Chapter 1: I never wanted to, I was Forced to

"Others may have their clocks continue to tick, mine also does but never it moves pass the number twelve." - Idris Archive

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap Tap Tap

Natsu tapped on his desk with an ever ferocious intensity.

The class was still there, listening intently to the teacher. He, on the other hand, was not.

Ding Dong Ding Ding…..Dong Dong Ding Ding…..

Oh great that stupid chime the school has.

Natsu looked up from his desk and finally noticed that the class was over. Actually he hadn't even realized that class was going on in the first place. Most probably because it was English.

And he was from the United States.

The red haired class president shouted out. "Kiritsu!" The class stood up. Natsu reluctantly stood up as well.

"Rei." Bow.

The Sensei bowed back at them, her smile filling everyone in the classroom with joy. Almost everyone. "Have a nice lunch!" she said.

Of course she said this in Japanese. Why wouldn't she? They were in Japan after all.

Natsu sighed. What was the point, he thought. Lunchtime was a waste. Food wasn't that important.

But Natsu's stomach said otherwise. It growled loud enough to be heard from all the way across the room. He rubbed his forehead. Why did he have to have such a large appetite? What was it that made him consume so much food everyday. But as the classroom slowly became busy with chatter and students filing out to either buy lunch or hangout with their friends in other classes, it was immediately quenched when four students entered the room. Their mere presence in the room gave everyone a reason to become hushed. Natsu internally sighed. It was most definitely that time of day.

"Pink Hair! How are yo!" A large arm came around Natsu's neck and squeezed him, nearly making him lose his breath. "I can't wait for that. Beautiful food you have for lunch!"

This guy. Natsu hated him so much. He couldn't even speak English properly. Why did he have to come and pick only on him? There were so many people in this school and the one person these guys had to take lunch from, was him. Natsu glanced at the head looming into his eyesight. Two-tones of hair could be seen, one white and one black, but he couldn't see his face.

His lackeys behind him snickered. "Why are you playing with him, Totomaru?" One of them asked in Japanese. "Let's just take his lunch and leave. I'm getting hungry."

"Wait a moment." Totomaru replied back. "I want to have my fun."

They were having this conversation in Japanese for only one reason. Natsu didn't know Japanese. Or so they thought he didn't. To begin with, his mother wasn't even Japanese! She had forced the language down his throat ever since he was born. Even in the states, Natsu had managed to fluently read and write Japanese from the age of eight. At the time, he had thought it was useless. When was he going to use Japanese in a country where no one spoke Japanese? But it had paid off in the end. Funny how life turned itself around.

"Where the food?" Totomaru asked. Stupid grammar.

Suddenly, he was furious. Not because Totomaru was picking on him for his language barrier, but because they wanted his food. The food that his mother had made for him. The food she made everyday was taken by these fools. Every day for the past two months.

Every. Single. Bloody. Day.

He clenched his fingers and didn't respond. He went hungry every day so those mongrels could eat. Why? WHY? What was the point? Was his promise worth it? Was it worth to see his mom think he had eaten his lunch? Was it-

His face connected with the desk as Totomaru grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him into the wood. Pain erupted on his nose as it briefly bent before Natsu realized what was happening and shifted his head to the right. His cheekbone took the brunt of the damage and within milliseconds his entire cheek was on the desk. He couldn't breath. Totomaru's fingers had somehow managed to curl around his trachea and was cutting off the oxygen supply.

"Answered too late, dearie." The whole gang laughed as they began to rummage through his backpack bringing out the four-tiered boxed lunch that he always brought with him.

"Does your mommy know that you give us your lunch?" Totomaru's face came into view. His mouth was pouted in a baby-like face. Although, with his black face tattoos, it made him look ridiculous. "Does she cook for us so that you do not get boo boo?"

Have to get hurt, Natsu automatically corrected the grammar in his brain. Do not have to get hurt.

But Natsu said nothing. Mainly because he was struggling for air.

"Aww the poor guy can't even talk. Dog got your tongue, little Natsu? Here. Let me help."

Totomaru let go of his neck, bringing a surge of fresh air back into his lungs. He coughed and reeled, trying to recover from the blow. By the time he was normal, the gang was gone. The contents of his bag were strewn across the floor and all Natsu could do was stare at it. Anger that had previously boiled inside him, simmered down to an appropriate level and he brought himself up into an upright position. He could feel everyone's eyes on him.

Slowly, he picked up his things and he, slowly, left the hushed classroom. As he walked down the hallway, he felt nearly everyone's eyes on him, something that was not unfamiliar to him. He was, after all, a guy with pink hair. But you'd think that the staring contests would slowly cease once you'd attended the school for a couple of months. It may have been wishful thinking on his part. Plus his attitude and body language didn't particularly attract many people. His shirt's first two buttons were open and his hands were in his pockets with the thumb pointing out and his head was slightly down but his round eyes looked straight forward. His smile was non-existent, transfixed with a permanent scowl.

Natsu looked at himself in the mirror. Somehow he had managed to find the bathroom and as he looked, he saw the red mark of Totomaru's finger that had managed to press into his windpipe. There would most definitely be a bruise. He'd need to cover it up before he got home. At least they didn't hurt him too much today. Still, being a lapdog for food wasn't bad. At least they weren't in his class for the year. Even if they were, their days of bullying would have been completely over. The class president would have whipped them out of the school if she had her way. What was her name again? It started with an E or something. Her last name was Scarlet, he knew that much. She even had two of her assistants with her at all times. One of them was a guy with spiky black-colored hair and dark blue eyes. Just looking at him for a time had made Natsu's skin crawl. Not with fear but more of a weird "punch him in the face" crawl.

The bell rang and Natsu pulled himself together. He had to reach class before the teacher arrived and he couldn't disappoint this teacher. This one… he actually liked.

Mainly because the Sensei was a midget.

X

The rest of the day had been a drag. Natsu groaned. He had carried himself away from the school at about the pace of a snail, tired from his ventures with the study session. After-school classes were always full of noisy kids and yelling teachers. This was completely different from the silent 'American' programs he was used to. He sighed. In any case, it was almost sunset and he was back at home. He opened the door and the smell of delicious food bombardarded his sinuses in waves and activated his brain. Suddenly, he was no longer fatigued. Just the smell of the food he loved and adored made him wide awake.

"Welcome home, sweetheart!"

His mother pounced and gave Natsu a big hug. Her luscious golden hair ran down his hands as he returned her hug. She was short. Very short. More than once, her height and physical features would characterize her as a third or fourth grader. Only her eyes betrayed the image. She looked at him with those big olive green eyes. The eyes that showed her intelligence and kindness.

"Hello." She said as she smiled at him.

Natsu grinned back. "Hello."

"How was your day?"

Natsu's mind flashed back to lunchtime for a brief second. He froze before managing to give his mother a big smile.

"It was good."

His mother narrowed her eyes and let go, taking a few steps back to observe him before finally saying, "That's what you say everyday!" She seemed genuinely sad for a moment before she returned to her regular cheerful look.

"I want to know more about school in Japan!" To emphasize her point, she pirouetted on the spot with her hands in the air. Like a flower ballerina. "I've never gone to school here! I, Mavis Vermillion, want to know all the different experiences you're getting! Isn't it fun!"

She calmed down before saying, "But it's alright. I'm sure you're having lots of new friends here. A fresh new start!"

Natsu gulped. "Yes. A fresh new start. Just like you wanted."

Mavis beamed. "Okay! Time to eat! It's almost 6 and I'm hungry!"

Natsu smiled. His mother always made him food when he got back from school. She knew he felt hungry every time he stepped back into the house. That was how his mother always was. Always the cheerful one. Always a step ahead. It was what he loved about her. His mother was the most amazing human in existence. He would never do anything to make her sad again. Not like last time. Never like the last time.

Mavis was already in the kitchen, humming a song to herself. 'Glitter and Gold' he thought it was. It was her favorite song.

He clenched his fist. He would never let it be like last time. He never wanted to be that person again. The pain he had seen on her face when she realized the true horror of what her son had become. And he never wanted her to look at him like that ever again. The way she had looked at him.

A Monster.