Hey guys! This is my first story for the Fairy Tail fandom, so constructive criticism is always appreciated. I've been working on this character for a while, and I want to make her as complex and interesting as possible. Also, if you have any Fairy Tail OCs, I'd love to meet them and try and work them into the story. It should be pretty obvious where Nat's from after reading this chapter, and what one of the major arcs of this story is going to be; while I will follow the canon, I want Nat to have her own unique adventures too. That's where your OCs come in! All I need to know is their name, their guild, their appearance, their magic, and...You know what? I'll just put a form on my profile. If you want to submit a character, please fill it out completely. Also, I'll be busy soon, so this might not be updated on a regular schedule, but reviews and follows do fuel me, so please do that if you like the story! Okay, I've been talking too long. Enjoy the show, and enjoy Nat!
Prologue: Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life
A dragon, red scales glinting in the sunlight, blocks my view of the sky. My gaze is drawn to this beautiful creature.
"You're both fools!"
"Well, that's it, Amartha's two geniuses have officially gone nuts!"
"Doesn't that happen a lot with intelligent people?"
"THAT'S IT! IF THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN DRAGONS, WE'LL SHOW THEM A DRAGON!"
"What do you mean, no? Don't you realize how powerful we would be if we pulled this off? The world would be our oyster, Nat! Yes, yes, we'd be the strongest wizards ever, and we'd get our revenge on this dump and everyone in it!"
"Natalie, you know I hate it when you have to do my chores for me…but could you please…get some water from the well?"
"Where'd everyone go?" My old friend's mocking voice echoes off the canyon. I can only sit still and shiver as I use my magic to hide.
"Since you all love playing hide and seek so much, you can play it for the rest of your lives!"
I gasped as I woke up from the nightmare, and instinctively grabbed for the knife under my pillow. It was the third time that whole week that I'd dreamed about my past in Amartha, or as many people know it, the City Without Sound. I checked my surroundings, knife in hand, sitting upright, just to be sure that there were no signs that anyone had broken into my hotel room. Just as I thought. Nothing.
This is ridiculous, Nat, I thought to myself. Get back to sleep and get ahold of yourself; ERA is expecting your report in the morning.
With that, I dozed off into as peaceful of a slumber as I could muster, and when dawn rose, I was ready to go.
I brushed my currently shoulder-length platinum blonde-dyed hair, did a triple check of my room to make sure that nothing was left behind, put on a tan coat that concealed all of the weapons that I had on my person, and once I was satisfied, I checked out of the Holiday Suites and headed for the train station. The hotel had served its purpose; now, it was time to leave.
After quietly buying my train ticket to Era Station (creatively named, I know), along with a fresh pastry and some fruit for breakfast, I decided to recap my mission on the train, and began to prepare a statement for the Magic Council.
The target's name was Morukozo Nakamuri, a very wealthy man who conducted countless illegal arms deals. He didn't possess any magical power, but he was selling some of his best magical weapons to dark guilds, if they paid him a "reasonable" price of course, which usually accounted to joule amounts in the six figures.
I was able to infiltrate his base by becoming the girlfriend of one of Nakamuri's most trusted sidekicks: Renji Matsuoko, his accountant. After enduring dinner with Renji every night for two weeks (who, by the way, was completely unaware that he was dating a 17 year-old), I snuck into Nakamuri's office, and photographed the records of customers' recent purchases. One of the most expensive things that he had sold recently was a flute called Lullaby. I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but one look at the skeleton flute told me all that I would ever need to know. However, I wanted to know more. I always do. That tendency comes with the job, I guess.
Once the records were photographed, there was nothing else that I needed to do except replace Nakamuri's daily vitamin pill with a pill that would put him to sleep for a few hours until the Magic Council stormed the building and arrested him. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Speaking of squeezy, a man attempted to casually cop a feel under the guise of opening a window with a lock directly behind my head "to let in some fresh air, you know?" as I was starting to mentally draft my statement. I was able to silently kick him in the ankle, and the sharp jab along with a menacing glare was enough to make him scurry away from me like the sewer rat he was. I closed the window; normally, I didn't mind a breeze, but the wind could blow confidential information around the train car, and I really didn't need that.
Why didn't I have intelligence in a briefcase or a backpack, you may ask? Well, those are articles that are easily capable of being stolen, and I'd rather not leave valuable intel in them. I prefer to keep that sort of information closer to my chest, literally. On this particular return trip, I had photographs of Nakamuri's office sealed in plastic bags and stuffed inside my bra. Not the most secure way to carry information; if I got captured, the photos could be easily discovered. However, on this train trip, the bra was going to have to suffice. My tactical suit and rented clothes were taking up most of the room in my suitcase.
I had planned to change trains at Oshibana Station, but as I was preparing to stand up and leave the train, I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker that Oshibana Station was closed for emergency repairs. While no explanation was given for why the station, which had not needed repairs when I was planning out my travel route yesterday morning, was closed, I had a thought that it could have been because one of Nakamuri's weapons had been put to use by a dark guild. Silently praying that that wasn't the case, I looked at the train map at Oshibana Station and quickly planned an alternate route. While the station building and tracks were closed for repairs, they were still running buses to take people to various places across Fiore.
I ended up only being fifteen minutes late to my debrief, and I made sure to profoundly apologize to the Magic Council for the delay; usually, I made it to debriefs fifteen minutes early. I quickly debriefed them on the Nakamuri situation, and how exactly I had resolved it, and then I thought that they would let me go. Usually, that was how these debriefs worked. However, on this particular day, that was not what happened.
"Natalie," Gran Doma called as the Council members and I were starting to leave. I turned back around to face him as his colleagues disappeared. Talking to him wasn't unnatural after a job; he was the one who found me crying by the well just outside of town when the Council came to my village to investigate its residents' curse. He made sure that I've had a place to call home until my village's curse is removed, and he helped me do research to try and un-break it. In short, he's been just as much a father to me as my biological one.
"Yes, Mr. Doma?" I asked. Despite our familiarity, I still treat him somewhat formally.
"I wish we could talk about this in person, but I'm afraid that's not possible right now due to extenuating circumstances." I knew then that whatever he was going to say next would be something out of the blue, and potentially life-changing. "However, I must ask you: have you ever considered choosing a different career path?"
"What do you mean, Mr. Doma?" I asked, confused. "Am I not performing up to your standards? I'll try to do better…"
"No, Natalie, your performance on this job was stellar as always," he said, as a kind expression started to creep onto his face. "What I was trying to say indirectly was…Have you ever considered joining a guild?"
"Are you indirectly trying to fire me?" I was still confused.
"No, Natalie, I would never do that. I just think that you'll be bored constantly doing jobs for us old folks here on the Council. You're still a girl in my eyes, and you've been using your particular talents for espionage to help us for years. I know the Council will disagree with me, but I think it's time you live a little. Be young. Find other people your age to talk to and go on jobs with. I don't want you to be alone forever."
"I know that you're worried about me, but I'm fine right where I am. This pays well, and…"
"Natalie," Firmness started to creep into his tone again, "I know that your skill set is very unique, and many guilds would love to have you on their team. I also know that you have your whole life ahead of you, and you shouldn't waste it by working all the time. I am not firing you. However, I do think it's important that you have more people to come back to when you return from a job besides just me."
"You and I both know that everyone I'm coming back to besides you is cursed. Also, isn't it better for spies to have few to no personal connections?" I asked skeptically.
"For spies, yes, but for wizards, which you also are, no. You have every right to want to save your family and friends in Amartha, but perhaps the solution to saving them lies in joining the outside world. However, if you so adamantly refuse this idea, I will still support you. We need every talented spy we can get here."
I toyed with the idea in my head. If I joined a guild, I would have the ability to make friends with people outside of ERA. I could hide less. I would be more visible…but for me, more visible means more vulnerable. However, making friends in new places could be advantageous, and I might get to see new parts of the world that I might not see otherwise. The fantasy of me traveling Fiore with a group of true friends crossed my mind, and my heart panged with longing. Somehow, I had a feeling that Doma knew it would do that.
"All right," I caved. "I'll try your plan for a year. If it doesn't work out, will I be guaranteed a place back at ERA?"
"Of course," Doma smiled kindly, "In fact, if we still need you during your gap year, we'll give you missions. However, I'll try and pass them on to up-and-coming spies. I'm so happy you're doing this, Natalie."
"You know," I replied with a cunning smile on my face, "it almost feels like I was gently nudged into doing it."
He laughed, a booming laugh that would have echoed if he wasn't a projection. "Natalie, I want you to be able to live. You deserve it, after being raised under my wing for so long. Find your own identity out there, instead of going under a false cover. You're a good girl at heart, I know that. You'll find friends. However, if you end up befriending the Fairy Tail guild, I will hold you responsible for keeping them in line."
I tried not to laugh; the possibility of me befriending people so aggressive and destructive as the Fairy Tail guild was one in a million, if anything.
"If that happens, sir, I'll do my best. I'll leave as soon as possible; I want to pack up my room and see Brian before I leave."
"I had a feeling you would say that. I'll take the liberty of letting you know that as soon as you said yes, which I had a feeling you would, I called the staff and asked them to clean and pack up your room. You'll find all of your things neatly packed into a suitcase when you arrive. This way, you'll have more time to test out whatever Brian has waiting for you. I know you love that."
"Thank you," I smiled, "I'll be sure to use this gap year wisely, Mr. Doma."
"Don't think of it as a gap year," he replied. "Think of it as the start of a potential new life for you."
I couldn't help but grin as I left the room. This year would be a whirlwind, I knew that, but Monday, Mars 29, felt like the day that Natalie Brenner finally came back from the dead.
Chapter 2