A couple holding a sleeping child in their arms knocked on the Raven Tail Orphanage's door, and with each knock they were more hesitant to give the next one.

- Sami...! I do not want to do that...! - Said the man, in tears...

- I do not want too...! But if we stick with Natsu... Leonard, you... KNOW we won't be able to keep him! The situation got worse! And Zeref, Romeo and Mard are already proving almost impossible to maintain! At least here, Natsu... will be able to eat properly. And... grow strong. - The woman replied, equally shaken...

"Natsu, your brothers will miss you so much, and so will we…! So, grow up and become a man who will make your old daddy proud and your new one, too...! OK?! - The man then kissed the forehead of the sleeping boy, and soon after the woman did the same.

And then... the door of the orphanage was opened, and from there a red-haired girl came out with a sweet and strange smile. The couple had already talked to the woman earlier that day...! Their second son, Natsu Dragneel... would go to the Raven Tail Orphanage, known as the best orphanage in the area. A place known for having already delivered dozens of children to new homes, according to the orphanage's own advertising.

"We'll take good care of Natsu!" And we hope he gets adopted as soon as possible! After all... every child deserves love and a true home!" - The sweet woman said still with her even more gentle smile, despite the same looking... sort of strange.

Sami and Leonard thanked her, and... delivered the sleeping five-year-old Natsu. And just like that... they both left. In tears, of course...

Natsu had the same dream for five years.

Leonard and Sami...? He remembered very little about his parents. And he remembered EVEN LESS about Zeref, or Romeo, or Mard… his three brothers. THIS was his most memorable memory of ALL of them, even with his siblings receiving only a brief mention in it.

Yes, his most memorable memory... the day he was abandoned in the most despicable, cruel and inhumane place possible: the Raven Tail Orphanage.

And when he dreamed of it, his mark on his right shoulder hurt sharply. Yes... this brand that was made with a hot iron as soon as the pink one arrived at the place. Yes, this was the Raven Tail Orphanage... "best orphanage in the area".

Natsu doesn't knows a lot about the outside world. However, he KNEW that... what daily happens to him, Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus... and what happens to EVERYONE in the orphanage is just... ABOMINABLE!

Day after day, they were beaten up...! Among the countless children in the place, some even wished... ah, they were dead. Such sad wishes… were originated by the pain and suffering caused by the despicable and horrendous tortures of Flare Corona, the so-called "Madam Flare".

Day after day, they... just wanted the adoption. They wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible!

Things on the Raven Tail Orphanage… are horrendous. Natsu has seen other children... die in the orphanage. The pinkie boy has already seen other children praying that they don't wake up the next day, and that... completely broke the boy's heart. He doesn't understand a lot about the outside world, but… he surely knows that NO ONE in their right mind would think that what Flare does to the kids... is right.

The place was completely abominable and surrounded by tragedy, and... the only thing that still kept Natsu with a small smile on his face were his friends: Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus...! All with... similar stories to his. Abandoned by their parents in the equivalent of hell for the living... a sad end for everyone there.

Bowing in pain, his mark hurting even more... Natsu went to the nearby bathroom inside the orphanage. The little pinkie boy always found this SO weird! His brand… was the ONLY ONE in the ENTIRE orphanage to hurt until the PRESENT days! And... always with the same trigger: the dream of when... his parents left him.

Natsu screamed in pain, and... turned on the faucet. Washing your face and splashing water on your mark. Wetting it gave a small impression of improvement to the unbearable sting in his shoulder.

And... suddenly, someone else appeared in the bathroom...! And it was Wendy Marvell.

Wendy is eight years old, two years younger than Natsu... and she came to the orphanage four years ago. Wendy was Natsu's best friend at that orphanage, and... that already explains why she showed up so quickly after hearing the pinkie scream.

"NATSU! Are you okay?! Don't tell me... you dreamed again?!" - Wendy asked extremely worried.

Natsu was still writhing in pain. However, he bit his tongue slightly as he poured more water, and thus managed to alleviate the referred pain a little. A moment later, the pinkie boy looked at Wendy.

— A-Ah! Yeah, I... sort of... d-don't want you to see me like this, Wendy... — Sad tone in Natsu's voice...? Sadly... this was nothing new. The evils and abominations done by Flare... might never leave the poor boy, just as... the same was also true to all the children at the hideous, despicable, inhuman Raven Tail Orphanage.

Seeing Natsu like that... hurt deep in the poor bluenette.

And then... the girl walked up to Natsu, stood beside the boy's shoulder, and... gave a sweet kiss over the pinkie boy's sore mark.

— My mommy always told me that: 'kissing where it hurts can help to get better...!' - Wendy sketched a slight smile as she hugged Natsu.

Natsu managed a brief smile in response to her friendly gesture!

"Yeah. Maybe this... has some truth to it." - Natsu felt the pain gradually diminish!

And the two stayed hugged for minutes, in silence. Just admiring each other's affection! But... after a few good minutes, Wendy broke the silence.

"Natsu, I-... I think we'd better go back to our rooms. If Madam Flare catches us here, violating our schedule... I don't know what she's going to do to us." - Wendy definitely had fear in her voice just thinking about any possible the atrocities which Flare could commit, but… at this very moment, the most detectable emotion in her voice was sadness.

Sadness because she... would need to end her hug with Natsu.

And the two then broke away from the embrace. The sadness on Natsu's face... was also noticeable.

"You-…you're right, Wendy. Take care... on the way back, okay? I don't-... don't want to lose you. For nothing in this world." - Natsu said with all his heart!

"I-I don't either, Natsu...!" You... are the most important person to me... in this world. — Little Wendy says blushing, and it made Natsu blush dozens of times even MORE!

Wendy then waved at him and said goodbye to the boy, thus returning to the girls' dormitory in the abominable place. Natsu composed himself, and... ran some water one last time on his mark before leaving the bathroom and heading back to the boys' dorm.

And as soon as Natsu walked through the dorm door, the pinkie boy was approached by... Gajeel! Who had woken up after the cry of the pinkie boy a few minutes ago.

"Hey Natsu, what happened?! Don't tell me that-...?!" - Gajeel didn't even have to finish, and Natsu nodded.

Gajeel saw the deep sadness in Natsu's eyes. And then, the brunette boy saw tears fall from the pinkie boy's onyx eyes.

"I cannot take it anymore, Gajeel...!" - Natsu hugged Gajeel while his crying intensified more and more, until it was loud enough to wake up Laxus, who was also sleeping next to Gajeel...

Seeing Natsu cry like that… yeah, hurt Gajeel. After all, they are best friend for years. The dark-haired boy met Natsu as soon as the pink one entered the orphanage... five years ago.

Gajeel likes to say that he was the one who taught Natsu everything that the pinkie boy knows about fighting! At first, Natsu's pink hair bothered Gajeel...! And for real! But soon, Natsu and him... together with Wendy and Laxus, have been through so much. For so many... inhuman, cruel beatings. For so many... tears.

Gajeel, today, can't imagine living without the spiky-haired blonde idiot! Nor without the pink-haired idiot, nor even without the shy bluenette, Wendy Marvell.

Natsu tightened the hug, and... began to lower the volume of the crying so he would not wake up the Machiavellian Madam Flare, who slept on the floor above the boys' dormitory.

Laxus, awakened by the noise... joined the two, still drowsy.

The other boys in the dorm were still sleeping peacefully. Or they just didn't care enough about Natsu to go see him? That... nobody knows

"Good morning, I think…? What happened?" - Laxus asked before taking a better look at the scene, and…with that, seeing Natsu crying as he hugged Gajeel.

Laxus then understood right away! The rosy one had already gone through this before. A lot of nights. And every time... for the same reason.

"So… your mark hurt again?! This is really weird. It's the third time this week alone, Natsu! What is happening?! The frequency is increasing again! That is very dangerous." - Laxus was just as worried as Gajeel and Wendy.

Laxus saw that Natsu didn't respond, and… just joined in the hug.

He also believed that Natsu was, probably... the child who suffered the most in that orphanage. All because his brand hurt to this day. The marks on all the other children at the orphanage didn't hurt for more than two weeks after Flare cruelly stabbed them to their skins, but... Natsu's pain had been going on for... years.

Laxus is fourteen years-old and had already been in the orphanage for nine long years, and he could talk and think about it just fine...! The blonde remembers countless nights where the same thing happened: Natsu gets up with a sharp pain, tries to relieve the burning in his shoulder with water in the bathroom, and goes back to the dorm... again, and knowing that there will still be a next time. And that also hurt the blonde, who considered Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel... as part of his own family. His friends and he were something like the "Four Musketeers", and seeing one down and as wrecked as Natsu gets in such difficult times... it breaks the whole team.

It hurt Laxus, Gajeel, and…especially Wendy.

"Sometimes I think I shouldn't sleep...! Never! So, I... would never dream again, and this would never hurt again!" - Natsu meant it, and that's what worried Laxus and Gajeel.

"You already tried, Natsu... and you almost died! Do not be stupid! Our health is already weak...! If you ever do that crazy thing again-...! Oh, just... don't do it! You… little pink haired idiot. Go to sleep! We will always be here for you." - Gajeel said in a sad tone, worried about Natsu.

The little cursing from the brunette made the pinkie give a little laugh, and then... Natsu broke the hug with Gajeel and Laxus.

"Thank you for always being with me... you two! And Wendy too, of course!" — Natsu then smiled sweetly to his friends!

"Especially her, huh? Do you think I'm dumb? I know you like her!" - Gajeel provoked!

And Natsu blushed! Instantly, the pinkie grabbed Gajeel by the collar as he denied everything!

As for Laxus... he just chuckled at the scene! Haha!

The blonde was the boy who had been at Raven Tail Orphanage the longest, and... ever since he became friends with the pink, the brunette, and also the blue one... the blonde noy finally stopped feeling lonely. The kid had another great friend at the orphanage named Bickslow! But…that was seven years ago, and Bick was adopted very, very quickly. His friend ended up getting rid of the "Hell for the Living" too soon, yes... and Laxus was happy about it!

He would NEVER want... more and more people to suffer in such inhuman and horrible place.

Laxus also missed his old girlfriend Evergreen a lot...! A girl who had left the orphanage two years ago. Evergreen was adopted at thirteen, and she was a year older than Laxus! They were the most "adult" of the children, in every way, yes! Especially in... maturity. Although the blonde is still a little pushy, and... every now and then, argue with Natsu or Gajeel about something relatively silly.

"Admit it at once, rosy!" - Gajeel...! Laxus met Gajeel six years ago, just before Natsu arrived at the orphanage! Laxus and Gajeel didn't get along very well in the beginning and they already had some good blows against each other a few years ago, but today... they would die for each other if necessary. It's even funny to stop to think about it, isn't it?

"T-T-THIS IS JUST-...!" - as for Natsu… the blonde boy felt something special in the pinkie when he first met him. The age difference between the two is four years, however... even that was NOT an obstacle for one of the most honest friendships of ALL to emerge when they met! With the pinkie boy, Laxus learned that friendship has no age range! The blonde abhors the orphanage as much as anyone should, but... he loved the friends he made there. Although yes, still hoping that everything… one day, would end.

After much denying and blushing more and more, Natsu finally let go of Gajeel's collar, still extremely red!

Gajeel continued teasing Natsu, but the pink one... had just gotten sleepy.

Natsu to needed sleep. But at the same time, he struggled against it...! The boy was always... afraid to sleep. Afraid of…dreaming about it again, and his brand hurting all over again.

Even with fear, Natsu said goodbye to Gajeel and Laxus, thanking them once again for their support. And then he went back to his bed, lying down really scared of… having the same dream.

That damn... pain.

Before Natsu had a chance to finish his thoughts, the young boy slept soundly. The boy was grateful even when he had a nightmare, because nightmares scared the boy, but they didn't make his mark hurt.

And that made it even MORE mysterious. Why just THIS dream?! That didn't make any sense. The dream didn't even show Natsu being burned by Flare's brand, and the boy had dreamed of the damn executioner's branding burning him more than once... and in those nightmares, his brand never, ever hurt in real life.

The mark hurt only in the extremely specific dream about his parents... his abandonment. Why?!

However, for the happiness of the pinkie boy... the rest of his sleep was free from any dreams or nightmares! Yes, Natsu managed to rest for the rest of that morning.