Dragon Slayer's Brain Damage
Ch.1

The Girl in Black

I blinked once. Twice.

'Where the fuck am I?'

I looked around, realizing all eyes in the room were either watching me or rolled back into their owners' head. Well, except for that one guy in the back eating something that looked suspiciously like a fork. I looked down at myself. I was wearing a dusty coat-like black cloak that went down to my feet. It had long sleeves and a hood, but only four latches (one on my neck, three on my breasts) to hold it shut, the rest of the coat staying closed thanks to gravity. Nothing on it had color or shined. I turned to the closest conscious body, a young white-haired girl who appeared to be a waitress. Seeing as I wasn't exactly sure of the situation, I decided to opt for a more polite dialect. "Sorry to be a bother, could you tell me where I am?"

Her stance eased a bit when I spoke, and she replied with a friendly smile. "You're in Magnolia, in the Fairy Tail guild to be exact."

I furrowed my brow.

'Fairy Tail… Why does that seem so familiar?'

I could vaguely remember a rough male voice saying something about that particular guild, but the words blended into one another and I couldn't make heads or… well... Fairy Tails of it. I mentally kicked myself for the horribly lame pun, and focused on the voice. I sounded familiar, and I instantly felt tightness in my chest that had nothing to do with injury.

'Were we close? More importantly, did something happen?'

I was pulled from my thoughts when the girl extended her hand towards me. Most of the onlookers had gone back to their original positions, but a few still watched the two of us. "I'm Mirajane Strauss, and you?"

I shook her hand and gave a small smile. "Nice to meet you, I'm… I'm not sure…"

She gave a small, disbelieving laugh, a confused look coming over her features. "What do you meant you're not sure? What's your name?"

I frowned, dropping her hand to smooth back wayward hairs that had fallen into my face. "I don't know… I can't remember a goddamn thing…"

Mirajane sighed and grabbed my wrist, causing me to flinch. I mentally shook it off and looked at the girl "Hm? Is something wrong?"

She gave another small chuckle, smiling gently. "Other than your apparent amnesia, nothing. I just though we'd sit somewhere while we try to figure out exactly how much of your memory you're missing."

I nodded and let her lead me to the bar, where a blonde was already sitting. We both grabbed a stool and sat on opposite sides, Mirajane drawing a notepad out of her hip pouch. "Okay, so what's the last thing you remember?"

I absentmindedly chewed on my lower lip, trying to think back past 5 minutes earlier. "I really don't have any memory of before asking you where I am… but I do vaguely remember a rough male voice… I think he told me of Fairy Tail… Other than habits and reflexes, I'm basically a blank slate."

I sighed. Mirajane nodded, then put her notepad away and stood up. "Well you did seem in a daze when you walked in. That was quicker than I expected, I'll go get Cana and we'll see if she can help."

She turned to the blond girl "Lucy? Keep her entertained and away from Natsu, will you? I don't need him destroying a newcomer again."

Both girls laughed and Mirajane left in search of Cana. The blond turned towards me. "Hey, I'm Lucy. I'm supposed to entertain you, so do you want to see my keys?"

I frowned a bit. "Keys?"

She smiled, her chocolate brown eyes crinkling, and nodded, before pulling a ring of keys from her waist. "Yep. I'm a stellar spirit mage. I use these to summon them."

She named all of her keys and gave me a basic understanding of what each of them did while we waited. She was describing what contracts consisted of, when Mirajane came back with a grumpy-looking brunette walking behind her. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I had trouble pulling Cana from her drink."

Mirajane snapped her fingers and stopped, making Cana walk into her. "Drinks! I forgot to ask if you wanted anything to drink."

She pulled out her notepad and flipped it open. "What do you want?"

Cana instantly shouted "Crystal Lakes for all of us."

I stiffened, my spine going cold.

'Crystal? No… Kristal.'

This time the rough tone was clearer, the words grew more defined as I focused on them, even if the beginning was lost.

'… Crystal. There. Happy?'

I briefly listened to Cana arguing that Mirajane had said "no more beer, so it doesn't apply to other drinks" before concentrating on the memory again.

'Fine. Kristal, Kris for short. Now c'mon kid. I ain't got all day.'

I stood up, startling the three women who had been sitting around me. "K-R-I-S-T-A-L. Kris."

Lucy and Mirajane wore a confused expression, but Cana just looked at me like I was insane. "What on Earth are you spelling about?"

Sitting back on my stool, I grinned at the trio. "My name. I'm Kristal, Kris for short. It's nice to meet you all."

Mirajane's face lit up. "Did you get your memory back?"

I shook my head at her. "No… I think I remember things when I hear a word or phrase directly related to it. Like when you said the word Crystal. I discussed my name with someone and I didn't want it to be Crystal, so he changed it to Kristal, and Kris for short."

Cana's eyes lit up as well. "So you're telling me a drink caused you to regain part of your memory?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes…"

Cana broke into a grin and suddenly hooted, drawing the entire room's attention to the four of us. "HA! IN YOUR FACE STRAUSS! AND YOU SAID MY DRINKING NEVER AMOUNTED TO ANYTHING GOOD!"

Lucy and I were chuckling at the outburst, until we saw Mirajane's pouting face. Then we burst out laughing, sliding onto the floor. The entire guild soon joined us, and I noticed an old man walking towards us a few seconds later. Mirajane immediately stopped pouting and smiled at the man. "Hello Master Makarov. I hope you're enjoying that little laugh at my expenses."

He hopped onto the counter, and a large smile grew on his face. "Quite, but that's not why I'm here. I heard we have a new friend."

Hoisting myself back onto my seat, I smiled at the master. "Hello sir, my name's Kris."

Dropping his smile, he shoved his face extremely close to mine, foreheads almost touching. Before Mirajane could protest, the master opened his mouth and started talking. "Say Kris, do you like it here?"

I inched backwards, uncomfortable. "Well, I've only been here for half an hour… But I like the people I met so far, so yes."

The master leaned back a bit, a satisfied grin on his face. "Do you have a home to return to?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No, it doesn't feel like I do. And even if I did, I wouldn't remember it."

Makarov leaned all the way back, rocking on his heels, and a wide grin spreading on his face. "Then welcome to Fairy Tail. Mirajane, get the supplies, okay?"

My jaw dropped a bit. "Wait, Master, I don't remember magic either! I don't even know if I had any to begin with."

The old man's grin dropped. "Well… We could always keep you as a maid… OH!"

Makarov's face lit up at the renewed hope. "We could always ask Natsu! He can smell magic, so he'd be able to tell."

Cana rolled her eyes "Yeah, but he's on a mission. Won't be back for a few days."

Lucy shifted awkwardly in her seat. "Umm… We could always try Gajeel… I mean he probably won't want to cooperate, but his nose is as good as Natsu's."

Mirajane, who had come back with a small pouch, sighed a bit and crossed her fingers in front of her. "He seems to be our last option. Master, there's a greater chance of success if you ask him first. Tell him we need to know if a possible recruit has potential. If he asks any other question, tell him the truth."

The master nodded glumly and walked away, dragging his feet. Cana went to nearby table and shuffled a deck of cards, Lucy sat in front of her, and Mirajane walked to the other side of the room to take orders, leaving me alone. It stayed that way for about .4 seconds, and then a smaller girl with wavy blue hair pulled back with a bandana came up and sat besides me. After brief introductions, Levy and I looked at and commented on the various games being played, the various conversations, the various drinks, and the various states of consciousness. After 8 poker games won by Cana against the same group of guild members, Master Makarov reappeared from the crowd. Mirajane, who had come back to make the drinks ordered, frowned and leaned over the counter. "I'm guessing Gajeel said no, since he's not following you."

The small man jumped and stood on the counter. "Actually, he said he wasn't a dog but that he could smell her magic all the way across the room."

Cana and Lucy got up and joined us, curious as to what the master had to say. "It would seem you have a great amount of power, forgotten or not. He couldn't say exactly what kind, but it's not a user, script, or summon type."

Cana slapped me on the back and cheered, knocking me out of breath. Lucy laughed at us and Mirajane shook her head, sighing, before turning to me. "So, where do you want it and what color?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Lucy put a hand on my shoulder and showed me the back of her other hand, where a pink symbol was printed. "Your Fairy Tail stamp tattoo."

I brushed it lightly with my index finger. "Cool… I know where I want mine."

I hopped down from my stool, wincing at a sharp pain in my left thigh. I undid the clasps on my cloak, letting it fall off my arms onto the stool. As soon as my appearance registered in our brains, Lucy, Mirajane, and I put a hand up to our mouths, whispering something similar to "Oh my god…" although mine containing a lot more foul language. Cana just slammed her glass down, spilling amber liquid over the edge. Levy covered her face with both hands, a small cry escaping her lips. People at neighboring tables who had been looking over fell quiet and soon the entire room was silent. I was a mess. My clothes themselves were fine, if dirty, all plain black and tight-fitting. Short shorts, tube top ending a few inches below my breasts, and high leather boots. My exposed skin was another matter entirely. My arms were covered in bruises and burns, and several cuts were wrapped in gauze. More gauze was wrapped around my aching thigh, a deep red stain growing from the center. I could see more inside my boots, but I had no desire to go explore them. The worse was my stomach. There were three parallel cuts, which looked suspiciously like claw marks, wrapping from to the left of my spine to the my navel, still on the same side, and I could feel several bruises and pulled muscles in my back. The two lower cuts were raised and pink, starting to scab over, but the top one was blood red, swollen, and held shut by rough stitches. The whole thing was covered in a gel I only hoped was medicine. Upon closer inspection, I realized the thread was the exact same shade and texture as the dark hair falling on my shoulder. I sighed and straightened, turning towards the frowning master. "Master, I think my tattoo might have to wait. I seemed to have played chew-toy for and overgrown pet. I hope I at least kicked its ass for almost gutting me."

I turned my head when I heard someone snort a laugh behind me. A tall man was leaning against the back wall, his long, spiky, black hair clashing against the smooth white paint. I smirked at him, raising an eyebrow. "And who are you to question my humor?"

He grinned and crossed his arms in response, the piercings on his face and arms glinting with the movement. "Gajeel Redfox, and I was just expressing my amusement at yer attitude, seein' yer… physical situation."

My smirk grew into a grin of my own, and I turned to face him completely. "Kris, and I didn't know my physical situation was any of your concern."

He peeled himself off the wall, his muscles rippling with the movement. Not that I was watching or anything. "It's not, but ya obviously got pretty roughed up."

I crossed my arms as well and tilted my head slightly to one side. "You've got quite the sharp eye. What gave me away? The bloody bandages or the giant gash in my middle?"

His grin spread, obviously pleased at my attitude. "I can smell the blood from here. And I'll take the "sharp eye" comment as praise."

I rolled my eyes at him, and turned back to the master. "So, is there a medic around here?"

Author Notes

1. I planned this to be my first story, but the Gaara one was done first. Although, this one isn't actually done editor-wise, I deemed this good enough not to mortify me. Enjoy.

2. The title was inspired by the dragon slayers' attacks. They always yell "_ dragon's" then the attack (might change depending on sub, dub, manga, etc), so I though I could use it to give me a semi-original title.

3. The next chapter is mostly Lucy playing doctor, but it has some details you might want to know.

4. Regents are upon us (or at least me), so I might not post anything for a while. However, I am a slacker and professional procrastinator, so you might still get a chapter. Until we meet again, I recommend "Mrs. Lucy, Wait WHAT?" by Bittersweetcrimson. Enjoy :)