Fairy Tail: Null Infinite

Chapter 4: The Girl Who Cares

"Stupid. Join their guild? Why would I want to do something so...stupid." Ruin continues walking, kicking the dirt as he does so. "Seriously, what was that girl thinking." Coming to a small lake, Ruin kneels down and begins splashing water in his face, trying to clear his thoughts. "W-" when he looks at his reflection in the water, he is surprised to his cheeks flushed with red.

"Hey! I finally caught up with...what are you doing?" At the sound of the familiar girls voice, Ruin, flustered, sticks his head in the water to hide the strange emotions appearing on his face. "Um, are you gonna come up for air?" After a few moments Ruin is forced to come up for air. "What are you doing back here!?" He shouts back at his visitor while still facing the lake. "I...Just thought you might like to talk." The girl, revealed to be Lucy as Ruin turns around, asks softly. "Why would I want that?" Ruin asks, curious about Lucy's reasoning and intention.

"Well...after what the people in the village said and what you told us... I realised that you probably haven't had anyone to talk to for a long time." Lucy answers, looking towards Ruin who has his face turned. "Try never." He replies. "All the more reason for me to come here. So, can we talk?" Lucy asks once more.

"What exactly do you want to talk about?" Ruin asks curiously. "I don't know, how about I tell you a bit about myself and if you feel like it, you can tell me more about you?" Lucy suggests. "I...suppose we could do that." Ruin replies, moving to sit on a nearby stone and motioning for Lucy to join him which she does. The two of them sit in silence for a while before Lucy speaks up again. "Y'know, My biological family is gone as well." Lucy's words cause Ruin surprise. "O-oh, um, I'm sorry?" Ruin says, not quite sure how to react to the sudden information. "It's fine. My mother died when I was really long and for a long time after that, for my father, it was like I didn't even exist. He barely let me act like a kid. That's one of the reasons I ran away from home, and ended up in magnolia." Lucy says. "Magnolia?" Ruin asks, having no knowledge of the outside world. "It's the city where Fairy Tail is based and also the city I found my new family." Lucy says, happily reminiscing. "New family huh? What was that like?" Ruin asks, honestly curious. "Like I'd finally found the place where I belong. We had a lot of trouble, mainly caused by Natsu, we even came close to dying more than a few times." Lucy says cheerfully. "O-oh. Um...you seem happy about that." Ruin states, confused. "I guess... As much as I could have done without the constant threat of death, it did help us forge bonds that'll last forever." Lucy says, once again reminiscing.

"Do you think...Do you think it would be possible for someone like me to have that?" Ruin asks. "You mean family?" Lucy replies. "Family...Friends....Bonds in general." Ruin continues, downtrodden. In response to this, Lucy smiles brightly, bringing Ruin out of his depressed state. "Of course!" She says, beaming. Ruin sits there with his long grey hair covering his eyes as they begin to water slightly, his face blushing a light red. "Ah, are you alright?!" Lucy asks worriedly. "Y-yeah, it's just... I don't think anyone's ever said something like that to me before. It's...nice." Ruin says, smiling with happiness for possibly the first time in his life. "Anytime! Well, I think I'd better get back to the others before they get worried." Lucy says as she gets up. "Wait." Lucy's smile fades into a look of questioning. "What is it?" She asks. "Do you mind, if I show you something?" Ruin says as he gets up from his seated position.

"You said to tell you about myself if I felt like it so..." Ruins words fade off. "Okay. What did you want to show me?" Lucy asks. In response to Lucy's confirmation, Ruin takes off his cloak and begins to remove his top. "Hang on! What are you- wait, what's that?" Lucy is bewildered by Ruins scarred body and, as he turns around, she sees a black marking similar to a guild mark. An intricate design similar to an 'N' is present on the upper left side of his back.

"It's been there since I was born. The villagers said that it proved I was a cursed child." Ruin says sadly, making sure his long hair doesn't block the marking from sight. "It feels strange..." Lucy says, even before she reaches out and touches it. As if reacting to her magic, the mark glows a soft black and a sharp feeling enters Ruins head before he pulls away from Lucy.

"I-I'm sorry!" Lucy exclaims, thinking she had done something wrong. "I-it's fine. It just, felt a little strange is all." Ruin replies, trying not to make Lucy feel bad. "I get a headache whenever magic hits that mark." Ruin states, making Lucy curious about the origin of such a thing. "Y'know, gray, the ice mage from before? He can use devil slayer magic. Maybe he could help you with that?" Lucy says, wanting to help the boy now more than ever.

"I told you that when I was born, I killed my mom. ...As for my dad? About half of these scars are from him leading manhunts after me." Lucy is aghast at the sudden information, unable to form words for a while. "...where is he now?" She asks with worry in her voice. "Hell, hopefully." Ruin says. "You hope he's dead?" Lucy asks in return. "No, I hope he never made to heaven or wherever the good people end up. I know he's dead." Ruin states assuredly. "You didn't...?" Lucy finds herself mildly afraid of the expected answer. "Yeah, I killed him. So tell me something Lucy. Would Fairy Tail really accept someone who hates mages, and killed both his parents?" Lucy is still recovering from her surprise before she becomes resolute and answers his question. "Yes." Lucy's answer shocks Ruin. "How can you be so sure?" He asks. "Well you haven't killed me. You had your reasons for what you did. They pushed you over the limit and they probably would've ended up killing you if you hadn't done it. Plus...I know I'd vouch for you."

Ruin turns around so as not to show Lucy the tears currently streaming down his face and moves to put his clothes back on. "You should probably get back to your friends now." Lucy smiles before bidding her new friend farewell.