To Protect and To Serve

Chapter 21

As they prepared for the trial, Erza figured that the odds would be better in Natsu's favor if both he and his wife were an analyzed by a psychiatrist. So she called up her old friend Dr. Mirajane Strauss to talk with the both of them. She started with Natsu.

"Tell me about your marriage Mr. Dragneel." She said to him.

"What do you wanna know?" He asked her.

"Well is it a happy marriage? Do you and your wife get along?"

"You heard the police report. I threw her out a window."

"I want to hear what you think."

"We got along fine at first. She comforted me when Lucy and I broke up, when we got married she went out of her way to be a good wife. Always kept the house cleaned and had food on the table. She'd kiss me before we went to bed."

"What's changed Natsu?"

"She's become more angry and irritated. I have to be very careful about what I say and what I do."

"And why is that?"

"Because if I make her angry she'll..." He hesitated before answering. He found this to be so humiliating.

"Mr. Dragneel what will she do if you make her angry? You can tell me." Dr. Strauss said.

"She'll hit me." He admitted. "She'll hit me, she'll kick me, she'll beat me."

"Have you ever hit her back?"

"No."

"Have you ever caused her any physical pain before that night?"

"No."

"Why not? I'm sure the way she beats you all the time must make you very angry."

"It does but it wouldn't be right of me to hit a woman. It would be cowardly, besides it's my fault."

"So what do you do when she beats you?"

"I just let her do it and wait for her to stop. I deserve what she does to me."

"But something changed the other night, didn't it? She did something that finally made you snap."

"Yes she did."

"What did she do?"

"She hit my daughter and she probably would have done worse if I hadn't of stepped in."

"Mr. Dragneel tell me about your daughter? What kind of child is she?"

"She's very sweet, cheerful, she always has a smile on my face. She's very wild, much like I was at her age."

"Does she ever make you mad?"

"Sometimes. Typically when she doesn't listen to me."

"Do you ever hit her?"

"No! Never! I love her. I've loved her since the day I held her in my arms at the hospital seven years ago. I don't think there's anyone in my entire life who I love more than her. That's why I attacked my wife. I'm a man, I'm a big strong man so I can take whatever Touka does to me but she's just a little girl. Beatings like that could kill someone like Nashi."

"What's your wife's relationship with your daughter?"

"They seem to get along, she tends to push Nashi a little hard sometimes. She would get angry at her over some of the most ridiculous things."

"Like what?"

"A spilled cup of juice, a toy left in the backyard, an incorrect answer on her homework. She had high expectations for Nashi."