Disclaimer: I do not own Fairytail.
Summary: Zeref and Natsu are facing off on the battlefield. Zeref wants Natsu to kill him. Natsu refuses. Why?
A/N I apologize for any mistakes. Also, Warning: No character death but still a kind of... sad, ending. One of those endings where you don't cry, but it still leaves you feeling more down than usual.
"Why do you refuse? It's a very simple task. Need I make you despise me even more?"
"No. it's not that I don't despise you enough it's that I don't despise you at all." Natsu said to him. Zeref narrowed his eyes,
"I will keep destroying all the things you hold dear until you crumble and kill me in a blind rage." Zeref growled.
"You might do just that. I don't doubt that that's what you will do. but you'll never be able to destroy all that's dear to me. Even if you completely destroy Fairytail and kill the rest of my family. It doesn't matter. This isn't about you Zeref, it's about me. I won't stoop to your level, ever. I won't kill you or anyone else. No matter if you kill me or my friends. I do not care. I don't care! So, deal with it."
"I think you'll change your mind when I make you listen to their screams." Zeref said darkly.
"I think you'll change your mind when I burn you to ashes." Natsu growled, clenching his fists.
"That probably won't kill me."
"I know but you can still feel pain, and I'll make sure that getting burned alive is the worst experience you have had or will ever have." Natsu said. "Or, you can stop, and we can fix this."
"You cannot fix what is broken. Think of it like trying to glue a glass vase once it's shattered. You may succeed in gluing all the pieces together, but it will be oddly misshaped, and it will be more fragile then it was before, and you can see the cracks. It will never be the same again."
"That's… okay." Natsu said. "It shows what we've been through. It shows that the vase…" Natsu paused. Zeref could tell he found it odd to talk like this. Zeref didn't find it strange at all, to use similes to talk about his life. he supposed that came with being over 400 years old. "…is still strong enough to survive. People will respect that."
"No, they won't. it's like looking at a butterfly with one wing missing. People don't think of how strong it was to survive that. They aren't impressed. They pity the butterfly because soon the other wing will be ripped off and then it will die."
"… I guess so." Natsu said quietly. What else could he say? Zeref was right. He himself would look at the butterfly with the same pity as anyone else.
"But you're not broken. Just bent a little."
"Natsu, you refuse to see the reality of the situation." Zeref looked at the floor. Natsu gave him a sad smile and took a few small steps closer. If he could just get close. Then he could apprehend Zeref.
"No, you don't. the reality is we can help you and you refuse to take it!" Natsu cried, taking another few steps forward. He reached behind him sneakily.
"Natsu, do you really think I don't notice what you're trying to do?" Zeref asked.
"Uh…" Natsu was silent for several moments. "It's better this way. I might not be able to kill you, but no one said anything about knocking you unconscious." Natsu then, quick as lightening, rushed him, raised his elbow, and knocked him in the head. Zeref cried out and stumbled backward. Natsu gave another hit, this time his fist aflame.
"Stop it!"
"We're here to help you, but most of all we're here too make sure you never hurt anyone else ever again!" Natsu said with a look of determination. He barely hesitated before snapping Zeref's wrists behind his back and dealing him another kick to the head
"So that's how it's going to be. You kick me while I'm down. That's our relationship." Zeref shook his head disappointedly.
"Shut up!" Natsu snarl "You deserve this and more."
"The other wing's been ripped off." Natsu just stared at him, unsure of what he was talking about. "The broken vase just shattered again. and this time, the glass shards are too tiny to put back together. If you try, you'll get cut." Zeref said, his face dejected.
"I said… I said shut up." Natsu mumbled, but the anger was gone. He kicked Zeref again, but it was harder to do now. It felt less like kicking the evilest wizard on earth and more like kicking a whimpering child. Impossible. "Would you stop giving me that look."
"What look?"
"The look of a puppy that's just been kicked."
"I may not be a puppy, but I have just been kicked." Zeref said with mildly amused features. Natsu sighed.
"Well I wouldn't have to keep kicking you if you'd just fall unconscious." Natsu grumbled.
"It's too bad I'm too powerful to be knocked unconscious." Natsu glared at him.
"And it's too bad I'm such a nice guy. Otherwise, I would keep kicking you."
"What happened to helping me."
"I am helping you, this is for your own good." Natsu said firmly. Zeref scoffed.
"Is it for my own good or is it for the good of the world?" Zeref asked him. Natsu did not answer for a while.
"It's for the good of both you and the world." Natsu said after an unbearably long pause.
"But mostly for the good of the world? Am I right?" Zeref asked with a slight smirk.
"I thought I told you to shut up. And why wouldn't it be? After all the world isn't as cruel as you are?" Natsu spat.
"That's where your wrong little brother. This world bears my soul, does it not? It bears my wrongs, and it bears many others." Zeref smirked. "It is crueler than you could ever imagine. And I have seen its faults for century after century after century." Zeref said quietly. "I am almost thankful, that you are still pure enough to think the world is good." Natsu knelt beside him.
"You lie!"
"So, what if I do? It would only be one more lie to the billions that have been told throughout the history of this world. Think of it this way, brother. There have been millions of lies. I'm just one more liar. There have been thousands of black wizards. I'm just one more black wizard. There have been hundreds of heartbroken people. I'm just one more heart that has been broken. There have been billions and billions of murderers. I'm just one more. You are far less important than this world has led you to believe. At another point in time there was another Natsu. He died. Nobody remembers him. you will die as well. And soon nobody will remember." He could see Natsu growing angrier with each word he said.
"What about you, do you remember?" Zeref laughed at the prospect.
"If you're asking what I think you are, then no. I don't remember their names. They have been forgotten. There have been billions that I have murdered over the years. I don't remember a single name but one. She's the only name besides my own and yours that I remember from the past. I don't even remember our parents names." Natsu looked vaguely interested.
"Who was she? The girl you remember."
"She was the only one who could even somewhat relate to what I've been through. She was beautiful and kind. She understood. I loved her… so I killed her."
"What was her name?" Zeref was silent.
"Mavis." He said finally. "Her name was Mavis."
"You loved her… so you remember her? Why did you love her so much?"
"She was the only one who would lay by my side. She didn't want me for my power or my title. She wanted me because she loved who I was. not the black wizard. She hated him. she loved Zeref. Me. She loved me. And I'll always love her for that."
"I see." They didn't say anything to each other for a while.
"But I was wrong." Zeref said after a while. "I suppose I can't blame her. she was young. Hundreds of years younger than me. She didn't know the desperation of needing to be loved yet… she didn't understand as well as I thought she did. It was infatuation. I get that, we hadn't known each other for very long. I should've known better than to love her. I really should've. Because in a forbidden love you always get hurt. It's inevitable. I should've thought about that… it's too late now." Natsu was silent. They didn't speak for another few minutes. Natsu was too busy contemplating what he had just heard. Zeref had loved someone and he had accidentally killed her. how would Natsu feel if he had accidentally killed Lucy? Natsu concluded that he would feel awful. So awful he wouldn't be able to keep on living. He would want to die.
"How can you live with yourself? After all you've done?" Natsu asked in a haze."
"I can't. my soul's already gone. This is just a body. That's why I ask you to kill me." Zeref said. Natsu stared at him. "If you killed me you wouldn't be a monster. You would be saving the world. You would be saving me." Natsu shook his head. Zeref's eyes hardened. "If you won't kill me then release me." Zeref demanded. "Let me go so I can find some other means to destroy myself."
"NO!" Natsu cried. Zeref frowned.
"Natsu, do you love me?" Natsu was silent, hesitating.
"Yes. I think so."
"If you love me. Then you'll let me go." Zeref said quietly.
"If I love you, I'll hold on to you for as long as I can." Natsu countered immediately.
"I see, then you leave me no choice." Zeref said quietly. That's when Natsu noticed that Zeref's chains, which had originally bonded his wrists together were nowhere to be seen. Everything clicked in his brain just a second too late, as he was pinned to the floor with what Natsu assumed was gravity magic. It was crushing him. Natsu screamed, he felt as if his insides were being crushed. He looked to Zeref who had crimson eyes, staring at him without a shred of mercy. He let out another shriek as he was pushed further into the concrete. He was being smushed and Natsu could do nothing about it. Tears started forming in the corners of his eyes. He couldn't help it. He wasn't ready to die yet.
Abruptly the gravitational pull ceased. Natsu let out a strained breath of air and panted. He had felt his lungs being crushed. He hadn't been able to breathe. Black dots clouded his vision. Zeref came over and kneeled beside him. he smiled softly, encouragingly. Natsu felt Zeref's loving fingertips brush his cheeks. The touch was so comforting Natsu found himself leaning into it. After all, he'd needed to be strong for such a long time. Everyone was counting on him. so there was a certain relief that came with at last being vulnerable. Despite the fact Zeref was supposed to be his enemy. Natsu let himself fall slowly into the darkness. He felt his broken body being lifted gently and held with such care Natsu felt the need to cry. And as he looked up, Natsu Dragneel's last thought as Natsu Dragneel was, "Zeref has such a kind smile." And then there was dark.
When the boy awoke he knew nothing but dark. He felt chains on his wrists. He didn't know where, or when, or even who he was. the boy felt empty and scared. He cried. It seemed that was the only appropriate thing to do.
He didn't know how long he was in there, but the only time the boy knew there was still a world outside of where he was, was when a tray of food was pushed through the door. The worst part was that he didn't know if the food tasted good or bad. He'd only ever tasted this food. At least, that's all he remembered. Whenever he wasn't eating he was crying. Who knew what kind of world he lived in.
Weeks maybe months must've passed before he saw another human face. It was a boy. He didn't know if the boy was his age or not. He didn't know his age, he didn't know what he looked like. He didn't feel old, but maybe he didn't feel old because he had no recollection of what it felt like to be young. The boy seemed kind, he had a friendly smile and beckoned him forward. Cautiously the boy walked over to him. he felt like crying again. this guy didn't seem like he would hurt him, but the boy didn't remember anything, he could be about to die for all he knew. "Come closer." The boy said. He did as he was told, unsure of the penalty if he didn't.
"Who are you?" he asked, hating the scared stutter.
"My name is Zeref Dragneel. I am your elder brother. Come Natsu, there's no need to be frightened. I would never intentionally hurt you."
"Is that my name?" the boy known as Zeref raised an eyebrow. "Natsu, is that my name?"
"Yes dear brother. That is most definitely your name. now come, I have much to show you." Natsu followed him like a lost puppy and much to his embarrassment, practically clung to his new-found brother. He could be lying but Natsu honestly didn't care. He was the first human face Natsu remembered ever seeing. "I'm sorry that you were kept in the dark for so long, but last time I saw you we were, sadly pitted against each other."
"Truly?"
"Yes. But it's okay now my brother. It seems you do not remember what we were fighting about in the first place." Natsu frowned.
"What was my old life like? I can't remember." Natsu said leaning against Zeref. He felt a hand stroke his hair and felt Zeref's eyes on him. when Natsu's orbs flickered up he saw Zeref smile a small smile. "And what's this?" Natsu asked, noticing a red mark on his shoulder. "Is this part of my old life. I can't remember." Zeref finally opened his mouth to speak. His voice was calm and collected. His smile had turned sad. Zeref slightly regretted pulling Natsu away and lying to him about practically everything. Natsu committed his next words to heart. Maybe because his voice was soft and soothing, but Natsu wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that he'd never forget the words.
"Now, if it was truly anything important then you never would've forgotten in the first place."
A/N Okay so, I know I said I wasn't updating until next week, but, I'm soooo bored. I'm on vacation (awesome right?) but right now, all I'm doing is hanging out, so nothing to do. Anyway, thanks for reading, reviews and constructive criticism is DEEPLY appreciated.