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I do not own anything but my own storylines.

Enjoy this new story!

New Recruit

"Hey get back here, ya little runt!"

Romeo ran as fast as he could through the crowded streets of Hargeon. He was small so he could probably lose them through the bustling people.

But someone got a hold of his backpack…and grabbed his dark purple hair for extra measure which was absolutely unnecessary!

"Let go!"

"You little thief! You know the rules! Pay!"

The Rune Knights now surrounded young Romeo. One of them stepped up and announced, "Romeo Conbolt, you are hereby charged for stealing, vandalizing, and assaulting the Rune Knights."

Even in his position, Romeo scoffed, "Seriously? You're gonna charge a 13 year-old boy for that much? That's harsh. And it was a simple punch in the face, too."

The knight that was holding him hit him in the back of his head. "Shut up, kid. Don't forget you are facing justice here."

But Romeo smirked, "Don't forget," he copied, "you're holding me by the hands." The knight gave a confused look. Suddenly he let go with a painful scream. He looked at his hands which were smoking up. It had been burned.

All the Rune Knights were shocked and got into a battle position. At the center, Romeo was standing still with his hands by his side. His hands lit up with purple flames.

The knight that was burned stuttered, "T-the kid can use m-magic?" It was shocking a kid like him can use magic so effectively. He must've learned at a young age.

Romeo raised a fist with confidence. "What's wrong? You're supposed to be able to deal with 'trouble-making' mages like me."

Their leader commanded, "Subdue him!" They all charged in.

"Purple Net!" Romeo shot out multiple purple fire balls in all directions. They exploded taking the shape of nets, snaring the front line of attackers. Water and wind mages came forth with their spells making rain and gusts of wind, but little was done. Only a few fire snares were put out but not all.

"You should know that doesn't work," Romeo shook his head. "Purple Flare is a type of Fire Magic that can't be put out by wind or water easily." Another magic seal appeared, "Now this is rain. Purple Rain!" Another bigger fireball was shot in the air and exploded creating little raining fireballs coming down hard the knights.

Romeo took the opportunity to make his escape. He casted a spell making purple sticky flames shaped as a rope onto the top of a building and pulled himself up.

But halfway up, he was pulled back down somehow. "Crap!"

Romeo still fought, even though he was far outnumbered now since they apparently called in reinforcements. They were about to put on magic resistant hand-cuffs when another wave of fire hit upon them. This fire was normal looking, red-orange of full of burning heat.

The next thing Romeo knew when he opened his eyes was that he was kneeling on the ground, away from the Rune Knights. He looked around and saw they all had their shields up, protecting themselves from a sudden fire. That was when he noticed. Someone had rescued him, and that person was on fire!

The young man was older, probably 18. The fire died down around his body, but his hands were still lit up. With the flames dying down, there were a couple distinguishing features about him. One, he wore a scaly white scarf. Two, he had freakin' pink hair! Romeo thought there was something familiar about him.

"So," the man said, "any of you people wanna tell me why you were beating on this kid?"

The leader knight stepped up confidently, "This is none of your business, sir. We are taking care of justice at the moment."

"And beating a kid is called justice?" His voice but calm, but the flames on his fists burst a little higher showing otherwise.

An angry merchant pushed his way through the crowd and pointed an accusing finger on Romeo. "He stole my goods without paying and even vandalized my shop and assaulted a Rune Knight!"

Romeo now stood up and glared at the merchant, talking in a sarcastic tone. "Yeah, because it's vandalism when you accidently knock down a stand and assaulting when it was a simple punch of defense."

"Shut up, you cocky punk! And who are you to talk, pinky?!"

The pink-haired man's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Are people seriously colored blind? It's salmon! And the names' Natsu Dragneel, and I don't like it when someone goes around beating on others that are lesser than them or at no fault. I don't care if you're an official or if he's a criminal."

Natsu's mood quickly changed from raging anger to calm. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, his flaming fists dying down completely. "But is that it? Geez, you people sure overreact." He turned to Romeo with a stern, but soft look. "You don't look like a bad kid." Romeo thought it was weird how he suddenly took a few loud sniffs. "Food and jewelry, huh?"

"How did you know?" Romeo asked, giving Natsu a weird look.

He grinned, "I have a good nose." He told the merchant, "I'll pay for the charges. Shows over, people! Get back to whatever you're doing."

The merchant grudgingly agreed and walked off grumbling under his breath how this whole situation put his business in bad light.

The Rune Leader was much more accepting. He gave some information about Romeo to Natsu, his voice lowering. "His name is Romeo Conbolt. He's in a bad situation right now. He's an orphan but refuses to stay in the orphanage. I was hoping to use this opportunity to reason with him." He slightly grinned at Natsu, "The kid's lucky you came just in time. Salamander."

"No way!" Romeo exclaimed looking at his savior, already forgetting his previous bad predicament. "You're the Salamander! The famous pirate of the Fairy Tail ship! No wonder I thought there was something familiar about you!" His eyes were gleaming with joy and admiration. Salamander was the reason why he took on magic training and used fire magic, so he can be like his idol.

The leader walked away with his knights, giving them some privacy to talk. "Take care of him, Salamander."

"Thanks for helping me out," Romeo said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I was taking care of them perfectly fine before you came."

Natsu chuckled, "Sure, Romeo." He playfully ruffled his hair. They just met and yet they act like they've known each other forever. Natsu quickly grew fond of Romeo, and Romeo seemed to be looking up to him. "I heard you're an orphan."

"...Yeah."

"How come you refuse to live in the orphanage?" Romeo became quieted from the sudden question. He pondered on answering, but felt like he can trust his role model. "I don't wanna to look like I have to depend on others. I want to be able to take care of myself."

Natsu looked down at Romeo. He can understand, since he was an orphan himself.

Romeo asked, "Why did you save me, anyway? A lowly kid like me who steals for a living."

Natsu just grinned widely, "Several reasons. I'm actually an orphan myself, so I can connect. Also, I like your attitude, kid, still high in spirit even when you're in no place to be. And I was around the area when I smelled fire magic. Let's say I got a thing for fire and I was impressed with your skills, considering you're only 13. Purple Flare, right?"

Romeo nodded, also coping Natsu's big grin. "I also use Rainbow Fire I learned from a teacher until he had to move. Purple Flare was a magic my dad taught me." His grin quickly fell as his hair casted a shadow over his eyes.

Natsu could tell he was remembering something painful and brought up another subject. "Hey, you don't really have a permanent place, do you?" Romeo shook his head. "Alright! I've decided!" Romeo gave him a confused look. "I'll be your new guardian!"

"What, like adoption?"

"Psh, that makes me sound old. I'm only 18, not a father. No, more like, your older brother. How does that sound?"

The smile on Romeo's face just got bigger. And tears were making their way to his eyes but he pushed them back. He'd been alone for 7 years, and now here's the person he had always looked up to who's offering to be with him. "That sounds like it'll be the best thing ever!"

What a big day. First he got rescued by the famous Salamander, and then got asked to join him and his crew. Now you might think it's a bit weird to automatically join up with a stranger, but throughout the whole day, Romeo and Natsu got to know each other better, and they became pretty much like real brothers.

Romeo approached the Hargeon Port, with a backpack full of stuff he needs, where Natsu told him to meet up with him. He looked around and finally spotted Natsu by his ship, waving at him over.

"Ready for your new adventure, Romeo?" Natsu led Romeo up onto his big ship where the rest of the crew members were already waiting. "Welcome to your new pirate life."

...

...

It finally occurred to Romeo. He blinked at the sudden realization, "Wait...you're pirates...and the Rune Knights didn't arrest you?"

Natsu didn't look offended, neither did the other pirates. They actually laughed it off. "Fairy Tail doesn't exactly fit the typical description of pirates," Natsu said. "I've been taught to not steal as a kid. And I definitely don't kill people, even if they're enemies. But that doesn't mean we're walking saints either." There was a sly glint in his eyes.

Romeo didn't know whether to be scared or excited. So he settled with being anxious, but in a good way (if that makes any sense).

Young Romeo Conbolt stepped foot onto the Fairy Tail Ship, his new home, his new life.

(A/N)- Not many stories have Romeo as a main character (and neither does the actual Fairy Tail series for that matter) so I decided to take it into my own hands.

Hope you enjoyed it so far! Please review!