Natsu wasn't sure how long he stood there feeling stunned but he was finally brought out of it when he heard his communicator beep. That meant Erza was calling to check up on him. It took him a few minutes but he answered it.

"Natsu did you finish the job?" She asked him.

"What?"

"The job. Did you finish it?"

"Oh...Yeah I did. Sort of."

"What do you mean sort of? Is anyone in danger?"

"No but the target escaped and I have lost all ways of tracking it down."

"In that case come on back to the bureau, Gray and Juvia have already returned and no doubt the police are getting suspicious by now."

"Okay."

"Are you alright? You sound a little shaken up."

"I'm fine. Really. I...I just need another drink."

"I'll have one ready for you when you get back. See you then."

At the end of that conversation Natsu left the building, met with Lucy, and they drove back to the bureau. During the whole ride Natsu was completely silent and didn't say a word which worried Lucy. Something seemed off about him.

"Is everything okay?" She asked him.

"Yes. Everything is fine."

"You've been really quiet for the remainder of this evening. Did something happen down there?"

"Yeah."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well what happened?"

"Oh...I...I met Regine."

"Regine? That vampire woman who bathes in..." She was briefly stopped mid sentence by a gag reflex. "Blood?"

"That's the one."

"What was she like?"

"Let me put it this way, ever wonder what a snake in the form of woman looks like? Just look at her."

"Oh my, she must've been hideous."

"In a way she was."

"What does that mean? In a way?"

"In means she's hideous in the way all evil is but not everyone would think so and those who fail to see that would probably be tempted by her."

"Tempted? You mean she's attractive?"

"I wouldn't say that. She's...What are the words I'm looking for when describing someone like this? Oh yes, she's has what Gray would often say about succubi, a body built for sin."

"So she is attractive?"

"Attraction is in the eye of the beholder in my opinion and I found nothing attractive about her. I prefer women who look more lively. Ironic considering I'm un-dead."

"She looked dead?"

"Dead or anorexic. Either way she's a definite turn off for both me and Gray."

"Really?" She said astonished.

"Is that so surprising?"

"You not so much but Gray."

"What?"

"Well he's a devil and I thought devils were very...Lust driven?"

"Some, not all and Gray has a type which shockingly is not vulgarity and shamelessness. He prefers the modest and chaste types."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah I never understood it either but then again modesty does leave a lot more to the imagination, so there. And he'll deny this to his grave but he can't resist a pair of big blue innocent eyes."

"Like Juvia's?" Lucy asked. "Is that why he acts a little weird around her? He finds her attractive?"

"Don't tell him I said this but yes. He does."

"But she's a nun."

"She's also a woman. A woman who's beautiful, has curves, well developed breasts, and shows her legs. I don't think I've ever seen a nun wear a dress with splits in the skirt."

"She does that so she can run faster. She works as an exorcist on the side, she has to be quick, and do you have any idea how hard it is to run in a traditional nun outfit? And her legs aren't bare, she wears stockings."

"Can the leg shape be acknowledged?"

"Yes."

"Okay then that's all that matters to a man."

"You know you gave a very detailed description of Juvia's body." Lucy said suspiciously. "Almost like you studied her."

Natsu blushed when he realized what she was about to accuse him of.

"It's not what you think. Sometimes when I get really thirsty I'll look inside a person's body for blood and it allows me to notice certain details. I've done it to both Gray and Erza."

"Have you done it to me?"

"That depends, will you hurt me if say yes?"

"You have?!"

"I swear it's always accidental and I don't see you naked or anything. It's like x-ray vision. All I saw was your blood vessels...And your heart."

"That's still creepy."

"I'm a dead guy who still walks and needs to drink blood to live, what did you expect? Creepy is all I am."

Lucy shuddered and immediately decided to change the subject.

"So did Regine say anything to you?"

"She offered to let me join her clan or whatever she calls it."

"What did you say?"

"I told her to shove it, she decided to destroy me when the time was right, and then she left."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing it's just that...Judging by how quiet you were I thought something disturbing had happened down there."

"I'm a vampire babe, nothing disturbs me anymore."

"First of all don't call me babe and second are you sure? Because you looked very unsettled to me. If she said or did something that really upset you, you can tell me if you want to. I won't judge."

"Nothing she said or did got to me. I don't have anything unsettling on my mind."

"I think you're lying but I'll respect that you don't feel comfortable talking about it so I won't pry."

"Tell yourself whatever you want babe, it doesn't make it true."

"I told you not to call me babe!"

Upon arriving at the bureau Erza gave Natsu his usual drink and after he gave her his report she dismissed Lucy for a private conversation with him.

"We need to talk about Gray." She said.

"What's going on? Did he do something?" Natsu asked her.

"He had another emotional breakdown."

"Uh-oh. What pissed him off this time? He find another molester in priest's clothing?"

"Actually he wasn't angry this time. He was sad."

"Sad? But I thought only anger could make him go crazy."

"So did I but apparently sadness can too."

"What made him sad?"

"I don't know, I didn't see what led up to it and he didn't say anything to indicate what could have upset him."

"Maybe I can figure it out. I've known him longer. What did he say? That is if he talked at all when this happened."

"I didn't hear but according to Juvia he only kept saying two words. Don't cry."

"Don't cry? Why would he...Wait was Juvia there when it happened?"

"Yes. She was helping him take care of some minor injuries he sustained from the fight with that parasite demon and from what those people did."

"People? What people?"

"The crowd in the square saw him in his true form and as expected they didn't react well. They called him names, threw stuff at him, treated him like he was a monster."

"Uh-huh...And by any chance was Juvia crying when she was alone with him?"

"As a matter of fact yes. She told me that she felt so terrible for how they treated him that she just couldn't stop herself from shedding a few tears."

"Oh no. I was afraid of that."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid that sooner or later something like this would happen and it would set him off."

"What would happen sooner or later?"

"Somebody finally cried for him."

"Come again?"

"You know the phrase 'No sympathy for the devil'? Well that pretty much described Gray's whole life. Oh sure he was raised by a good person who treated him well but everybody else in the world saw him as a creature who deserved nothing but scorn. Even when he was a kid. I still remember what they called him and said to him. Monster, abomination, bastard of Hell, son of Satan, child of succubus, curse on humanity, the Antichrist. Don't pity him, he's no child it's just a disguise. Why didn't they drown that demon as soon as he drew breath? Oh how relived his mother must've been when she died after birthing him. Actually I heard she lived but committed suicide and who could blame her? Not even a mother could love him. Not even God could love him."

As Erza heard these words she felt as if she would start crying herself. She couldn't imagine how anyone could say such terrible things.

"Nobody ever cried for him. Nobody once showed him any empathy, sympathy, or care about how much he hurt. I was too young to understand it at the time hence why I wasn't so sympathetic and I later found out that it got worse after he officially looked the part of his true species. By the time you had reawakened us he had gotten to a point where he believed that he deserved all that hatred and that no one could ever love him. When Juvia cried over his predicament, actually showed that she cared about his suffering, he didn't know how to react so he broke down."

"But wouldn't the knowledge that someone cared make him happy?"

"It would but he won't allow himself to be happy. He doesn't think he can afford it."

"Afford it?"

"Caring can lead to love and he's so badly damaged that he believes he doesn't deserved to be loved and that if he loves anyone he'll pretty much damn that person."

"Can words really give you that mindset?"

"If you've been hearing them since you were about five? Yeah but as painful as those insults and curses were, they weren't what cemented that belief into him."

"Then what was?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's not my secret to tell and I've already told you too much."

"You know I can order you to tell me."

"I know that but I'm asking you to please don't. Gray is not ready for you or anyone else to know certain things about him. Can you just please respect that? Please?"

"Alright." She sighed. "I won't make you tell me anymore."

"Thank you. Erza I know you wanna help us and keep us out of trouble but our secrets are something we just can't give you automatically. There's a lot of shame and guilt connected to our secrets and we'd prefer to expose them when we're ready. If we're pressured into it, it would probably tear us apart and make us distrustful of everyone."

"I understand." She nodded. "We're done. No more talk about it for the day."

"Again thank you."