Hello people~ As I'm sure you've noticed I've changed my penname from SonGokuSuperSayijin4 to BeautifulWonderland256, so if you see any further notifications under that name, it's me.

Warnings: Maybe OOC, AU, Cursing, Yaoi, unbetaed (for now), and violence.

Natsu sighed softly as he sat outside, absent-mindedly petting his cat, Happy. The sun was only just rising and the Salamander already felt as though he had been up all day.

Usually at this time in the morning he was still asleep, snuggled up and snoring loudly in his beloved bed, however for some reason he had been unable to sleep soundly lately. Instead he found himself falling asleep late at night and waking up at ungodly hours in the morning. Dark bags were already making themselves apparent on his tanned skin and he had begun to do something that was quite uncharacteristic for him; He began to think.

Yes, as scary and unbelievable as it seems the dim-witted and rash Natsu Dragneel had taken up pondering.

No matter how hard he tried to pry the raven from his mind he still managed to be the center of his attention. Questions concerning his disappearance years ago and why he had not returned to Fairy Tail flooded his brain, making it so he found himself getting very distracted of the late. That irritated him, especially when it caused his usually flawless fighting skills to dull.

He had attempted to consult the ice maker further, however it seemed as though the younger male had been evading him for the past few days, making it so he had not so much as seen him. As far as he knew both sculptors merely worked, went out to eat, and slept. Natsu could never seem to catch Gray alone, which also only managed to annoy him. He absolutely hated thinking and wondering. He wanted answers but it seemed as though his former rival was having none of that.

"Damn bastard..." The pinkette muttered under his breath, the hand not petting Happy clenching as he glared at the landscape before him.

Honestly, the damned raven was too stubborn. Yes he knew that he had fucked up seven years ago and yes he regretted it more than anything else, but he was sorry and even told the ice sculptor as much. What more could he do? He just wanted things to return to the way they were now that he knew that his best friend was still alive and rather well, although his friend seemed to have a different plan. The jackass was going to leave again once he was done with his job and pretend that his childhood never even happened!

Running a hand through his salmon hair, the fighter groaned, effectively causing his cat to grumble in complaint before jumping up from his lap.

His actions the day before Gray's parent's murder still hung painfully clear in his head, regardless of how many times he attempted to put it behind him. He hated himself after that fateful Saturday because he blamed himself for Gray even being home. The raven was supposed to stay over his house the night Deloria killed his parents. If he hadn't hurt the dark blue haired male like he did than he would have never been subjected to the murderer's wrath and he might have stayed at Fairy Tail, however Natsu was afraid that the boy's parents still would have suffered the fate they did.

If only he hadn't been such an idiot. He should have stood up to his cousins and helped Gray instead of worrying about his own damn reputation. Then again he was just a young kid at the time; they both were. Cocky, arrogant, bastards of teens.

Clenching his teeth, he let out another lengthy groan and took to burying his face in his hands. Maybe Gajeel and Laxus were right, he really was just a naïve idiot.

'Crack.'

His self loathing was cut short as he glanced up and saw a figure trudging across his yard and out into the street, his eyebrow rising in question as he wondered who was leaving his house so early in the morning.

The figure moved swiftly and with purpose and as he turned the corner to leave the Dragneel property Natsu could just make out black, spiky hair peeking out from the dark hood and jacket covering his torso and head. That hair could belong to only one person.

Curiously, the Salamander followed Gray out of the yard and into the nearly deserted street. This might be just his chance to finally get an explanation from the stubborn male.

The sun was just peeking up from the horizon, shooing away the unsettling darkness that had blanketed the town that night. Through that slim amount of light a figure could be seen making it's way down the road, a hood covering his head and his gaze down as he stalked silently, aimlessly kicking a rock.

It had been two days since his little confrontation with Natsu and Gray had seen to it that he remained from the Salamander's sight. Just seeing his past friend bought back countless memories, memories of which he had spent the last seven years attempting to forget. Although with the combination of being in his hometown and seeing familiar faces, there really was no way for him to not recall his childhood.

Sighing, the ice maker yanked his hood down further over his head, not willing to risk the off chance of someone recognizing him. After all, everything would just be easier for everyone if Gray Fullbuster remained dead to Magnolia. His life wasn't important and therefore revealing that he was indeed still alive and well was unneeded, or at the very least that was what he told himself.

They could find out his true identity once he was long gone. This was the last time he ever planned on returning to this god forsaken place. originally he thought he would be able to put aside his past and at least get onto somewhat even terms with the Salamander, however now that he was here he found the memories too hurtful to just let slide by. He was unwanted here then and he would be now, that was all there was to it.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Gray allowed a small, sad smile to creep onto his face as his gaze drifted from the ground to the river winding beside the road. Countless memories flooded his mind as he allowed his brain to drift to all the fun times he had by that very body of water.

One particular memory stood out among the others, causing a ting of pain and happiness to seep into his heart. One of the best days of his childhood was the day that he and his father went fishing at this very lake.

"Daddy, I caught a fish! I caught a fish!" A young Gray giggled as he thrusted his fishing pole out towards his father, a fish only about the size of his finger hanging from the line, but that didn't deter the boy from smiling pridefully.

"Great job, Gray." The older raven praised, ruffling the boy's head encouragingly and smiled gently at his one and only son, "You're quite the fisher."

"Thank you! Watch, I'll unhook it too!"

"Gray, that's not such..."

Blocking his father's words out, the five year old boy reached out and clamped his small hand onto the fish, pulling away a second later with a yelp.

The fish's sharp scales had pierced the boys skin upon direct contact, causing a frown to mar his pale features as he threw the fishing pole down, fish and all, "Mean fishy!"

Sighing softly, his father leaned over and picked the pole back up,

"Don't be so cruel, Gray, you could have killed the fish."

"But the fishy hurt me! He deserved it!"

The boy pouted and stared down at his hand, tears burning the back of his eyes as he stared at the thin line of blood that slowly cascaded down his tiny palm. The wound was nothing more than a mere scratch, but it hurt nonetheless.

Offering the boy a small smile, his dad carefully removed the fish from the hook before holding it out to his son,

"Just because something or someone hurts you doesn't mean you should hurt them back. It gives you the chance to be the bigger person. The fish is just scared. It didn't mean to hurt you. Every life is precious, no matter what they did to you first."

The dark blue haired youth looked from his dad to the wiggling fish, a look of hesitation in his bright cobalt eyes,

"But... I don't like the fishy..."

"I'm sure the fish is sorry, won't you forgive him?"

"Forgive...? Why should I?!"

The man sighed once more, knowing that if he dragged the conversation on too much longer the creature would die due to suffocation,

"Because if you don't forgive you can't move on. If someone is truly sorry for what they did, they should be given another chance."

"Well..." Cautiously, the boy took the animal from his dad's hands before leaning down and placing it back in the water, watching with a small smile as the marine creature swiftly swam away, "Alright... I forgive the little fishy... Bye fishy, it was nice to meet you!"

Placing his hand lightly on Gray's back, the older man's smile broadened,

"Always forgive, Gray, just never forget."

Raven locks and the black hood shook slightly as Gray glared at the ground, hating that he allowed his past to penetrate his mind.

"I'm sorry, dad, but there are just some people in life that I can't forgive." His hand raised before him and he stared absent mindedly at his pale palm, clenching and unclenching it repeatedly as he stared at the thin scar that still marred his all-star skin, "I can never forgive Deliora for taking you both away from me. I swear I'll kill the bastard long before I will ever forgive him."

No, he could never even begin to forgive that beast for murdering his parents those seven years ago. His attack was the feather that broke the camel's back, especially because of the events that transpired before that.

He continued his trek slowly, his breathing short and ragged as he fought the rage that exploded within him. How he wanted to see to that jackass's end. But unfortunately the only murder conducted after his parents was in Brago. The damn bastard bombed an entire town.

After that he just disappeared off the map. No one knew his identity, seeing as he killed all the people who had seen his face,besides him.

He was the sole survivor of the serial killer's disgusting antics. However, he doubted that Deliora himself knew that, because when he left the boy was as good as dead. Unluckily for him Gray Fullbuster was nearly impossible to kill.

After walking silently for several more moments he stopped in front of one house, his gaze focusing solely on the cream colored two story building looming before him. He never thought he would see this place again. The place which held countless wonderful memories and one horrid one, a memory that somehow managed to outweight the beautiful ones.

This was his childhood home, the place where he was born and where he nearly died.

A sudden loud banging sound jolted the thirteen year old Gray from his slumber, his head whipping from side to side as his blood went cold. What the hell was that?

He hesitated for several moments, his blue sheets and blanket pulled up to his chest as he listened closely for a sound, any sound. Several moments passed and he was met with nothing more than the silent of the night.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the young Raven felt his heart slowly steady itself as he merely shook his head, chuckling lightly to himself,

"Must have just been my imagination." He mused.

He had just laid back down, prepared to once again fade into darkness when suddenly another clashing sound filled the house, however this time it was met with a scream, a scream of which was distinctly his mother's.

Adrenaline pounded through his body as he swiftly leapt out of bed, cobalt eyes scanning the dark bedroom carefully.

Only once he was certain it was devoid of danger did he progress out of his bedroom door and into the hallway, his heart pounding harshly as he slowly crept through the long room. Just what the hell was going on?

The rational part of his brain was screaming for him to high tail it out of there and seek help whilst the protective and stronger part urged him to go down and see his parents. If they were in danger there was no way he would just leave them, especially if there was a chance that he could save them from whatever was causing them distress.

As he slowly inched his way down the stairs the boy could just barely make out the sound of muttering in his parent's bedroom, which was located downstairs and to the right. He silently fought the urge to yell to his mother and father, frightened that if he so much as made a sound then the intruder, if that was what was causing such a ruckus, would set his sights on him.

"Leave my family alone!"

That was his dad. He was sure of it.

"If I did that then my whole escapade here would be in vain, no?" A foreign voice chuckled, the very sound managing to cause a shiver to cascade down his spine.

"What the hell do you want, you bastard? At least let my wife and child go!"

"That would be too boring, besides, now that they know I'm here I can't allow them to live."

The voice quieted for a moment before a shrill chuckle resonated throughout the house,

"I'll go and wake the little boy up. Can't let him miss all the fun. Here, lady, hold this."

A loud, ear piercing scream was the stranger's only response, a scream that Gray just knew belonged to his mother.

His mind was swiftly removed from the heartwrenching sound when a new noise caught his interest; the undeniable sound of shoes coming closer to his hiding place beside the staircase. SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!

Without wasting a moment the raven ducked behind the hall door.

Just moments after his decision to hide a shadowy figure passed by where he was just standing seconds prior, a black cloak cascading down his body and a red mask framing his face; a mask that would forever haunt his dreams. It was red with black lining and had demon horns sticking up from it. The mouth of it was open, showing shining white and gleaming sharp teeth. The eyes were black and lifeless and he couldn't help but shiver.

He looked like a demon. Plain and simple. Never before had be felt so completely and utterly terrified.

Holding his breath, his watched as the figure hesitated by the staircase, pausing for a few moments before he continued up the stairs, no doubt in search of him. That could only mean that he had mere minutes to get to his parents before the stranger realized that the person of his search was already up and about.

As soon as he was certain the man was upstairs Gray raced into his parents room, which was directly beside the staircase. He couldn't help but hold his breath as he completely entered the room.

There sat his mom and dad, both tied up to kitchen chairs, however that was not what caught his interest. Instead it was all the overturned furniture throughout the room (in fact now that he thought about it the foyer was rather messed up too) as well as the red substance that littered the bed and floor. A knife stuck out from his mothers stomach and his dad had his head facing the ground, blood dribbling slowly from wounds lining his head.

"D-dad...?"

Immediately the bound male's head whipped up, worry and slight relief flooding his features as his gaze settled on his son.

"Gray, you're alright. I am so glad." His voice was hushed, no doubt to ensure that the criminal didn't hear, "You have to go now. Run while you can. Get help."

"N-no, I can't..." His voice quivered as he ran up to his parents, tears streaming down his face at the sight before him. This couldn't be happening. There was just no way that this was real. "I'll untie you both. Then we can all leave together."

"N-no..." His mother whimpered, her head only moving ever so slightly to look at her son. Her face was unusually pale and her once bright green eyes were now dull and fading, "G-go now... Too late..."

"No, come on, we can all get out!"

Running over to his parent's nearly lifeless forms, he yanked at the ropes that binded them, his vision blurring as tears ran freely down his pale face.

"No, there's no time. You only have a few seconds before he realizes that you are up and he will come after you." The elder raven objected, "Go, please Gray, go."

"I won't leave you!"

"Well, how touching."

The breath caught in the boy's throat and he slowly turned around, gulping as he saw the person looming in the doorway. There stood the famous serial killer, Deliora, a red and black demonic mask decorating his face.

"Don't worry, boy, by the time I'm done you all will be dead."

Gray's breathing hardened as he clutched as his chest and tore his gaze away from the house, the memory from that night burning into him once again. There was blood... So much blood... So much pain...

He raced down the road almost as though he was attempting to run from his past and the countless demons it held.

A soft whimper escaped the black haired youth as he felt a knife prick his forehead, running along the side.

"S-stop... Please..."

Blood dripped from the wound, causing the boy to close his right eye to keep the fluid from entering it. Pain etched mercilessly throughout his body, his right arm and numerous ribs were shattered. Wounds littered his pale skin, causing red liquid to cascade freely down his person.

He had been thrown around the room, slamming into the bed post and the window. He found tooth and nail against the male, his torn fingernails proving as much, but he couldn't so much as injure the stranger. Damn it! Why was he so weak? Why was he always so helpless? Maybe Laxus and Gajeel were right the other day about him being pathetic... Maybe Natsu was right to agree and not stand up for him... Maybe he really should just die...

"I don't think I will."

A slap resounded through the room, causing yet another pained sound to erupt from the boy.

His teeth clenched and he spared a glance to the side, the urge to vomit growing as he saw his parent's lifeless forms just feet from him. They still sat there, bound to chairs with red blood falling freely from the countless lacerations and mutilations lining their limp forms. He had no idea if they were even still alive, not that it really mattered anyway. He doubted that he himself would last much longer either. At the very least his parents were no longer in pain and soon he would join them in the afterlife.

He himself was kneeling on the ground, his hands tied behind his back. Deloria stood before him, the mask adorning his face making it impossible to what his expression was. Gray supposed that it was no doubt one of true glee.

Then he did something that the young boy did not expect, he removed his mask. It was then that he knew there was no way he was making it out of this alive, especially now that he had seen the true face of that monster.

The man hidden behind the horrible facewear was no doubt in his early thirties with black hair and blue eyes. His kin was pale and a wide, toothy grin lightened his ugly face as he admired his handiwork on the poor child's body.

"While this is certainly fun I'm afraid I have other matters to tend to, so I'll send you to the same place I did your parents." A low chuckle escaped him, "Bye bye, brat."

His now dull blue eyes widened as the other male unsheathed the gun hidden within his cloak. This was the end, he just knew it."

'Bang.'

He blocked out the memories of the pain that bloomed so freely throughout him, not wanting to recall why he had that damned scar above his head. These memories were dangerous and he knew it, yet he couldn't help but allow them to tear at him from the inside out. He clearly could recall every whip, every slap and every stab sent to him and his parents. To this day he still harvested several scars as a reminder of that experience, but at the very least he escaped with his life. He couldn't say the same about his parents.

Feeling his legs grow shaky the raven dropped to his knees by the river, his fingertips subconsciously tracing the scar on his face. Damn it, coming here really wasn't a good idea after all.

Small trembled shook his body as he fought away the tears that attempted to blur his vision, his head falling to rest in his hands as he pressed his palms roughly against his eyelids.

"Are you alright?"

His already uneven breaths hitched at the voice, his teeth clenching even tighter as he determined just who it was behind him,

"L-leave me the hell alone."

The voice snickered before a warm hand came to rest on his shoulder,

"No way in hell, frost breath. Not when you are like this."

"I'm fine..."

"Don't lie to me. No one is ever really fine when they say they are."

"It doesn't matter, Natsu!" His head whipped around to glare at the pinkette crouching beside him, "I don't need your damn pity."

"Good," The other sneered, "Cause you aren't getting any."

Gray knew he was lying.

"Don't antagonize me, dammit. What the hell do you even want? And how did you know I was here?"
"Well..."

The raven caught Natsu there. He wasn't quite sure how to explain to Gray that he had seen him leaving the house that morning and had decided to follow him in hopes of gaining time to talk to him, maybe even convince him to go back to Fairy Tail. However, the last thing he expected his past comrade to do was to come here of all places. After all, this is where the evil of his past was most vicious.

"I just happened to be walking by and saw you here..."

"Likely story, dumbass."
"Hey, look, ice queen, I'm trying to help you here."

"How many times do I need to tell you that I don't need your damn help?!"
"You can tell me as many times as you want but I know you're just being stubborn. Too stubborn for your own good."

Gray bit the bottom of his lip as he forced his gaze away from the older male, his resolve to fight ebbing away with each passing moment. To be completely honest the only thing he wanted was to rest and get his mind away from his past. The dying figures of his parents still lingered in his subconscious, regardless of how hard he tried to make them disappear.

"What do you want, Natsu? You really have some nerve to accuse me of being too stubborn."
"I want to talk to you."

Moving so he was sitting beside the other, the pink haired male stared at the raven, a small smile tugging at his lips as he was reminded of all the days he and his friend spent dueling here. He never thought he would ever have the opportunity to sit here with him again.

"Well I don't."

"Good, cause I'm doing the talking and you are gonna do the listening, got it?"

Gray hesitated a moment before grunting, but didn't object. Honestly, he figured it would save more time if he just listened to what the flame head had to say before cursing him out with the colorful words he had learned throughout the years.

Smiling slightly the Salamander glanced away from his saddened friend to instead gaze out at the slowly appearing sun,

"It's been a while, huh, snow cone? Since we've sat together like this, I mean."

The ice maker kept his gaze on the grassy ground as he nodded his head slightly,

"It has. Get to the damn point."

"Fine." The pinkette rolled his eyes but obeyed, "I didn't mean anything that I said to you. I didn't... I mean I don't think you're worthless. I just..." He rubbed the back of head, "I mean it was not long after Igneel dissappeared and I wanted to fit in with the only family I had left, you know?"

The other male snorted, but made no further comment.

"Anyway, I know that I should have stood up for you and helped you and all, but I was young and well... I just wanted to be accepted... I didn't want anyone else to leave me like my father and Lisanna did..."

The dark blue haired teen shook his head as he laughed, a hollow laugh completely devoid of any actual humor,

"Funny, it had the opposite affect."

"I know..."

Natsu let out an exasperated sigh. He never had been good at expressing things with words.

"Gajeel and Laxus... They aren't so bad now, ya know? I mean they are still complete assholes, but they are kinder to people now..."
"I find that hard to believe."

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. The only thing he remembered was the way they always treated him when he was younger. They constantly bullied him because he wasn't as strong as the others. While they harvested muscles he hit puberty late and merely adorned thin limbs and no fat, making him look like a twig. His being from the north didn't exactly help either... Natsu did nothing to diminish the teasing, if anything he only helped.

"I don't care, Natsu." He mumbled, bringing a leg up to his chest as he avoided the other's gaze, "You're just wasting your breath, hot head. None of this matters to me."
"Why are you acting like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you don't care about anything in the world? That Fairy Tail doesn't mean anything to you?"

"I'm not acting."
"That's bullshit and you know it, frost breath." Natsu sneered, watching the raven intently, "You've always been stubborn as hell but now it's just ridiculous. Cut the crap, I know better than anyone else that you aren't as cold as you seem."

"What does it matter to you, Natsu?" Gray turned to look at the pinkette, his gaze hard, "Why won't you just let it go? Why can't you just finally leave me alone?"
"You're my rival and best friend, Gray... Or at least you were..."

The dark blue haired teen sighed and shook his head, wanting to be anywhere but here.

"You're too god damn stubborn yourself, Salamander."

"Not as stubborn as you, ice princess?"

Gray gritted his teeth. He absolutely despised that name,

"Are you trying to start something, moron?!"

"Bring it on, good for nothing ice prick!"
Standing up, Gray narrowed his eyes at the other male, all the anger he felt towards him returning tenfold as he swung at him,

"I'm not the same pushover I was, Natsu, I won't hold back! I'll show you just how much I've grown!"

In turn Natsu smirked and positioned himself for a fight. When words couldn't breech Gray's ice cold defenses than fists always could.

Well, this chapter went in a lot of directions. Anyway, more memories concerning Deliora and how he came to be with Ur will come in later on as well as the full details behind why Gray acts like he doesn't like Fairy Tail. Sorry for keeping up the suspense, but I left hints in this so it should help in getting an idea as to what occurred.

Reviews:

Thank you everyone for reviewing :D They encouraged me to continue on with this chapter~

Sktrgrl13: Oh thanks ^.^ I'm glad you like my Natray stories. As for how he escaped that was dwelled into a bit in this chapter, but what happened to Deliora will come in more later on~ Hopefully this will relieve at least a few of your questions.

Nori of the sea: Gray is always too stubborn for his own good XD But then again so is pretty much everyone in Fairy Tail. I hope this explained more about what happened to him. As for Lyon, ah yes, he's a protective friend. For now their actual relationship is a mystery ;).

DreamscomeTRUEEE: I have to say, I'm guilty of that too. I just love protective Lyon :P. The actual story behind what happened is just being hinted at at the moment though, sorry.

Rewinsan: This vaguely explained the how and why, kinda?

6purplecats: Thank you, I'm glad the chapter was to your liking. Right I'm working on them getting more on speaking terms before their complete history is shown, so bear with me :)

AsDarknessSpreads: Of course, I could never write a story devoid of angst. It's just too fun to write :P. Heh, yeah, I didn't really feel like coming with a complex name, so I went with Silver Surge, but I know how completely ridiculous it sounds XD Oh well. It seems like a lot of people like protective Lyon and I can't help but agree. It's wonderful.

There we are~ Thanks for reading!