Katakuri of Fairy Tail

"W...here am I?"

A small, pale child with short spikey crimson hair looked blankly at his thin hands.

Opening his eyes and looking around in a haze, getting his bearings in the unfamiliar environment

Crimson pupils flashed with uncertainty as he began to piece together the situation.

Looking through his memories they remained hazy, blurred as a pain in his head stopped him from delving deeper into the past.

Restlessness set in as he stood up disjointedly in an unnatural manner as he adjusted to his new form.

Memories flashed through his mind like a videotape, the same pain as earlier blaring in his head.

His childish face scrunched up, concentrating through the pain as memories began to fall together like jigsaw pieces.

"Fairy tail." He muttered to himself in the silence of the dilapidated house.

He knew where he was and knew who he was,

Charlotte Katakuri, an orphan born in Rosemary village located in the Kingdom of Fiore and more importantly,

"Katakuri?"

It was the birthplace of the female heroine, Erza Scarlett.

A voice belonging to a young girl resounded through the cabin originating from the rickety door just ahead of the makeshift bedding.

Putting on an apathetic tone, Katakuri's voice retorted softly "Who's there?"

The door slid open revealing a figure of a young girl with long, silky crimson hair much like his own in color but lacking the harshness of his own.

Pain receded as his memories continued to build up causing his voice to have a slightly painful inflection toward the end.

"It's me Erza, you've been holed up here for days and I came to check up on you"

Not noticing his strangeness, Erza gently looked at Katakuri's stern face eyes shimmering with concern.

A small rumble from his stomach closed the conversation causing the childish girl's mouth to slightly upturn.

"If you're hungry, I still have some spare food, if you'd like I can grab you some" Erza spoke in a soft voice as she turned around and headed to the door, not waiting for his response.

*Creak*

Rusty hinges creaked as the door flapped open, a scarlet-headed figure darting back out into the sun.

Katakuri watched as the figure disappeared, his face returning to complete calm with steady eyes.

A slight glimmer of light reflecting on glass caused him to turn his head.

He could finally see his figure, crimson-eyed, crimson-haired baby fat set steadily upon his young face of about 9-10 years in age.

His physique looked weak with a skinny disposition most likely due to malnutrition causing him to look almost pitiful.

Clenching his fists, Katakuri could feel the power flowing in contrary to his feeble body.

Looking down, he punched out in anger as memories surfaced of the original plot.

He remembered Erza's tragic image and mental torture that etched onto her childhood and thinking of the sweet scarlet-headed woman, he vowed to change it.

His already crimson eyes flashed a brutal red light as he peered down at his thin body, he had two years to prepare.

"I will not show any mercy for they shall not show any." He thought in his head the image of a burning village and crying children at the forefront of his mind.

He is here now and in no way will he allow Zeref's followers to trample all over his hometown.

A ways away, Erza's figure glanced at the dilapidated living quarters, a brown box hung shyly on her waist for fear that it would be stolen.

*Creak*

The door swung open jankily ending Katakuri's line of thought.

Quickly changing his face from anger back to indifference, he faced the cute red-haired woman.

With a polite smile breaking apart his indifference a voice whispered,

"Did you bring the food, I'm starving."

Fiddling with the box strapped to her waist, Erza let out a hearty smile, unboxing the bow that was neatly tying the lid of the package.

"Hmm, I even brought a little surprise!"

Erza's face beamed with smiles as she looked at him with expectation, holding out the package in her hands.

Gazing into her brown eyes curiously, Katakuri reached out, gently opening the lid.

A smile followed by voracious chewing sounds showed her little surprise was on the mark.

Lost in the fragrant tasteful treats, time passed as Katakuri chewed down with the same ferocity.

Before long, the chewing sounds slowly stopped as Katakuri's head upturned, his childish cheeks bulging slightly.

Katakuri lowered his head with a cough as his cheeks went slightly red.

Changing the topic to shy away from the slaughter of snacks, a whisper came out,

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Erza smiled before pointing at the package which was now empty, doughnut, crumbs scattered, stuck to the bottom of the box.

Katakuri who noticed this lowered his head even lower as Erza followed up with a laugh of satisfaction, clearly happy that her gift had been well received.

Glancing at the innocent smile, his heart turned soft.

Memories still plaguing his mind, he took a grim face.

"I will protect this no matter what." He thought to himself.

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Time passed, Katakuri had grown in this time which he had used to sharpen himself through hunting.

At first, all the villagers seemed to look forward to his joke thinking a 9-year-old couldn't possibly hunt anything.

Erza remained optimistic however, that did not stop her concern when he first left for the woods.

Most of the village hunters didn't dare to go into the woods alone let alone him which exacerbated her anxieties.

Despite all the odds, the first hunt and the many that followed were success after success.

One day he walked out with two elk strewn on either shoulder hanging down limply silencing all complaints from Erza and the villagers.

At this time, his height had grown as had his body.

Bulging muscles filled with power began to form under his unique leather jacket giving him a more fierce temperament.

A pale scarf wrapped carefully around his lower jaw covering his shark-like teeth which added a degree of mystery to his figure.

Grim crimson eyes glared over his scarf looking indifferently out on his surroundings showing a warrior-like concentration garnered over his many successful kills in the wild.