Hey guys!

Ok, so this is my first fanfic on anything...ever

I actually got this idea when I was scratching my dog the other day and I decided to put it on paper. Well that was the original idea and its kind of morphed into what it is now.

This is the first chapter of a planned many, I already have an idea of where I want the second chapter to go.

This story takes place in around the time after the Edolas arc, except for the fact that I've added a character of my own plus included the characters that weren't originally there i.e. Laxus and the Thunder Legion. Yes, it is rated M. It just makes it much easier to write about anything and not get punished for it. ;)

So I guess that's all you need to know..

Enjoy!

OH WAIT... Almost forgot

I do not own Fairy Tail or have any rights to the characters, even though I wish I did sometimes...

I DO HOWEVER OWN ANAYA- aka no stealing

Now without further ado, you may enjoy the wonder that is my attempt at writing C:


WOW its been a long time. Alright so this is an updated chapter. I reread the old one and decided it need some changes.

I'd like to thank dreamsandfaith and KawaiiPotatoPoop for reviewing the original chapter. It really helps to hear from you all.


Chapter 1- The Girl in the Hood

Watching her eyes, it gave off the impression that she was hollow. Almost like the lights were on but no one was at the wheel. Almost like she was dead.


The guild was oddly quiet at this time of day. Usually they would be throwing tables, picking fights and laughing their asses off. In the famous Fairy Tail style of course. But at precisely 10:00 am there was not a peep from the boisterous guild hall that rested in the center of Magnolia Square.

This is what Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit mage in Fairy Tail, thought as she walked down the cobblestones through town. The girl had decided that a little shopping was in order. She had wanted to have a little personal day for a while now, and with their new reward money she could do just that. She also needed more food for dinner tonight knowing that a certain pink haired mage would be coming along. Their last mission was a success thanks to the blonde mage's outstandingly clever threats to her two overly energetic companions. They had actually managed to only lose 20,000 J out of their 150,000 J reward, due to a certain someone deciding to burn a hole in their client's roof.

Lucy sighed at the memory and ran a hand through her long blonde hair. Their client had been hearing some awful noises in their basement and had asked them to check it out. For the reward money the job seemed too easy.

Turns out, a bandit had been using the client's basement, along with about a dozen others, to sneak around town without being seen. They had gone after all kinds of shops in their rampage, looting, brandishing and terrorizing any and all they came across. A certain dragon slayer was not excused from their childish minds. After a stinging remark to said fire breather's hair, the bandits were sent in a burning fireball straight up through the roof. Lucy had threatened to punish the boy severely after the incident, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Even with his reckless attitude he still managed to get the job done.

So now here she was, bags of meats, fruits, and vegetables filled her arms as she made her way back home. Maybe later she'd do some shopping for herself with the extra cash she had after paying her rent.

The blonde stopped within a few blocks of her home. She stood in front of a bright store window her eyes wide with wonder. Inside the display case stood a small blue dress. The top was a soft black that ruffled and dipped downwards, accentuating the chest area. The bottom of the dress was made up of a very fine blue fabric. It flowed out from the black top and was layered just enough that it wasn't see through, but didn't look heavy. The dress was strapless and as a finishing touch black lace covered the upper part of the dress just under the chest area. It was beautiful and cute at the same time. She had to have it.

Clutching her bags to her chest, Lucy dashed into the store and ran right up to the cashier. "How much is that dress?!" She practically yelled at the small woman behind the counter, pointing to the display case. The woman took several seconds to reply at the blonde's slight overreaction.

Maybe those two were wearing off on her, she thought with a silent laugh.

The dress turned out to be 60,000 J. That was just under what she had left from the last mission and was planning to save it for next month's rent. She really needed to save up so she could just do little jobs around on her own. That way she could gain some more experience.

Oh, screw rent. If she needed to she could always just go on another mission with Natsu. It would give her the same end result anyways.

She happily handed over the money and picked up her bags, heading down the last few blocks toward her small apartment. She could put everything away, maybe have a little time for a bit of writing, then head over to the guild.

She smiled to herself as she unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside. She took off her shoes and looked around her living room, searching for a sign of pink hair or charred furniture. Spotting nothing out of the ordinary, she made her way into the kitchen and placed her bags on the table. She needed to put everything away before it went bad, or before someone came and ate it all.

She placed the last of her items into the cupboard then skipped back over to her table and grabbed the remaining pink bag. She could try it on now to see how it looks before getting on with her day. With that thought in mind, she clutched the bag in her hand and dashed out into her living room. She had a mirror near her closet so she should probably try in on there, then she could just put it away afterwords. But she never made it that far.

"YO LUCE!"

The blonde stopped mid-step at the sight of her pink-haired teammate. Just one day. Why couldn't she have just one day where no one barged into her place at every hour.

"NATSU! This is my house! Go home!" Lucy fumed at the dragon slayer. He always had a way to push her buttons at the weirdest times. She folded her arms underneath her chest and sent a glare the boy's way, the frilly pick bag still clutched in her hand. Maybe she should just throw something at him. Maybe something heavy.

"Aw, come on Luce! No need to get all mad. I was just coming to get'cha cause you were late to the guild. That's all!" Natsu sat down on the girl's bed, crossing his legs underneath him. He always made himself very comfortable here even though this was still her house.

Lucy swore she could feel a vein pop in her forehead, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to sleep in today? I mean we just got back from a mission and I wanted a bit of time to myself for once."

Natsu seemed unfazed by her words, if he was even listening at all. "What do ya mean? You always have time to yourself at the guild. And besides, the old man has some news today!"

Lucy was about to try to explain to the dragon slayer that listening to screaming, laughing, and dodging flying objects that was typically normal for the people she called friends, wasn't exactly having time to yourself. But she stopped herself hearing his last statement, "News? What news does the master have? Is it something important?"

Natsu shook his head, "I don't know. He said he wouldn't tell us until everyone was at the guild. So I came here! Levy and Lily went to go get Lug Nuts, and Gray and Erza offered to gather the rest. You guys were the only ones we were missin'."

Lucy guessed it must be important if the master wanted everyone there. She looked down at the bag in her hands and let out a sigh, guess she'd have to try it on later. "Alright Natsu, I'm coming. Just give me a sec."

Natsu let out a grumble and flopped down onto her fluffy cushions. He could be so impatient sometimes, she mused.

She placed the little bag on the ground as she reached her closet and pulled open the doors, the already overpacked wardrobe starring her back in the face. It'd be difficult to find a place where the dress wouldn't get wrinkled. That's it. I'm cleaning out my closet once I get back.

Lucy muttered to herself as she rifled through the shirts, pants and dresses, pushing those she didn't use that often aside. Feeling confident that she had a big enough space, she turned back towards the little pink bag and pulled out her prize. It would be hard to say that Lucy didn't notice the boy's eyes watching her as she worked. The way his eyes widened at the sight of the little garment and the faint blush that worked up his cheeks. His reaction to her holding a piece of clothing both confused her to no end, and made her heart flutter in her chest in a way she hadn't felt before.

Why I am reacting like this? She shook her head as she placed the dress over one of the hangers. Better question was, why was HE reacting like this? It was just a dress. Albeit a very skimpy and revealing dress, but that never seemed to trigger this reaction in him before. She let out a breath and willed herself to calm down. It wasn't the time for these type of thoughts, the guild was waiting for them.

She grabbed her jacket and her keys, closing the closet door and turning back to the dragon slayer who was currently awkwardly playing with one of her pillows. "Okay, Natsu, I'm ready."

The fire breather jumped up from his position on her bed, "Alright! Wait 'till I tell ice pick! He bet I couldn't get you back to the guild faster than he and Erza!" He looked relieved as pumped his fists in victory. She couldn't help but wonder what was going though his mind. That thought quickly vanished as he pried her window open and leapt out into the early afternoon air.

"WHY CAN'T YOU AT LEAST USE THE DOOR?"


Lucy and Natsu entered the guild hall with the famous Salamander flair. She couldn't help but cringe inwardly as the tables nearest turned to glare at them. Other than that her guild mates seemed lost in their own conversations. Lucy couldn't help the feeling that they were as curious about what the master had to say as she was.

Natsu lead Lucy over to a table close to the bar with Levy, Wendy, Carla, Happy, and surprisingly Gajeel and Lily. Lucy took a seat next to her blue haired friend, whose nose was already stuck in a book. Gajeel and Lily sat on the bluenette's other side. Natsu took a seat across from her next to Wendy and started talking with Happy.

A quiet hum had settled over the guild hall. It was rather odd to see everyone so quiet and controlled. She decided they looked much better yelling and laughing and throwing things.

Gray and Erza came in not long after them and quietly sat down, Erza on Lucy's other side and Gray across from Gajeel. No one spoke other than the hushed noise that seemed to penetrate Lucy to the very core.

"Do you guys know what this is about?" She asked the table quietly hoping to at least break into the silence.

Before any of them could answer a voice called to them from the balcony above. "If I could have your attention my children."

Lucy turned in her seat to find the master perched on the railing of the second floor. A person stood next to him. They wore a black hood that covered most of their face and black sleeves that ran the majority of their arms. It looked to be a girl, probably not much older than herself and Natsu. She wore a ripped up shirt that came up short exposing most of her belly and baggy pants that hung low on her hips. She had a small brown bag attached to her belt that probably could only hold a couple of Lucy's keys at most.

The master continued after everyone had quieted down, "This may seem very strange to all of you. I have asked you to come here under the notion that I have news." He paused, waiting for the slight murmuring that had broken out to quiet down.

He gestured to the girl standing beside him, "This is Anaya Divine. I met her outside of town a few days ago. She will be our newest member so treat her well." The master turned back towards the girl and gestured for her to come forward.

The girl, or Anaya now, reached up to her hood and slowly pulled it down. The first thing Lucy noticed was her hair. It was a deep shade of orange, almost a mix of Erza and Loke and ended just below her shoulders. She wore a band across her head that covered her left eye and part of her hair covered that side of her face. Her other eye was a bright blue mixed with what looked like something else at the center but Lucy couldn't really tell from the distance.

Anaya smiled and made a fist with one hand, gently placing it into the palm of her other. She bent her head slightly in a bow before she straightened and looked back out towards the guild. Lucy thought she had spotted the flash of something on her back but decided to take no notice of it.

Lowering her hands, she spoke, "It is very nice to meet you all. I wish to help as much as I can." Her voice was strong and steady as she addressed the people below her. Much like Erza's, but Lucy felt that it had a more calming effect than the red head's.

Murmuring broke out among the mages. Confusion and question laced in their voices as they spoke. This was what the master wanted to tell them?

Ezra was the first one to stand and face the new comer. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!" She cheered

With the approval from the fierce warrior, the guild erupted into cries of welcome for the new member. Lucy cheered right along with the rest of her guild. The ominous feeling of the guilds hesitance at accepting the girl pricked the back of her mind.

Natsu and Gray, finally being released from their bond of solitude, immediately started a yelling match of who could cheer the loudest. Not wanting to be caught in the middle of yet another all-out brawl, she excused herself from the table and made her way to her usual spot at the bar.

Mira stood behind the wooden counter, polishing glasses with a white, worn-out rag. She looked up as Lucy approached and gave her a gentle smile. Lucy always had admired the older mage for her looks and constant fame in Sorcerer Magazine. But she now always seemed to think of the way that the girl was like a mother to everyone in the guild, be it old or young. She could fix almost any problem with her bright smile and soft words. Lucy hoped she could be like that one day, if not at least a little like that.

"Hello Lucy, can I get you anything?" The white haired barmaid asked, coming over to stand in front of her most prominent customer, smiling cheerfully.

Lucy offered a smile in return and took a seat on one of the stools, propping her elbows up on the counter. "Just the usual please, Mira."

Mira disappeared for a minute then returned with a glass. The glass was filled with a peach colored liquid with a tiny umbrella and a straw sticking out on the top. She set the glass down in front of Lucy then continued her earlier chores.

Lucy sipped at her drink happily, seeing as it was her favorite. It was much like a smoothie except only a little ice instead of ice cream. It reminded her of the peach ice cream she used to make with the servants back at home, but with a little bit of tang from the alcohol.

"What do you think of the new member?" Lucy looked up at the barmaids sudden question.

"I'm not quite sure." She replied after a few seconds. "She seems very nice but I'm not quite sure why she wears the hood. To be honest it worries me a little bit."

Mira put down her glass to stare at her blonde haired friend, "How so?"

"I was actually wondering about that as well."

Lucy turned to the new voice to find Erza had taken a seat next to her. Erza usually had her knowledge of this kind of thing, especially when it came to new members. She was known to have her guard up until she got to know the person, but then again she always had her guard up in Lucy's opinion. The red head was looking at her expectantly so Lucy decided to voice her worries.

"Well, maybe there are people after her, so she has to hide her face from view. Or maybe she's some sort of assassin that works for the magic counsel, or maybe…" Lucy couldn't seem to stop her mouth from moving. She named reason after reason growing more elaborate with each one. The other two listened on with amused interest at the blonde's rant but neither bothered to stop her.

Erza finally decided to cut in after what seemed like the 50th tale Lucy had come up with. "I do agree that the hood has some worries with it, but she probably doesn't wear it for any of those reasons." The red head stated with a slight laugh.

Lucy huffed at her teammate's quite blatant objection to her creativity, "You never know. I could be right on this one." A quiet laugh behind the blonde made all three women turn around.

Standing a few feet away from them was Anaya, a very amused expression stretched across her face. "You know, if you were that curious you could've just asked." She stated walking over to a stool next to Lucy and taking a seat.

Now that Lucy could see her close up she could make out a few defined features. She had a small face and a somewhat rounded jaw that made her look younger than she was. Her eyes, or the one eye that wasn't covered, was a deep blue that changed to grey at the center. She was built much like a man in Lucy's opinion with some feminine features. She was very tall, probably a little taller than Evergreen and had broad shoulders like Natsu or Grey. Her chest was fairly moderate, probably right in between Levy and herself. She had only slight curves that pronounced her hips and waist line. Lucy noted she was actually very pretty. But the two things that stood out about the girl were the silver hand she sported under her sleeve on her left arm, and the long scar that ran up the inside of her torso. Also on her left side.

Lucy also noticed she had two swords attached to her back, one of them had a deep red handle. She wasn't quite sure what they were for but figured she wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of either of them.

While Lucy was lost in her inspection of the new girl, Erza asked her what they had all been wondering "So, why is it you wear that hood?"

Anaya spun on her stool so that she was facing the three of them. "You actually guessed part of it," she began. "I used to be a… I figure you could call it an 'assassin', for my old village." She used her figures to emphasize the word assassin. "We were always being attacked from outsiders for our herbs that we grew in the center of the village. So the elders decided to send out hunters to hide in the trees during the night, in case anyone came by. We were usually meant to just scare the intruders off, but sometimes they were killed on accident."

Ezra narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean they were 'killed on accident'?"

Anaya paused to pull out what looked like a sharp rock from her pocket. She held it up so the rest of them could see. Lucy held out her hand asking if she could hold it. The girl obliged and placed it in her palm.

The rock was very small and could fit easily in the center of her palm. Lucy twisted the rock in her hands and noticed that it was also very thin. A shape like this would definitely make it pretty easy to throw.

"We used those as a type of replacement for throwing knives, and we would throw them out into the trees. We usually tried to hit a trunk or a few branches to give the impression that they were being watched. But we never were very good with them and more would hit the intruders than we would like. So yes, they were killed on accident" Lucy held out the small stone. Anaya took it and placed it into a pocket attacked to her pants.

"You haven't said anything about the hoods yet," Happy piped in. Lucy looked over at the small feline, she hadn't noticed him come over. He must've been sitting there for a while to know what they were talking about.

"Don't be rude!" Lucy snipped at the blue fur ball. Him and Natsu seemed more and more alike each time she talked to them.

"It's alright Lucy, I was getting to that." Anaya gave her a reassuring smile and flicked her gaze over at Happy. "So, we weren't very good at hiding, or at least pretended we weren't. That meant when intruders came by most of us were seen right off the bat. It made it easier to scare them off and away from the village, but then we had the problem of them remembering our faces. So the people that had to go out at night started using hoods."

She smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head with a hand, "I guess I'm just so used to having to use it that I don't really think about taking it off."

Lucy smiled at the girl's story and watched her talk with the other two girls. She most definitely wasn't going to be a threat. There wasn't any aura about her that would tell them she had other motives with telling them her stories. Lucy got the feeling that she could be trusted, but maybe not just yet.

"Anaya, I was wondering about something." Lucy spoke up to the new girl with a different question in mind.

The girl turned around towards Lucy and tilted her head slightly, "What's on your mind? And please call me Aya, Anaya sounds way to formal." She smiled at the end of her sentence showing most of her teeth.

Lucy got the sudden feeling that Anaya seemed a lot like Natsu. Or maybe it was just the grin. She shook her head to clear the thought and turned back to her, "How did you know what we were talking about just now?"

"Oh that! I almost forgot." Aya exclaimed chuckling to herself, "Makarov sent me over to get my guild mark and I caught the end of your conversation. I guess I got a little side tracked. That happens a lot." She turned towards Mira who already had the guild stamp in hand.

"Where would you like it?" The white haired barmaid asked, setting down the stamp on the counter in front of her.

Aya thought for a minute then pulled down her shirt, exposing the right side of her neck and the top of her collar bone, "How about here?"

Mira leaned forward and placed the stamp on the indicated location, "Any color preference?"

"Silver please"

After a couple seconds and a soft pop, Mira removed the stamp and placed it back under the counter. Where the marker used to be, was now a silver logo of Fairy Tail that covered her right collar bone and part of the skin below and above.

Erza gave the girl her congratulations and Lucy cheered quietly, declaring Aya an official member of Fairy Tail. They now had a new companion to share secrets, missions and laughter with. Lucy smiled and turned back to her drink, it turned out to be a pretty good day.

As she sipped she noticed that Happy was still sitting next to her on the counter. The little feline seemed shaken about something. His fur stood on end and his eyes were wide little orbs. To Lucy, it looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Hey Happy, are you alright?" She asked quietly hoping not to disturb the other's conversation.

The little blue feline started slightly, whipping his head around to stare at her. He blinked a few times and shook his head. "She scares me Lushie."

Lucy blinked in shock, "She scares you? How?" She couldn't see how the new member could be scary. Especially to the extent that he seemed to be.

Happy hopped down from the counter and landed in Lucy's lap. He curled his paws against his chest and pressed himself into her stomach. "In her eyes. They looked… they looked like nothing." He took a pause, like he was trying to think of the right words, "…Like there was nothing inside."

Lucy felt an uneasiness overtake her at the statement. "Like nothing"? She had never heard of someone looking like that, nor seen anyone that looked the part. Deciding to take a chance she quickly glanced over at Aya. And indeed what she saw made her entire body stiffen. Watching her eyes, it gave off the impression that she was hollow. Almost like the lights were on but no one was at the wheel. Almost like she was dead.

She plastered on a smile and reassured him that there really wouldn't be anything to worry about, telling him to go see if he could find Natsu and Wendy. The prospect of not seeing the two dragons, but the other exceed made his spirits brighten. He quickly said his goodbyes and flew off. Leaving Lucy to mull over what she had just witnessed. The feeling of despair that crawled along her skin just wouldn't go away. The look in her eyes felt so familiar. Lucy covered her mouth with her hand feeling bile build up in her throat. She had to stop thinking about this.

Just then a large hand plopped down on her shoulder, causing her to whip around. The toothy smile and messy mop of salmon hair that greeted her soon morphed into something else.

"Luce? You okay?"

Lucy shook her head, quickly trying to clear her thoughts. She looked up into his face and felt her body loosen. The unpleasant feelings that had build up unraveling themselves until she felt she was back in control.

She nodded and smiled softly at the dragon slayer, "Yea Natsu, I'm fine. I'm gonna go find Levy."

She said her goodbyes to the other girls and quickly hopped off the stool. Just walking away from the bar made her feel like a weight was being lifted off her chest. She spotted the script mage almost immediately and bounded over, ready to begin another whole afternoon of yelling and drinking.

For the rest of Fairy Tail, they continued on their merriment. Singing, shouting, fighting and partying the day away. All unaware what they had just gotten themselves into.