Hello, ChaosDestruction here again, with another chapter of "Burning Hearts." In the last chapter, Natsu found Kaede being tormented by Tomoo and his group of creeps. After he gave all three of them a well-deserved toasting, he introduced himself to the young girl.

"Kaede, huh?" Natsu said, looking at her thoughtfully. Kaede looked a little nervous upon seeing him stare at her.

"Oh, no… Why is he staring at me? It's my horns, it's gotta be! I knew it! He thinks that I'm a freak!" She thought in panic.

"Hey, Kaede…" Natsu began.

"Here it comes…" Kaede braced herself for verbal torment. What he said next surprised her.

"Those horns look pretty cool!" Natsu said, smiling brightly.

"W-what!?" She stammered, not knowing if she heard him correctly.

"I said that they look pretty cool," Natsu repeated. "Have those guys been giving you a tough time over them?"

"Y-yeah…" Kaede mumbled, not knowing how to talk to him. "Ever since we were younger."

"Don't you ever tell your parents? I mean, they've GOT to know about this, right?" Natsu asked. Kaede's face fell, something that Natsu picked up on.

"Was it something I said?"

"N-nothing…" Kaede said, holding back tears. "J-just, leave it…" Natsu gave her a sad look.

"Look, Kaede. I don't know why you're so sad, but I really hate seeing people, especially my friends, crying." Kaede's eyes widened.

"F-friends…?" She choked out, not believing what she had heard. Natsu grinned widely.

"Yup! Friends!" He replied cheerfully. Kaede frowned.

"How do I know that I can trust you? For all I know, you're lying to me!" She crossed her arms and stared at him expectedly.

"Uh…" Natsu rubbed the back of his head, not expecting that question. He looked around, and then looked back at Kaede.

"Okay, how about this: meet me here tomorrow, 'kay? I'll be waitin' for ya!" He smiled at her again, before walking off.

"H-hey!" She shouted, making him stop. "Where are you going?"

"To find a place to hunker down for the night." He said casually, before continuing on his way. Kaede continued to stare in that direction before turning around and going her own way."

"Natsu Dragneel, huh?"

The next day…

Kaede ran towards the clearing that Natsu had told her he'd be waiting for her in.

"It's too good to be true…" She thought. "I've always wanted a friend, but this is just too easy… He had to be kidding. I bet that when I get there, he won't be there at all."

When she got there, she found that her fears were unfounded. True to his word, he was sitting there, smiling at her.

"What'd I tell ya?" He laughed cheerfully. He then held out his hand, much to her confusion.

"Huh?" She muttered, looking at his out-stretched hand.

"C'mon!" He laughed, grabbing her hand in his, making her blush. "Let's go!" He then took off, dragging the protesting Kaede behind him.

At an undisclosed location…

A rather large, imposing figure, shrouded in darkness, stared out the window of his office, looking as if he was contemplating something. Right at that moment, another, smaller figure walked in.

"Sir," The smaller figure addressed the larger one. "We have some new developments involving the queen."

"Yes? What is it?" The larger figure, obviously the smaller one's superior, asked.

"She seems to have befriended someone; a boy who appears to be a legendary Dragon Slayer."

"A Dragon Slayer?" The larger figure asked, his voice taking on a surprised tone. "In this day and age? Are you absolutely certain?"

"Yes, I'm positive. He was able to breathe fire, and was able to engulf his fist in flames. Two trademarks of a Fire Dragon Slayer," The figure nodded.

"Hmm…" The larger figure's voice took on a more quizzical tone, obviously thinking.

"Sir?"

"Keep an eye on the boy. I believe that I can use him in our plans," The superior said, his voice taking on a more sinister tone.

"Very well, Director Kakuzawa," The smaller figure bowed respectfully, before leaving Kakuzawa in his office.

Natsu turned to the shop window, and looked inside. Kaede noticed that he had stopped, and turned to him.

"What're you looking at?" She asked.

"I heard something. A song that my dad used to play for me," Natsu replied, looking into the window. Kaede followed suit, and looked inside. She heard a hauntingly beautiful melody, but couldn't understand what was being sung.

"What are they singing?" She pondered. Natsu shrugged casually.

"Dunno. I could never understand it myself. I think the name of the song was Lilium or something like that, but I can't really remember," He explained, still looking.

"I like it," Kaede smiling softly. She went into the shop, and came out a minute later with a small box.

"Here," She offered, holding it out to him. Natsu, however, pushed it back to her, much to her confusion.

"You bought it, so it makes sense that you would keep it," He explained. Kaede looked a little disappointed, only for Natsu to smile again.

"But if you want, I'll teach you the lyrics," He added, making her smile.

"Okay!" She replied enthusiastically as they both continued on their way.

Later, Natsu and Kaede were playing down at the river near town, wading in it and splashing at each other.

"Natsu?" Kaede asked, pausing.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Why exactly are you here? I mean, I've never seen you here before." Kaede gazed at him expectedly.

"Oh, that?" Natsu inquired, looking a little down. "Well, it's a bit of a long story…" Kaede noticed that he had stopped smiling, and grew a little worried.

"You don't have to, I mean…"

"I'll tell you," Natsu cut her off.

"Okay…" Kaede said, giving her friend her full attention.

"Well, it started like this…"

A much younger Natsu, wearing nothing but a sash tied around his waist and a pendant around his neck, was stumbling through some woods, looking dirty, and tired.

"I was just a little boy, a baby really, not even able to speak, when I was abandoned in the woods. I was wandering around, trying to find my way back home, and by the way, those were some big woods, when I saw something above me."

The young boy looked up in wonder, as the image of an enormous winged beast flew above him.

"At first, I didn't know what it was, until it saw me and came down to me. It was a…"

A large, dark crimson dragon covered in scars, with ripped yellow wings, a yellow stomach, and yellow eyes landed in front of him.

"A dragon!?" Kaede's eyes bugged out of her head.

"Yeah, a dragon, and please don't interrupt me." Natsu sighed impatiently.

"S-sorry," Kaede mumbled, blushing slightly. "Please, go on."

"Right, as I was saying…"

The dragon stared at the little boy intently, making him back up a little.

"Child…" The dragon spoke in a deep, commanding voice. "Why are you here, alone?

"Ah... Ah… I…" Natsu tried to speak, but found that he still couldn't speak.

"Too young to speak, are you?" The dragon inquired. Natsu nodded his head.

"What is that hanging on your neck, human?" The crimson dragon held up one scaly paw, and pointed to Natsu's neck, making the young boy lift the pendant up a little bit. The dragon held his head down to the boy's level, and squinted at the pendant. The pendant itself was made of a silvery metal, was round, and had something engraved on it. When the dragon looked at the engravings, he looked rather shocked.

"Natsu… Dragneel…? No, it couldn't…" the dragon was at a loss for words, looking at the pendant, which seemed to bear the boy's name, in shock*. Natsu looked up innocently, not knowing why the dragon was so surprised. "Natsu" had been what everyone called him, so why did it shock the big, scary dragon?

"Maybe… Maybe this is merely a coincidence; yes, it must be. But I cannot simply leave you here." The dragon lowered his leg, beckoning the boy to climb on.

As he did, the dragon said, "How foolish of me, I forgot to tell you my name. I am the mighty Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons!" With that, the dragon and the boy flew off into the distance.

"So, let me get this straight; you were dumped in the woods, and found by a dragon, who then raised you?" Kaede asked, trying to process what she had just heard.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Igneel taught me how to read, how to speak, and even some culture."

"I note," Kaede said, giggling a little, "That you didn't mention 'writing.'"

Natsu's face went a deep crimson. "O-oh, shut up!"

"So, why are you here, exactly? Did you run away?"

"No! I'd never do that! Back to the story…"

"Igneel even taught me how to use magic. More specifically, he taught me how to use Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, which made me a little more like his own son. We had a great time; every day was filled with laughter and fun."

Natsu, now much older and wearing his scarf, began to stir. He rose groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, when he noticed something seriously wrong.

"Igneel? Hey, Igneel!? Where are you!?" He shouted, looking around frantically.

"One day, just a month or two back, Igneel left me without even saying goodbye."

Natsu looked around, calling the dragon's name, but got no response back. He began to cry, realizing that the dragon had vanished completely, and that he wouldn't get a response back. He pulled his scarf close to his face, and looked down.

"From that day on, I made it my mission in life to find him again. Even if I have to go through Hell to do so, I will find him again."

"So, I started to wander the country, looking for any possible sign of him, which led me to this town," Natsu finished, looking at his horned friend. Kaede stared back in shock. He was abandoned just like her.

"You… You've been looking for him?"

"Yeah. It's also why I don't stay anywhere for too long." Natsu nodded, earning a confused look from Kaede.

"I'm not going to stay here for much longer," Natsu explained, as Kaede realized that he wasn't going to stay with her forever, like she had hoped. "I'm going to continue my search for him in a few days."

"Please…" Kaede begged. "Take me with you… I can't stand to be to be left alone in the orphanage…"

"I would love to, Kaede," Natsu said, making her smile again. "…But, I can't…" Kaede's face fell yet again.

"B-but… B-b-but…" Kaede choked out, but Natsu shushed her before she could speak again.

"It sucks, I know, but it's really, really dangerous out there. I've had my fair share of nasty fights out there, so who knows WHAT else is out there?" Natsu explained to her, making her nod sadly.

"Don't worry, Kaede, when I find Igneel again, I'll come right back and take you with me. How does that sound?" He tried to lift her spirits. She smiled a little.

"It… It sounds nice, Natsu." She nodded, to which Natsu smiled.

"Now, come on! We've got a few days here!" He shouted energetically, before tapping her on the back, and running off.

"Tag, you're it!" He laughed. Kaede stared at him for a few seconds, before smiling widely, and chased after him.

"Hey, get back here, ya bum!" She laughed as well, as the two ran off into the woods again.

Many years later…

A now much older Natsu stood on the beach after completing another mission. He had matured noticeably, and now wore an open black, sleeveless vest with gold linings, an untucked black waist-coat with a similar lining, white trousers, and finished the outfit with his signature scarf. Alongside growing taller and sporting a build that would make any girl drool, he now had the mark of a Fairy Tail wizard stamped on his right shoulder.

"Wonder how she's doing…" Memories of his friend went through his mind. He turned to leave, when a familiar scent hit him like a ton of bricks. Immediately, he ran back across the beach, hoping to find the source of the scent. When he reached the source, his eyes widened with shock, and his jaw dropped.

"…Kaede?"

I'll be honest with ya, I wasn't expecting people to like this so quickly. Thanks to LSSJ2Gohan for the review, I really appreciate it! So, tell me how you like the chapter in a review. See you next time!

*2 guesses as to why Igneel was surprised to hear Natsu's name.