Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Pairing(s): Natsu Dragneal x Zeref

WARNINGS: violence, alternative history, shounan ai (boy/boy pairing); you have been warned so don't like, don't read

The Will to Live

By V. Shalyr

Part II: Another Future

1. A New Present

"You've been lying to me."

Igneal looked up from the travel bag he was packing, the clothes and other miscellaneous supplies he intended to take with him on his trip mostly still strewn across the covers of his bed. The room's single window was open, letting in a warm, summer breeze, but the pleasantness of the day did nothing to ease the scowl on his son's face. Natsu stood in the doorway of the small, second-floor room with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes narrowed. Well, at least there wasn't any red in those eyes. That was a good sign.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?"

"I'm not a Dragon Slayer."

Igneal's hands stilled in the process of folding an extra set of clothes, but when he didn't respond, Natsu continued.

"I'm like you. I look human, but I'm not. And you're my actual father, not adopted."

Slowly, the older man went back to packing. "So you're starting to remember. It's taken longer than I thought."

After all, a whole three years had passed since they'd made the jump forward in time. They'd spent one year out in the wilderness because Igneal needed his dragon form to deal with a Natsu who was still out of his mind with rage. The rest of their time had been spent here.

The townhouse where they'd lived for the past two years was silent around them, and the sounds of Magnolia's busy streets seemed muffled and far away. That was a major reason Igneal had chosen this place to be their home to begin with. Living with humans was all well and good, but sometimes, he missed the peaceful solitude of the wilderness.

Natsu's scowl darkened. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"If you don't know, then you haven't remembered enough."

His son's eyes flashed with anger at that, and Igneal sighed.

"Some things are best learned on your own. It wouldn't mean very much if I told you. Besides, we're living as humans now, so saying that you're a Dragon Slayer isn't completely wrong."

"But why did I forget? Why am I only just starting to remember? That's what, at least a hundred years I'm missing? More?"

"Something... happened. You had to learn to be yourself again. Please be patient. I'm sure you'll remember in time."

Natsu's expression grew a little less irritated and a little more confused. "You told me I had amnesia because of a magical accident."

"That part is true."

Igneal hesitated, his son's glower making him feel an uneasy mixture of guilt and regret. But... the fact was that it wasn't his fault. The guilt he experienced was due more to the sneaking suspicion that he hadn't done all that he should have as a parent—that he had somehow failed as a father. Maybe, if he'd done things differently, he could have prevented the trouble that had led to this situation in the first place.

"Are you going to check in on the others again?" Natsu asked, glancing at the travel bag.

"Yes."

Transitioning into their human identities and lives had been easier for some of them than others. As a leader, or as much of a leader as dragons ever had, Igneal felt responsible for helping the others deal with any problems that arose. To this end, he made it his business to visit each of the dragons who had come to this time with him at least once every year or so—at least until they were better adjusted.

"When will you be back?"

"I'm not sure. A fortnight at the earliest."

Natsu nodded curtly. He didn't offer to accompany him, and Igneal didn't ask. At the moment, it probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Igneal finished his packing without a word. The sound of him pulling the drawstring shut felt too loud in the tense silence. He winced inwardly at the thought of leaving things this way, but he wasn't sure what else he could do.

"Natsu..."

His son grunted. "What?"

"I had good reasons for not telling you. Please trust me on that. And... you can probably stop wearing that scarf. It should help. Although... if you find yourself feeling irrationally angry, you may want to put it back on."

That said, Igneal swung his pack over his shoulder and left.

.

Stop wearing the scarf?

Natsu looked at the scaly, white scarf in his hands, bemused. What was that supposed to accomplish?

Natsu weighed the item of clothing in his hands, trying to decide what to do. He'd grown used to wearing it, but if leaving it in his closet would help him recover his memories...

Making up his mind, Natsu pulled open the closet in his own bedroom and hung the scarf on one of the pegs on the back of the door. It felt strange. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been without it.

Well, no, that was a lie. He could—now.

The scowl returned to his face, and Natsu stalked down the stairs. He hadn't eaten breakfast yet, but when he got to the kitchen, he discovered that he wasn't hungry. He was too irritated to be hungry. What possible "good reason" could his father have had for lying to him? Even more importantly, what else had he forgotten? And why the hell did he feel so damned restless?

It had all started on his last job—a seemingly simple business involving mopping up a Dark Guild that had taken up residence in a town. Everything had gone like it always did with Natsu, Erza, and Gray having too much fun fighting and Lucy wondering why her teammates were all insane. They'd helped defeat and arrest all of the dark wizards and been ready to depart when something in the smoldering ruins of the Dark Guild's hideout had caught their attention.

"You've got to be kidding. Are these what I think they are?" Gray asked, holding up the collection of wooden tags that had miraculously managed not to be incinerated during the battle.

Erza peered at the writing engraved into each thin piece of wood and smiled in amusement. "They look like charms—you know, like for luck and that sort of thing. I see one for good health, two for making money, and one for love."

"That's so... normal," Lucy said, shaking her head. "You know, those charms look kind of familiar. I wonder if we've seen the store they bought them from."

It turned out that yes, they had. In fact, the shop in question was right in the middle of the town and belonged to an elderly fortuneteller. Not only was she quite famous in the area, she was the town's primary tourist attraction, and the grateful townsfolk insisted that the wizards stop by her shop for a free reading. The wizards hadn't been especially interested, but they'd humored the townsfolk and gone anyway.

Natsu couldn't even remember what the old fortuneteller had said anymore—some vague stuff that no doubt could have been said to anyone. What he did remember was the vase in the corner of the woman's shop, a tall, porcelain thing covered with thousands of tiny, painted spiders. Something about that vase had seemed strangely familiar, and the odd sense of nostalgia that it invoked lingered with him for the rest of the day.

"Hey, can you tell me where you got that?"

The old woman followed the direction of his gaze and laughed. "That old thing? It's been in my family forever. My great, great grandmother bought it from a trader for her collection, I believe. She was a fortuneteller too."

"Yeah? Weird taste in decoration."

"I agree, but," the old woman shrugged, "it's supposed to be enchanted. Supposed to tell your future by moonlight."

"It doesn't work though."

The fortuneteller paused, eyes widening in surprise.

"No," she said slowly, "it doesn't. I suppose a wizard would know."

Natsu didn't tell her that it had nothing to do with him being a wizard. The truth was the he had no idea how he knew, just that it was the truth.

That night, sleeping by the campfire on their way back to Magnolia, Natsu had dreamed of a long, winding river like a silver ribbon upon the earth, flowing down from a vast mountain range, into a lake dotted with tiny islands, and out through the hilly countryside. He'd seen it all from a bird's eye view in vivid detail, gliding high over the landscape with wind rushing past him rich with the smell of summer forests. It was the first of many dreams—dreams of flying, dreams of hunting with fangs and claws, dreams of fire and smoke and ash. And somehow, by the time the city came into view, he'd realized that these images, smells, and sounds were more than just dreams. He'd known—again, without understanding how he could know—that they were memories, and they were from a very, very long time ago.

Shutting yet another cabinet door, Natsu closed his eyes, focusing again on that nagging feeling of restlessness that those memories had brought with them. There was something he wanted, somewhere he was supposed to be, something he was supposed to find—but he could not for the life of him figure out what that was.

Natsu growled and left the kitchen, giving up on the idea of breakfast for now. He would stop by the guild and maybe pick up another job. Work would help keep his mind off things.

Natsu started to unlock the front door then hesitated, his father's departing words replaying through his mind. With a sigh, he went back upstairs, took the scarf from the closet, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his travel bag. He was mad at his father, sure, but he knew also that Igneal wouldn't have given him that advice if it wasn't important. Although Natsu had to wonder exactly what qualified as "irrational" anger.

.

Gray glanced up when Lucy sat down next to him with a mug of tea in her hands. Dawn hadn't been that long ago, and the main room of the Fairy Tail guild house was unusually quiet around them—a marked contrast from the normal din of conversation punctuated by the occasional brawl that characterized life at this particular one of Fiore's top-ranking wizard guilds.

"You're here early," she said, brushing a stray lock of her long, blond hair behind her ear and peering at his face. "You okay?"

The Ice Wizard sighed, setting down the letter in his hands. "I'm not sure. This just arrived for me yesterday afternoon from Master Ur."

He still kept up a regular correspondence with the energetic woman, but this time, her message had consisted of more than their customary exchange of news.

"Your wizard teacher?" Lucy asked, interested. "She was traveling, right? Looking for her daughter."

"Yeah."

"What did she say?"

Gray ran a hand through his short, black hair, frowning. "Actually, she's hoping we can check something out for her."

The Celestial Wizard raised her eyebrows, surprised. "She's giving us a job?"

"You could say that, yeah. Apparently, she's been having trouble getting in touch with a friend of hers who lives by a place called Eden Lake. Some guy called Torrance Hailey. Turns out communication to and from the area's been bad in general lately, for wizards at least, and she's been getting worried."

"Eden Lake," Lucy repeated as though testing the name. "It sounds familiar. You know, I think there's a town over there that's famous for producing some really special perfumes."

"Is it Sage Town?"

"Now that you mention it, I think it is. How did you know?"

Gray picked up the letter once more and turned it so she could read the beautiful, curling script for herself. "Lucky guess."

"You're going then?"

"Of course I am."

The Ice Wizard would do almost anything for his teacher. Ur had been like a mother to him ever since he'd started magic lessons with her as a child, and even though he'd technically "graduated" awhile ago when he officially left her tutelage and joined a guild, he still deeply admired and respected her.

"She says not to go alone though," he added, catching Lucy's eyes over the rim of her mug. "What do you think? Do you want to come? She's asking me as a favor so there won't be any pay, but it might be interesting. Eden Lake's supposed to be a pretty popular vacation spot."

Lucy considered, reviewing her current finances in her mind. They'd done several well-paid jobs recently, she'd already paid her rent, and overall, her budget was looking pretty good. While it was true that she'd managed to straighten things out with her father since running away from home and he would cover her living expenses if she asked, she took pride in being able to support herself.

"Sure," she said. "We should see if the rest of the team is busy. It's been awhile since any of us have had a vacation, and it'll be more fun with more people."

Gray nodded. "They shouldn't be busy. I mean, we only just got back yesterday. They couldn't possibly have already made other plans."

Before his companion could comment, the guild doors swung open and one of those teammates strode in, making a beeline for the job boards.

Natsu didn't look like he wanted a vacation.

His friends watched him from their table, unsure whether to call out to him. They noted with surprise that he wasn't wearing his usual white scarf, but then the Fire Dragon Slayer had been acting a little strangely ever since they'd finished their last job. It wasn't anything specific, nothing they could quite articulate. He still bantered and argued with the rest of them like he always had, but now and then, they would catch sight of him scowling to himself, his gaze narrowed and distant. It was obvious that something was troubling him, but it was equally obvious that he didn't want to talk to them about it.

After a moment of intense inspection, Natsu appeared to decide there weren't any jobs of interest and walked over to join them. Both of his friends briefly thought about asking him where his scarf was before just as quickly deciding that it was none of their business.

Lucy cleared her throat and offered him a tentative smile. "Um, Gray and I are going to check on a friend of his teacher's at Eden Lake. Do you want to come?"

Natsu's eyes sharpened. "Where?"

"Eden Lake," Lucy repeated, startled. "Somewhere called Sage Town. Have you heard of it?"

Natsu hesitated, and there was that strangely distant and yet intense look in his eyes again.

"Yeah," he said slowly, "I think I have, and sure. It's not like I have anything better to do."

There was a silence, made just a little uncomfortable by the strange tension that seemed to emanate from the Dragon Slayer. Then Gray cleared his throat, refolded his teacher's letter, and stowed it in his coat pocket.

"Guess now we just have to find Erza. We should probably think about renting a magic vehicle too. The place is kind of far away."

TBC...

AN: Eh heh, thanks. I fell in love with this pair long before the details on Zeref's history came out too. That's why Natsu and Zeref are never related in my fics. I mean, I started writing Firelight and Shadows after watching the Tenrou Island arc way back. Even though Zeref didn't have much actual screen time, the bits where he appeared stood out so strongly to me that I couldn't get him out of my head, and developing that story's sort of shaped the way I think about and handle these characters.

Personally, I don't really like the way the canon has gone, or what it's done with Zeref. Consequently, my interpretations of him are largely influenced by his early appearances when I found him most interesting. If it weren't for my continued attachment to this pair, I would have left this fandom a long time ago.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the start of part two. My most original plan was to make the end of part one match up more closely with the beginning of the original series, but I changed my mind since it would have required me to end part one more tragically.

I have made some alterations to the back stories of the main Fairy Tail characters. There will be bits and pieces on that as we go (well, mostly on Jellal and Erza...).

Also, in case you were wondering, the cats will not be in this story.

.