Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.
I do own the idea for the fic and the OCs.
Important note: This story is not time time-skip compliant. The Grand Magic Games' canon plot is also discarded.
Our little girl.
(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)
28 years after the S-class trials on Tenrou Island
Unknown location - Saturday night
Day 01 Month 9 Year x812
'Shit.'
The young mage could only think that at the moment.
His future executioners were standing in front of him.
He thought this situation would be better than what he originally imagined.
That he was going to find understanding from those men.
He thought wrong.
Dead wrong…
Fairy Tail Guild - Monday afternoon
Day 20 Month 8 Year x812
It all started 2 weeks ago.
We go to the great castle-like structure near the coast of a big port-city called Magnolia. A magicians' guild by the name of Fairy Tail, the strongest of Fiore, resided there and its insides were brimming with people. Mages of all kinds and powers were there and took jobs or just passed the time with others, the place being renowned for its hospitality and friendly atmosphere.
Though, in between those mages was one that felt completely the opposite.
He was just sitting lazily on a stool, drifting off in slumber with his arms used as pillows for his head while the entire place was as boisterous as always. He didn't care, though. He knew some people were waiting for him to join the brawls, but he just couldn't join them. Not even after his rivals threw taunts at him was he going to get up from his slouching position, he wouldn't bulge, not even because of them.
For he knew well enough that if he returned the fists and she happened to return at that moment, at the precise moment to find him fighting her brothers, there would be hell to pay.
And he didn't want to pay, not yet, anyway.
"Come on, ice pin!"
"Yeah! Are you afraid or something?"
"He's probably melting in fear!"
'1, 2, 3, 4…'
A chorus of laughter followed soon after the last line, the three guys mocking him rolling on the floor behind him.
He could imagine them on the floor, as well as the vein showing itself on his forehead.
He tapped his fingers on the counter, counted to 100 and grinded his teeth together.
He was NOT going to answer them back.
"Oe, think he's dead?"
"I don't think so…"
"…more like he froze in fear."
'111, 112, 113, 114…'
He could feel it, the vein on his forehead being accompanied by many more now.
The tapping went harder and faster, he continued the count to 200 and now he chewed his cheeks.
Just a little bit more; she told him she was going to be back for today's afternoon.
Not that he needed her to fight them off, no; it was because of their promise.
If he wanted to be with her, he had to behave better than her brothers.
Meaning? He couldn't retort, mock, insult, or fight them. Not even in self-defense!
Yeah, he cared for her that much.
And these damn assholes, even if they didn't know of them being together, they were taking advantage of his situation as if they knew!
'Just a bit more…'
He thought like a tantrum, which in fact was, it wasn't the first time he had to endure this.
Though, according to her, that was going to change after this job she took 3 days ago.
Which got him more anxious for her return; he was anticipating it as much as when he waited for his parents to return from a hard job when he was a kid.
Then, the doors of the main hall opened, letting the bright sun's light inside the room and illuminate a path to the center of the big hall of the guild. Freezing everyone on the spot and making them turn their heads to see who broke the cheerful mood in which the guild was. Several gasped or fainted in fear.
He smirked smugly.
She was back.
"Nova!"
"Nova-chan!"
"Hey, Nova's back!"
The three annoying torturers yelled enthusiastically to everyone, rushing at great speed to the person standing before the door, the woman being slightly surprised from her brothers' greetings. She saw them doing this kind of things many times before, but still, so much instant love and affection from them surprised her.
And at the same time, it clicked something in her mind.
They were widely-known as the tricksters of the city and country, cracking jokes and doing pranks on anybody that got in their way. Besides, they also followed on their father's footsteps and caused great deals of mindless property damage whenever they took a job.
In other words, it was perfectly normal when she narrowed her eyes at the three guys in front of her, and leveled them with an inquisitive glare.
"What did you do now?"
Touché.
The guy at the bar secretly smirked when imagining the faces of those morons paling. She always knows when something is off with them, and now he was damn proud of that instinct of hers.
"N-nothing!"
"We are just glad you're back!"
"T-that's all!"
He now straightened himself on the stool, twisting around to witness the four siblings standing by the door.
His smirk widened.
There were three guys, two with pink hair and one with scarlet hair, standing nervously around a woman with bright scarlet hair.
On closer look…
The first guy, Dumar, was standing in front of his sister. He was tall, taller than her at least; he had short straight rose-colored hair that reached to his shoulders and brown eyes. He wore a white waistcoat with gold trimmings over his chest with no undershirt, white knee-length trousers and black open-toed sandals.
The second guy, Ramud, was standing left to the first one. He was an exact copy of the first guy, which was obvious, since both were twins. The only difference was their clothing. He wore a dark waistcoat with purple trimmings over his chest with no undershirt, black knee-length trousers and black open-toed sandals. They were the second and third child of the family, they were 23 years old.
The third guy, Rob, was standing right to the other two. He was a little shorter but still taller than the girl; he had spiky scarlet hair styled upwards, aside from a tuft covering his forehead and two bangs framing his face and onyx eyes. He wore a dark shirt under a long light jacket closed by a simple belt, loose dark pants ending below his knees, and brown boots. He was the fourth child, he was 21 years old.
The woman, Nova, was shorter than the three guys by 2 inches and resembled her mother in everything; still, her form was as defying as that of her brothers. She had long, bright scarlet hair and brown eyes. What does she likes to wear? A piece of armor to cover her torso, arms and hands, a blue skirt and long black boots that almost reached a little more after her knees. She was the only woman and the last child, she was 18 years old.
She was way more mature than the guys in front of her, though.
"Really?"
She asked a little suspicious of their nervous forms and smiles, her eyes narrowing a bit more.
A fifth voice answered her question.
"This time, they are telling the true, Nova."
"B-blain-nii!"
The siblings exclaimed in surprised, she and her brothers watching a fourth guy closing the distance to where they were with confident steps and a small warm smile on his face.
He was Blain, the older brother of the five and the first child of their family, he was 26 years old. He was as tall as his father, a few inches more than the twins; he had long, crimson hair and onyx eyes. He wore full body armor with only his face being uncovered and, unlike his little sister, he did covered his legs with greaves, cuisses and poleyns. Though, his case was more of looking badass when doing jobs than protecting his body from harm.
"How did your job go?"
"I-I did well, it wasn't hard…"
"I'm glad."
His smile widened, nodding to her and the other three, he moved forward and left the building. He had a several pieces of paper folded like a tube on his left hand, jobs probably, and surely what he was going to do at the moment. The guild members and his siblings stood there for a moment, too enthralled on his cool departing form to even notice that a few minutes passed and that the man was long gone from there.
Since he was able to remember, the man at the bar always saw Blain doing the same, he was of short sentences, and only concentrated on jobs during the week. Taking several and completing them before Friday to stay at home for the weekend.
When he asked him why one time, the answer he got was that the man took the jobs at the guild like any other normal job, the example given being a flower shop.
"Do flower shops open during the weekend? No, they don't, and I'm the same."
That was his simple explanation.
Understandable, yes, but weird all the same.
"…W-where was I?"
Nova asked to herself after snapping out of her daze, looking at her brothers quizzically before shrugging the matter and passing from them to the bar. The guys flinched, sweated nervously and finally sighed, relieved that they were saved by their older brother… not that they needed saving, they truly didn't do anything this time around. The guys chatted a moment, shook heads and nodded at times, the process going over and over for a moment until they all nodded and leaved the place with mischievous grins on their faces.
They were really close, especially the twins. And they were always thinking about having fun, those three.
"How are you, Seth?"
A voice snapped him out of his staring. He shook his head a few times and later faced the woman sitting next to him on a free stool, her small smile provoking one of his own to escape outside. He shrugged and relaxed with an elbow on the counter, his hand supporting his head while he continued to stare at the woman he was dating for almost a year now.
"I'm fine, Nova, nothing new… how did your job go? Excellent as always, I bet."
"Ha, stop flattering me, you don't need to do that now, you know?"
"Who's flattering? I'm just stating the obvious…"
"Yeah, right…"
"Uh-huh."
He grinned at her irritated face, almost chuckling at her cute pout if not because Mira appeared with a tray in hand, a strawberry cake and a glass of water with several ice cubes on it, which she left in front of them. She winked at the two and continued with her job, giggling amusedly when she caught them blushing slightly when they realized that she heard their conversation. Not that she didn't know of their relationship, it was just embarrassing to show their softer sides to the others when they usually were seeing as calm and stoic in Nova's case or laid-back and unfriendly in Seth's case.
"S-so… what did you do while I was away?"
He shrugged again.
"Azuka asked me to help her on a mission, nothing big, just a delivery."
She narrowed her eyes at the name of the woman, her jealous side kicking in.
"Azuka, huh? Did you enjoy your mission?"
"Nah, it was boring…"
Seth replied in honesty. He knew of his girlfriend's jealous side so he didn't even speak about other females unless it was because of their strength or because of a job. No body, no attitude, nothing, anything could be used against him later. Also, he was happy with Nova, why would he be interested in another woman?
Nova softened her stare a bit, seeing the sincerity in him. But still, she continued to stare. Even now, she wondered how she got herself into a relationship with a guy older than her. It wasn't that she regretted it, no. And it wasn't like he was 10 years older than her either. They were apart for just 2 years of difference. He was 20 and she was 18, it was an acceptable gap in her opinion. Especially when she based her opinions by her parents' age gap.
Seth had spiky dark blue hair and dark blue eyes, and he was slightly taller than her. He wore a flat black vest, over a white shirt, a pair of light grey pants, held up by a bright black belt with a simple metal buckle. He also used dark-colored shoes. Surely, one to catch as fast as you can, as her older brother's fans cry whenever they see him pass by.
Shrugging those shallow thoughts aside, she indulged herself with the cake left by Mira and talked with Seth about the three days they were apart, the conversation then turning to their missions and impressions of them. Both resumed that they were at a good level for the next S-class exams, or at least Nova was, her boyfriend got the position in the last year's trials.
"I hope Master allows us to participate too, it'd be nice to see personally how you do in the exams…"
"Hmm."
She hummed absentmindedly in response, taking another bite of her sweet dessert before stopping, the fork remaining over her lips. She looked ahead with a troubled face and her free hand's fingers were tapping the counter.
Seth sighed at the picture, knowing it too well.
"What's bothering you?"
He asked straightening himself on the stool and shaking her shoulder a bit, calling her attention.
"Nothing."
She looked down to resume her eating, only to see the plate with the cake being taken away from her. Following the hand that took it, she saw Seth staring at her with narrowed-concerned eyes, demanding an explanation before she could continue.
"I know you well enough to know something's wrong, Nova, so tell me."
She looked at him apprehensively, looking sideways with a sigh escaping her.
"I told you I was going to stop my brothers from messing with you, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well… I-I came up with a way to stop them completely."
"And that's…?"
Nova lowered her head a bit and gazed at the wooden floor with doubt, her brown orbs meeting his dark-blue ones every few seconds, unable to meet them head-on.
"I… Do you want to…?"
"If I want what…?"
"Do you want to come to my place, this weekend, to have dinner with me and my brothers?"
She voiced her question at machine-gun speed, her flustered face looking away from Seth, who stared at her blankly for what seemed like an eternity, thus making her nervous. He thought one, twice, thrice until it finally sunk in his head.
"What?!"
"Y-you don't have to if you don't want…!"
"No, no, no! That's not what I meant…!"
"T-then…?"
He swallowed hard after his freak-out, now looking at her expecting face with a small pink on his cheeks. She always looked so cute whenever she was waiting for an answer to something important in the silly way. He had to admit, that whenever something like this happens, he would give in just to not turn that face into a sad one.
And he wasn't going to stop now.
"I… You caught me by surprise, nothing more… er… this weekend?"
"Y-yeah…"
"With your brothers… Blain-san will be there too?"
"He's always at my parents' house during the weekends… a not be he's staying at his own home with his family…"
Blain was the oldest and as such, he already has his life settled. He found the right woman, dated her, got to know her and finally married her when he was 22. Now, he lives in Magnolia with her and their kid, doing requests from the guild to keep the financials of their family in the green. His wife was from another guild, Karen Laytis from Blue Pegasus, the oldest daughter of Hibiki and Jenny Laytis. She moved to Blain's house in Magnolia and joined Fairy Tail after the marriage and a year later they brought to the world their first kid, Effir, who is 3 years old and already has a promising future ahead.
As for the rest of Nova's brothers and their personal lives, the story was different. They were more of the free-spirited kind. Not settling down with anyone or anything because they wanted to enjoy their freedoms and youth without attachments to the fullest.
He could understand the guys and their thinking, but he could also understand that they were like that because they hadn't found the right girl for each one of them that could make them settle once and for all.
"…they spend some weekends together so it is normal… but…"
She started to trail off the subject. The man shook his head and snapped his fingers in front of her, calling her attention back to the matter at hand.
"I d-don't know, Nova… Your brothers will be there… and, it'll be kind of awkward…"
She looked down in defeat, gazing sadly at the floor with a face that almost broke the guy's heart.
"B-b-but! If Blain-san is there, I guess there will be no trouble then!"
He panicked, thrashed his arms around and accepted, his actions first surprising the girl before she lunged and hugged him strongly in overloading happiness. He asked her to lessen the hug a bit so he could breath, which she shyly did, and asked her when she wanted to make this family dinner.
"This Saturday, sounds good to you?"
"I have nothing better to do."
"Good! I'll see you there then!"
And she ran off the place with a smile so big he swore it almost broke her face in half, and it also warmed his heart.
Ironic, since he was an ice magician.
Talking about ice…
How the hell was he going to explain this to his father?!
Fullbuster residence - Monday night
Day 20 Month 8 Year x812
"Ah, Seth… you are back…"
"Yeah, dad…"
He entered his house after spending most of his time in the guild. After Nova left, he went to chat with some of his friends. Some of them were new members while others were like Nova and him; sons and daughters of the last generation. Looking at his father sitting on the "ice throne" –as everyone but the man secretly baptized-, he moved and sat on the family-size couch in front of the old man.
His mother, Juvia, was surely sleeping by now. Tired with having to take on a mission with his father and later come back to deal with the house. She could thank her daughters for that, those lazy bastards.
Ur spent most of her time doing S-class missions. She was the older sibling with 25 years old and a loner; she works solo and prefers the company of her siblings if she ever needs any help.
Iris helped in the guild as a maid and was there most of the day. She was the youngest sibling with 17 years old; a people pleaser, that's why she works at the guild. Of course, she can use magic as the rest of her family… when she wants to.
And he does a normal life. Seth was the middle sibling with 20 years old and most of the time he had to find a balance in between his sisters' life-styles to alleviate some of the pressure on their parents' shoulders. If he wasn't at the guild talking with either Nova or the others, he was in a mission fulfilling a request to keep his pocket alive or taking care of the house.
Returning to the situation at hand though, the old man in the room immediately noticed something was off. His son never came and sat with him in the same room after a day in the guild. He usually came tired and grumpy. Not in the mood to talk or even stay in silent company with someone from the family. This was an unusual situation.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing! I'm tired, that's all!"
His father surely saw him blushing, and the nervousness in him surely added up to his suspicions.
Gray Fullbuster grinned to his son and leaned forward to whisper what he wanted to say.
"Interested in a girl?"
Seth saw no meaning in lying now that his dad has him cornered, so, he honestly replied.
"Yeah…"
"Mira's daughter, right? She's a killer…"
Seth blushed furiously at his father's words and shook his head repeatedly. Not that Mirajane's daughter, Irene, wasn't hot, no; quite the contrary, she was the hottest girl of the guild. That if he excluded Nova and Lucy's daughter, Layla, who was also hot in his sincere male opinion.
"N-no! It's not her… can we drop this for another time? I'm beaten…"
"Sigh… Okay, kid, whatever you say…"
His father went back to lean against the couch, slightly disappointed that he couldn't get closer to his only son with a good ol' guys talk. Closing his eyes and letting a content smile spread to his face, he forgot the issue and let his body recover from the tiredness. He returned from a mission with his wife 2 days ago, and as he put it, he was 'beaten to the pulp' and wanted to rest for a week or so before going out again.
Seth did the same as his dad and relaxed on the couch. Sighing contently before opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling in thinking, there were too many things in his mind for him to relax completely.
'I'm the one that has to go to that dinner, not my parents, it's just me… I'll be safe if they don't know about it and I keep quiet… though, I'm worried… Natsu-san and dad never got along in between themselves… if… if I take things seriously with Nova… will they react good… or bad?'
Before he knew it, he was sound asleep in the couch.
Dragneel residence - Monday night
Day 20 Month 8 Year x812
"She's awfully cheerful."
"Uh-huh…"
"Yeah…"
Dumar, Ramud and Rob whispered to themselves as they saw their little sister coming and going from the bathroom to their parents' room with clothes that belonged to their mother in her hands. They saw her trying them on, posing a bit, smirking at her reflection on the mirror before blushing madly and later going to change for something else. They found it… weird, to say the least.
"What's up with her?"
"Don't know…"
"No clue…"
They exchanged glances and look back at Nova, the girl now trying on a purple dress with no shoulders, exposed back, a slit that showed one of her legs, and white long gloves that reached up to her elbows. They gave a collective gasp when they saw the resemblance with their mother when she was younger. Of course, when she's wearing her armor she also looks like Erza, but there was a different air in Nova; something that made her unique in her own way.
"Something's up…"
"Definitely…"
"But… what?"
They thought for a moment in their little spying space at the end of the corridor, not coming with any believable explanation for their sister's weird behavior. Though, they did notice the small similarities between this situation and how their older brother behaved when he was dating the woman that's now his wife. They shared another collective gasp.
"You don't believe…?"
"She's…?"
"Seeing someone…?"
They looked at each other and at their sister for several times, trying to sink the idea in their heads as hard as they could… but they then shook their heads in the end. It was impossible. Their little sister had high standards when it came to guys and they were sure she wasn't interested in anyone.
Add to that, that they scare off every possible suitor with their presences and powers, and you'll understand why it was totally impossible to think that there was a guy dating Nova.
"Unless…"
"She met someone from outside the guild…"
"Like Blain-nii…"
They narrowed their eyes. If it was like that, how come she didn't take more missions to be outside the guild? She spends most of her time talking with Mirajane, Layla, Irene and that Fullbuster bastard, Seth. She didn't have anyone from outside and they were completely sure she wasn't interested in someone from the guild.
"She's complicated…"
"Like mom…"
"I hate women…"
Sighing in defeat, they left to their rooms, leaving the matter for another time.
They had enough with Master Laxus having to scold them for pulling pranks around the city that day. Rob in special, since he was his apprentice he received an extra-electrifying scolding.
Besides, their sister was a truth-crusader, even if she was hiding something from them, they were sure she was going to come and confess without them having to do anything.
As always.
City of Magnolia - Saturday evening
Day 25 Month 8 Year x812
'Okay, relax, it's just a dinner. Nothing bad will happen… if they don't like it they can go and cry it to everyone, I'll not leave her.'
Seth encouraged himself inwardly with his feet moving on auto-pilot through the city, avoiding passer-byers and bystanders, and the occasional fan girl brigade. He left his house that same afternoon and strolled casually from one park to the other. Using the free time he had before the dreadful dinner to calm down and organize his thoughts.
If the dinner went well and they accepted him, he could rest assure and continue to be with the scarlet knight without having to worry about anything… but their parents. Oh, if their parents ever got to know about this… he didn't want to imagine it. The last time Natsu-san and his father saw each other, the guild became a whirlwind of flames and ice.
Yeah, they hated each other's guts that much.
'Whatever! First things first! Dinner with her brothers now, dinner with our parents later!'
"Seth!"
"Huh?"
Hearing a familiar voice calling for him, he stopped and turned around, seeing a light-blue haired girl running towards him. It was his sister, Iris. She was waving a hand and smiling cheerfully to him with Layla and Irene following her close behind, both girls stopping to catch their breaths after the marathon they ran just to not fall behind their energetic friend.
Iris was shorter than him, her head reached to his shoulders. She had long, straight light-blue hair and eyes. She was wearing a dark blue dress with a sword-shaped necklace hanging from her neck; their father gave it to her when she grew up.
Layla was much like her mother in every aspect, though, her hair was brown and she usually used glasses to hide her eyes' color. She usually dresses like a boy, a black shirt with white tie, white dress pants with shoulder straps, and black shoes. It was a million jewels question when one wondered who her father was, since no one from the kids ever saw him. But, their parents, the closest friends of her mother Lucy knew who he was… and keep quiet about it.
Irene was an exact copy of her aunt, Lisanna, with short hair and big eyes. Though, the resemblance ends there. She had green-colored hair and blue eyes. Always wearing a sleeveless pink dress with some details in a gold-like color here and there; like Iris, she works as a maid and only uses her magic when needed.
"Are you going to Nova's place?"
Her sister asked him with a small smile, not noticing him stiffen at the accurate question.
"Y-yeah, why?"
"Because she invited us too!"
"Weird, is she having a young mages' meeting or something?"
Irene and Layla informed him of this change of plans. He wasn't aware that besides her brothers, there were going to be more of their friends for the dinner. He would have to ask her about it later. Shrugging their confused looks and questions, he turned around and walked to his destination, it was time to head there and now that he wasn't going to be alone, things were looking better for him. For instance, if Nova's brothers tried anything after telling them about their relationship, their friends would intervene.
"B-brother! Wait for us!"
He had nothing to worry about.
"You think we'll stay the night?"
"Uhmm, probably..."
"I don't think so, and I don't want to. Nova's brothers are a bunch of perverts…"
And he continued down the road to the Dragneel residence, hearing the small chatter of her sister and the girls, not really bothering to give them his whole attention since he had more pressing matters at the moment troubling his mind.
They crossed the city and its habitants, walking for almost half an hour until they met with the outskirts, where the forest started and a paved road leading to a big house with two floors stood imposingly. Next to the street of the city, a mailbox of sorts stood with a flaming motif on top and a sword holding it in place like a piece of wood of a normal mailbox, and it read Dragneel in red letters. He wondered for a moment how it would look if… he blushed.
'T-t-t-t-this is not the time to think about that!'
Ignoring the girls' questions about his flustered face, he walked up the paved road and got closer to the door, raising a hand to knock…
"You're here!"
…he didn't even have to knock.
She was waiting for him.
To be continued.
A little idea that caught my attention and I will post in two parts.
For those knowledgeable, yes, it is a Next Gen fic. Again. I thought I'd drop them forever after "Dad's Friend" and "Ten Wizard Fiends".
Seems like I was wrong. But I can't complain, I really like this idea.
Okay, enjoy, the next chapter will be up when I have it ready.
Saludos.