Of Copycats and Flames [Yuki]

Natsu has always been a more soft-spoken and weary person when it comes to those he doesn't know. So Natsu had expected to be ignored by the other boy, instead, the plain-looking boy looked up at him with bright eyes. And Natsu couldn't help, but stare at his eyes for a brief moment before listening to the boy's words, saying hanging out with him was social suicide, Natsu let out a small sigh and said, "I don't think I ever had a chance." It wasn't sad or angry, sounded more resigned than anything else. Natsu had expected as much when he moved here. But didn't think it'd be so fast.

Natsu had frankly expected the boy to tell him to leave. Instead, he asked him "well" as he waited for his choice-his eye now a different color then it was before, Natsu blinks once-twice taking note of the shift in eye color, but he quietly nodded his head as he took a seat next to the boy, a safe distance away if his quirk goes haywire. Natsu sat cross-legged on the ground- despite it being a nice sunny day today- Natsu shivered with a chill running down his spine, sis quirk needed to burn something, it's been acting up all day, must be all the stress.

Natsu without a word started opening up his Bento box and saw that it was filled to the brim with spicy food, Natsu blinks once-twice-thrice, Finn listened to his favorite foods, But Natsu shakes his head and took a bite out of the bento box-and it was spicy excessively so-how he likes his food. Natsu started digging into the food as he enjoyed the intense heat warming up his inside- and despite it being a few hours old was still warm.

Natsu listed up one of the still warm octopus cut sausages and activated his quirk, it was only a flicker, but the other boy would see that Natsu's fingertips were covered in an inky black flame. But instead of charring- the sausage froze over with frost and once all the heat was all absorbed from the meat, Natsu flicked the piece of meat with his thumb and middle finger to flick the meat across the roof which made the clicking sounds of ice hitting cement.

Natsu felt better- a lot of his tension eased and he felt better already-it wasn't much of a meal for cool flame-but it was good enough for now. Since that was the last of Natsu's lunch he set aside the bento box, and he pulled his chilly legs up to his chest as the heat started to return to his limbs after feeding his quirk.

Natsu without looking up from between his knees asked the boy, "You have a quirk too, don't you, is that why they don't like you? frankly a little too bluntly but he was already socially an outcast, so how lower can he go at this point? If he makes enemies of the outcasts then he could at least keep everybody safe distances away from him.

Natsu has never really been part of the popular group, so even if he got accepted among them, he'd probably get chased off not long after. Natsu didn't like his quirk, it felt alive, and it was hungry for heat. It'd didn't matter the source- be it food, flames, or even people it wanted their warmth and swallow it whole. Natsu often forgot public use of quirks is illegal. The boy's sense of legality was distorted compared to others. It'd made sense- why it is, but he still doesn't like it.

Natsu hasn't processed the other boy's words as he alit a part of his lunch. So when the burnt boy asked his question, he was a little surprised by his expression since the other's boy's expression looked shocked and slacked- but not scared. But Natsu asked his question anyways- about the other boy's quirk. Natsu watched the other boy intently as he played with his lunch as he seemingly decided his next set of words. But when the boy looked up, Natsu looked back to the ground he explains that he has a quirk, but pointedly didn't explain what it is. The boy would then explain that the others' hated him for other reasons.

Natsu' lift his gaze from the ground to look at the boy, thinking what'd he meant by that. Natsu didn't quite understand, but Natsu looked back to the ground as he tries to figure out what he meant. The boy would then say that he still has a chance to find a better lunch partner and that being quirked isn't the end of the world. It's about who he knows. Natsu silently stares ahead, considering what to do. He could leave and pretend he never talked to him, and maybe that selfish attempt at social upgrading will do something.

But Natsu knew better, much better. So Natsu absent-mindedly said, "I don't mind you as a lunch partner though," Natsu said before finishing his lunch and putting it aside. Natsu sat there with the bento box at his side as he lifted his hand to the air, and licks of flames danced around his fingers. Natsu then spoke up, "I think once they know more about my quirk- they might become scared of me." Natsu says as he lowered his hand back to his side and looks up to the skies above.

Natsu wondered if he could see any shapes in the clouds. "That isn't too bad though, I'd rather they be scared of me and safe then fearless of me and then get hurt by me," There were no unique shapes up there.

Natsu was oblivious to Yuki's test, assuming it was just a fair warning, Natsu has never been good at picking up double meanings or implications. But Natsu was blissfully unaware of anything and instead kept admiring the clouds above, as the pair made their small talk. Natsu was a liar in not only words but in actions, so being so honest with this kid felt weird, even if he felt a sort of kinship with him. Natsu looked over the boy as he spoke once more. Who cracked a smile at him, Natsu tilted his head at this reaction, before giving the boy a small smile himself.

As Natsu played with his quirk- despite its fiery nature, it wasn't warm or inviting as a campfire, but still as destructive and dangerous as a raging inferno that consumed all in its path. Truly a glutton of a quirk. Natsu cracked another smile at the boy as he joked about setting things on flames, "Y-yeah?" Natsu said as he finally set his embers back into his body for safety reason as he only now realized his hand was covering the cement under him with a layer of black frost and ice, "Sadly I don't set things on fire, I freeze things." Natsu spoke as he pulled his hand away from the cement as it appears covered in icy soot. And for some reason, he wiggled his fingers as he lifts his hand.

When the boy asked if his quirk was the reason for his scarring, Natsu lifted his hand over to his scarred side, "Yeah, kinda," Natsu said not wholly telling the truth but also not lying. "It's complicated," Natsu said more honestly this time around, it is complicated. But thankfully, the boy, who he finally, learned is named Yuki Tachibana, and the boy explained that it hurts to touch people. Natsu didn't mind not making contact with people Natsu gets scared of hurting others with his quirk. Natsu nodded his head understandingly, "Nice to meet you too, Yuki," Natsu says as he looks at the boy's chopsticks in the air, before realizing it was a sort of cheers. Not sure what to use, Natsu picked up his bento box and lifted it high, mirroring Yuki's actions. His action caused a few scattered rice in the box flying around Natsu. Natsu either hasn't noticed the rice or that he didn't care, but no matter Natsu is now covered in rice.

When Yuki says he can show him his quirk, Natsu looked a bit surprised but pleasantly so when the boy asked to see a belonging of his, the longer, the better, Natsu looked thoughtful for a moment before he realized something. And he pulls out an old steel lighter from his pocket that has since lost its fluid years ago. Natsu carefully held the lighter at the very edge of his fingers to Yuki, so the chance of contact lessened. Natsu waited for the boy to grab it. Natsu wondered what kind of quirk Yuki has.

Natsu looks over at the boy as he said he could show off his quirk-Natsu without thinking, grabbed his water bottle, and then spoke the words, "Come Forth- and as he does so the water bottle exploded into a pink flame. And after a few moments, the fire died down to leave behind a blackened frosted over the mess. And Natsu started to shake the bottle, the sounds of ice juggled came from it. Natsu then twisted the tap and threw out the contents of the bottle, and all that came out was snow and bits of ice, and it flew into the air. Natsu looked nonchalantly at what he did before looking at Yuki expectedly, hoping for a positive reaction.

Natsu was frankly not always the most socially aware person around, so he didn't notice the slight annoyance coming from the boy-of the tenseness from him when Natsu said his scares are complicated. Natsu thought this whole exchange was going swimmingly. Despite Natsu's passiveness and quiet demeanor, he was already starting to consider Yuki as a possible friend. Natsu wasn't used to having friends his age to be perfectly honest. He was used to befriending younger children-that was his role back at that hell he called a childhood home- he would protect and take care of children instead of the adults-which might've explained Natsu's uncertainty in how to interact with people his age. He felt like he grew up too fast.

Natsu handed the boy his lighter-not knowing it could get him in trouble- and watches as the boy activates his quirk. It was strange to watch and even harder to try and understand from his point of view. So Natsu watches as Yuki's body stretches out, his hair drying out and becoming messier, to Natsu's shock- a total lack of scarring on both his face and the right side of his body. Natsu couldn't exactly hide his facial scars, Natsu does his best to conceal the ones covering almost half his body.

Natsu couldn't help but stare at the copy of himself. Natsu filled with a lot of emotions. He couldn't explain it. But he kept staring at Yuki's face that reflected his own. But when Yuki spoke up- Natsu looked away sheepishly and nodded his head as he looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up curiously. "Yeah, my guardian says the same thing- he's always worried about my weight-or lack thereof." Natsu responded as he kept looking Yuki's face, Natsu smiles very slightly and says, "sorry, and don't worry it might seem like the wind will do that, but it never does." Natsu joked very lightly before letting Yuki speak about the lack of scars, which he didn't he couldn't do.

Natsu blinks once-twice before saying, "Might be for the best-" Natsu says frankly, scars hurt. Natsu looked forward watches as the snow that he tossed into the air, still flying through the air until it fell to the ground over the edge. "You have an amazing quirk, Yuki." Natsu says as the last of the snow dust fluttered away into the sky. "You could do great things with it." Natsu says with a smile over to the not Natsu.

Once again-Natsu's golden eye lingered on the green that looked back at him. He would've looked nice with green eyes, Natsu thought.

Natsu didn't flinch at all when the water burst into snow and ice. Instead, he was watching the snow scatter in the wind. It was a pretty sight. Natsu found prettiness in some strange things. Maybe it was just who he is as a person that he finds beauty in things people typically didn't even notice.

Natsu's eyes the way not!Natsu prodded at his own body, which started to make Natsu feel self-conscious a little bit more. Maybe gaining a little bit of body weight would be good for his health-it would help get Finn off his back more often about the subject matter.

It must've looked weird how the two Natsus expressed themselves- since normally Natsu was hard to read. The Not!Natsu was almost Alien to the burnt Natsu. The real Natsu stares at the Not!Natsu as he spoke about his father and how he hated him using his quirk. Natsu looks to his feet and says- "That's rough," Natsu sympathetically said to the best of his ability-but might've still sounded flat.

When Not!Natsu told him here-Natsu reached out his hand to grab his lighter back. Yuki returned to himself instead of wearing a non-scarred up version of his face. Despite the initial excitement of seeing Yuki's quirk, Yuki wearing his face, made him feel weird things about his face and himself.

Natsu played with the lighter between his fingers and flicked it closed and put it in his pocket. Yuki spoke, saying how his father was following the law. Natsu nodded his head understandably and said- "I get that- my guardian is more willing to let me use my quirk-it'd be weird if he didn't since he has one himself." Natsu says as he looks up to the sky and wondered what a cloud tastes like.

Yuki asked why he said guardian and not dad or mom. Natsu picked up his bento box and played with the little bit of rice at the bottom of the box. "My parents are dead, or they left me behind after I was born, I don't really know, so there's not much of a story there." Natsu bluntly said as he plays with the rice a little bit more. "I got adopted by a man named Finn Halloran a few weeks ago." Natsu spoke his voice had no strong emotions behind it if anything the way he was talking seemed like he has practiced this many times before. That is because he has many-many times before. To practice his lines for potential adopters back at the orphanage. And for anybody who got worried about his health or wellbeing.