The Burn of Beginning | E.N.D.

06: Betrayal

"I was told to stay away. Those two words I can't obey. Pay the price for your betrayal. Your betrayal, your betrayal!"

-Your Betrayal, Bullet for My Valentine

~

"Hi Natsu!"

Happy, floating in the air above Lucy, looked...well...Happy, "We finally found you!"

In dread, Natsu pulled his hand out of Lucy's and turned slightly, seeing Gray and Erza on the other side of the blonde haired mage. 

He backed away, not wanting to talk to them. It only made him feel worse by seeing them.

Eventually, Natsu's eyes met Gray's, who held a cold, piercing, hatred within them. It was almost enough to take away all the air in the fire mage's lungs.

"I...I have to go."

"Natsu! Don't go. Come back to the guild with us." Erza demanded with concern. She grabbed his wrist before he turned to leave.

In fear, the dragon slayer jerked away from her, not wanting to see any of his friend's expressions.

"Erza. Leave him be. He's a demon. Demons don't have feelings." Gray said breaking the silence, his voice dripping with malice, "He's part of the reason so many people died. Including Ur."

By now, the wizards and mundane who were walking the street felt the tension from the group and tentatively walked around them, whispering among one another, curious about what was going on. 

No... That wasn't Natsu's fault... He didn't want to be blamed for others' deaths. He had gone on missions most of his life that were meant to protect people or save them. Not kill them or let them die.

"You deserve death Natsu."

"No Gr-" Lucy starts to tell but is interrupted.

"Kill me then."

The words were out of Natsu's mouth before he had a chance to think. But perhaps it would be best...for everyone.

It'd be a burden taken off his shoulders. His friends could live their lives without him. He wouldn't have to eventually kill Zeref. Kuro wouldn't have a chance to control him.

Everything would go back to the way it was.

The world wouldn't burn to ashes because of his dark self. He was happy to die if it meant that everyone else stayed safe. But something in his heart cracked. As much as Natsu tried to tell himself that he didn't care whether he lived or died...he did care. A lot. Yeah, he still wanted to protect everyone with every fiber of his being but he also wanted to experience things that normal teenagers experience. He hadn't gotten to enjoy the amazing parts of life. There were so many things he wanted to and even though most of them included pranking the council, sparring with Erza, arguing with Gray, hanging out with Lucy, and eating fish with Happy, he didn't want to miss out on anything.

He just wanted to scream. Dammit! Why did he have to be so conflicted. Live or die. What did Natsu want?

But Natsu forced himself not to care at the moment. If killing him made Gray happy then.... He'll gladly die. But would Gray really kill him? Was the ice mage's hatred towards Natsu that serious? It was Natsu's test for Gray. Was everything they had done together worth nothing? Or would the ice mage spare him?

"What?" Gray seemingly hadn't registered what the fire mage had said.

In a more forceful and insistent tone, Natsu replied, "Kill me."