Light in the Dark (Natsu x Reader) [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 3

"Aaaaghh!!! Get AWAY from me!!!"

"What the-?!" Your eyes flew open, and you heard the screaming again. Your drowsiness disappeared, and you jumped up, then ran out of the little hut, alert. "What's going o-Haru!!!" You screamed.

There was a masked man wrapping his hand around Haru's throat. "Get. Away. From him!"

You ran and knocked the freak to the ground with a flaming drop kick.

"Thank you!" Haru gasped.

You nodded and smiled slightly. "No problem. Do you think you can handle fighting this guy by yourself for a few minutes? I'll go get Shizenkai. In case there are more attackers...."

"Yup! I owe you one," he said.

"Shizenkai!" You shouted, running towards the huge makeshift tent.

You ducked inside and poked her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm awake..."

"Tch. You're such a heavy sleeper."

"Sorry, sorry..."

"Listen, someone attacked Haru, and now he's fighting. I know he's plenty capable but.... I have a bad feeling.... Come on!"

"Okay!" Shizenkai said, alarmed.

You ran back out, Shizenkai right behind you.

That's when you saw the masked man thrust his palm into Haru's chest, and and shock wave washed over Haru. He seemed to be temporarily paralyzed.

"HARU!!!" You felt as if everything was happening in slow motion. You ran towards him, but not soon enough.

The man plunged a knife into his gut.

Haru couldn't scream, but you knew he was in horrible pain. Then, the life seemed to drain out of Haru's eyes, and he went limp. Blood was everywhere.

"NOOO!!!" You and Shizenkai screamed. You ran forward, about to lunge at the man, but he threw a smoke bomb. You coughed. As the smoke cleared up, you could see that the bastard was gone, and so was Haru. For good. You screamed and pounded at trees, smashing them while tears streamed down your face and your throat hurt from the lump that had formed in it, and became sore from all the screaming. Shizenkai wasn't doing any better. You desperately clung to her, the two of you grieving.

*** A Year Later ***

"I'm going to train," you mumbled, and set off.

"Bye!" Shizenkai called after you.

Hours later, you came back. "I'm home!" You said, feeling exhausted. No answer. "Shizenkai?" You looked around the campsite, but the dragon, your last reason for happiness, was nowhere to be found.

You waited. Days passed, weeks, but she never came back. You often wept in despair. You had a big supply of food, but that didn't make you happy. All you had left of your small family was the scaly gray sash that hung loosely on you waist. You kept training and training. You didn't know why you bothered anymore, but you still did it. Then you came across a strange-looking red egg. It looked like it might be a dragon egg. You put a hand up to it. It was still warm. 'No, caring for someone only results in pain...' You thought. 'Yes... If there's anything I've learned in life, it's that love only brings pain. I don't want to feel anymore pain.' A single tear slipped down your cheek. 'But.... I can't just leave this egg here.' So you decided to take care of it, rather reluctantly.

You kept it warm with your fire magic and had it resting upon a pile of leaves. You sighed and, using your Dragon Slayer magic, made some wines grow from some trees next to you, then you made them weave themselves into a hammock. You jumped into it and sighed again, lying on your back. You admired the stars and the night sky. 'I wonder if Shizenkai is looking at the same sky.... What happened to her? Why did she abandon me?'

The next day, you woke up to heat the egg up like usual. Then it started shaking, and it cracked. The cracks got larger and spread until the egg broke open and big, green, innocent eyes gazed up at you. It was a red cat. Her belly and the tip of her tail were pink. Her front paws and the tips of her ears were black. She had rosy cheeks. You picked her up. "Aww, you're so cute! I'll name you... Saki!" You declared. You couldn't help it. You brought her inside the hut and sewed her a high waist dress, blue on top with a black skirt, collar, and tie.

"You like it?"

She nodded happily and snuggled into it.

You took care of her from then on, and she gradually learned how to speak. The first thing she learned was your name.

"....(Y/N)...(Y/N)!" Saki said, smiling up at you. You stared down at her, shocked. "You can talk?! Since when do cats speak?!" You stared down at her, bewildered. Well, then again, dragons could talk, so why not?

Saki also learned how to fly. She had magic that gave her wings. This shocked you, too. But then she explained that she had Aera magic.

You stayed by the mountainside for a long time, raising Saki and training. You told her all about your past, and she gradually came to know everything about you. You became very protective of her - you didn't want to lose anyone else. She and the sash were all you had. You wanted to become stronger and then go looking for Shizenkai someday. The food supply was running out (you could eat plants and absorb sunlight, but obviously Saki can't. Well, she coupd eat some things, but it wasn't enough), and you decided to get a job in the nearest town, but you had no idea of its whereabouts, so you sent Saki to look around. She came back about a minute later after taking a quick look around. "Nowhere nearby, from what I can see, (Y/N)..."

You sighed. "Well, since it's not nearby, I don't want you to have to carry me. Besides, we have to bring some food and water."

The two of you pack everything you would need, and set off, and occasionally Saki would fly up to check. Then she would come back down and land on your head, shaking hers.

You traveled for days, stopping to eat and at night to put up a tent and sleep. One morning, while Saki was munching on a fish, you crawled up a tree and shouted. "YAY! Finally, a town!"

"Really?!" Saki said.

"Ya!" We just have to make it through the rest of this forest!"

"Ugh..."

"Well, what kind of town is in the middle if a forest? Besides, I love forests! They're my domain!"

"A forest town is in the middle of a forest. And I'm not big on forests."

"Whatevs, LET'S GO!!!" You shouted happily. Saki landed on top of your head. You made vines grow from your hands as they glowed green, which connected themselves to the trees, and as you swung past, you disconnected them from your hands. You swung past all the trees smoothly. "Yay!" Saki shouted excitedly. "(Y/N), that's so cool!"

You grinned. "Well, I'm a Ground Dragon Slayer!"

Soon you reached the end of the forest.

"Look, there's a sign!" Saki said.

"'Welcome to Magnolia'," you read. "Okay, now we know the name of this place."