~Magnolia's Number One Assassin~ (Fairy Tail)

Chapter 69: Raiden

Raiden

"Fey..."

The nickname rang sickeningly through my head as the Dark Wizard Master towered over me. I clutched Natsu tighter to me, afraid that he would try and take him away from me again. The man laughed deeply down at me. I still couldn't believe that he was still alive and kicking. "How...?" I choked out.

He smiled down at me with yellow teeth and then touched his cheek. "Let me show you..." Before my eyes the skin around his fingers began to glow an off white color.
That color...I thought tiredly...I know that color... It looked so familiar to me. I had seen it before.
But...where?

As I struggled to remember, I watched in a daze as the skin beneath his fingers begin to peel away. My eyes widened and my breathing became more ragged as I stared in horror at the man. I clenched my teeth as the sound of ripping skin filled the others silent air. He pulled his skin even more until a new face could be seen from beneath the torn, old skin. My breathing hitched as his new eyes locked with mine.

Black, with red pupils, and soulless eyes, met my own eyes.

I jerked back in shock. I knew him. Now I remembered where I had seen that light. It was the same light that I had seen before that man had taken Natsu away from me. This...this was the same man that Natsu and I had encountered in the snow. He studied my shocked looking face and that seemed to amuse him to no end. He laughed again as he pulled the last of his fake skin away from his real and very familiar face. The man spread his arms out wide and smirked down at me mockingly. "Remember me now?"

Oh, yes, did I ever remember him now.

The memories trickled into my unwilling mind. They twisted, twirled, and wrapped around me in their deathly, cold grip. My eyes shook as I looked up at him.
I opened up my mouth and whispered out one word. A word that I had hoped I would never hear or say ever again. A word that I despised and could send fear shooting up my body. One word that could bring my world crashing down.
I whispered my once best friends name.

"Raiden."

He let out a howl of joyful and dark laughter. He smiled brightly at me and flicked his fingers at me in a small wave. "Did you miss me, Fey?" I flinched and bit out. "Don't call me that!" I didn't want him to taint the nickname that Natsu had given me.

His eyes ranked over me and his intense gaze made me shiver in disgust. He took another step closer to me and I tensed when he reached out a hand toward me. He crouched down to my level. Raiden's cold hand touched my face and I jerked my head back. He rolled his eyes at my reaction. He leaned a little back but kept his nightmarish eyes on me.

"Why won't you let me touch you, Fey?" I bared my teeth at him and refused to answer him. I didn't even want to look at him. But I forced myself too. I was afraid if I looked away, even for a second, he would slit my throat. Natsu suddenly shifted in my hold and he let out a painful sound. My heart clenched tight at the sound. I needed to get him out of here. Now.

Raiden's dark eyes flicked down to the boy in my arms. I leaned in closer to Natsu, trying my best to block him from Raiden's sight. Ice shot through my body when I saw his eyes turn from lifeless, to pure hatred, as he stared down at the Dragon Slayer in my arms. However, they almost immediately went back to cold and lifeless when he lifted his head to look back at me. "I miss you, Freya..." Raiden told me as he reached for me again.

I clenched my teeth and forced myself to stay in place as he grabbed a lock of my hair. He twisted the black strand around his finger as he continued to talk to me. "I've missed you so much over these pasts couple of years." He twisted the little strand again. "I just wanted to let you know that I forgive you." My eyes widened for a fraction of a second.