{LUKA'S POV}
I'm falling apart. I don't understand it myself: I've always been cool, calm, and collected. This death is affecting me more than usual.

I remember burning that little girl to death in a Rising Inferno. She went to visit her dad's workplace and never left. Combined with all of these dreams I've been having of my former missions and Executioner... I'm barely holding it together.

Sylvie is my rock. I might've gone crazy if she didn't show up when she did.

"This... this isn't my MO." I whisper.

"MO?"

"Modus Operandi. It's like a signature. Proof of your handiwork. We all had one. Executioner's was a single shot through the forehead, execution style. Hacker chopped his targets into six pieces: four limbs, torso, and head. I left nothing but ash behind. They tried to frame me, but this isn't my MO."

"I'm gonna prove it wasn't you, Luka."

"There he is!" Someone shouts shrilly.

Sylvie and I jump. An old lady in a bathrobe with frizzy gray hair gestures at us wildly. My heart sinks as I hear familiar armor clinking. Sure enough, the Rune Knights round the corner and face us.

Sylvie stands in front of me defensively. I could easily flee from the Rune Knights, but I refuse to abandon Sylvie. I don't avert my gaze.

"There's the body! And I saw that boy standing over it suspiciously!" The old lady shouts.

The Rune Knights take one look at me and begin to scowl. As I recall, they were very vocal against my release one year ago, via a technicality.

The Scythes and the Rune Knights clashed many times, during which they lost many comrades-in-arms. Now a known killer has been found with the body of a murder victim. I understand their disdain.

The captain of the platoon points at me furiously. "Cremator, you're under arrest for murder! If you resist capture, we will use force to detain you!"

Suddenly, a giant wall of ice separates us from the Rune Knights. Sylvie exhales sharply.

I stare at her in awe. "What are you doing?!"

She grabs my hand and drags me towards a spiral staircase of ice, which goes onto the roof of the nearby building. "We've gotta run, now!"

"You'll be labeled as a fugitive with me!"

"Luka, the murderer knows your victims. You probably know them. We can't left you get caught here!" She beams. "Let's resist arrest together!"

I snort, allowing Sylvie to drag me up the staircase. The Rune Knights destroy the ice wall easily, only to slip on the stairs.

Once we reach the rooftop safely, Sylvie waves back at them. "Ta-ta!"

Sylvie's staircase shatters into thousands of shards of ice. The knights who are currently climbing up them yelp, then fall into an icy pile below. Like so, we elope with no plan and no clue what we're doing. This'll go terribly, but I'd follow Sylvie anywhere.

Living like vagabonds on the outskirts of Magnolia, two weeks pass in the blink of an eye.

Another body has been discovered. They were in a hotel room, burnt beyond recognition and impaled through the stomach on a metal spike.

The pattern and degree of burning on the body is exactly the same as the first, like a magic fingerprint. We officially have a serial killer on our hands.

The victims have been identified, and they aren't the same age or gender or race. They don't work in the same field and probably never met. It seems like the murderer chooses people at random.

A warrant has been put out by the Rune Knights for me and Sylvie to be brought in for questioning. Fairy Tail has protested the warrant multiple times, to no avail. Mum is apparently pissed.

I'm a wreck. Sleeping in the East Woods hasn't helped my nightmares. In fact, they've gotten worse.

I feel like eyes are boring into the back of my head, watching my every move. I can't get that girl off my mind. She looked so sad... I'm responsible for her death. If only I'd paid the ultimate price last year.

"This isn't going to work long-term. We need a place to stay." Sylvie decides, after I wake up screaming for the third time in one night.

My head is in her lap and she wipes beads of cold sweat off my forehead with the same scarf I intended to give her as a present.

"We can't go to the guild. That's the first place they'll look for us. We can't go back to my apartment or your house either. And, as much as I loathe to admit it, Mum is probably under surveillance."

Sylvie eyes me hesitantly. She bites her lip. "You're not gonna like my solution."

"What solution?" I groan.

"When Patchy and Zuly sniffed us out—"

I nod. How could I forget, when I almost shot the poor kittens out of the sky with an inferno bullet? Thank goodness I realized who it was before I killed them. The twins sent their friends because Sylvie's siblings are understandably worried.

"—I had Zuly take back a letter for their papa, to bring to Uncle Natsu. His house is secluded enough."

"You're right, I don't like it."

"Aunt Lucy is already on board. She knows they're watching her, so she's gonna stay far away. I swore to prove your innocence, but we need a base of operations first." Sylvie pleads.

I sigh and nod. It's not that I hate Natsu. I just don't want to be indebted to him.

We go to his shack and knock on the door. To my dismay, Natsu opens it. He ushers us inside, saying, "You can relax. I'd smell if someone was close by."

"Thanks, Uncle Natsu." Sylvie sighs in relief.

"I said I'm just grabbing a change of clothes, so I gotta hurry before people get suspicious. Luce mainly wanted me to lay eyes on you. To assure her that you're alright." He says, eyeing me up and down.

I don't look alright. My skin is too pale and I have dark bags under my eyes from poor sleep.

"I'm fine." I snap.

Sylvie elbows him. She whisper-shouts in his ear, "Now's your chance, Uncle Natsu. Say something!"

I cross my arms, frowning and raising an eyebrow. Sylvie has all the subtlety of a freight train. Natsu scratches his head, his expression pensive.

"I... I should go." He walks past us.

Sylvie facepalms. An unfamiliar feeling overcomes over me at the last second. On impulse, I reach out and barely snag the end of his white scarf. Natsu turns to face me in surprise.

I clear my throat, avoiding eye contact. "Hey, old man. Will you do me a favor? I need you to not move and... just pretend to be my dad for a bit."

I lean in and press my forehead against his chest. His heart beats loudly; the sound of life. I close my eyes, allowing myself to imagine that Natsu actually likes me and everything's gonna work out in the end.

"I don't know what to do." I whisper so softly that I'm positive he doesn't hear me.

My body begins to shake. A few tears leak out, but I blink them away. I don't think anybody noticed.

I pull back, straightening my spine. Natsu's arms are raised slightly like he was about to hug me. I turn my back on him and mutter, "Thanks."

I don't see his expression, but he hesitates for a second before leaving us alone.