The Black Angel [Gratsu]

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

A/N: The backstory is two more chapters. Bear with me guys!! :D I don't want this particular part of the story to go on forever but it's all an important part of Natsu's (and Gray's!) past.

The Backstory; Part 3.

Throughout the next few months, Natsu kept to himself.

Wanting to live peacefully, he never left his new house. He had everything he needed in this mountain-house; food, running water, books to read, and any other necessity he could think of. He even stumbled upon some power tools in a trunk in the shed behind the house. Natsu then got the ingenious idea to chop down some trees and make a platform for a landing balcony.

The process of chopping down trees with an axe, and then slicing them into long planks took a lot of effort out of a twelve-year-old boy. He worked on his platform during the days and slept at night. Often, he couldn't fall asleep, and he'd read under candle-light, hoping to slip away from his own reality by living vicariously through the fictional characters of the dusty novels.

When his platform and its support system was finally nailed in securely to the house, Natsu felt a surge of pride at his own handiwork. He had drawn up the blueprints and engineered the most successful way to build his platform, and it turned out exactly as he wanted.

Now, every night he could sit on the platform, legs dangling off the side and wings extended out, watching the sunset over the mysterious city.

Everything was great in Natsu's life. For three months, he was truly happy. At least, he thought he was. Sometimes it got lonely in this house, up between the mountains.

Quite quickly, his peace turned to naught when things started to go wrong.

At first, his boredom increased. By each passing day, he wanted to explore beyond more than just the forest and the mountains he lived around. No, he wanted to see the city. But something told him not to, to stay concealed and live privately so the Lab could never find him and take him home.

This plan was ruined when he ran out of food.

In the beginning, Natsu lived off of the canned food stored in the cabinets. It wasn't all that delicious, but it was better than venturing off into the city and scavenging for food. Natsu didn't want to steal, but when it came to the point where his cabinets were empty, he became desperate.

He went into the bureau of the bedroom, searching for clothes to conceal his wings. he found a large, plaid shirt, reaching down to his knees. After cutting large slits to fit his wings, he pulled it over the only pair of clothes he owned; the lab-issued starched black top and shorts. Natsu decided to carry a jacket to cover up his wings and his newly-ripped flannel shirt when he arrived at the city.

Natsu figured his plan made sense. He had read about these places soup kitchens, facilities where people couldn't afford to eat could go to get dinner. He liked that idea much more than stealing.

Natsu was hopped up with nerves as he made his flight towards the city. He had no idea where the soup kitchen was, but he figured with enough wandering the streets and asking around he could find its location.

He landed between a small, deserted stretch between two buildings, quickly folding his wings behind his back and throwing on the giant coat to conceal them. Trying not to look suspicious - although when he tried to pull the I didn't just walk out of here all creepy-like face, he looked even more sketchy than he meant - he made his way down the sidewalk, staring at all the sights.

People walked quickly up and down the sidewalk, either chattering away on their phones, pushing baby strollers, or walking quickly, presumably late to an important event. Natsu wondered what the rush was with all of them; they had years and years of their life to take it easy and enjoy the perks, and yet they couldn't move leisurely.