Gray

"Go talk to her already. You've been standing here staring at her and it's starting to get weird."

"Shut up, Loke. I'm not staring." I lean against the street light pole. I look over at Lucy, Natsu, and Happy as they gawk at the shop windows. Why on earth are they taking so long? We just needed to stock up before our next mission, not buy the whole town. My eyes flicker back to the girl. She runs her fingers through her ponytail of blonde and blue hair. I can't help but watch her as she looks through the shop window. Loke chuckles.

"Not staring?" He asks. I can tell the idiot is smirking.

I glare at him. He just gestures to the girl. I roll my eyes and sigh. "Fine. I'm going." Loke claps me on the back and I walk towards her. Geez. I'll just check in to see if she's lost or something.

The girl doesn't notice me until I'm right next to her. "Uh, hey." I say. She jumps and turns to me.

"Oh, hi! I didn't see you there." She says. I take a split second to fully notice her. She's dressed casually in a navy, sleeveless hoodie with a V-neck and black shorts. What catches my eye is a necklace with a blue scale on it.

"It's ok. It was my bad for sneaking up on you like that." I slip my hands into my pockets. "Are you from here? You look a little lost."

She shakes her head and smiles. "I'm not from here, but I'm not lost. I'm just exploring a little." She tucks a stray hair behind her ear. "See, I'm staying here at my grandmother's for a week. Her birthday's coming up and I wanted to find her something." The girl trails off as she looks in to the shop window behind me. "Oh! That'd be perfect!" She moves to the window but trips. I manage to catch her as she falls into me.

I help her back up as she laughs. "You ok?" I can't help but laugh too.

"Yeah. I'm ok. So sorry about that. I'm such a klutz." She laughs and sighs. I look down to fix my shirt when I realize I'm not wearing one. When did that happen?

"Well, Mr." I look back up. She has one hand in her hoodie pocket and the other held out. "It was nice running into you. Literally." The girl laughs and smiles.

I shake her hand. "Same here."

"I'll see you around!" She waves goodbye and heads down the street. I watch her leave and sigh. "Wow." I whisper to myself as I smile. Wait, nope! I shake my head. No, no, no, not getting caught up in a girl right now.

I turn back to Loke and see him laughing his butt off. "What?" I ask.

"She just . . ." He laughs again. "She just took your wallet dude!" Loke is laughing so hard that he sinks to the ground, holding his stomach. I whip back around to see her race around the corner.

I curse and take off after her. Turning around the corner, I search for her in the crowd of people. There! I see a strip of blue hair weave between people. I race after her, passing shops and bakeries. I mutter apologies as I run around and almost into people on the sidewalk. I look up and see her still running. This girl thinks she can out run me? She's never dealt with a wizard before. I put my hands together and wait until I'm just a little bit closer. "Ice Make Floor!" The sidewalk beneath me turns to ice. The people around me slip and fall and I apologize as I skate past.

I look for her on the ground until I see her ahead of me. My mouth falls open. The girl is skating on my ice! I grit my teeth in frustration and speed up. She skates away on my ice as if it's nothing! Is she an ice wizard too? I take away the ice make floor and go back to running. She doesn't miss a step and keeps running as well. This little thief! She may be smart and fast, but I'm faster. I'm slowly gaining on her. I dodge people and shop tables as I close in on her.

She suddenly turns and disappears. Ha. I won't fall for that one, I think to myself. I race to where she was and whip into the alley. I see her standing a few feet away, cornered by the dead end. I smirk. "I have you now, thief!" I exclaim. I race toward her.

The girl goes to kick me but I dodge easily, reaching out and grabbing her wrist. She lands a punch on my shoulder and I grit my teeth. I twist her arm behind her and she cries out in pain. "Give it back." I order.

"Give what back?" She stomps on my foot and I curse. The girl breaks out of my grasp but I manage to push her backwards. I put my hands together to ice her down, but she's one step ahead of me. The girl mutters something. Water shoots out of her hands and hits the ground, propelling her up.

What?! A wizard? I run after her and jump up. The water hits me, almost knocking me down to the ground. I manage to grab her ankle. She yelps in surprise and we fall to the ground. We roll around on the wet and dirty stone as I try to pin her down. Her elbow connects with my head. I curse and pin her legs down with my own. I grab her wrists and pin her hands down above her head forcefully. For several moments, we just lay there in the water and catch our breath, neither one of us moving or saying anything.

The girl is the first to break the silence. "Let go of me." She orders.

"Give me back my wallet first, you little thief." I snap.

"I'm not a thief. I'm just really good at acquiring things that aren't mine."

I roll my eyes. "Like that will get you out of trouble with the authorities. If you give it back now I won't turn you in."

She looks up at me through her lashes and gives me a sad look. "You wouldn't really turn me in, would you?"

I scoff. "Yeah right. Not falling for it."

She pouts. "Jerk."

"Yep, that's me." I pin both of her hands with one of mine and use my free hand to reach down to her hoodie pocket.

"H-Hey!" She protests. I pull my wallet out and pocket it.

"Thank you." I say. Her face is red with embarrassment. Why is she . . . oh. I notice the position we're in and my face turns red too. I scramble up. "S-sorry." I mutter. She sits up and rubs her wrists while glaring at me.

"Bastard." She sneers.

"Thief."

"Stripper."

"Baka."

"Gray? What's going on here?!"

Nami

Against my will, I find myself sitting in a coffee shop with the guy I robbed and his friends. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. This not how today was supposed to go. I just needed a quick robbery so I could get something to eat then be on my way to the next town. Instead, I get stuck with a bubbly blonde, a hungry, pink haired idiot, a blue cat, and that stripper who STILL does not have a shirt on. And then there's this ginger in a suit that's flirting with me.

"So, let me get this straight, she robbed you and you cornered her in the alley to get it back?" The blonde asks.

"Yes, now can we please just go back to the guild?" The guy I robbed begs. "Erza will kill us if we get back too late." All of them shudder.

"What's your name again?" Natsu asks.

"None of your business." I retort.

"Her name is Nami you dumb pyro." Gray states. "She said that earlier."

"Who are you calling dumb, ice prick?!" Natsu shouts.

"You, ya dim-witted bastard!"

The girl turns to me, ignoring the boys' scuffle. "Why did you rob Gray? Do you work for someone?"

I shake my head. "No, I don't work for someone. I needed food, I acquired some money, end of story." I say nonchalantly. If these guys weren't wizards I would have thrown my magic at them and escaped a while ago.

The girl looks at me with surprise. "You don't have any money?"

"If you want, I can take you out to dinner, beautiful." The ginger winks at me.

"I'll pass." My words hit Loke and he falls over dramatically. The ice wizard starts laughing. I glare at him. "I won't be dating you either, stripper."

"Hey, I never asked you out to dinner." He protests.

"You did hit on me." I state. Gray starts to retort, but he closes his mouth and slumps back into the chair.

"Why don't you get a job then?" The pink haired one asks.

"Natsu! Don't be rude!" The girl scolds.

I shrug. "At least he's honest. Most people aren't now days."

Gray scoffs. "That's really funny coming from you." He looks over at me. "What was your excuse? Staying at grandma's?"

"At least I don't hit on girl's while I'm half naked." We glare at each other. I would love to just blast him right here . . . The girl clears her throat to get our attention.

"Well, if you need a job, we could take you back the guild with us. I'm sure Mira could help-"

"No thanks." I cut her off. "I don't get involved with guilds." I sit back in the chair and breathe in the smell of the baked foods. I'm so hungry. I may have to slip something in my pocket as I leave . . . and hit this stupid ginger. He touches my hand and I smack his arm.

"But, Gray said you're a wizard." The blonde tilts her head slightly in confusion.

"If you're a wizard then why don't you like guilds?" Natsu asks.

I sigh. They're so flipping nosey. "I am a wizard. And I don't like guilds. In fact, I don't like wizards in general. Are we done here?" I just need them to leave me alone!

Gray gets up. "Lucy, I don't think she wants our help. Let's just go."

"But, can't we at least give you some money or help you find work?" Lucy asks.

I shrug. This girl is nice and all, but I can't except her offer. "Sorry, but I need to get back on the road." My hand goes to my necklace out of habit.

Natsu jumps up. "Is that a dragon scale?!" He shouts. The pink-haired man runs over to me, knocking over the ginger in the process.

"Hey, back off." I push him back but he starts sniffing me. No way . . . wait what guild is this?!

"Cut it out Natsu." Gray orders.

Natsu turns to Gray to retort, but I'm more focused on the guild mark on his shoulder. I've never seen it before. "What guild are you from?" I ask without thinking. It such an odd mark . . . is it a bird?

Natsu turns to me with a smile. "We're from Fairy Tail, the number one guild in Fiore!"

"Aye!" The cat says.

My mouth falls open. "The cat just . . ." I turn back to Natsu. It makes sense now. "Are you Salamander, Fairy Tail's dragon slayer?"

He grins. "Yep. That's me."

I leap up. "Where's your dragon?!" This is it! Maybe he knows where-

Natsu shakes his head. "Dunno. I've been looking for him since 777." He rubs his head and gets a sad, distant look on his face. I slump back into the chair and curse under my breath. This is what I get for getting my hopes up. "Why do you ask?" Natsu asks.

I sigh. Should I open up to these people? I've only just met them. But maybe Natsu can help. Reluctantly, I start to speak. "I'm a dragon slayer too. A water dragon slayer. And I've been looking for my father, Watastumi for years now."