Three thousand years ago, the four Kingdoms of Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo, and Vale were founded. They started off as settlements, designed to shield its people against the unforgiving world of monsters, and grew into empires. Today, these four Kingdoms house thousands of cities between them. Yet despite mankind's advancements, humanity still lives in an age of monsters. Huntsmen and trained militia are virtually always required to drive away the creatures of Grimm away from the city borders. As an understood rule, the closer a city or town is to the Kingdom's capital, the better protected and prosperous it is.

The smaller towns at the borders of the Kingdoms are often susceptible to Grimm attacks and hostile terrorist groups. The reasons these settlements even exist are primarily due to either cultural or economic reasons. As such, huntsmen are often dispatched to said areas often enough to quell any issues that may arise. The system may not be perfect, but it's about as good as it can get in a world where monsters dwarfing skyscrapers can crawl out of the ocean at a moment's notice.

However, the four Kingdoms only cover roughly thirty percent of Remnant's landmass. The remaining seventy percent is referred to as "The Outskirts." Lawless lands outside any government's jurisdiction, filled with horrifying monsters of all shapes and breeds crawling about.

The only people who would willingly live there are criminals, murderers, psychopaths, and the suicidal.

So naturally, several cities were scattered throughout the lawless lands. One of these suicidal districts is known in the underground as "Uragiri," a hellhole submerged in all manner of vices. Drugs, assassins, weapons distribution, violence, prostitution, it is known to those that have experienced it to be a harsh kill-or-be killed environment. It wasn't uncommon for a Grimm to burst through the streets and eat a person alive while the others watched without concern. If one has nothing to give, they'll soon be food for the vultures.

In this lawless city...

There was a child regarded as a monster far worse than the crooked residents could have imagined possible...

"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

A group of men, armed to the teeth, stormed their way through the dirty streets. Each had committed crimes so unforgivable and heinous that if they were ever set foot in the Kingdoms again, they'd be imprisoned for life at best, or given the death penalty if the court was feeling generous. Furious, bloodshot eyes gazed over the lone figure walking away.

The boy who couldn't have been older than ten years crunched on some red crystals, chewing on the volatile substance while turning around. In spite of his apparent youth, the kid had an unusually muscular body riddled with scars and covered in dirty bandages. His darkened hair was matted with so much soot and dirt that its original color couldn't be discerned. All he wore were a couple of rags filled with tears and holes along with a white, scalelike scarf.

He looked back at the group with an expression that wasn't quite human. A nasty glare from his onyx eyes made it abundantly clear how little he thought of these people.

They numbered five in total. Three of them were armed with fully automatics while the other two carried a mix of a jagged knife and a sawed-off shotgun. Stalking towards the boy, it didn't seem as if they were content to leave him off with just a warning. Hell... it'd be a miracle if they chose to finish him off quickly rather than drag out his suffering.

There was a rather good reason why they wanted to kill this child. The day before, he had strolled right into one of their organization's warehouses and seemingly disappeared with every ounce of fire Dust stashed away in the crates. Hundreds of thousands of Lien had gone just like that. It was their groups responsibility to guard the area that warehouse was located, a valuable sector of their turf. To think that a child would dare to steal from them...

Each of the five men were underlings at the bottom of the food chain in the organization they had joined. The moment that their superiors felt that they weren't useful, they'd have their throats slit, blood drained, and organs harvested in the most painful and excruciating manner possible to set an example for the rest.

Holding up the large chunk of fire Dust in his hand, the boy took a large bite out of it. This simple provocation was practically a death wish. Yet he simply looked at the men approaching him and insulted them even further. "I'm busy now. Can I ignore you later?"

The largest of the gang members spat out his cigarette and gripped his weapon. His face had turned red, and the veins on his face and neck were throbbing venomously. Easily reaching two meters in height, the man's large figure easily dwarfed those of his companions. His slicked back hair and beady eyes made for a nasty visage. The onlookers in the city streets quickly gave space and retreated behind the decrepit concrete buildings. No one was willing to help the foolish boy.

Spitting on the ground, the thug raged at the boy. "Listen closely, boy!" He dragged his blade across the dirt. "After I cut off your legs, I'll go find the filthy whore who spawned an even filthier thing like you. When I'm through having my way with her, she'll be begging me to- GlhRK!"

The taste of blood flooded his mouth. His eyes were drawn to the pink, fleshy bit that fell to the ground...

It was his tongue.

While the man was still speaking, the boy forcefully shut his teeth close with an unforgiving palm strike to the chin, causing him to bite off his own appendage. He gripped the man's mouth and kept it shut, pulling him down to eye level. The look the boy gave was devoid of any sort of animosity. Instead, it was the look a predator gives to a poor tasting insect not worth eating.

Ignoring the man's desperate slashes at his arm, the boy continued to apply pressure to the man's skull while bending his head back. The sharp edge only left thin scratches on his forearm. It was only due to the man's Aura that his brain wasn't crushed into a pulp already, Aura that was rapidly diminishing.

A chilling grin appeared on the boy's face. "Oh? You want to play with me?"

.

.

.

.

.

Less than a minute later, the boy walked away from a broken heap of broken bones and burnt flesh, innocently licking the blood off his forearm as he left.


Natsu made his way over to one of the more crippled parts of the city. Trees and wildlife had sprung up from the growth and suffocated the infrastructure. Trunks broke through the building ceilings and moss covered the walls. Despite the apparent abundance of life, the area was eerily silent.

The ruined building he'd been living in for the past three years creaked with every step he took in them. The walls were decorated with bullet holes and scorch marks. He didn't have any feelings so strong that they could be called attachment for this place, but it was a spot he claimed for himself.

He picked a sharp piece of rubble off the ground and scratched a tick mark on the wall, the latest of over a thousand. Natsu rummaged his hand through his hair to sift out some of the dirt before walking back outside. He started looking for a tree he could use, his eyes settling on a crooked trunk that bent over to the ground. He kicked it and turned it into a pile of kindling. Throwing his last piece of fire Dust at it, he started a small fire.

The fire would take some time to grow, so he headed off to a deeper part of the city that bordered a small mountain. Natsu reached a rocky cliffside on the verge of shattering. Thousands upon thousands of little craters deformed the stone into a deep crater. He resumed his daily training. Natsu struck the mountain with every part of his body, fingers, knuckles, palm, wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee, foot, and even his head. Every strike spread fractures deeper and deeper into the landform. He continued this for an hour without slowing down or resting. His skin turned bloody at the areas of impact. Flecks of his own blood stained the rock.

He smelled smoke. His stomach started rumbling. sweat dripped off his chin and soaked the floor beneath his feet. The fire he started had spread to the surrounding trees as well. Natsu dragged his way over to the premature forest fire and grabbed the flames with his hands before consuming all of it within seconds.

Red rays of light blanketed the city as the sun started to set. Natsu absentmindedly started dragging the tips of his fingers across the abandoned buildings' walls while he walked past them. His eyes held no warmth or joy, just harsh indifference. A sigh escaped his lips.

"I'm bored."

A Grimm burst through a nearby building, its shape resembling a grotesque lion with a hostile snake for a tail. It roared at the boy and pounced on him. Its claws met nothing but an empty patch of cement. It whirled around, sensing for any lingering negativity in the air. The city virtually drowned in the sins and negative emotions of its residents, drawing out nasty monsters from quite a distance away. It was not rare for outposts around here to be completely infested and overrun.

"Huh, this is my first time seeing something with a snake for a tail." Natsu had gotten behind the Grimm, holding the snake's mouth open and checking out its fangs. The snake struggled in his grasp, trying to get free and snap the boys hands off with its teeth. Natsu calmly ripped it open from the mouth and split the reptile Grimm's body straight down the middle.

The remains of the Grimm bellowed in anger and twisted its body to clamp down its jaw on the boy's skull. Bone white teeth showed visible stains of blood.

Natsu sucked in a teeming amount of air and blasted a mass of super hot flames straight through the monster's throat. Its body was turned to charcoal and ash from the inside-out.

He nudged the decaying corpse with his foot and walked away. His mood was not lifted in the slightest.


A man of average height in a pristine white suit stood on the highest floor of a skyscraper, overlooking the city. Of all the people who dwelled in this hellhole, he remained at the top of the food-chain. His skin and hair were a pale white. His eyes were black and emotionless. His body was slim and graceful. The man picked up a glass of water off of his desk and took a sip.

"I believe that I made it clear what I expected from you." Silus set down his glass and turned to look down at the pitifully gasping man on the floor.

The low level thug struggled to even breathe as his right lung had been crushed. One of his legs had been smashed with a hammer. Every inch of his skin was bruised and beaten. He couldn't even speak out as he had already bitten off his own tongue earlier that day.

"You were supposed to eliminate a disturbance that was stepping out of line. Instead, you were publicly humiliated and stained the reputation of my business. I am not pleased with this outcome. If you had only just used that worthless appendage you call a brain, you would've ambushed him when he was vulnerable rather than confront him in the open. Though, I suppose it is my fault to allow scum into the lower tiers of my organization."

The thug's attention was drawn to the iron rack positioned to the corner of the room. The remaining four men that he'd been deployed with were hung by cleaned and sharpened hooks. Their bones were snapped and their throats were slit. The blood had all been drained from their body. Any organs of acceptable quality were harvested. They weren't granted the luxury of a quick death. They were publicly killed in front of the remaining men in their sector as an example of what would happen if they failed to provide results.

"We lost quite a bit of profit when the warehouse in your sector was raided. It'll take a some time for make up for that loss."

The air around Silus grew colder. The room started to rattle.

With great effort, the man gasped out sounds vaguely reminiscent of words. "Eease... au ahn ill..."

His line of site suddenly shifted. His cheek pressed against the floor. The man's headless body slumped over and fell to the side.

Silus stared at the dozens of men assembled in the room. None of them met his eye. "I believe I don't need to explain what you are to do next." He turned to the the man sprawled on the couch, playing around with a woman in skimpy clothing. His face was riddled with scars sewn together with steel wire. His skin was rough yet light. A brand new fedora covered a patch of black hair.

"Ando, I want you to accompany them. If you think the boy will be useful in the future, take him alive. If not, kill him but avoid damaging his heart too much."

The lax man lazily held up two fingers in a salute and stood up. "Yes~, Sir."

People in white biohazard suits entered the room and started disposing of the corpses. Once the boss turned his back to the lower members, they started filing out of the room. Ando took out a large hand cannon from the inside of his suit jacket and spun it in his hand.

Before the bodyguard could leave, Silus had one more thing to say.

"Keep this in mind, Ando. That creature is not a child, but a monster wearing human skin. Treat him as such."

He chuckled, "Ha ha ha, if you of all people is saying that, I'm starting to think this kid might be your secret bastard. That afraid of paying child support, eh?"

". . . . ." The man didn't even bother acknowledging the alcoholic's jibe.

Ando rolled his eyes, shamelessly groping the ass of the lady sauntering out the door. "Alright, I'm guessing our informant group has picture of this kid? I'll show him how nasty this little world really is."


Nighttime...

A wrinkled old man set down a cardboard box filled with foodstuffs. "This is the most I can offer ya. Take it or leave it."

Natsu eyed the box's contents. He'd set down a pile of firearms and electrical components in trade. His eyes flickered up to the old man. He raised his lowered arm.

The old-timer fingered the shotgun he hid under the counter. A drop of sweat rolled down his neck. Everyone has heard of the so-called Demon's child that lived in this city. Of course, there were many who believed that the rumors were nothing but rubbish. Witnessing the child in person snap a person's leg with the flick of a wrist without even looking his way caused a rather abrupt change in perspective.

The boy at the counter pointed at the aluminum canister in the box. "What's that?"

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, the old man answered, "Soda."

"Sooh-dah?"

"You've never heard of soda before, kid?" The wrinkled figure started to relax. Dangerous as the individual before him was, at least he could somewhat act the part of an innocent child. Innocent was far better than murderous. "It's a sweet tasting sort of drink."

Natsu took the box and started to leave.

"Hold on kid." The man stalled him. "Where you get all this?" He gestured to the items the boy brought in.

"Picked it off some trash."

"This is rather high quality. If you picked it off one of the more powerful groups in this district, you'd do better keeping your head low. They control everything here.

People like you... who create ripples in the grand scheme of things... are targeted. Best piece of advice, be compliant. Otherwise, if you keep that sort of attitude up...

You'll die young."

"Tch." He scoffed and turned his head. "Better than living to be an old coward like you."

.

.

.

.

.

Natsu climbed one of the deserted skyscrapers in Uragiri and dumped the foodstuffs out onto the ground. He popped open a can of soup and heated it in his hands before chugging it down, licking off any meat chucks remaining on the sides. Tearing open a packet of bread and shoving the loaf into his mouth, the "soda" can caught his eye. He cupped it in his hands and turned it over to see where the lid was. Seeing the tab, he fiddled with it, eventually pulling it up and causing the can to finally break open.

A sharp hiss and a gush of cream colored foam burst from within the metal cylinder.

Natsu immediately jumped back and was on his guard. He crouched on all fours and prepared a fire ball, his eyes narrowing. The can made no more sudden movements. After a minute, the boy cautiously approached the soda can and poked it. He could hear strange crackling noises bubbling inside the can. Picking it up, he drank in one gulp and then immediately spit it back out with a grimace. It was too sweet.

The sound of footsteps alerted him to someone's presence. A tall man in a suit, with a fedora topping a scarred face, came into the room.

"Hey there, kiddo!" The man gave him a lazy wave. "You wouldn't believe how easy it was to find you."

The wall next to the man exploded and went up in flames. Natsu withdrew his still smoking hand and glared at the man with his eyes alone.

"He he he, well aren't you on edge today." Ando twirled the gun in his hand at it transformed into an ax. "I heard you took some good care of our underlings today. Honestly, I couldn't care less about those guys but reputation this, reputation that...

You see how it goes. So why don't we try to reach an agreement? I usually avoid picking on kids unless it's a kidnap and ransoming. Though, I never imagined a kid would live in this place by choice. Enlighten me. Why are you here? What is it you want?

I can tell you this. If you become my underling, you'll get anything you can possibly desire. Riches, luxury, food, a decent place to live, power... All you need to do is bend the knee. So how bout it? Sound g-"

Natsu darted to the side to avoid a blade swung at his neck, kicked away a knife being stabbed towards his spine, and ripped off a hook being swiped at his leg. He growled at set his fist on fire. While Ando was talking, five other men in suits had entered to room and attempted to sneak up on him.

Ando whistled. "Damn, didn't think you'd see that coming. Thing is kid, in this business, the only dogs you can keep on leashes are the ones who can't break said leash.

So you are going to have to die here."

The five gang members converged on Natsu and stabbed their weapons into him. He jumped to the ceiling and kicked off of it, tackling the nearest man to the ground and slamming his fist into the man's face repeatedly. Another man kicked him in the ribs. Natsu grabbed his foot and yanked it to the side. Once the new attacker's knee was positioned over the downed man's neck, Natsu blasted fire from his arm and drove his elbow straight down. The man's knee was shattered and the impact traveled to the other man's windpipe.

A machete slammed into Natsu's shoulder, causing him to wince. The blade didn't break through his skin, but it would still leave a bruise. He snarled and breathed out enough flames to completely engulf the man and cause him to scream out in pain. Natsu grabbed him and used him to hit another gang member across the face. Pulling him back, Natsu threw him over his head and brought him back down into the concrete floor. The sound of bones breaking once again filled the room.

The final underling whipped out a handgun and started firing.

Natsu sent him an irritated, almost disappointed, look and caught the bullets in the palm of his hand. He closed his fist, glowing orange light could be seen peeking out of his hand. Natsu threw a lump of molten lead at the man's face. Wasting no time, he lunged at Ando.

A flash of pain erupted in his right leg. Blood gushed from a hole in his thigh. Only after feeling his wound, did Natsu hear the sound of a gunshot from the next building over. He stumbled. Gritting his teeth, he continued with his attack and tried to hit Ando with a left hook.

Ando sneered and sidestepped the clumsy attack before slamming his ax into the boy's shoulder blade. The much larger man started applying more pressure to his weapon. All Natsu could do was clench the weapon with his other arm and try to stop it from penetrating his flesh any deeper. More and more blood continued to spurt from the flesh wound. The boy lashed out with his leg and Ando yanked his ax back out before shifting his weapon back into a hand cannon and firing.

Even after holding up his forearm to block, the bullet sent him skidding back, his feet leaving rough trenches in the concrete. The bullet shell was lodged in his arm, stopping just short of piercing the bone. Natsu barely dodged the next shot that scraped by his cheek.

The boy attacked Ando with a barrage of punches that were batted aside. The man used every opening available to fire another bullet at him Each shot burst straight through the floors and walls and continued their path outside the building. Natsu got careless and left his head wide open when he bent back to avoid the last bullet in the chamber. Ando swung his weapon in ax form and caught the kid right in the temple. Natsu slammed into the wall. Blood started leaking down his face. He hobbled forward, his injured leg slowing him down. His left eye had swollen shut while blood started to cover it.

"Wow, I'm surprised your head is still in one piece. You're a rather interesting kid. It's such a shame really." Ando lunged forward, grabbing Natsu's head and smashing him against a wall. "For someone with such potential to die in a place like this. You shoulda kept your head low."

The man continued to ram his head into the concrete wall. The cracks kept spreading deeper and deeper. Natsu tried to pry the large hand off his face to no avail. Finally, the wall broke apart and the man held the boy out over the streets over a hundred and fifty meters below.

"Pray that you'll lose conscious quickly."

Natsu felt his entire body rush down. Ando had lunged down, propelled even faster by gravity. The starry night sky suddenly kept getting farther away. Natsu felt his mind start to slip. His body felt heavy...

They crashed into the floor. A crater spread throughout the streets. The boy's skull impacted the ground first. Ando casually got up and snatched the scarf off the boy's neck. His hair was made slick with blood that stained the ground beneath him.

The rest of the gang members were assembled at ground level and eyed the kid's unmoving body with pity and scorn. One of the newer members chose to comment on this. "Damn, the guys that answer directly to the Boss really don't show any mercy, do they?"

Ando hummed to himself while he cleaned the blood off his ax with the dirty scarf.

"Give it back..."

A shadow burst forth from the crater and rushed towards Ando. The bodyguard leapt back and examined his now empty hand. Three of his fingers were snapped.

Natsu gripped the scarf in his hand. His body was hunched over. Steam came out of his mouth like a wild beast. Wide, bloodshot eyes nearly burned holes through all the men surrounding him. Something started to drench the air around them...

It was malice.

The boy lunged at a ram Faunus that aimed his gun at him. He grabbed his horn and snapped it off before using it to stab the man's leg.

He crushed another man's foot under his heel and shattered the knee.

Another man could not stop screaming as his head was engulfed in flames.

Every single bone in a member's arm was dislocated, his tendons were torn apart.

A man had the flesh gouged out of his side by the boy's fingers.

The boy shattered a blade that was swung at him with a bite and then stabbed the broken shard into the offender's arm.

Natsu wasn't even consciously attacking them anymore. He simply lashed out at anyone in his vicinity. The entire street was set on fire. He roared and blasted apart the concrete. Debris was sent flying in every direction, impacting against people's bones and causing painful fractures all around.

A gun was pressed against the back of his head. Natsu didn't even bother looking before snapping the trigger into pieces along with the man's hand.

Tipping down his fedora, Ando let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll be the first to admit. This one's on me." He launched a kick at Natsu, catching him in the ribs and sending him flying.

He fired off his hand cannon a couple more times. Natsu dodged each bullet by a hair's width. The boy held up his hands in a front guard and charged forward without hesitation. He slammed his fist into Ando's gut, kicked his ribcage, and elbowed his shoulder. Ando retaliated with the full force of his ax, leaving numerous cuts and tears on the boy's body. Natsu ignored his injuries and kept on attacking.

The remaining men had their gun's trained on the boy, yet they made no motion to pull the trigger. A mixture of shame and anger filled their minds. Despite how much they wished to deny it, seeing the savage look in the... thing's eyes made them... terrified.

Each and every one of them were murderers, but even killers can't escape the innate fear that wards them away from death.

With a yell, Ando slammed Natsu in the chest and slammed him straight through a beat up car. His suit was in tatters, and he was breathing heavily now. He straightened up his tie and aimed his gun once more and started emptying his magazine.

Blood started to spill from the boy's mouth.

'I know I was supposed to leave his heart in good condition and all, but I think it's fair to say the kid's given me enough trouble for tonight." Ando grimaced as he switched out the magazine of his firearm. He felt something bump into him. A rather ample chest momentarily pushed into his arm.

The woman stumbled away from him. Her long, black, tangled hair reached the back of her legs and covered her eyes. She wore a black cloak that wrapped around her neck and covered most of her body. Her posture was loose and shaky like that of a drunk's.

Ando rolled his eyes. "Buzz off, I got enough whores keeping me company tonight. Try your luck with someo- OH, FOR THE LOVE OF-!"

The little demon had somehow gotten back up. Streams of blood were trailing down his legs and arms, yet his body refused to lie on the ground. Steam continued to escape from his mouth as well as from the many wounds on his body.

"Just my luck, can't even kill a person right." This time, the man aimed the sights of his gun at Natsu's throat. The lack of any significant muscle or bone for protection meant that this shot would likely put the boy down for good. He pulled the trigger. The bullet was fired.

Yet nothing happened to the boy...

Instead, the tip of the bullet he fired brushed lightly against his own neck.

"You shouldn't be so harsh against children, even the rude ones. Otherwise, they may end up becoming just as harsh as you and I." The woman was now behind the man. With one hand, she slowly pushed down the barrel of his weapon towards the ground. With the other, she traced the lining of his neck with his own bullet.

Ando resisted the urge to turn his head around. In his life, he'd been in many dangerous situations. Every time, his Aura worked as it should and warned him of danger. At times, these "warnings" could be suffocating. He could remember the paralyzing sensation he felt when he was witness to a Grimm, over a hundred meters in length, destroy a rival group like they were mere ants.

The presence that this woman gave off dwarfed the monster's to a point that it was almost laughable.

"Ah... no need to be upset, Miss. This kid's been picking fights with our group for a while, so he's just getting what's coming to him." Ando motioned the men behind him to reposition themselves.

The mysterious woman hummed to herself. "Oh? Is that *hic* so? If he provoked you like that, then it's only fair that you retaliate in kind..." She released the man and stepped to the side.

The surrounding members let out an audible sigh of relief.

Their weapons then suddenly fell apart into countless neatly cut pieces of scrap.

"-But bringing all these people to deal with one child really is going to far." She finished her sentence and let the hilt of some sort of blade hidden in her cloak slide back into its sheath. Tilting her head to the side to avoid a projectile that impacted the ground in front of her, she sighed. "It has been quite an unevent*hic*ful night, so..." She took the bullet in her hand and aimed it at one of the buildings overlooking them.

An almost indistinguishable crackle of electricity cut through the night air. She flicked her thumb and the bullet disappeared. To describe it in any other way would imply that they could perceive even an aspect of the bullet's motion.

The sniper positioned on the building tried to reload his weapon, but found that he could not move his arm. He looked over and stared at the new hole in his shoulder as well as the now missing roof and balcony.

The lady smiled when she heard the man's screams from where she was standing. "I truly do enjoy nights like these where you can see the sky for what it truly is...

...a pitch black void filled with tiny, little stars impossible for us to truly comprehend. I like to think of it as a reminder that there is always a bigger monster lurking in the shadows...

waiting to devour foolish prey that believes itself to reign at the top."

Ando transformed his weapon back into an ax and brought it over his head to swing with both arms with all his might. Logic dictated that at her position, she would not be able to form any effective counter attack.

Her right hand grazed his chest.

(((Rakshasa's Pulse)))

In the span of one second, Ando was sent to the very edge of the Uragiri's borders after crashing through every building obstructing the path to aforementioned destination.

The woman loosely shook her hand. "Ah... I'm *hic* out of practice. My arm hurts now." She looked back at the remaining members and saw that they had turned tail and ran. "Tch, cowards."

A thudding noise drew her attention elsewhere. The berserker kid had finally fallen to the ground.

She let out a groan and rubbed the back of her head with both hands. "Why can't a *hic* responsible adult just appear and take care of this?"


Natsu blinked in and out of consciousness. He'd slowly become aware of his surroundings and then fade back to sleep. His body ached.

He sat up, his lungs heaving for air. He winced when he pulled an injured muscle on his torso. Natsu felt something odd. He was covered from head to toe in bandages. Strange thing was, they were clean and well applied. It was exactly uncommon for him to patch himself up, fall asleep, and then forget about the action itself. Yet, these bandages clearly were not his own handiwork.

Looking around, he saw that he was leaning up against a tree in the woods. Expanding his vision even more, it seemed that he was on a mountain.

Then he noticed her.

A woman whose face was veiled behind an unkept mane of hair sat besides a small campfire, nursing a mug of steaming liquid in her hand. She had a tired and cranky look on her that warned the forest animals to stay far away. She noticed the kid trying to stand up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid. By all accounts, you should be dead. The fact that you are still breathing is unnatural to the highest degree." She took a sip from her mug. 'Nearly took you to a church to get exorcized...'

He frowned at her, "Who're you?"

"Hmm? Oh, nobody important. What was a kid like you doing in Uragiri? You had family living there or somethin'?" She propped her elbow on her knee and rested her head.

Natsu started prodding his wounds. "I just wandered in and stayed." Narrowed eyes glanced up at the woman. "Why were you there?"

"Business." She tilted her head in the boy's direction. "Why would you stay in a place like that? Even if you were part of a group, life wouldn't have been pleasant. If you want to live a long life, you should head to the Kingdoms. Don't mess around with the underground world."

With a pained grunt, the boy forced his body to stand up. Red stained the white bandages on multiple areas of his body. "Don't tell me what to do, old hag."

She clicked her tongue. "Didn't anyone tell you to be polite to your elders, little brat."

He walked off... and was promptly picked up by the scruff of his neck.

"Many of those men were ragged before I arrived there. Also, there was an awful lot of their blood staining your hands. Where and how did you learn to fight like that?" The woman held him up to face level, but the boy couldn't make out her eyes through her pitch black hair.

The boy bared his sharp, pointy teeth and let out a low growl.

Though the action couldn't be seen, the woman rolled her eyes and huffed, "Fine, keep your little secrets." She pointed towards a valley nearing the horizon. "If you continue down that direction, you'll eventually come across one of the border cities. You're still a kid so they'll probably help you somewhat... probably..." She dropped him. "Now shoo."

He looked over to the valley... and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction.

The woman grabbed his ear and yanked it upwards. "Are you deaf, ignorant, or just plain stupid!? If you don't live somewhere safer, you'll die young."

"...So?"

She rubbed her temples and sighed, "Whatever, I tried at least. Do what you want, brat. Just don't go and become a monster else I'd have to kill you myself."

With that, she disappeared. She simply vanished from his vision as if she was never even there.


The woman briskly walked down the woods. Cool winds brushed past her cloak and ruffled her hair. A single, agitated lock rebelliously sprung up at the top of her mane despite her efforts to flatten it. The steps left no trace behind.

She looked up the night sky once more. The moon was shining brightly tonight. It resurfaced memories that she sometimes wished would remain buried.

'One down, nine remaining.'

There was just one annoying thing trailing in the back of her perception, like a spirit you knew was following your every step yet disappeared whenever you looked over your shoulder.

"Hey, Lady. Are you a spirit?"

'Just ignore him, and he'll go away...'

"Like a Susanoo?"

'I'm surprised he knows that folklore...'

"Or an Oni?"

'At times like these, I'd normally just disappear and leave him in the dust...'

"Can you turn into lightning?"

'Yet, somehow, he memorized my scent and can track me...'

"By the way, how'd you beat that jackass in the suit with an ax?"

'It was supposed to instill unease and tension in the boy, not make him all curious and excited!'

"Come on, just show me how you did that vanishing move earlier!"

'I'm too tired for this.'

Without warning, she drew an nodachi from seemingly nowhere and slashed in a wide arc. The forest around them was cut in half as if they were paper. "Beat it brat, or I'll sever your head." She leveled the tip of her blade at the boy. 'I should just knock him out and drop him off at the nearest church I can find.'

The boy smashed his fist together, causing a wound on his arm to open up again. "Go ahead. I won't lose one on one!" Flames ignited all around him.

The woman slashed her weapon at the ground, cutting a deep line through the earth. She growled at the boy, "Why are you so eager to fight? You could've died tonight if I wasn't passing by."

He looked at her curiously, unable to comprehend the meaning behind the question. "That's like asking why a person breathes. It's just the way I live."

She paused, lowering her weapon. 'Damnit.' A nagging feeing in the back of her mind was stabbing little knives in her heart again. Oh God, was that her conscience!? She thought it was dead... or drunk. "First of all, kid, what you're doing can't be called fighting. It's just violence, plain and simple. If you continue as you are now, you'll stop being human...

I've got a few more places I need to visit, but there's a lot of Grimm blocking the paths. Would ya mind accompanying me for a bit? You might just learn something."

". . . . ." The boy said nothing.

"Don't be such a brat. The world's a big place." She tapped his head from behind, startling him as she once again used that vanishing trick. "You are still young. Explore other paths while you still can so you won't regret it later on." She resumed her journey down the mountain path.

Natsu watched her back as it got farther and farther away. He didn't really understand most of the things she said or did, but he understood one singular thing loud and clear.

'She's strong!"

"Hey lady! Where are we going!?" He ran up to her side.

She groaned, already starting to regret her decision. 'Am I still drunk?' She looked down at the kid that didn't even reach her chest. "Don't call me lady."

"Woman?"

"No."

Sword Lady?"

"No."

"Witch?"

"Fuck off."

"Teacher?"

That gave her pause. "What?"

"Teacher," he repeated himself. "You say some smart sounding things, so I'm gonna call you teacher from now on."

The woman turned away, "Do as you wish."

Th boy felt his stomach grumble. He heard a similar growl coming from Teacher. "Are you hungry too?"

.

.

.

.

.

She pulled out her nodachi again. "Let's go kill something."