Chapter Text
With a fiery breath, Natsu’s training came to a close. Igneel looked at his son with a sense of pride, impressed by how far the boy had come, as merely a month ago he had struggled with the Fire Dragon’s Roar, and now he breathed flame like a normal person would oxygen. Though it shouldn’t have surprised Igneel, given the boy’s inhuman nature that despite Zeref’s many insistences, Igneel made sure to inform the boy of what he was. Natsu knew full and well what he was, but the knowledge of such things didn’t alter the kind and energetic boy’s outlook on the world, though the topic of life was a difficult one for him to grasp.
“Igneel, there’s something Ms. Anna taught us that seems kind of weird.” Natsu said, the boy’s face furrowing in confusion.
“And what would that thing be, Natsu?” Igneel asked.
“She said all magic comes from love. But how could Dragonslayer magic, which was made to kill, come from love? It doesn’t make any sense.” Natsu said, plopping onto the grass and watching the clouds go by.
“Well, that would require a history lesson on the Dragon King Festival-” Natsu’s eyes lit up like a flame, a gigantic grin plastered across his face.
“Was it a human festival, Igneel? Did the humans light up lots of fireworks and dance and eat lots of food and-”
“Natsu, Natsu, calm down. All your questions are going to give me a headache! I think there’s a forest fire somewhere you can eat.” Natsu ran off in search of the non-existent fire, leaving Igneel to his thoughts of the event that those on Ishgar called the Dragon King Festival. He hoped that if Natsu should run into someone, it wouldn’t be Acnologia, the man who bathed Alakatasia in the blood of man and dragon alike and the one responsible for more than a few of Igneel’s scars. How Anna fell for such a man was a question Igneel always had at the back of his mind and knowing her, it’d likely remain unsolved.
If there was one thing Gajeel hated more than anything else, it was being interrupted during a good meal. And right now, his meal of choice - a part of a drake’s hoard - was the cause of him running at breakneck speeds through a forest while holding onto a golden apple. He jumped over tree roots and ducked under branches, trying his damndest to shake off his pursuer. So caught up in preserving his life that he failed to notice the man he bumped into. The man in question was tall with a wild mess of dark blue hair and a variety of bright blue tattoos on his face.
“Hey kid, give me that apple.” He said, a grin on his face. Gajeel did as he was asked, having a feeling that disobeying this man would result in a fate far worse than the one that awaited him with the drake. The stranger took the apple, readied himself into a thrower’s position, and chunked it at the drake.
CRACK!
The drake’s skull caved into where the apple was thrown, a smug smirk on the man’s face. Gajeel was so shocked - though who wouldn’t be - he didn’t notice Natsu barrel into him.
“What the hell, Salamander?! Ya blind or somethin’?!” Gajeel snapped. Natsu only giggled at his friend’s irritation and Gajeel quickly got up, chasing after Natsu as the fire Dragonslayer disappeared into the woods, the stranger all but forgotten by the two children.
Well, that was strange, Acnologia thought as he went about his day. The two children were certainly strange, even if he was willing to look past the fact that they had the scent of Dragonslayers and one of them had Igneel’s scent on him. Even then, the pinkette was rather strange with his scent not having any human traces to it. Perhaps the boy was Igneel’s child? No, that didn’t seem likely. The black-haired boy was rather strange too, with all those piercings! Who in their right mind would let a child have so many piercings?! Probably the dragon training the child.
But Acnologia had other things to worry about, like his meet-up with Anna. Well, it was more so him wanting to know what had her so busy! She always seemed a little tired and when he’d ask her what she’d been doing in her spare time, she’d say she was tutoring some children who wished to be mages. But Acnologia knew full well the only families who could afford tutoring were nobles, and Anna’s face turned a little green when the mere mention of being with nobility was brought up, Irene and Jericho being the exceptions, so that couldn’t be the case! Maybe some kid in a village was born with strong magic, and Anna being the kind soul she is, decided to tutor them? Well, Acnologia soon got his answer when a boy with light blond hair ran past him, eyes puffy from crying.
“I’M NOT APOLOGIZING TO THAT MEANIE-FACE ROGUE AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!” A little girl with blue hair ran behind him before grabbing his shirt.
“Sting! You’ve gotta apologize to Rogue or Ms. Anna’s gonna be upset!” The girl whined. Wait, were these the kids Anna was tutoring? Why was she tutoring Dragonslayers? And why were children who couldn’t be older than 6 or 7 learning Dragonslayer magic?!
“Nuh-uh! I’m not apologizing to that jerkwad for scaring me like that.” Sting said, still upset. The little girl tugged on the boy’s sleeve, eyes getting watery.
“W-well, I’ll be sad if you don’t apologize to Rogue. Cuz then he won’t wanna play with us anymore.” The girl sadly said, looking to be on the brink of tears, which surprised the blond. Crocodile tears, a tactic that Acnologia was familiar with. Hyde, despite being the elder of the Lockser siblings, would often use such a strategy to great effect as a distraction, and nine times out of ten it worked like a charm.
“Fine! I’ll apologize to him, but only so you don’t cry.” Seemed like the blue-haired kid was either good at pulling people’s heartstrings or she was a bleeding heart. As if on cue, Anna appeared, a little boy - Ryos, Acnologia assumed; that was the kid’s name, right? - following behind her.
“Sting! Wendy! You two had me so worried!” She knelt to hug them before pinching Sting’s nose.
“You’re so reckless, Sting! Did you ever think of what would happen if you were badly hurt? And don’t say Wendy will heal you. You know her magic isn’t strong enough for serious injuries.” Sting looked down, rather ashamed of his actions.
“I-I’m sorry for running off, Ms. Anna.”
“You’ve got someone else to say sorry to, kid.” Acnologia said throwing one of his extra scary glares in for good measure. Sting immediately started apologizing to the black-haired kid, who accepted the apology. Anna glanced up for a moment before returning to the children.
“Alright you three, your parents are at the clearing. Don’t cause them too much trouble!” The three children left, excited to see their parents, leaving Acnologia and Anna to each other. There was a sort of awkward tension in the air. Acnologia, not one for pretty words nor any conversational pleasantries, broke the tension with all the bluntness of a dull dragon’s claw.
“So, how’d you end up playing nanny to some little dragonslayers?” Acnologia asked. Come hell or high water, he was getting to the bottom of this.
“Someone had to teach them about the human world, and I was already involved somewhat.”
“How were you involved?” Acnologia was getting worried, his pulse quickening and fingers thrumming on the side of his thigh. What if Anna had been forced into this? No, don't be foolish. No one under the sun would think to harm her. She’s your wife, after all.
“I’ve said too much.” Anna turned on her heel and began to walk away, only for Acnologia to grab her, concern all too clear in those crystal blue eyes of his.
“Please, Anna. Tell me what’s going on. If there’s something wrong, then I’ll help you. You remember our promise, don’t you?” She nodded.
“Then tell me, Anna.” She hesitated for a moment before speaking. That wasn’t good.
“I made a deal with Zeref. If I helped him, then he’d find a way to stop your blackouts. Please, I don’t want what happened with Hyde to happen again.” Acnologia pulled Anna in close as tears started to fall from her eyes.
“Anna, I’ve gotten my instincts under control. I haven’t blacked out since what happened back then.”
“But what if you do?! What if I’m the one you kill?! I couldn’t bear to think of the guilt you’d feel from that! You need to stop thinking you’re invincible, Acnologia! You may not have a human’s body anymore, but that doesn’t mean you’re flawless!” Anna’s words were interrupted by various sobs, big, wet tears coming from her eyes that rolled down her cheeks and stained her dress. Dammit, Anna crying was one of Acnologia’s few weaknesses.
“Is there anything I can do then, Anna? I don’t want you to bear this burden alone.” He wiped away a few of her tears.
“Actually, there is something you can do. There’s a part of this plan that involves sending the children to the future, so I want you to take care of the children when that time comes.” The two sat down and got to talking about the 5 children: Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue. From magic to personality - turns out Sting was afraid of the dark, Rogue really liked frogs, and Wendy liked cleaning - just about everything was covered. Well, except for a concern Acnologia had regarding Natsu.
“Is Natsu human? I met him earlier today and his scent didn’t have anything human to it.” Anna’s face had a quick bit of discomfort before returning to its normal expression.
“No. He’s one of Zeref’s demons, but his demonic instincts are suppressed, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, which one of his demons is Natsu?” Acnologia asked, trying to hide his worry. Zeref’s demons were always a bit of an issue for the Dragon King, mainly because their mental stability was usually on the same level as their creator’s.
Please don’t be E.N.D please don’t be E.N.D please don’t be E.N.D please don’t be E.N.D
“He’s E.N.D-”
“Son of a dragon!” Acnologia yelled, his hair puffing up a little from frustration. Anna chuckled a bit at her husband’s outburst, though he soon regained his composure. Anna was all too quick to assure him that Natsu was nothing like the rumors said and was one of the kindest people you'd ever meet, but was a bit of a hothead and tended to set things on fire - accidentally of course - and while he loved to fight, he’d never dream of killing someone. That seemed to dissipate whatever tension Acnologia had and a sliver of a smile came to his lips.
“Thank you for this, Anna.” He knew her ulterior motive in this little adoption plan of hers: a way to stop his blackouts, a way to stop him from drowning in a sea of blood-bathed instinct. After what happened back then, Anna had been desperately working to find a way to stop his blackouts. The two talked for a time before night began to fall and Anna’s eyes drifted to the stars like they always did. Then they tried spotting the different constellations, Anna providing bits of trivia for each one.
“Why can’t Taurus be like what humans think of his constellation? If I catch him oogling at your chest one more time -”
“You can’t go threatening my spirits like that. The Celestial Spirit King has a way of knowing things.”
“Tell Stache-Face that if he doesn’t like me talking about the Zodiac like that, then he can come and tell me himself!” Anna couldn’t help but laugh at Acnologia’s age-old nickname for the Celestial Spirit King. The two continued their banter for a time until they both left, needing their sleep.
But like the sun sets, stars fade.