Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Soul Eater

Pairing(s): Natsu Dragneel x Zeref (eventual)

WARNINGS: AU , eventual Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing); you have been warned so don't like, don't read

A Matter of Souls

By V. Shalyr

3. The Nature of Souls

Consequences

"Do you think it's safe to use these?" Lucy asked no one in particular, peering at one of the giant mirrors that lined the chamber walls. Her own reflection stared worriedly back at her. A bruise was forming on her right cheek, and the light from the braziers' brilliant green flames didn't exactly improve her complexion.

"Well, unless anyone else brought a mirror, we don't really have a choice," Levy pointed out, clambering back out of the wrecked helicopter with a blanket, which she draped over Natsu and Zeref.

Both boys were unconscious and had been that way since the end of the fight.

Wendy checked to make sure both of their pulses and breathing were normal before rounding on Loke. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Loke protested. With the bandages now wrapped around his head, he looked incredibly put upon. "He was the one who told me to throw that at him. It wasn't like we had any time for explanations."

"You mean Zeref?" Gray tilted his head so he could inspect the thin, silver chain still draped over the other dark-haired boy's hand without touching it. "That looks a bit like the necklace he was wearing."

"Yeah, he just gave it to me before he ran off." Loke rubbed at his throbbing temples. Thinking back over what he could remember of that moment through the pain in his head, his own words echoed back to him and his eyes snapped open again. "The witch's scimitar, were any of you cut by it?"

There was a brief silence in which the conscious members of the group tried to remember.

"I don't think so," Gray said slowly. "We were mostly fighting her ghosts, and on top of that, we mostly fight long distance. Why?"

"It's just—something she said when she captured me," the taller student replied. "I know this might sound crazy, but I swear she said something about collecting a piece of my soul. Only it didn't work, because..."

He shrugged uncomfortably. None of the others pressed him. Loke hadn't teamed up with anyone after falling out of sync with his original partner some months ago. It was still a touchy subject, but as the others understood it, it had involved far more than a typical argument.

Cautiously, Wendy made her way across the chamber to retrieve the transparent, green scimitar as Lucy breathed onto the mirror and drew a series of numbers upon the misted-over glass with her finger.

4242-564.

Light rippled across the mirror's surface. The reflection of the tower room faded into white and then into the image of a very different room with bright blue skies and a number of crosses integrated into the decor.

"Ah, we were hoping to get a call from you," Lord Death's cheery voice drifted through the mirror, still sounding lighthearted but more serious than usual. "You'll be glad to know that the two students who were hospitalized are beginning to show signs of waking up. So how are things on your end? Oh dear..."

He'd caught sight of the two unconscious boys, and he leaned forward a bit, presumably to see the pair more clearly through the glass. Lucy thought he seemed concerned, although how she could tell through the skull mask he always wore, she had no idea. Then again, the skinny figure in his black robe and skull mask had always been inexplicably expressive.

"Right, about that..."

"Let me guess," another voice spoke up, drawing her attention to the pale-haired man in the white lab coat. "Zeref actually used his Weapon form. The situation must have been pretty serious."

So Professor Stein had been visiting the Death Room. Well, maybe that meant they'd be able to get some real answers.

"Um, yeah..."

Lucy took a deep breath and launched into an abbreviated account of the last two days. Lord Death and Professor Stein listened intently as Wendy returned to the group with the witch's scimitar held carefully in her hands. When she was done, Stein adjusted his glasses and glanced at the scimitar with interest.

"Hmmm, well, that makes sense. When they woke up, those two students told us they'd been having a nightmare. About fighting people who reminded them of people they knew. I'm guessing that was you." He inclined his head towards the blade. "We'll know more once we've had a closer look at that. You should take it with you. Bring one of those dolls too, if you can."

"But what about Natsu and Zeref?"

"They'll probably be out for awhile. It's unfortunate, but at the moment, it's the consequence of Zeref's abilities. No need to be too concerned though. Zeref designed that seal himself. They should be good as new as soon as they regain consciousness. Of course, there's no telling how long that will take."

"We're sending a ship to pick you up and anyone else who wishes to leave the island," Death added. "It looks like the misdirection magic protecting the island disappeared along with the witch. We can talk more once you've returned."

Right.

After the mirror had returned to being just another mirror, the tower room felt even darker than it had before. The eerie stillness that now pervaded the tower only added to the uncomfortable atmosphere. They couldn't wait to get out of there.

.

Ghost Town

Wendy dropped from the sky to land in the middle of what she thought was the town square, her mouth open in shock as she stared around. "No way, this can't be the same place... Can it?"

"What was it Zeref was telling Natsu?" Gray asked, de-transforming and landing beside her. "That we'd probably have noticed if everyone here was made of wood and fabric?"

"Well, he also said it was possible there was other magic going on that we got caught up in without noticing," Wendy recalled. "It looks like he was right."

What only that morning had been a peaceful little town was now little more than a deserted ruin. The thatched roofs of several buildings had either fallen in or completely rotted away, and the windows that still had glass in them were covered in thick layers of dust. Dead leaves from the nearby woods littered the streets.

"I don't think anyone's lived here in decades," Gray muttered. "Ugh, do you think the food they served us at that restaurant was even real food?"

Wendy grimaced. "Let's not think about that. At least we know it was probably edible since none of us are sick. If any of us had food poisoning, we would have noticed by now."

And really, they had a bigger problem that they had to deal with right now. The two of them had left their friends at the base of the tower and come to borrow a cart that they could use to help transport their still unconscious teammates. Considering the state of the town, however, finding a usable cart could prove to be a challenge.

Gray sighed. "Well, better start searching since there's no one around to ask."

It took them longer than they liked, but they did eventually uncover a wooden cart that was still in working condition, sheltered from the elements in the remains of a storage shed. As they wheeled it back through the town, they noticed something else that made their skin prickle with goose bumps. Zeref hadn't seen a cemetery on his walk through the town, and now they knew why. Whatever enchantment had altered the appearance of the town had also hidden from view the graveyard that was situated not all that far from the farm where they had spent the night. The place had looked like a private garden the day before, but now, with the glamour gone, they could just make out the weatherworn headstones all but lost amidst the weeds and fallen leaves. On a hunch, they slipped through a gap in the fence where several of the boards had been broken to check the engravings upon each headstone that had not yet been eroded by time.

The most recent grave dated back almost an entire century.

Neither student commented on this. In silence, they returned to the cart and hurried on their way back to the others.

Later, when they made their way down to the rocky beach to meet the boat that had been sent for them, they told the crew that no, there was no one else who wanted to leave the island. They'd brought the dolls of the farmer and his wife with them, now limp and unmoving, and they left them on the side of the deck where the dolls wouldn't be in the way. The things were creepy, but on the bright side, their classmates back home had woken up. So after they delivered these dolls and the scimitar to their teachers, this matter should no longer be their problem.

Their teammates, on the other hand... With the dark silhouette of the island growing smaller and smaller as their ship pulled away from its shore, their worries focused increasingly on Natsu and Zeref. Sure, Professor Stein had assured them that the two would be okay, but they'd find that easier to believe after the pair woke up.

"Did it seem like the whole room got really dark after he transformed to you too?" Lucy asked.

They'd put the two boys in the ship's cabin, and the rest of them were gathered about the benches out front. They'd offered to help the crew, but all the sailors had politely declined their assistance.

Wendy's brow furrowed. "I was unconscious, so I'm not sure what you mean."

"I know what she means," Gray said, eyes narrowed in recollection. "It was like the room was filled with shadows. I couldn't see what form he took at all."

They all looked at Loke, as the one amongst them who'd gotten the closest look.

"Sorry, but I was really more focused on Natsu," he said. "I'm pretty sure he didn't recognize me at all. And is he always that bloodthirsty when he fights?"

Bloodthirsty, huh? Lucy shivered. Was that the unsettling feeling that had surrounded that fight?

Levy glanced back towards the door of the cabin. "I wonder if that's what happened when he was in class."

There was a long silence while they all contemplated this, trying to picture in their mind's eye what that incident must have been like. And then, because they were a practical lot who'd faced their own share of problems and because Natsu was their friend and they'd seen the growing relationship between the two, they wondered if there was anything that could be done about it.

It was a long and quiet trip back to school.

.

Echoes

Waking up in a hospital bed was a bit of a novel experience for Natsu. Sure, he'd been in and out of hospitals often enough, but he rarely got injured so seriously that he actually had to stay the night. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd told Zeref that he was good at fighting. So anyway, the point here was that waking up in the infirmary was... weird, especially since the last thing he remembered was fighting a bunch of ghosts in a tower room lit by green flames. After that... What had happened after that? He felt like there was something, but it was a struggle to bring the pieces into focus.

At the very least, he could safely say that they had probably won, or he assumed he wouldn't be waking up at all.

Levering himself into a sitting position, Natsu squinted through the startlingly bright lights. He easily recognized the academy's infirmary.

"Well, that didn't take quite as long as I thought it would."

Turning his head, Natsu spotted Professor Stein standing by a bed to his right. The pale-haired man had a wooden arm in his hands. The rest of the dismantled doll was piled upon the pristine bedcovers. All considered, the sight was... a tiny bit creepy, if not that surprising.

"What happened? How long was I out?"

"A little over a day," Stein replied. "As for what happened..."

He tilted his head so that the infirmary lights gleamed off the round lenses of his glasses. "I'd be interested to hear what you remember."

"Honestly, not very much," Natsu admitted.

"Hmmm, that's too bad. It's been awhile since Zeref consented to do any testing on his Weapon form. In the past, some Meisters would at least retain a few general impressions."

Natsu started and looked around wildly. He relaxed when he spotted Zeref in the infirmary bed to his left. The dark-haired boy still appeared to be unconscious.

"Now that you're awake, he'll be up soon too," the professor assured him, guessing at his thoughts.

With care, Stein set the arm down and picked up a wooden head. He turned it over to examine the markings carved along the inside of the hollow neck. If Natsu weren't so preoccupied, he would have found this more disturbing.

"What kind of general impressions?" Natsu asked, returning to the scientist's earlier words.

The older man shrugged. He seemed to be mostly distracted by the dolls, but Natsu knew better than to believe that Stein wasn't paying keen attention to their conversation.

"It varied," the man said. "We only did a handful of trials, because of the strain it put on everyone. But the last Meister he worked with said he felt like he was drowning in his own mind."

"Who was it? Is he still here?"

The corner of the scientist's mouth twitched. "Unfortunately, no. He was a teacher here, but was reassigned to fieldwork shortly after."

The boy looked disappointed, Stein thought with amusement. Depending on how this all panned out, the next few weeks promised to be very interesting indeed.

"Drowning, huh?" Natsu frowned, folding his arms across his chest as his forehead wrinkled in deep concentration.

Stein watched the expressions flicker across the boy's face out of the corner of his eye. He suspected that Natsu had remembered something, but before Stein could ask him any questions, the occupant of the other bed stirred. Natsu was up and over by the other boy at once, which was good because the moment Zeref sat up, he looked for him.

"Are you all right?" Zeref asked the younger student anxiously.

"Of course I am."

Zeref searched his face for several long seconds as if to assure himself of the truth of this.

Bemused by his concern, Natsu asked, only half serious, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Zeref hesitated. Before he could decide how to respond, however, Stein spoke again, startling him.

"We had a theory," Stein said offhandedly, "about why all the people Zeref here has worked with went a bit crazy. Of course, we weren't able to prove or confirm anything, since he refused to do any more testing..."

Natsu turned towards the scientist, too curious to notice the way the other boy tensed beside him.

"Well," the scientist drawled, his back to them in a deliberate show of feigned disinterest, "you know that there's a bit of Madness in everyone. We—or rather, I—theorized that perhaps some Weapons, like certain Magic Tools and spells, can bring that out in people. It would explain the extreme changes in behavior, and some of the residual echoes that we had to wait out. So do come back to the infirmary if you find yourself feeling particularly violent. Repercussions were different for different people, obviously. Judging from what your friends told me, if there are any echoes, that's what I'd expect from you. Oh, and I'll let them know that you're all right. They'll be relieved to hear that you two are awake."

Zeref murmured a "thank you" and slipped off his bed, excusing himself just as quietly.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

Natsu hurried after him.

Back in the infirmary, Stein listened to the sound of their departing footsteps. Yes, very interesting indeed. He was glad he'd recommended that the two of them be included on that island expedition.

.

Unsound

The two boys brushed past Sid in the hallway, and the zombie paused to watch them go before continuing on to the infirmary.

"What happened?" he asked, glancing from the departing students to Stein, now the only person left in the infirmary room.

"Nothing much. We just talked a bit about Zeref's—unique—abilities, and I shared some of my... thoughts."

"I see." The other teacher scratched his chin with the hand that wasn't occupied by a stack of file folders. "I was never the kind of man who coddled his students, but I do still have to wonder if pushing him to try and find a partner is the right thing to do. After all, whatever else he might be capable of, if his Weapon form really does amplify the Madness in his Meister as a side effect, perhaps it would be safer for everyone if he didn't do any fighting."

"Do you honestly think it's safer for someone with that kind of power to never even try learning to control it?"

Sid opened his mouth, hesitated, then sighed. "No, of course not."

That was the main reason people with the ability to transform into Weapons came to the DWMA. Learning to control their powers was crucial to ensuring that no one got hurt on accident.

And considering the increase in unrest all around the world lately...

"It's not like Madness is inherently bad," Stein mused, more to himself and the dismantled doll than to his fellow teacher. "And we all have to learn, to some extent, how to manage it. Personally, I think that what Zeref's particular abilities are make up only a fraction of the problem."

"A fraction?"

"That's right, and possibly not that large a fraction at that. The real issue is that he's afraid, both of his own powers and, consequentially, of reaching out to someone else. The Meisters who helped with our early tests too. They were afraid, at least a little, of what would happen."

"Basically, what you're saying is that a major reason you believe his powers go so out of control is because he hasn't been able to form a proper connection with anyone. And it's actually that instability that's causing the loss of control in both individuals."

"That's right."

Sid grunted. That was a vicious cycle to be sure. The more unstable the boy was, the less control he had over his own abilities, the more chaotic his mind became, and the higher the risk of both he and a potential partner being too afraid or too cautious to reach out.

Generally speaking, for two souls to match wavelengths with one another, they had to build a solid relationship with each other—or at least develop a good understanding. Compatibility wasn't a simple question, nor was it a static one. That was why some teams could fall out of sync with one another. And things went wrong when a Meister and Weapon tried to work together when they were no longer in sync, like when a Weapon burned its Meister's hands or suddenly became too heavy to wield.

You couldn't create a meaningful connection with anyone if you were always distancing yourself from everyone, even if it was because you were afraid to hurt them.

"Pity really," Stein added, more to himself than to his fellow teacher. "I thought it might be different this time seeing as he's started to open up to people more, but I suppose it wasn't enough."

With a sigh, the zombie walked over to place the documents he'd brought on the infirmary bed next to a wooden leg. "Well, I hope all this doesn't backfire. I'll lend them what help I can, but these are things that they'll have to work out for themselves."

"Indeed." Stein inclined his head towards the folders. "So then, I believe you were here to tell me something about that island?"

.

Space

Zeref sure could move fast when he wanted to, Natsu thought wryly as he chased the other boy down the long hallway. Seriously.

In the distance, Natsu could hear the muted murmur of voices that told him classes were in full swing. All the same, it was startling to round the corner into a corridor lit by bright, rectangular patches of sunlight from the tall windows to their left. The contrast with the dark tower full of puppets and ghosts was so stark that it was almost disorienting. Zeref must have felt the same, because his steps faltered and he stopped to blink out at the bright blue sky and the distant bustle of the city below the hill upon which the academy stood.

Natsu stopped beside him and followed his gaze out through the clear, glass panes before focusing all of his attention on Zeref himself.

"Hey, are you all right? You didn't want to ask him about what happened? With the island, I mean."

"The other students weren't there anymore," Zeref said. "I checked on our way out. So whatever happened, they're likely awake. The faculty will let us know if they want us to do anything else. I expect I'll be looking at those dolls too when Professor Stein is done with them."

"Yeah? Guess that makes sense."

There was an awkward silence, perhaps the first really awkward silence there had been between them since they'd had their first conversation in the library. Natsu didn't like it.

He opened his mouth to ask Zeref why he'd left the infirmary in such a rush, but the dark-haired boy spoke first.

"Are you going to class?"

"What?" Temporarily derailed from his original train of thought, Natsu took a moment to remember that yes, he was in fact a student here, and no, unlike Zeref, he wasn't exempt from regular classes. "Nah, looks like it's already noon. I'm going to go back to the dorms, hit the shower and get some sleep. What about you?"

"Probably the same."

"Do you live at one of the school dorm buildings? I don't think I've ever seen you around them."

"No, I don't." Zeref hesitated then said so quietly Natsu almost didn't hear, "I'm sorry."

Utterly confused by this sudden change in topic, Natsu asked, "What for?"

"For not thinking enough about the potential consequences."

Natsu's mind flashed back to the shadowy, tower room and the feeling of being surrounded by so much dark energy that he thought it would wash him away.

"We were all in trouble," he pointed out. "What you did helped save us."

"I suppose."

Natsu wondered why Zeref sounded so unconvinced. But before he could ask another question, Zeref had bid him a quiet good afternoon and slipped away down a branching hallway.

Natsu almost chased after him, almost called him back.

But...

Maybe it was the way their own experiences on the island had been cut so abruptly short that had left the two of them feeling out of sorts. If he was honest with himself, Natsu's head was still spinning with confusion too. So maybe he really should give Zeref some time alone.

Besides, Natsu had felt more than an almost overwhelming darkness back there in that tower room. There had been a strange kind of exhilaration too. Like the beginnings of a conviction that together, nothing could stand in their way.

.

Reports

"I guess it's our turn to haunt the library, huh?" Lucy joked as she slid into an empty chair at the table.

Gray sighed. "Don't remind me."

Books and old newspapers covered the tabletop. Wendy leaned back in her own chair, stretched, and surveyed the mess with a pensive frown.

"It's like a ghost story—a mysterious island that disappeared years and years ago with a town full of people who've been dead for more than a century."

Lucy shivered. "It's not like a ghost story. It is a ghost story."

"You can actually find the island on a few of the really old maps of the region," Gray told her, gesturing at one such example—the corner of which he was using as a makeshift bookmark in another text. "And you can find stories in collections of myths and urban legends from the area that talk about people falling into comas and never waking up."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence in which they thought about that eerie battle bathed in unearthly green light.

Then Wendy said quietly, "I wonder where the witch went."

It was the biggest question, really, but Lucy didn't really want to think about it. Didn't want to think about how many people's lives this witch had ruined over the centuries she'd been expanding her collection. Didn't want to be reminded that she was still out there somewhere and they might even have to fight her again.

"Hey."

The three students looked up. Loke met their startled gazes and held up a hand in a half wave.

"The teachers just told me that Natsu and Zeref are awake. They both went home at noon."

His three underclassmen sighed in relief, and a tension that had been simmering just under the surface of the quiet library eased away.

"We should go see them, maybe bring some dinner with us," Wendy suggested.

Her partner agreed. "I know a good place for takeout on the way to the boys' dorms."

"Er, are we allowed to visit the boys' dorms?" Lucy asked. After all, if she recalled correctly, the boys were banned from the girls' dorms.

"No idea," Gray admitted just a bit sheepishly. "But we have this garden courtyard area out front. I'm sure we could use the tables there for a picnic."

"Plan's settled then." Loke adjusted his glasses and turned away. "There are a few things I need to borrow from this library first, but I'll meet you all there at, say, seven sound good? Or six?"

"Let's go with six," Wendy decided. "We can't return to the dorms too late."

So it was that when six o' clock rolled around, the group of them had appropriated a picnic table in view of the collection of buildings that served as one of the campus's student dormitories. It wasn't quite as fancy as the one the girls had, but like most of the academy's facilities, it was high quality and well maintained. Still, there were pros and cons to living in the school dorms, and it was not unusual for students to move out and find places of their own.

"So you don't know where he lives?" Lucy asked, frowning.

"He ran off before I could ask," Natsu grumbled, tearing into a slice of pizza with more force than was necessary. He really should have asked Zeref for his contact information and address long before this, and it annoyed him that he hadn't thought to do so earlier.

"Well, no help for it I guess," Loke said with a sigh. "I was hoping to talk to the both of you."

"Huh?" Startled, Natsu turned to raise an eyebrow at the older student. "You were? Why?"

Loke hiked his glasses up the bridge of his nose and jerked his head towards the large bag of books on the bench beside him. "Later. I brought a few things I think you should read, but I'll explain when we're done eating. I don't want to risk spilling anything on library property."

.

Restless

Zeref shut his apartment door behind him and leaned back against it with a sigh. He felt off balance and more troubled than he cared to admit, but more than anything, he felt... Honestly, he couldn't put a name to it. Anxious maybe, or disappointed or guilty.

Or maybe just depressed.

The metal filing cabinets arranged beside the bookshelves that lined the far wall of the living room seemed to mock him, their slate gray and silver faces somehow managing to gleam despite the semidarkness. The lights were still off, and the only source of illumination came from the thin lines of sunlight that managed to slip through the gaps between the blinds on the windows. Zeref stared hard at the topmost cabinet, and part of him could almost believe that it stared back. Ugh, he was going to drive himself crazy one of these days.

It had been months since he'd last opened that particular filing cabinet, and part of him wondered why he still had it. No doubt Stein and the school had their own copies of the documents, so it wasn't like he had to store it himself and let it sit there reminding him of the fact that he'd essentially turned his back on his own problems. One of the teachers would probably say that he still had those documents because deep down, he wasn't ready to give up yet. Personally, Zeref suspected that it was mostly because he was an inventor and a researcher at heart, and he was loathed to actually throw away any information, no matter how much that information might trouble him.

Which brought him back to why he was feeling so unsettled.

"I'm not running away," he said out loud, addressing the cabinet. "Am I?"

Had Professor Stein and the other teachers really sent him on that mission because they thought the other students would need his expertise? Or had it actually been their way of trying to push him?

Zeref lifted a hand to touch the pendant on its silver chain around his neck. He could still vividly remember the conversation he'd had with the mad doctor when Zeref had brought the invention to him.

"Well, this will certainly work if your goal is to contain your powers," Stein had said, lowering the pendant and handing it back to him. "Hmmm, there's no doubt that you're a genius at inventing things, but you're not actually very good at stepping outside of your comfort zone, are you?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Oh, nothing really. But you know... you can't force these things. You'll only be able to get so far trying to control those powers of yours from the outside in."

"I know," Zeref said out loud to his empty living room, repeating the response he'd given Stein back then. And then he added, something he'd only thought to himself in the privacy of his own mind, "But I also know that it's not just about me."

Shaking his head and pushing those thoughts away, Zeref checked to make sure the front door was locked before resolutely turning away from the filing cabinets and traipsing towards the bedroom. He really needed to get some sleep. He could brood about all this later when his mind wasn't so exhausted.

TBC...

AN: Eh, I haven't actually decided yet what Zeref's Weapon form is going to be. I know I want it to be something with a blade, but other than that, I'm not sure.

.