I remember it like yesterday. Mom called me into the kitchen. I was 9.
"Igneella!" She called, her voice loud and piercing, yet sweet and kind.
"Yes, mommy?" I ran in, my scarf around my forehead and my two celestial keys jingling against my "Wizard's in training" kiddy belt.
"Daddy and I are-"
"Mommy! Look, I'm just like daddy!" I bring my fists to my mouth, preparing for giant flames to whisk out and burn down my kitchen table. Instead of a fireplace coming out of me, two black puffs of smoke came out and my mom laughed from amusement.
"Iggy, don't worry. You'll get there with training and hard work. Now, listen, my little spark…" That was my nickname when she wanted a serious conversation. "Daddy and I are leaving for a little while… Don't worry, though. We'll be back soon." She smiles and I nod. I was use to my parents leaving and coming back. One day a week, rarely two. She gave me this speech every time… I didn't think, at the age of 9, that I would miss these repetitive talks.
I watched at she and daddy packed the car. I admired her blond, straight hair and her curvy figure. She was truly beautiful, and I remember how much I wanted to be like her. I had pink hair that, at halfway down (about around my neck), ombre-d blond, and ended at my lower thigh. I prayed that I would grow and have a figure like hers and hair just as blond.
When my parents dropped me off at Fairy Tail, my second home where I would stay with Aunt Wendy when Mom and Dad were gone, my father smiled at me, fangs and all. He scooped me up in his arms.
"My little spark! Mommy and I will be back soon, okay?" I nodded and he continued, "and don't let that Fullbuster bring you down while I'm gone. He's coming and when you meet 'm, get fired up and yell about it!"
"Now I've got a fire in my belly!" I shook my tiny fists in the air, then bringing them down and cracking my knuckles. I felt the numbing pain in my little hands. "Ow! Daddy that hurt!" I whined and he chuckled.
"Iggy! Don't crack your knuckles. It will make your hands swell up and look like balloons!" Mom yelled and I nodded obediently.
Aunt Wendy came over and smiled. She took me from my dad and put me down. "I'll take good care of her, Natsu."
"You always do, Wendy." He and mom hugged her, then me.
"Igneella… Remember, this guild is family, too. Stay close and don't stray from home." My dad kissed my head and, after that, I watched the Great Salamander and his gorgeous Celestial Wizard wife leave home.
Little did I know, the job they signed up for would last a very long time.
Forever, that is.
It's been 10 years since they left, 9 since the news stated that the two greatest wizarding team of all time had gone missing, 8 since I had given up looking for them and excepted the fact that they were most likely killed on the job, 7 since I had come home from S-Class trials to an empty house, 6 since I had been claimed as the youngest wizarding genius in Wizarding Magazine, 5 since I had girl issues and no mother to discuss them with, 4 since my first crush had broken my heart and I cried to myself, no dad ready to kill the boy or mom petting her daughters head to make her feel better, 3 since I had defeated an evil army of dark guild wizards and no one yelled at me about it being too dangerous, 2 since my hatred for the world except Fairy Tail deepened, and 1 since I had given up all hope.
Many people tell me the same exact thing. "You look exactly like Natsu and Lucy."
I always have the same reaction. Deep breaths. Fake the smile. Contain it. "Thanks" Walk away.
This had been my like since they left. I'm 19.
Today, I walk to the guild, seventeen keys on my bely, scarf around my neck, and a piano-like weight on my chest.
"Hey Iggy!" Snowelle calls for me, standing in front of the guild as I feel the weight lift like it does every time I'm at the guild with my family.
Snowelle's short, blue bob swishes as she runs to me a, her small chest and body bouncing. She is always smiling, blue eyes always sparking, body always cold. I admire her courage that even though she has a child-like chest size, she wears a tankini top (constantly stripping it, anyway), hip-hugging jeans that flair at the calf, and black ballet slippers.
"Iggy! C'mon, you gotta see 'm."
"Who?"
"Remember Fried? Laxus's friend?"
"Yes, his son left the guild when he was 7 to join a dark guild."
"He's here! Rystan-sama is here!"
"What?! Why?! He's part of a dark guild!'
"So? He's so hot!" I roll my eyes at her. She's always talking about boys. I, on the other hand, couldn't care less about the opposite sex. I saw them every day in action at the guild and wanted no part of them.
Mystaga quietly walked to us, her black cape billowing in the small breeze, Her long legs and average sized feet hit the ground without a sound, her shorts meeting her upper-thigh. I'd heard so many arguments about those shorts. Her dad, Jellal, didn't approve of them, but her mom, Erza (my Aunt and guild master), loved them. I always knew that Mystaga would wear them anyway because no one tells her what to do.
She came to us without a word. Finally, she spoke, "Rystan is asking for the strongest wizard in the guild, so I went out to find you." A strand of ruby red hair fell in front of her eye- the one without the tattoo. Her high-heeled, black boots step closer to me, "What is your reply?"
"Let me talk to him." I excused myself, walking past the two girls. She just called me the strongest in the guild, I thought, suddenly getting a little nervous and feeling as if my dark red, short shirt was strangling me. My long black skirt was clinging to my legs while I walked. I started to walk faster and pick up the front of my skirt, showing my black, high-heeled booties.
From outside the guild, I could hear the yelling.
"What does he want?" Aunt Wendy.
"He's talkin' to Erza, don't worry. She'll take care of it." Gray
"But why is he here?" Aunt Wendy
"…" Whispering?
"He won't lay a finger on her? I promised Natsu I'd protect her and I intend on keeping that-"
I had heard enough. I slammed open the door to hear a sudden silence. I pierced my gaze toward everyone and got to Bloom, the daughter of Evergreen and Elfman, who worked at the bar.
"Where is he?' My words came out like fire and they burned through her tough, cocky exterior.
"With Erza." She pointed to her office and I was already halfway there. I knocked on the door. Erza answered.
"Igneella I-"
"Iggy. Aunt Erza, don't." I saw Erza, Fried, and him. Mint green hair down to his butt, dark violet eyes that are ready to kill, and nimble fingers that could swing his sword at me at any moment, and a beautiful face that- like Snowelle said- was hot.
A beautiful face that could faze any girl.
That is, any girl but a Dragneel.
"Why are you here?"
"I want to come home…" Home…
"We'll be home soon." Home…
"Don't stray from home." Home…
Mom… Dad…
"No. Now, get out." And with that as my final word on the subject, I stormed out of the guild office.
I lay on my couch after running home, crying. People say home all of the time, so why am I so emotional right now?
As I am thinking, I hear a knock on my door. I get up and look through the peephole, then opening the door to let them in.
"Thank Makarov you're okay! You ran so fast, you almost lite the ground on fire!"
"I know." I closed the door once Snowelle and Lily were inside.
Lily is the daughter of Gajeel and Levy Redfox, a dragon-slayer like me. She uses iron, like I use fire, but she isn't as patient. She's tiny, about 4 foot 11 and almost completely flat chested with red, doe eyes and nail heads lining her blue eye brows and bunny-hill nose, then 9 piercing's in each ear.
She sits down, her mini skirt crumpling a little. Lily picked up my phone. "You're about to get a message." My phone rang my favorite song, signaling that I had gotten a message.
"Who's it from?" Snowelle was already laying on my couch, slippers off with her bare feet on my coffee table.
"Dunno, but they aren't in your phone."
"Weird. What's it say?" Snowelle gulps down a lot of water.
"It says 'Coming to you. Bringing some friends.' Talk about creepy." Lily tosses me the phone and I catch it then putting it down.
"Hey, got snacks?"
"And more water?"
"Of course! Fridge is always stocked and… every human-being has water, Snow."
"Hey! Just checking!" She grabs a glass, then getting some water while I start smelling someone- or more accurately, some beast- at my door with some boys I knew and some I could recall.
"You smellin' that?" Lily nudges me and all I can do is nod, scowling at my door.
Two loud knocks. "Hey, it's me. You home? I brought some friends." Karo calls. He's a family friend of mine back at the guild. I knew his smell anywhere from the wretched stench of alcohol. He had a bad habit of chugging down beer or wine, then hooking up with some random chick and running to me for help. He was trying to break the habit because he saw how his single mother, an alcoholic, and his grandpa, a heartthrob, were and hated it.
I open the door to see him with Ron (Lily's older brother), Dustin (Bloom, Miranna, and Manny's brother), two boys I've never seen- although one looks vaguely familiar- and him.
Rystan.
"What is this?" I light one fist of fire as I feel Lily getting excited to fight, her wicked smile forming. There's a loud crash from behind us and I turn to see Snowelle, puddles at her feet from broken glass of water she dropped, crying.
"Icell?" Was all she could manage before freaking out and putting the boy that was familiar into a water-lock ball. "You left me!" She screamed at him.
"I guess it's attack time!" Lily turned her hand into a sledgehammer and before she slugged her brother in the face, I grabbed her.
"EVERYONE STOP!" I yelled, trying to get their attention. It worked. "I understand that you two are upset and the boys are pretty dumb for coming here, but we can not battle in my house. I can't afford to repair it, so please use self control."
Snowelle retracted her attack and Lily returned her hand back to normal. "What are you all here for?"
"To see you, of course." Ron snorted and I glared at him. He immediately shrank.
"Any specific topic you want to cover?" I asked, keeping my cool.
"We're here to persuade you to let Rystan into the guild."
"Then you are wasting your time. Once you leave Fairy Tail, you shall not return."
"But my dad did." The other boy spoke. I didn't know him. "My father is Laxus. I am Leonardo"
"That's great for you, but he wasn't let back into the guild, he stuck around it and helped protect it. Now, Leonardo, you aren't helping your friend." ZI turned and sat on the couch. "Please, don't waste my time-" Something stopped me from talking. Some warm wrapped around me and I just stood there, being hugged.
"Please, Igneell-"
"Iggy. It's Iggy." I corrected him. Dustin. He was a smart boy, but he lost all brains if he was touching me. He had brown, longish hair. It was a skater-boy cut. That was his style. He wore skinny jeans with chains hanging down and an gray, over–sized sweatshirt that had the Japanese word "Ride" on it. He wore black and white Converse, where under his sweatshirt, a green tee shirt was. It was V-neck so you could see his muscles in every stitch. It clung to him tight enough that I'm surprised he could breath.
"Please, Iggy. Have mercy and let him in."
"What did Erza say?"
"She said it was up to you. Your word was law on this topic."
"…" I thought for a second, then said, "We'll see. Be at the guild tomorrow. Early."
And from there, the two girls and I rushed the boys out and relaxed. The day was finally over.
