Author's Note 1: Get ready for the feels.

Chapter 21: Natsu's Past

The sound of sandals and metal boots tapping against cobblestone echoed through the Crusaders HQ. Two Holy Crusader grunts with swords at their sides and were escorting the still chained-up Natsu to his cell. The aforementioned dragon-slayer's expression was that of confusion and devastation. Eventually, they arrived at an empty cell and shoved the salmon-haired man inside before locking it.

"Hey! Are you going to feed any of us?!" The being in the next cell over asked.

"Silence, demon!" One of the guards yelled.

"Oh, I am going to use your spine as a toothpick when I get out!" The being proclaimed as the guards walked away. It then turned its attention to its new neighbor. "So what did you do to piss these bastards off?"

Natsu said nothing as he lay on his side.

"Don't feel like talking? Finally! Someone who knows when to shut up!"

The distraught dragon-slayer, drained from both the beating and earlier revelations, started to drift to sleep. Part of him wanted to deny that the crazed woman was his mother, but their was no denying the resemblance the two shared. As he contemplated his situation, the salmon-haired man fell asleep.

Natsu's eyes took a second to adjust to the light of the new area. In his confusion, he looked around and saw that he was in a forest in the middle of the day.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Good job, Natsu." He heard a male voice say. The dragon-slayer turned and saw two people walking towards him, both of them carrying bags of logs or sticks on their backs. One was a man in his early thirties with spiky burgundy hair, golden eyes, a white buttoned-up shirt, black pants and boots. The other was a boy, probably no older than four. He had spiky salmon hair, a red t-shirt, dark green shorts and sandals. He also had a cheeky grin in on his face.

"That's...that's me." Natsu whispered in shock. The two approached Natsu and just phased through him, almost like he wasn't there.

"Yup! I got like a hundred stick today!" The younger Natsu cheerfully exclaimed.

"I know. Maybe you could teach your old man a thing or two about wood gathering?" The man stated before ruffling the boy's hair.

"Aw, cut it out, Dad!" The younger Natsu stated while the older Natsu followed behind them in interest. Eventually, the three found their way to a small village. As the older Natsu continued to follow, he looked around the village with a sense of familiarity. The continued to walk through the village until they reached a cabin on the edge of the town. In front of the cabin was a mailbox with the name 'Katagiri' written on it.

"We're back!" Young Natsu exclaimed as the three walked into the house.

"Welcome home." Fuyu greeted with a kind smile. She was adorned in a yellow sundress. Unlike the crazed and scarred woman Natsu had met earlier, this woman had a graceful and kind feeling to her.

"Daddy!" A girl slightly older than the younger Natsu cheered as she ran to greet the two. She had short burgundy hair, gold eyes and had a cheeky grin. Her outfit consisted of a brown shirt and shorts.

"How's my little princess?" Natsu's father asked before patting his daughter's head, causing her to giggle.

"Great, Daddy!" She replied with glee. She then saw that logs and sticks the two men had collected. "So Dad had to help you again, huh?"

"Nuh-uh!" Young Natsu said in a pout. "I gathered all of these by myself, Hoshi!"

"Ya, right!" Hoshi teased. The two children continued to bicker as their parents looked on, amused by the immaturity on display.

"They have your attitude, Daisuke." Fuyu stated with a giggle.

The older Natsu kept watching the day progress and soon enough, more lost memories started to return to him. He remembered how much he idealized his father, how his mother's kind smile always brightened to up his day, and how even though his sister annoyed him to no end, he loved her all the same.

The scene eventually changed to the Katagiri family having dinner at night. Everything was fine.

All of a sudden, the door was busted down. A disheveled man had long dirty blond hair, several cuts on his arms and was adorned in tattered robes ran in, much to the family's shock.

"What the...Get out of my house!" Daisuke yelled out. But before anyone could react, the man grabbed the young Natsu while leaping over the table.

"Natsu!" Fuyu and Hoshi yelled in shock.

"You bastard!" Daisuke exclaimed, quickly grabbing a knife from the table.

"Not so fast!" The man said before holding his free hand up. In an instant, his arm was consumed by a red magic circle and transformed into a metal blade, which he held to the terrified Natsu's neck. "Take another step and I slice open the brat's throat!"

Daisuke glared at the man as he set down his knife, Hoshi looked on in shock at the man's display of power, and Fuyu looked in horror.

"M-Magic." She whispered in fear.

"What the hell do you want?" Daisuke growled out.

"The Rune Knights have been chasing me for a while. So I need a place to lay low until then. And this town's so out in country that they'll never come looking for me here." He then pressed his blade arm closer to Natsu's neck. "You're going provide me all the food and shelter I want until the search is over."

"L-Let me go!" The boy yelled with tears running down his eyes. He attempted to wriggled out, only for the criminal to press the blade closer.

"Stop struggling, brat!"

"Put my brother down, you...you meanie!" Hoshi cried out.

"Natsu." Fuyu whispered, also letting tears run down her face.

"Let…" The temperature around the young Natsu and criminal started to become warmer.

"Me…" Blue magic circles appeared in his eyes.

"GOOOOOO!" In a single instant, the criminal was consumed by azure fire, dropping the boy as he yelled in agonizing pain.

"By Samuel's blade." Daisuke stated in shock.

"Natsu!" Hoshi cried out, quickly hugging her brother.

"Did...did I do that?" Natsu asked. As the criminal to continued to cry in pain, the boy covered his ears, not wanting to hear it.

"Everything's gonna okay." Daisuke said, attempting to comfort his son. But as this happened, Fuyu just approached the three with her head held down.

"Natsu…" She whispered, getting the three's attention.

"Mommy?" He asked.

"You…" She looked at the slowly dying and burning man before looking back down at her son. And much to the shock of everyone, Fuyu forcefully clasped her hands around her son's throat.

"Fuyu, what the hell are you doing?!" Daisuke asked, attempted to pull his wife away from their child.

"Stop it, Mom!" Hoshi yelled.

"You monster!" Fuyu yelled as her grip tightened while Natsu continued to flail his arms. "Your one of those...magic abominations!"

"S-stop." Natsu choked out as he tried pushing Fuyu off by pushing her face away. Once more, his magic instinctively blared up around his hand, causing Fuyu to reel back in pain.

"How could you?!" Daisuke yelled in anger. But Fuyu, in her anger and pain, grabbed the knife from the table and attempted to charge at Natsu. Daisuke saw this and attempted to block his wife's attack, which in turn lead to the knife piercing his chest.

"Daddy!" Hoshi cried out.

"Dad!" Natsu yelled. As all of this insanity was happening, the flames from the criminal's' corpse had caught onto the wooden walls of the house and were spreading quickly.

Fuyu pushed her bleeding husband out of the way and glared at Natsu, the new burn mark on her face and bloody knife in her hands made her look with a demon from hell.

"This...this all your fault!" Fuyu exclaimed, pointing her blood-covered knife at her terrified son. But before she could strike, Hoshi leaped at her mother, grabbing her by the waist and pushing her into the table.

"Run!" Hoshi yelled.

"B-But…"

"JUST RUN, NATSU!" The girl yelled as Fuyu started to get her second wind. With tears still running down his eyes, the salmon-haired boy ran past his family and out the door. He looked back at his house for one last time. His home. His sanctuary. His birthplace. It was being consumed by flames he had conjured in fear. He turned away and started to run into the forest.

And as he did, all of the recent events started to come over him. He had been taken hostage, almost had his throat slit, and ended up burning that man to death. His mother had called him a monster and attempted to kill him. She had then stabbed his father. And it was likely that his mother and sister would perish with the burning house.

Sufficed to say, all of this was too much for a four-year old mind to handle. As such, in order preserve his sanity, the boy's mind started to forget everything. Everything, except the last word his sister had said to him.

Natsu.

Natsu awoke back in his cell. In his sleep, he had broken out in sweat. He remembered everything. His true last name. His home. His family. And that night.

And just like that night, tears of anguish started to flow freely down his face. Every since Igneel had found him, some part of Natsu had always wondered what happened to his real family. Had they abandoned or lost him in the forest? Was he the lone survivor of some animal attack?

But now, he finally had the answer. And as he laid back down on the cell floor and even more tears fell down his face, he was wishing he hadn't.

To be continued…

Author's Note 2: A short chapter, but I think it did it's job. And before anyone asks, in this story, this is Natsu's true origin. He is NOT E.N.D.! He is not Zeref's brother. He is not some reincarnated demon thing. He's just a man whose entire life was changed by one bad night.

And rest assured, Zeref's origins will also be explained down the road.

Next Time: The Rescue! Be sure to read, favorite, review and support this story by editing the TV Tropes page! See ya later!