"One…"

The young bluenet counted aloud to himself with his hands covering his eyes as he faced towards a tree he was told to be positioned by since he had been the loser of the last round they had played.

"Two…"

Though if he had to be honest , it was only due to the fact that he had been pushed out of his hiding spot at the last minute by another kid , and as the countdown finished there was no time to find another spot to claim for himself.

His features tensed as he subconsciously thought about that loss , given that it was wholly undeserved when he was the one who located the hiding place between the bushes , and Asta just came and pushed him out of it for him and his sister.

"Three…"

If they wanted to share the spot with him , he wouldn't have minded , but to just blatantly push him out into the open?

"Four…."

That must have been against some rule of this game, no? And because of that he was the first one who was found by Kaden (who was the seeker last round) , and in turn making him the next to do so when everyone else was found or came out of their respective places due to the dark haired boy struggling.

"Five…"

But he couldn't make a fuss about it , it was just a game after all. That's what he had been told by the leader when he was getting irked. When he was told he was getting worked up for no reason. To which he begrudgingly agreed , that maybe that could have been the case.

And this was just a game.

"Six…"

A game he was determined to win this time around.

"Seven…"

A game that he was burning to complete with the utmost precision he could muster.

"Eight…"

A game that now that he was the one who would be seeker , and he wasn't going to be one to give up like the last one had when he couldn't find everyone else.

"Nine…"

No, he would find everyone promptly and prove his ability in this game. And in doing so no one would be able to laugh at him again for being too 'slow' or something. And they would see his actual capabilities and he would prove himself for being more than a 'dunce' or 'retard'.

"Nine and a half…"

And from what his ears were picking up from his surroundings , he could hear that amongst the hiders , there was still one atleast who was struggling to find a spot it seemed. He could hear them pacing about to and fro , heavily trodding on the grass and becoming panicked as his countdown was coming to an end.

"Nine and three quarters…"

Which was obviously an unfortunate thing for that kid , but if anything it solidified the fact his first win was going to be an easy one. The irony being that he had intentionally prolonged his countdown so no one could accuse him of being too quick again , and yet even after all that there still was someone struggling to find somewhere decent to hide from his sight…

"...Ten!"

That was just too bad on them.

"Ready or not…"

"Here I come!"

The azure haired child exclaimed as he turned his body away from the direction of the tree and removed his palms from his eyes. His opening vision was momentarily blurred by the pressure of fading darkness as light started to enter his irises again and uncover his surroundings.

"I found you!"

To which he saw one of the children in the middle of the field of grass having frozen up , in sight plain as day. From the sight of the light-ish cropped brond hair and the slightly taller but chunkier frame than all of them , he could tell that the kid that he could see was undoubtedly Zekiel.

Jellal exclaimed with excitement as he pointed over at the slightly older boy , whilst doing so rushing over to the said child in question , as more evidence to his win as he met the brond with an evident smile across his face.

Happy that he had finally found someone with ease and through what he knew to be all with fair terms.

However the same could not be said with Zekiel.

Whom was looking at the younger boy with a hardened light gaze as his fists clenched in irritation. His features scrunching up in the beginnings of a tantrum as he bellowed at the bluenet.

"You cheated!"

The smile on Jellal's face immediately withered as he registered those sharp words in shock. His bright bronze orbs had stilled with confusion as he looked up at the slightly taller boy with his own features tensing in response.

"I-I did not!"

The young boy retorted in apparent disbelief , his tone all that was needed to know he was telling the truth , yet that all fell on deaf ears as the brond got incensed more by his rebuttal.

"Yes you did!"

Zekiel insisted as if his narrative was the reality , his fists clenching on themselves tighter as he started to move his being in the direction of the azure haired boy with intent to threaten.

"You counted too quickly again!"

He watched as the brond was getting red in the face as he continued to press on about denying his loss , to which Jellal didn't know if he was getting heated over embarrassment or something else. He took a step back , unappreciative of the closing distance between the two by the older kid's actions.

"No I-I didn't!"

He could feel his chest feeling tight again like whenever his anxiety would rush him , his large orbs becoming wide as they stared up at the taller brond. His legs started to shake as he clenched his own fists to keep him from undoing as a trembling mess.

Because even if he was scared.

He wanted to stand up for himself.

He had to!

"I-I swear!"

Jellal could feel his own face had rushed with pools of blood , his cheeks becoming warmer as his fingers curled onto themselves tighter. Flickers of emotion passing through his dark orbs as he felt another tense in him from what was declared about him next.

"You're a liar!"

And with so much adamance.

The bluenet couldn't believe what he was hearing! Him a liar? How could he be accused of something like that?! His eyes tensed even wider than they were dramatically as his lips literally were left parted open due to shock.

Just the mere notion that he could be a liar was enough to bring his brewing anxiety to a forced stop as something else started to replace it.

He never was someone that lied , he knew how bad of a deed it was , and he knew he would get punished whenever he did it. He knew that nothing would come out of doing such except loss and he knew how lying was a trait of bad character.

Both from being told by the stone face ladies and just through his own intellect

Yet here he was being still so persistently declared something he never was and he hoped to never be.

And in his mind those words were not just processed as a fib about himself ,

But as an insult.

"No I'm not!"

Calling him a liar…

That was an insult.

"I'm not a liar!"

And because of that new flicked switch in him , he found that the trembles in his blood were rooting deeper yet they did not disorient him as much. His face still growing red as his wide bronze orbs sharpened with will. Trained on the brond who was equally not backing down , yet that didn't stop the truth from leaving Jellal's lips.

"You d-didn't hide by the t-time I f-finished!"

It was clear as day that the brond lost not because of anything Jellal did , but his own lack of action to find somewhere decent to hide. It wasn't due to anything on his part , it was all due to his inability and he wasn't going to pretend it was for anything different.

"Y-You can't c-call me a liar b-because of that Z-Zekiel!"

"T-That's not my f-fault!"

Though his voice was frail and faltered ,the resolve in it started to emerge with each word as his tone became more grounded. His nails began to embed into his palms out of keeping his nerves stable as he went head on with the older boy.

"T-That's yours!"

And made no notion to be subtle about it.

His large orbs watched the red face of the brond who looked momentarily stunned by the fact that he wasn't just taking his narrative as the truth. Jellal's eyes focused on the way his features tensed in hidden motion , how his light eyes went from being still to suddenly hardening until something else was barked at him with no warning.

"Shut up you fucking devil!"

But before he could even register what , he felt a horribly unpleasant incoming force as his shin , causing him to yelp immediately as his leg was kicked in with no remorse and making him nearly collapse to the grass whilst his thoughts couldn't fathom what happened.

'What the hell?!'

His hand went instinctually to grasp at the searing pain that was intruding his leg , the sharpness of his eyes having morphed to a watery glaze in an instant. A small groan left his lips as he went to rub the afflicted area , becoming stunned when he felt that the skin underneath his trousers had immediately become raised and felt wettish underneath.

Though before he had time to think more on that , he felt the collar of his shirt being hauled up as he was met with the rage writhing face of the older kid. A gasp choking him from the sudden motion as he became simply dumbfounded by this level of aggression. His wide eyes just looked on at the features which were depicting an unseen hatred as he felt the pressure tightening around his neck from the fabric that was being pulled forward around his collar to choke him.

"You are a fucking liar!"

Zekiel spat , literally with parts of his saliva hitting the young bluenet's face as his whole body had become numb from this reaction. To which Jellal felt another kick at his leg , one attacking him with less surprise than the last , but inflicting more pain as it hit again directly where he felt the initial injury.

A bare sob choked out of the bluenet from impulse , his eyes having watered enough to blind him from the twisted features of the brond.

However…

"!"

Even though the azure haired boy only remained stationary enough for the second hit to connect , immediately after the taller boy found his own shirt being gripped up whilst the hand violating Jellal's collar was being enclosed in a tightening grip.

Tear hazed eyes started to burn from both pain and something else as the younger boy's hands , as small as they might have been , latched onto his assaulter with no intention of letting go.

Fire began to emerge from the tears blinding him as cracking could be heard from the clicking of Jellal's firming bones , the only sound really constant between the two of them was the sound of exasperation rising.

"T-Take that b-back."

The azure haired boy gasped , his voice still not filled with the same resolve as his body , yet with the grit that was hardening underneath , it was well underway to reach the same rigidness.

His fingers clawed at the collar of the taller body messily , his being still shaking from unknown emotions as his feet planted firmly on the ground underneath and he started to press his weight into his offence. His breath quickened along with the surging of his blood as he pushed with offence into the brond…

"I-I'm not a l-liar!"

And proclaimed the truth about him with no hesitance.

"I'm not!"

Those words however didn't seem to settle well with the brond. His light eyes reddened with unsaid vehemence as his own strength pushed through and subjugated any attack that the younger child attempted on him. His brutal hands clamping down more fiercely on the bluenet's hold on him , feeling his hold wither under painful submission before he yanked the child's limbs away from him and threw him to the ground with no warning.

Jellal could barely tell what happened , his sight having been trained so thoroughly on the older boy and with intent that he didn't understand , just to find his body had collided agonisingly with the grass underneath , and that Zekiel was towering over his fallen body.

The sudden rush of emotion that was driving him seemed to have instantaneously lost affect in him with the occurrence of the collision. His being trembling again with will to subdue his spur of offence as the advantage which he momentarily thought he had was stripped away.

Leaving behind the frail and battered boy he was known to be.

He watched with still eyes as the brond started to approach him , approaching where he had thrown him and for some reason Jellal's limbs barely wanted to move. Too locked on by their own fear which he somehow didn't have for a split second , but was now consuming him as tears streamed down his face.

'Why did I try and do that?'

'I'm so weak and yet…'

The bluenet didn't have time to remain in his thoughts as the sound of Zekiel's footsteps amplified dreadfully in his ears. A whimper leaving his weighted throat as his mind seemed to go back to that day , just as when he had been equally as incapacitated and pathetic…

Both by the pain in his limbs and mind.

But this time he felt it more because just now he tried to be more than that.

And it failed him miserably.

Just like everything else did.

Though before he could truly taste that sense of failure , the sound of rushing footsteps to where he was came as a comfort. Or that's what it was meant to be.

"Hey!"

The leader's voice hit his ear in a bellowing tone. He watched as Zekiel became stilled from a moment and somehow started to retract his steps , causing his features to knit in tension as eventually Marik entered the scene from where he had been hiding.

And soon after that,

All the others did too.

"Break it up!"

The ebony haired boy came and stood in between the two in conflict (well that had been in conflict) , standing as a saviour to the bluenet against Zekiel's anger as Jellal watched the brond come from his temporal high almost instantly from the presence of their leader.

"What are you doing?"

The honey eyed boy questioned , though it was unknown to him who it was specifically directed to. He could feel his fingertips trembling , his palms stinging from where he embedded his nails momentarily as he was struggling to recall the collection of events that actually lead up to this spat.

But Zekiel on the other hand , had no issue with declaring his narrative.

"Fernandes was cheating."

His tone especially was sharp when naming the one in question. Jellal felt his nerves come to a still as a look flickered across the brond's face which he couldn't catch in it's entirety but still somehow left shivers down his spine. He didn't have time to pinpoint what it was he actually saw as the boy had turned away from him , and now the leader had turned in his direction.

Waiting for his response.

"I-I wasn't M-Marik!"

The words blurted out in a cry , internally the azure haired boy cursed himself for not being able to speak without sounding so frail. It did nothing to strengthen his case and made him sound so pathetic , but it was all due to sincere emotion.

"I c-counted like t-the rules said."

Emotion that had suddenly violated him without mercy.

Wracked his body , mind and soul once again.

"H-Honest!"

Emotion that would testify to Zekiel's cruelty against him and show his innocence in the matter.

"H-He didn't hide by t-the time I-I finished , a-and got a-angry that I found him first!"

"H-he hit me M-Marik!"

"I-I did n-nothing until h-he d-did!"

"I-I swear!"

He looked up at the honey eyed boy from his position on the grass , eyes pleading for the leader to believe him as he was the one who's word usually made everyone listen. His word was the one whom they all admired and obeyed , and if Marik could see that he didn't actually make any attempt to cause discord , then all the others would believe him too and not blame him for it.

But before he could hear Marik's decision on the matter , opinions started to come forth from the other kids surrounding him who's eyes also sharpened with a glare that had his heart thumping.

"If you cheated , then you should just own up to it."

Asta scoffed as he folded his arms and looked down at the injured bluenet. Jellal could barely bring himself to give a retort as he was bombarded with a whole slew of comments that did nothing but addle and upset him as he was reduced to nothing and do nothing but listen to pitiful slander.

"Why are you getting so angry over a game?"

"There was no need to start a fight over something so small."

"Are you that much of a sore loser?"

The final volley of venom came to an end at the lips of the other light haired male , Lars. Whose eyes had hardened over alike to his usual aggressive companions , making the young boy speechless as he couldn't think for himself like before and had his usual articulation become tearful chokes as he could barely speak with the hurt that was writhing in him.

"B-But I-"

He was about to start , his heart wanting to prove his innocence and clear his name even with how pathetic he might have been. But the returning sound of Marik's voice in the scene had him stopping,

"Fernandes."

Only to listen to something that was wholly unnecessary.

"You're ruining the game for everyone."

Marik remarked , causing the pit in the bluenet's stomach to form again as he felt honey orbs look over him. Glazing over whilst features remained stiff.

'What…?'

'He doesn't believe me either?'

'Why?!'

'Isn't it obvious who's the one in the wrong?!'

His bronzed orbs glazed over in fresh dejection , his throat searing with heavy weight as he looked down at his lap and saw how a patch of his trousers had darkened through the presence of blood. With his lips lining thin and fists clenching in frustration as he forced himself up from the grass he had been sprawled out on , not caring about the pain that wracked him and his legs as he started to walk away from the group.

"Hey? Fernandes?"

He didn't care where.

"Where you going?"

He just wanted to be alone.

"Fernandes!"

Away.

"Hey!"

From everyone.

"Come back here!"

And with himself.

Because at this moment in time , he didn't know if he could play anymore with these children. His heart was feeling too heavy , and they just automatically accepted Zekiel's word over his like he had no weight. Like as if he never did.

His feet dragged him away as he could hear Marik's tone heightening with urgency. Feeling guilty for leaving the leader and his plans , but not enough to make him stay as the way those final words about the conflict addressed him , really did not sit well with him at all.

"HEY-"

The ebony haired boy's voice sharpened with aggression before coming to an abrupt close. His honey eyes watching the receding figure of the bluenet whom was walking away from everyone with his head hanging low , not even bothering to look back like the dog he usually was who would be obedient to follow it's master's orders.

Features stiffened with unsaid intentions as his light gaze tempered from the sight of the azure haired boy with no shyness. Only being taken away from that brewing venom when the sound of one of the surrounding children spoke to him.

"Marik, I can't stand him!"

Zekiel finally hissed , as if this was some hidden thought he had been keeping in for who knows how long and was finally allowed to be expressed in all it's vehemence without shame. The brond's fists clenched with avid irritation as he looked at the oldest boy of their group , seeing that the same hardened expression existed on the ebony haired boy as sounds of approval came from the other children alongside.

"Why are you making us get close to a devil?"

Asta cried to the honey eyed boy , his tone denoting both disgust , confusion but most of all fear. Blue eyes swirling with intensity as he remembered his sheer hatred for the tattooed boy and everything he was and came from as his sister also gave her input.

"He's disgusting!"

Alma cried like she was speaking about a terrible monster , her body huddling into her brother who stroked her hair in comfort from the repulsion and fear that the blue haired devil had evoked in her with his dastardly presence.

"I hate the look of his face!"

Lars spat as his own fists clenched in irate frustration that the young boy had been causing them ever since Marik had made the plan to 'befriend' them for gods knows why?

Every passing day with that idiot was proving to be one hell over another , incessantly pestered by having to feign emotions of amicably to the azure haired abomination whom everyone wanted nothing but to shut up for good and leave him crying to no end. Give him so much pain and torment that he wouldn't know if it would begin or end. Give him so much misery and hatred…

Because that's what devils were destined for.

Because that's what devils deserved.

Deserved to be told that they were worse than the scum of the earth and that marked monsters like them should consider themselves fortunate for even being allowed to be in the presence of normal people.

Normal people they could never be like.

Because of this…Such repulsive beings like them were best rotting away in the dark where no one could see them. Locked away in some unknown place of the earth where they couldn't cause anyone pain , grief or loss again.

But since they weren't , they had to do the duty of keeping those bound by the devil in name and blood under their feet. Reminding them of where they truly stood on their blessed land with the hatred of the people and the gods on them. Something he and all the others wanted to desperately enjoin in to do their sacred country justice.

So spawn like that blue haired brat and his disgraceful whore of a mother couldn't destroy it anymore like that main devil had threatened to.

Gods he hated that child so much.

And he knew he wasn't unjustified as everyone else felt the same way about him.

Or even more.

"Fucking bastard , I want to run him into the dirt!"

The words escaped Zekiel's gritted teeth as his light eyes blazed with unreleased fury. Disgust filling his mouth and throat as he recalled just the audacity that punk had to try and amount to something more than the little bitch he had been in their eyes.

"He dared to try and talk back to me?"

"And then fucking touch me?!"

"Me?!"

"Fucking spawn!"

He seethed with hatred that didn't wish to cool as his blood rushed with the desire to pummel the blue haired child to a pulp for ever daring to lay a hand on him. How actually did he dare to do something that was so fucking mental? It was at that moment Zekiel was ready to throw Marik's plan into the bin and bring hell onto that devil like it had been ordained , but due to the leader's interference such a dismal fate had been spared from him.

For now.

"We'll show that filthy devil where he really stands…"

"Trust me…"

"We won't be doing this for much longer…"

"And it will all be worth it."

Marik finally spoke his thoughts to his clique , eyes glinting with mischief as had taken enough venom into his veins from watching that bastard get up and leave. A chilling smirk crawled over his face and lined his thin lips as he looked over at his group with devious intent.

"Just you wait."

The time went by without him even knowing.

Simply just wandering around the areas he was allowed from his house , taking time to calm his mind and get rid of the dark cloud that was looming over him once again by looking at the bright colours and patterns of nature that seemed to have some calming effect on him.

Looking at the trees , the plants and animals that he already knew and had the visuals burned into his memory from how much he had done it , yet with the perception he viewed them with today , it seemed like a very different experience than usual.

As instead of appreciating the beauty and life around him , he was using that same view to recollect himself , become one with his muddled thoughts and just give his mind somewhere to centre as it calmed down from that rush and confusion.

The sun had been making it's journey across the sky as he did so , feeling the beating heat of the warm weather both firing up with the incoming blaze of summer and then cooling down as the hours passed. Feeling how the air had been thick and stuffy and then turning into a gentler breeze as the light in the sky started to fade into the coming clouds and create a myriad of colours again.

And just like that his day out was coming to an end yet again.

Had started out in the midst of his friends , but coming to an end as something completely different. Would have been alone if it weren't for his four legged furry companion hadn't come to give him company again when he had come back from his mindless walk.

And to his surprise , she brought small cat friends for the first time with her too.

Two of them to be exact.

A low sigh left him as he sat cross legged on the warmed grass. Hazel having curled up into his lap along with her small friends , one of them looking a bit like her ; stripy , brown and white fur but having different coloured eyes to Hazel , whilst the other was a black and white one with barely any stripes (or maybe they were hidden) , but it had similar eye colour to Hazel.

Seeing Hazel after this and feeling her brush up against his leg with an excited gallop after so long was something he wasn't expecting , and definitely he wasn't expecting to see that she had small cat friends with her , so small that they were even smaller than when he found her he believed.

He was glad to know that during their time apart , Hazel had made her own friends to keep her company and that made his abandonment in the feline's life more bearable in terms of guilt as he didn't know how he would have been feeling if he was the one leaving her alone all this time with no one to play and talk with her.

That being said though , shame did pulse through him as he couldn't help but wonder , did Hazel make more cat friends because he had left her alone in favour of his new human ones? The thought hurt him and honestly he wouldn't have known what exactly the truth was , but now that they were reunited again and he had said his stream of apologies to the stripped feline , he wasn't going to allow her to be left behind again.

Not another time.

He was going to make sure of that.

His fingers ran through the fur of his feline friend as he allowed them to nestle up into him. A soft smile lining his lips as he heard the cat purring against him with her cat friends pushing into her belly (which somehow didn't look as heavy as before like the rest of her).

But as he was looking on at the fluffy feline , the light in his eyes appeared muted as he thought about everything that had occurred.

As it barely had left his mind.

From the rounds of Hide and Seek that he had been playing (and failing at). Not just from today but also all the other times they would play games with him and he would be bad at it , but today's instance was the most prevalent in his mind. To the spat that erupted between him and Zekiel just because he called the boy out for his actions , and then everything that everyone had said about him and accused him of being false in his words and ruining everything.

Especially in regards to what Marik said.

'You're ruining everything'

Those words just kept bothering him at the back of his mind as he spent his time alone. Thinking about what those words were actually meant to mean , or if they held any weight really. Because in the heat of the moment , what had spurred his actions and words was doing what was right , but hearing those sorts of comments from his friends and the leader who usually tried to include him was making him think otherwise.

"Hazel…"

"I want your opinion on something."

"Am I…In the wrong?"

He asked in a soft voice , tone still projecting the confusion which hadn't dissipated after all this time. His features knitted on themselves as he looked down at the fluffy feline and her companions , glaze burning his eyes as he sounded all that was troubling him.

"We were playing a game , and I finished counting like they told me to…but when I looked up and saw that one of them hadn't hid yet by the time I was meant to seek…"

"They accused me of cheating…"

"They accused me of being a liar…"

He told the cat in confidence , watching her eyes train onto his expression as she seemed to be more attentive to his words and emotions. His heart beat from seeing the amount of consideration that his furry friend had towards him , even though no words were being spoken , he felt so safe and free to go on with the thoughts he wanted to let out.

And let them out he did.

"But I didn't do anything like that."

"I'm not a cheater."

"And I'm not a l-liar…"

He could feel his throat getting heavy as he recalled the sureness of all their tones when they had been slandering him without even listening to his side of the story properly. A lone tear leaving his large bronze irises that rolled down his shaded skin before falling down his chin and onto the fur of the cat.

"Y-You believe m-me?"

"D-Don't y-you?"

He asked, unable to keep back the welled up sorrow , to which he watched as the cat's hazel orbs widened in response with her soft paw reaching out towards his being almost like in a manner of comfort.

His tears came to a still as he noted the kind gesture of the creature.

"I-Is that y-your way of saying y-you do?

A little laugh left his lips before a wilted smile crossed his face. His bronze gaze lightened from witnessing this gesture as his other hand went to hold the stretched out limb , like he was accepting the cat's gesture. Wetness still accumulated from his tear ducts , but to abate himself from succumbing to another round of crying , he rubbed the cat's paw gently with his thumb before he went on to tell everything else.

"B-But when I wanted to tell them that…"

"T-They didn't want to listen to m-me."

"A-And I don't even know w-why?"

"T-That's not f-fair is i-it?"

He expressed to the feline in confidence , his tears beginning to haze his vision enough that the image of Hazel and her cat friends was just starting to become patches of indistinguishable fur in his sight.

"H-He hit m-me."

"H-He made my leg hurt and I-I saw t-there was b-blood…"

He cried as he recalled the leaking blood that had come forth from Zekiel's attack. When he was in his own privacy , he had seen the extent of the damage from the blood that was soaked into his trousers from the broken skin of his knee by rolling the fabric up.

And when he did that , he saw that the area had been raised and turned an ugly purplish brown which his trousers had been conveniently concealing . But it did nothing to conceal the blood that had been trickling down his calf. And making the leg of his trousers stick to him uncomfortably.

Blood that had been allowed to seep and accumulate until he tended to it.

Blood that had amounted enough that it was visible to the naked eye even with his trousers in place.

Blood was all the evidence needed to know he was innocent.

Yet he somehow wasn't.

"B-But they d-didn't believe m-me."

"T-They didn't want t-to hear anything."

"O-Or even try to."

"T-They just believed Z-Zekiel over m-me."

"W-Why?"

That was something he had been asking himself over and over. With all that had played out , why was it that Zekiel got the favour of the group despite him being the one who obviously started it? He was sure that wherever they were , they must have heard the brond screaming at him for those few moments before he somehow decided to try and do something more than accept his statements.

Whilst that was still wracking him with confusion alone , something he really didn't understand how they had all come when it was obviously going to get worse and the brond was evidently pissed , yet he had been made out the victim whilst Jellal was the one to bear the name of the instigator.

This made no sense to him.

Nothing about that friend group did.

Even after all this time , after all his patience too...Being told he would get it eventually.

But he had still yet to have that grand revelation.

That would make all this mystery click in him.

Regarding them , what they did and all which didn't align with his logic.

He was still waiting for the explanations.

Especially given what Marik had uttered to him in regards to all that happened and pinning the blame on him entirely.

"M-Marik said I was r-ruining the game for e-everyone…"

"I-I don't understand why he s-said that."

"D-Do you think that's t-true?"

Truthfully the azure haired Fernandes had been ruminating the possibilities of what could have spurned the ebony haired boy to say that. But after bouts of deep thinking and coming to many inconclusive dead ends with his understanding , the only real conclusion he could somewhat find as a justification was that maybe Marik was saying whatever to get the fight to break up and get tensions to subside so they wouldn't remain prevalent in the friend group.

And because everyone else had been siding with Zekiel , maybe that's why he also said something alongside that to keep discord to a minimum.

Something that he didn't agree on , as it completely rubbed him the wrong way, But when he had time to think about it and his actions after that , he wondered if he truly had been in the wrong, walking away after being called by Marik countless times and ignoring him.

And for not just taking the leader's words as they were as they probably were in good judgement for everyone in the group.

Something that he had been told by the leader himself , but now he was finding harder to take at face value.

That being said though , when the pangs of guilt somehow did start writhing in him due to his wilful ignorance to the group , Jellal did wish to come back and apologise for his behaviour if he had done something actually wrong without realising. But to his dismay , they had left with no trace in sight , leaving the grounds silent and barren like anyone had barely been there.

And it made him wonder if it was due to his actions that they all left , or something else?

But then what would that be?

It all was so weird.

He blinked away the tearful haze that had clouded his vision , being greeted to the sound of erupting meows as Hazel tried to snuggle in him more avidly. A brighter smile broke through his pursing lips as Hazel and her friends started to form again into something recognisable in his sight.

"S-Sorry for crying to you H-Hazel…"

"I-I feel bad for making you hear all this and h-having you watch me be so p-pathetic…"

"I-In front of y-your new f-friends too..."

"I-I'm s-sorry..."

He admitted in a low tone , despising the fact that he cried so much anyway and that his first time seeing Hazel after so long , he had been reduced to tears again through nothing other than his own thoughts. It must have been annoying to listen to for her, it was annoying for the stone-faced ladies and practically anyone else he came across , so why wouldn't it be the same for her?

He swallowed back the remainders of his sobs and chokes as he didn't want to sullen their reunion anymore than he already did.

His hands went to scoop the bigger feline into his arms and pull her closer , like giving her a hug with her cat friends on her belly as he enjoyed her warmth and softness. Though as he was in the process of relishing her presence , another thought strung in his mind that had his fingertips suddenly tensing in apprehension.

The thought that had been buried away in his mind in the midst of the confusion , but now he could ruminate over it as he tried to recall what exactly had been said to him.

'Did...'

'...He actually say those words?'

The words which had his heart drumming yet wanting to freeze all at once. The words that he hated the most. The words that were the greatest insult to him and his being that he could contrive.

Devil.

Something he had thought he heard the last of since that encounter as the kids all said that it was something they blurted out in fear. But this time today , did he actually hear Zekiel say the same thing again. The mere notion of that being a possibility had his blood turning to ice as his stroking fingers came to a stop in the fur it was caressing.

'That can't be possible…'

Why would he call him a devil when Marik said they wanted to apologise to him? That completely nullified everything that he had been told and the bond that they had formed towards him as friends. Sure he knew Zekiel was one of the more unpleasant ones of the group , but he had admitted that last time was because he was 'scared'.

But there was no fear in him today.

Simply anger.

Hot and raging anger.

But because he got so caught up in the midst of that , Jellal wasn't sure if he actually heard that accursed name being said to him again or if it was his trauma from the last time putting words into his mind he didn't hear. The whole situation did feel eerily similar to that which happened then , but this time he was not left in the dirt with all of them laughing at him and cursing him.

Instead Marik tried to break it up before it could get worse.

Which was a difference right?

Compared to that day.

But even then…

'I can't understand anything...'

'It's making my head hurt.'

A sigh left his lips as he really couldn't understand what was going on. This friendship was so weird and honestly , he was starting to wonder if he should even be in it. Everything was so strange about it. Everything told to him. Everything that was kept from him. Everything they did.

It was all so strange.

And he couldn't help but question why?

He felt the summer breeze blow against him again , significantly cooler than it had been in the morning as he felt the fabric of his hood flapping slightly. His eyes looked up from the trained sight he had on his feline companions to the reddened sky which was gleaming with burnt crimson , pink and orange hues , slowly announcing nightfall.

His bronze orbs stared up at the changing colours of the sky , remembering the first time he had been witnessing such a beautiful sight from the outside rather than through a barred window , and just like that day the beauty of the heavens was just as magnificent as it had always been.

Or even more so.

Though this time when he was watching the warm hues mixing and melding as the colour of the sky transformed into something deeper and velvety , even though it was just as mesmerising to witness , he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of longing inside him. Longing he didn't understand yet felt so present in him.

And he didn't understand why.

Or could even begin to.

His bronze orbs looked at the sun which was just peeking from the horizon now , noting to himself how much longer it had taken for the light in the sky to make that journey compared to other days. The sunset lasted a whole lot longer , along with the rest of the day now that it was much warmer.

Hence why he could spend more of his time out before being called in , but for some reason that thought didn't seem as exciting as he initially thought it would be. Something that he would have given what he could just a few months back , now was something he somehow dreaded or something.

Why was that?

He had been praying to the gods more recently than when he stopped after the doctor's visit (but still not as ardent as leading up to the annual festivity for all the deities) , hoping that his patience and desires would soon come through and make clarity of what muddled with his brain and heart. And that maybe his friendships would turn the way he had initially desired. But those prayers of his was still to be answered , and to be honest he was wondering when it would be the case that would happen for him.

If it ever did.

Because at this point he really did not know.

He didn't want to admit it...but he was honestly losing faith in the gods doings now.

He couldn't make sense of their plan at all.

Weren't they meant to be helping him?

Like they promised the people of the land?

Like they promised him?

'Should I make another prayer tonight?'

'Start praying more often so the gods know how serious I am?'

The bluenet thought to himself to dismiss his pessimism. He knew it was wrong for him to fall into doubt about the gods and their powers , especially after all they changed for him , but it was honestly getting hard to keep hope.

With all that kept coming up and throwing him off track , he was just wondering when the clarity would come through and he would have that moment of peace again.

Wondering when everything would make sense like it did before to him and he felt safe and secure , when he felt grateful without it being forced. Wondering when his heart , mind and soul would stop being addled with everything and most of all , when his prayers would be answered the way he wanted.

With having friendships the way that he had always watched and dreamt of , with having connections that met his expectations , with having companionship that didn't plague him with confusion to no end.

'I'll...'

'I'll think about that later...'

A low sigh left him as he couldn't think of the proper action to take in regards to his thoughts or anything. With his mind too scrambled to do anything , he took back to focusing his attention on the setting scenery.

Trying to lose himself and his tensions to the deepening hues of the horizon.

As his bronze orbs took in the scarlet faded sky in silence and occasionally looking back and forth to the ever changing bursts of colours around that were painting the scene with life…Instead of being in awe and appreciating the beauty that was before him like he had done many times before , there was something stopping him from fully immersing into the action.

A thought still incredibly present and that filled his young mind to no end , no matter how much he tried to block it out.

One thought that wouldn't stop bothering and could not stop bothering.

One thought that had been pressing at the back of his mind for days upon days now.

One thought that he couldn't ignore.

That thought being,

That even if everything would be good in the end and his patience and faith would come through for him after all this,

Why was it that...

Everything now had to be so...

Strange...?

Author's Note:

Just to make as a quick note , the majority of Young Jelly's confusion will definitely be cleared by the next chapter regarding his 'friends'.

Oh but what is to follow...We're going to start taking our first proper steps down the inevitable passage of darkness that Jellal will go down in order to become the devil that he's been destined to be.

And with that you'll see all the changes come forth.

And all the madness that will be sowed and reaped alongside...

It's all truly going to go hell soon.

Trust me.