Fairy Tail Fanfic

The Dragon's Key

Chapter 1: Meddlers

By I-Darkness

The girl in the tree sighed in frustration. She knew her nii-chanwas dense, but seriously, it was getting ridiculous even for her. Earlier that week her nii-chan was asked out by his childhood friend, and like a baka, he agreed, leaving the girl who loved him completely and utterly heartbroken. In order to fix the wrong, the sibling took it upon herself to talk to the poor girl and see if there was anything she could do, short of beating her nii-chan to a bloody pulp. Intent to follow through her plan, she was now seated in the tree, waiting for the miserable stellar mage.

It was not long before her small nose twitched. She smelt them even before she heard them. Thankful for the wind blowing in the right direction, she cast a spell that would mask her smell, knowing her target's companion had a nose as sharp as hers. They soon came into view walking across the bridge that led to their Guild.

She kept an eye on the two mages who had almost reached the foot of the young girl's tree. One a blonde busty stellar mage trying to keep her composure while the pink-haired Dragon Slayer tried to convince her to go on another mission with him.

The mysterious girl tensed as she felt a third being rapidly approaching, but slowly relaxed when she recognised her partner's consciousness.

'Aki.'

Aki, the female Fire Dragon Slayer, turned her head slightly, extending her spell so it'd cover her friend.

"Is he still at it?" A mass of orange and brown fur came to settle on the branch next to her. Tora, a tiger-striped Exceed, was Aki's long time partner and friend. She wore only a thin strip of fabric over her chest and blue pants held up by a brown belt and had a blue bow attached to her ear.

"Yes. He's been really persistent. I'm surprised he didn't ask his new girlfriend to go with him." Aki crossed her arms over her chest, her delicate brow knitted together to form a slight frown. Her onyx eyes narrowing at the potential couple now standing in front of a modest house, her mouth contorting into a scowl. Her appearance simply screamed small and delicate, she was anything but. Younger sister to Natsu Dragneel, she is rumoured to be on par with her precious older brother. Due to circumstances of her past, she not only knows Dragon Slayer magic but a handful of other magic that she competently uses.

"Of course he's persistent. If only he'd realise, it'd make everything easier!" Tora sat on her haunches, exasperation written across her face.

"Tché, but where's the fun in that?" Aki replied, amusement in her voice. She glanced at the Exceed, who had her cheeks puffed up and a frown on her face.

The couple down below had moved closer to the blonde's home, the pink haired mage still trying to convince his partner to go on a mission.

Due to Aki's keen hearing, she didn't miss a word that was said down below.

"Nee! Lucy, please! We're a team!" the pink-haired mage begged. He was wearing his usual scaled scarf, closed-one sleeve top and white pants.

"Natsu! Leave me alone! I already went on a mission with you yesterday!" Lucy Heartfillia, former heiress to the Heartfillia fortune, impatiently retorted back. Lucy had an overflowing amount of natural grace and beauty, and has proved her magical talent and intelligence several times over. However, for all her redeeming features, the poor girl was oblivious when it came to love. Specifically, loving a certain hyperactive, destructive Dragon Slayer, and this made a certain little sister want to hit her head against the nearest tree.

"I'm surrounded by stubborn and oblivious mules." Aki supported her head with her hand, propped up on her leg. She was still perched in her tree, waiting for her beloved nii-chan to leave.

"At least they aren't dragons, because from what you told me, it might have been more troublesome." Tora had jumped from her branch to Aki's, now sitting between her best friend's legs. Aki absentmindedly stroked Tora's head, careful not to knock off the Exceed's favourite bow off her head.

"Nii-chan can be compared to a dragon, he's almost as bad as I am."

Tora made a face. Knowing all too well how stubborn her partner could become.

Down below, Natsu had finally given up on trying to convince his friend to spend time with him. So in a wave of farewell, he turned and rushed back to the Guild. Hoping that someone there might prove to be a sufficient distraction to his current boredom.

Once he was out of sight, Aki and Tora both jumped from the tree, the blonde mage already gone inside. Tora had long ago lost her Aera magic, a magic known to all Exceed that allowed them to fly. Instead she had learned to jump high and run at incredible speeds, courtesy of her friend.

"Well," Aki rubbed her hands together, face full of mischief. "Time for our little plan."

Tora sweat dropped, and followed the meddling girl to the unsuspecting Celestial mage's house.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Lucy-nee!"

The door opened a crack, and convinced it was not Natsu trying to trick her, she opened the door fully to let the two meddlers friends inside.

Aki had come to love Lucy's small apartment, with its homey feel and it's nice smell, she was not surprised her nii-chan came in almost everyday. Her favourite spot was the soft bed next to the window, covered in the pink quilt. Whenever she came over she always sat or sprawled across the soft bedspread, almost like a cat.

Lucy giggled; she became fond of the young Dragon Slayer soon after she met her. Her personality was almost opposite to Natsu's, being soft and delicate compared to the wild and crazy.

"Nee-chan, daijoubu?"

The question had caught Lucy off-guard, she hadn't realised she had made her young friend worry.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because as much as I love my nii-chan, he's still a baka, that's why."

Only two people were aware of Lucy's feelings towards Natsu, Levy McGarden and Aki Dragneel.

"Oh. I'm fine." Lucy lied. Her eyes were barren and she had bags under them. It was not too noticeable, but with the perceptive eye of a Dragon Slayer, it was blaringly obvious. Good thing Natsu was perceptively blind. "Did you want to stay for lunch, Aki? Tora?"

Aki smiled a toothy grin dipping her head, while Tora just said, "Gomen, but Pantherlily has asked me out to lunch."

This bought out a genuine smile from the stellar mage. Everybody in the Guild knew of Pantherlily's infatuation with the orange Exceed. With a few pushes from most females in the guild, the unusually shy cat had finally found the courage to ask Tora out for a date, albeit a lunch date. Both Gajeel and Aki were conveniently absent during the event, thanks to a meddling demon.

"Well, don't let us keep you. Have fun at your date!" Lucy said, smiling, pushing the Exceed closer to the door.

"Its just lunch." Tora shrugged it off. But deep down the cat was excited, and ever since her love interest had asked her out, she felt completely different. She's been fretting about things she normally didn't care about. Should she wear something different, did her bow look all right, should she do something in return, etc. All Aki did was pout and sulk, although she indirectly gave her best friend advice by saying she looked beautiful no matter what.

Once Tora left, Lucy leant against the door. "Maybe I should just go on vacation."

Aki was torn between snapping her head towards her friend or following her nose in the opposite direction. 'Wha-? Nee-chan wants to- Eh, *sniff*, what's that smell?'

"Why would you want to go on vacation?" She had wandered into the kitchen, following her nose. She could smell something, something delicious.

The blonde came over and tousled the young Dragneel's dark pink hair, while reaching in one of the cupboards and pulled out something covered with a tea towel. But even with the cover, Aki's nose knew what it was, and it has never been wrong.

Lucy pulled the cover off and Aki jumped excitedly.

"Apple pie! Lucy, I love you!"

The stellar mage laughed and pulled out a knife from one of the drawers. She started cutting and instructed the younger girl to pull out two plates.

"I knew you'd be coming, you always seem to turn up every time I make this."

"Because nee-chan always makes the best apple pie!"

Once they both sat down with a slice of the warm pie in front of them, Aki finally got her attention back to the matter at hand.

"You were saying about a vacation?" Trying to hide her sadness as best she could, she forced her favourite pie down.

Lucy sighed and thoughtfully started cutting her pie with her spoon. "I just want to get away from everything, and certain people."

"But that's not really going to solve anything."

"I just need time to think and not be pestered by… everyday."

The young mage noted how her friend specifically left out her nii-chan's name. She could not help but agree with her favourite nee-chan's way of thinking, even if the approach was considered to be running away. Remembering what she was taught in relation to human emotions, Aki tried to think of any other approaches.

'What nee-chan needs is…mmh.'

"Then what would you do during this vacation of yours?"

Lucy paused before lifting her laden spoon to her mouth. Between mouthfuls she said, "Well, I'd be training, of course. And maybe do some kind of work related to magic, join up with another guild for a bit maybe? I want to experience new things, I want to explore… and do things I don't normally do."

'Wait! That's it! I remember a method involving training...'

Finished with her slice, Aki promptly served herself with another piece, keeping her face straight. Munching on her pie, she said, careful not to spray food everywhere, "It'd be an interesting experience. But would you be all right by yourself? I mean training alone can be… lonely and boring." 'For this to work I need to…'

Lucy laughed, falling for the fake longing in her young friend's voice.

"I guess I could bring a companion with me." Aki's eyes lit up. "But you know, it means going away from your brother."

"It's fine! I'm still waiting for materials for the house; apparently the material I want won't come in for another 2 months. Not only that, but I could use a break."

It was not common knowledge among people at the guild, but Lucy was all too aware that Aki had 'accidently' burned down Natsu's house a while ago. Natsu, furious and exhausted, had asked Lucy's help in taking care of his sister and sheltering both of them until he had found some alternative housing. Aki had proposed, with difficulty, to build her nii-chan a new house from scratch, letting only Lucy in on the offer. Devoid of an alternative, Natsu had agreed and been pleasantly surprised at the progress and look of his new house. He has not allowed anyone near the site, with the exception of Happy, insisting that he wanted to keep it all a surprise until it was all completed. Why he was keeping it a surprise was a mystery even for Aki. Her brother was all too aware of her secret ability and had learned to defend himself from it, much to her dismay. 'Damn him reading that book!'

"Well, if you really want to I could bring you along with me. We'll have to let Levy-chan know as well as Master."

"Eh? And not Mira-oni?" Mirajane had pretty much become the young Dragneel's rival, ever since she staged the whole Pantherlily/Tora episode. They both could not help but glare at each other every time their eyes met. Both had different plans for every potential couple in the guild. An unspoken rule materialized that stated the opponent (in this case Mira or Aki) may not be involved in any part of the set up, unless consent was granted.

"Iie, she might spill the beans and I don't really want it to become common knowledge until we're far away."

Once the apple pie had disappeared, they both sat back drinking some juice Lucy bought to the table. Aki glanced at the clock.

"When did you want to leave?" She had a feeling the blonde mage wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"How about we go to the guild now and meet up at the train station tomorrow morning?"

Aki bobbed her head and jumped up, rushing to the door, jumping from one foot to the other while waiting for her friend, excited at the prospect of seeing her friends again. "Hurry up, nee-chan, you're so slow!"

"Jeez, you guys are too alike for your own good! And I'm not too slow, you're just too fast!" Grabbing her keys and her Fleuve D'Étoiles, she attached both to her belt and followed her grinning friend through the door. 'At least, she doesn't leave through the window like her brother.'