Earth and Fire - Chapter 1
It was a dark night unlike any other in Magnolia. The sky was covered with clouds, rain was beating on the window like crazy. This night a girl came into the town, she would change the life of a certain dragon slayer.
The lightning struck just as she entered the main part of Magnolia, everyone she passed watched her walk towards Fairy Tail. She let the water drench her like it wasn't even there.
Once inside Fairy Tail, the storm grew quite faster than anyone even the girl, could understand. Standing at the bar bragging about another mission done well was Natsu Dragneel, otherwise known as the salamander of Fairy Tail.
The girl walked over to him and the big group around him, her hair dripping wet from the rain outside. Natsu's onyx eyes looked over the girl, he thought it was a bit strange that she was standing there soaking wet.
"Can I help you?" Mira asked, allowing the other to take a good look at the wet mage. This girl was about as short as Levy, had short black hair, with hints of green and brown throughout it. It was a complete mess from the water clinging to it, her eyes were a olive green and she had a tone body that said she did lots of training.
"Makarov..." Was all she said placing an envelope on the counter for Mira. She went with Mira to see Makarov and thats the last Natsu and the others saw of her that night.
After a long talk with Makarov about the new water park and Fairy Tail's free passes the girl began to leave. "One moment dear, I was wondering why you brought this all the way here when it could have been mailed a lot faster." Makarov's eyes questioned her as she stood there.
"Oh I guess he forgot to mention that I'm here from Mermaid Heel to assist you on your trip. You see I'm Kio Hitomi, the daughter of a wizard saint and part-time spokesmen for the water park director.
My guild is under construction so I'm doing this for work right now." Kio stated giving him a small smile. He looked puzzled by the fact that she was a saints daughter, but he ignored that for the moment. "Well may I ask, what is your magic?" Makarov was straight to the point. "Oh well, I'm an Earth Mage. I have Plant Magic, I can use them to fight and use make magic with them as well." She said finally sitting down to relax.
The master pondered this for a moment, "Alright but I'm going to put you with a partner while you're here with us. Normally I wouldn't mind but this place is full of mages that can't stay in line. I'm old enough without them making me feel older." He stated sheepishly grinning at her.
"That sounds fair to me. Who will my partner be?" Kio asked excitement in her eyes.
"Well, Miss Hitomi I think that Natsu Dragneel would be a good fit." He stated making Mira choke on her tea she was drinking. "Natsu? But master he is..." She was cut off by the master.
"Perfect for teaching Miss Hitomi here." Makarov said in a defiant tone that made Mira back off. "Ummm... could you just call me Kio please." She stated with a faint blush in her cheeks from embarrassment.
When Kio was finally done working out all the details with the master, the rain had stopped and she was given a temporary room at Fairy Hills. Mira showed her the way chatting about the guild the whole way.
"How come we didn't see you at the Games?" She asked once they reached Kio's room. "Well I was on bed rest from a big mission I had done the week before the games." Kio said looking up at the sky. "You don't talk about yourself much do you?" Mira asked opening the door for her, then handing her the key.
Kio just nodded then said good night and closed the door. Tired from her trip and still soaked from the rain, she slid into a warm bubble bath. Once she was fully relaxed Kio drifted off to sleep thinking of the wonderful days ahead of her.
Though she would never admit it, Kio was secretly in love with Natsu Dragneel. They had met on a mission a few years ago and that was all it took for her to be hooked.
It was about a year after the games had ended and they were paired up to help a forest grow in the right areas. Natsu's job was to burn the dead decaying trees while Kio planted and water new healthy trees.
They worked very well together, which surprised her a bit. He had the reputation of a destroyer, and was suppose to be a real asshole according to some girls in Mermaid Heel.
But when Kio met him and saw that care free attitude and the goofy grin, it made her realized not everyone is what they seem. The day she knew she loved him was when he risked his own life to save a young girl he had gotten to know in the town, from his own flames that had gone slightly astray.
Kio woke up to the sun shining brightly through her window and the birds chirping. She ginned at the fact she had a dream of the time she first met Natsu. She wondered if he remembered her, but then figured he didn't. After all this was Natsu she was thinking about, he wasn't the brightest person from what she could tell.
She looked around the almost empty room and sighed, "No coffee maker..." She announced to herself. *wonder where I can find one.* Kio thought pulling her clothes for the day on then heading out the door.
But before she could get very far she was stopped by Lucy and Levy. "Hey, you're that girl from Mermaid Heel right?" Levy asked smiling at her. "Umm.. Yeah..." She said a bit shocked they already knew who she was.
"Sorry word gets around fast when Mira is involved." Lucy explained seeing the puzzled look on Kio's face. She laughed at this then looked at the two girls. "Where can I get coffee?" She asked trying not to sound eger.
Lucy put her finger to her lips thinking for a moment, "Honestly I'm not sure. I just get mine at the coffee shop every morning." She stated looking over at Levy as if to ask if she knew.
"Sorry, I don't know either. I go with Lucy every morning." Levy stated making the earth mage a bit frustrated. She loved a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning and so far couldn't have any.
"Here." A deep voice she didn't recognize said from behind her, setting a seaming cup into her hands. Kio blinked then turned around to see none other than Gajeel Redfox standing behind her. It amazed her that his voice wasn't recognizable, considering she knew him as well as she knew Natsu. "Gajeel? You sound so...so..." She couldn't put a word on it.
"Manly..." Levy suggested blushing a bit making such a forward comment. Gajeel chuckled at this then looked at Kio again, "It's just how you like it, 4 sugars and two vanilla creams." He said ruffling her hair then moving past her to toss an arm around both Lucy and Levy.
This effectively embarrassed both girls, "Hands of the merchandise Gajeel." Lucy stated tossing his arm off both of them.
He just shrugged then kept walking towards the guild hall. "You two still haven't gotten together?" Kio asked once Gajeel was out of dragon slayer hearing range. Levy looked at her then looked off in Gajeel's direction, "Ummm... Well it's harder than you think to convey feelings to him." She stated turning a bright red.
"In other words, she hasn't said anything to him and is hoping he notices that she likes him." Lucy stated translating the meaning of Levy's words.
"That makes sense, Gajeel is the type you have to tell Levy. He will never notice on his own." Kio stated then walked off taking a sip of her coffee happy that he had shown up with some for her.
She enter the guild hall just in time to hear the master telling everyone about the water park passes and that a member of Mermaid Heel would be staying with them for a while.