Author's Note: Five years have passed and Tetsumi is now a teenager. This is the "beginning" of the story. You'll see what I mean when the other chapters come up. I know that the chapter is short, but this just a setup. I promise that thejuiciest parts are coming soon!
Time always flows at different rates for different people. It seemed as if only yesterday that a young boy had left his home and followed two complete strangers to a place that he had never heard of. In actuality, it has been over five years since Tetsumi left to fulfill his dream of becoming a demon slayer. He had gone five years without seeing his family and his friends. He had not even received a letter from them, for the Order was very strict when it came to contact with the outside world. Five years is a long time for anyone, but especially for one so young. If only his parents and friends could see him now. He had grown so much; in fact he was almost a man. No longer obsessed with the desires of childhood, he began to understand what his father had tried to teach him all those years ago.
"How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know, maybe a few days. It depends on how long it takes for my mother to recover."
Tetsumi's mother was sick. His father had somehow managed to get word to him. It was nothing serious, just a bad fever, but it was enough. Enough to convince the Order to allow Tetsumi to return home. Perhaps Lord Okita had pulled some strings, but Tetsumi did not care. He had wanted to return to his home, if only to see his parents again.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"I think so. My father said that it was nothing serious. Since when do you care about other people, Natsu?"
"Don't think because I don't like you, it doesn't mean I don't care about your mother. Heaven only knows what you put her through when you were a kid."
"I'll have you know that I was the perfect son."
"Right. Keep telling yourself that.
"Not even you Natsu could ruin my mood today. I can't wait to see all my old friends again. I wonder if any of them will still remember me?"
"I'm sure they will. You're kind of hard to forget."
"Was that a compliment Natsu?"
"No, I'm just saying that you're the type of person that one would find hard to forget, no matter how hard they tried."
Recently, Natsu was saying things like this with more frequency. She too had grown up in the last five years. No longer was she the fiercely independent little girl that nobody could get close to. Now, she was the fiercely independent young woman who only allowed a select few to even talk to her. This subtle change in Natsu mattered little to Tetsumi. To him, she was still the same girl who gave him a hard time his first day at the monastery. That was what he liked about Natsu, the unpredictability that she offered him. Everyday, it seemed as if she would something that surprised him. He loved this; it was the reason why he woke up every morning. Natsu was the complete opposite of Tetsumi, maybe this was why he couldn't get enough of her. He found himself feeling this more and more with each day. Each time he felt this, he wanted to tell Natsu how he felt, but he quickly dismissed the idea, thinking that it was just a childish crush. He was nearly a man; he would have to learn to keep his emotions in check.
"Well, that's everything."
"Are you leaving already?"
"No, but I like to be prepared. I thought that if finished packing early, the two of us could do something together?"
"Don't hold your breath Tetsumi. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."
As Natsu left the room, Tetsumi shrugged his shoulders and told himself, "See, she said no. This proves that she is not interested in me."
