zeref stared at the wall his bed was up-against as his worry for his brother kept him awake. He rolled over to look at his brother across their shared room and saw Natsu peacefully sleeping, tucked up in bed. His toy dragon was tucked in by his head as it "protected him from nightmares" as their mother had claimed. However, the dragon was failing to do its duty as Natsu began to whimper in fear. Zeref pushed his blanket off and got to his feet. He walked across the room and nudged his brother awake. Natsu looked up at him with big tear-filled eyes and he sniffed.
"Scarey dream, Baby Brother?" Zeref asked him.
"Scarey dream, Big Brother," Natsu confirmed before coughing into the handkerchief clutched in his hand.
Zeref climbed onto his younger brother's bed and began patting his unkept pink hair. He smiled sweetly at him as Natsu looked at him with glinting soot-black eyes before resting his head against his pillow. The 4-year-old fell back to sleep within a few minutes but Zeref kept stroking his hair as he knew it soothed him, even in his sleep.
"Get better, Natsu, then we can play..." he said but tears were forming in his emerald-green eyes "I promise... we'll play outside again... soon,"
Before the tears could spill, he got back to his feet and ran back over to his own bed. Zeref hid under his blanket as tears of worry began to drip from his eyes to the mattress. He'd do anything to help Natsu get better; anything! Yet he couldn't do much other than calm his nightmares.
"Anhkseram, God of Life and Death, please don't take my baby brother from me... I love him, he's my only friend," Zeref whispered before closing his eyes and he let himself fall asleep.
...The next morning...
Natsu lay in bed with no energy to even sit up. He opened his sore mouth as his mother carefully spoon-fed him some warm porridge. It had honey swirled into it, his favourite breakfast but he didn't have the strength to enjoy it. Tora lowered another spoonful to Natsu and he opened his mouth to accept it. He weakly chewed as his jaw ached and his eyes were heavy.
"Almost done, sweetie," his mother said as she scraped up the last of it from the bowl "Say aaaah,"
"Aaaah!"
Natsu ate the last spoonful and squeezed his dragon as he swallowed. Tora smiled at him but he could see the unease in her eyes.
"Momma? Am I ever gonna be better? 'Cause I wanna play outside with Zef," he asked with his eyes big and hopeful.
Tora got up, leaned down and kissed her younger son's forehead. She smiled sweetly at him before straightening up and she took the used breakfast bowl away. Her long pink hair swished behind her in a plait as she walked out. Natsu smiled sadly before turning on his side and closing his eyes. It was all he could do nowadays; sleep... and try not to make people worry.
"Hey, little guy," said his father as he entered.
"Papa!" Natsu exclaimed, overjoyed.
Kyo went to his son's bedside and took an apple out of his pocket. Using his pocket knife, he cut out a slice and gave it to the 4-year-old. Natsu happily chomped on the apple slice before Kyo cut another one for him. When nothing but the core was left, the boy's father tossed it out the bedroom window. He wiped his son's sticky apple juice covered hands and mouth with a cloth before ruffling the little boy's hair.
"How ya feeling today, Natsu?" Kyo asked.
"Icky, Papa," Natsu pouted "But I wanna play outside with you and Momma and Big Brother!"
Kyo smiled sadly at him and put his hand on his son's narrow shoulder.
"You know what, Natsu?" he said, peaking the boy's interest "There's something happening tonight called a lunar eclipse. Would you like to come out and watch it?"
Natsu looked awestruck at his father before a huge excited smile spread across his face and he nodded.
"Yeah, yeah! I wanna see! I wanna see!" he chirped.
"Okay, then. You'll need to rest up so you'll have the strength to go tonight," Kyo explained as he tucked his son into bed again "So you take a nap and I'll see about a picnic to take,"
Natsu nodded vigorously and threw himself back against his bed. He curled up in his blanket with his dragon toy tucked in with him and he began fake snoring. Kyo smiled as he closed the bedroom curtains to keep out the sun before leaving.
...Later that same day...
Feeling as energized as he could, Natsu excited smiled as his mother pulled his shirt over his head. Tora did the buttons on the polo shirt before pulling the suspenders over her son's shoulders to keep his shorts up. She couldn't help but feel happy. Natsu was rarely in the state to get dressed let alone have the strength to go out. But she worried about the townspeople...
Ever since it got out that Natsu was coughing up blood, people had begun ignoring them in fear of what was ailing him. They didn't know what it was or if it was contagious. The people of Koruu Village had gone to the worst case scenario and was avoiding their whole family.
"Momma? Are you okay? You look sad..." Natsu asked.
Dang it, he always could tell when someone was upset. Tora ruffled his messy pink hair before cramming his newsboy cap onto his head.
"I'm fine, sweetie," she said "Now, let's go,"
Mrs. Dragneel turned around and Natsu climbed onto her back. She then took out a long ribbon of fabric and tied it around herself to secure her son incase he couldn't hold on himself. Kyo was waiting with Zeref in the front room for Tora and Natsu to come out of their sons' bedroom. He held a picnic basket in his hand and the older son held a rolled up picnic blanket.
"Papa! Zef!" Natsu exclaimed as he was carried out of his bedroom by his mother.
"Tora, you sure you can carry Natsu?" Kyo asked.
"I'm fine, Kyo. Natsu hasn't grown since he was 2 and I used to carry both him and Zeref when I worked the fields," Tora reassured him "Zeref would be tied to my back and Natsu would nap in a sling on my front. They were such cute little guys!"
Tora gushed at the memory of her sons back when Natsu was only a few weeks old. He was such a precious little thing with pudgy cheeks and a tuft of pink hair on his head. She longed for those days before they realized something was wrong with their dear second son.
"Let's go, Momma!" Natsu cried "Go! Go! Go!"
Tora looked back and smiled at him. Kyo opened the door and the entire Dragneel family left to see the lunar eclipse. Natsu breathed in the fresh air and his grin widened as his eyes lit up. He hadn't been outside for months and it sure felt good to have the wind on his face again.
Tora glared daggers at the townspeople who dared whisper about her youngest son being outside. Kyo accompanied her in giving the local gossips the death glare. Zeref was staring down the other children of Koruu Village. Natsu, while knowing what people were talking about, ignored the disgusted looks sent his way and happily sat on the picnic blanket with his toy dragon in his arms. He enthusiastically ate a slice of his mother's apple pie made from their farm's own apple orchard produce and the herbs from Tora's garden.
"Having fun, Baby Brother?" Zeref asked.
"Uh-huh! I'm having the bestest time ever!" Natsu exclaimed, grinning his big smile once more.
Their parents smiled down at them and Tora put a blanket over her younger son's shoulders. The 4-year-old just kept chomping on apple pie before washing it down with home-squeezed lemonade. It really was the best time of his life.
"Look, boys, the eclipse is starting!" Kyo pointed out.
Shielding their eyes like they were warned to, everyone in Koruu Village looked up to watch as the moon blotted out the sun. Natsu gasped and smiled as he looked up to see the cosmic event. Everything went dark and a cold quickly set in. Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel wrapped the blanket around their sons before snuggling up together for warmth.
"What do you think an eclipse means, Natsu?" Zeref asked his brother.
"Hm... I think an eclipse means we're watching something happen now and someone hundreds of years from now is also watching the same thing!" Natsu decided, nodding his head proudly "Yup, that's what it is! Every eclipse is the same eclipse being enjoyed by everybody ever!"
His parents laughed and they continued to watch the lunar eclipse until it passed after 7 minutes. Kyo lifted Natsu up into his arms since the 4-year-old had fallen asleep and carried him as their family headed home. The toy dragon was squished in Natsu's arms as the pink-haired boy napped the rest of the day away. It was a pretty good day, all in all. Their family had gotten the chance to see a lunar eclipse and Natsu was finally allowed outside to spend some time with them. Tora never felt so content in that moment as they headed back to the little farm they called home...
...She would have savored it more had she known Natsu would be gone within the next few months.
I've been wanting to do a flashback chapter for a while now.
Also: I got a request NOT to end it with E.N.D. becoming good because that's cliché. Don't worry, I already have an ending in mind and it'll punch you in the feels if I do it right! Also, only Hiro Mashima has the skills to make the big bad guy turn good without it being totally ridiculous.
Please review!
