Between The Pages

Chapter 5

Football practice was rough for Natsu. He and the others practiced til dark and he was exhausted. He was ready to go home, chow down on some meat, and go straight to bed. But those plans were changed when he saw a police car parked in front of his house. He quickly went inside where he found his mother sobbing and his father talking to a police officer.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel you said that she was adopted." The policeman said to Igneel. "Is it possible that she could be with her birth parents?"

"No they died in a car accident ten years ago." Grandeeney wept.

"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" He asked. "Why are the police here?"

"Your sister is missing." Igneel said.

"What? What do you mean she's missing?"

"I mean when your mother and I came home she wasn't here. We've called the school but they haven't seen her. Do you know where she is?"

"No...Oh God I shouldn't have left her alone."

"Young man do you know something?" The police officer asked.

"Earlier today before I went to football practice I saw her getting bullied real bad. I chased them away but they...They had already done something really bad."

"What did they do son?" Igneel asked.

"They broke that music box she had. The one that she got from her birth parents. She was really upset."

"Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel has your daughter had any history of bullying or trouble like this before." The police officer asked.

"No. Not at all." Igneel said.

"That's not true." Natsu said.

"What do you mean Natsu?" Grandeeney asked.

"Juvia's been bullied by Mary Hughes and her gang since middle school, they're brutal toward her."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"She begged me not to. She said that she didn't want you to worry, she said that she could handle it. I thought she could."

"It seems to me that these bullies pushed your daughter so far that she couldn't take it anymore so she ran away." The officer theorized.

"You have to find her." Grandeeney said wiping her tears away. "She could get hurt or worse."

"Don't worry ma'am we'll have the whole force looking for her."

Natsu felt unbelievable guilt. He had convinced himself that if only he had told his parents about Juvia getting bullied then this wouldn't have happened. His parents didn't blame him but he blamed himself.

"Mom, Dad I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you." He said apologetically.

"It's alright dear." Grandeeney said. "It's really my fault, I should've paid more attention. I should've noticed that something was wrong."

"No honey." Igneel said hugging his wife. "No one is to blame. She couldn't have gone far, I'm going to look for her."

"I'm coming with you." Grandeeney said.

"Me too." Natsu added.

"No son you stay here in case she calls or comes back." Igneel said.

Igneel and Grandeeney go into their car and drove off to search for Juvia. While they were gone Natsu went into Juvia's room and searched for any clue that might indicate where she could have gone. He didn't find anything but the usual. No he found something out of the ordinary. That book she received from Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster was lying on the floor.