Disclaimer: We all wish we owned Fairy Tail, but alas, it belongs to Hiro Mashima.
( -_- )(*w*)
The mage's pace gradually came to a halt as a sizable building became visible through heavy sheets of rain. Squinting to be sure this wasn't just a drunken hallucination; she noticed the Fairy Tail symbol encrusted upon the castle-like structure. The Academy loomed over the outskirts of Magnolia; casting eerie darkness upon its surroundings. They really went overboard... The blonde scoffed.
As she approached the building, anxiety began to build up and her breakfast begged to make an appearance. Lucy pressed her hands against the front door, slowly pushing it open.
Despite the horrid weather, inside, everything was bustling with energy as countless mages gathered together for their studies. The thoughts of her drenched clothes clinging to her skin left her mind as the corners of her lips curved up into a fascination. She began to roam the halls, noticing the vibrantly glowing lacrima chandleries hanging proudly on the ceiling and decorative tiles paving the floors. She reached the front office and admired the Fairy Tail seal printed onto the wall in brilliant colors.
"Beautiful," She exhaled. As she continued her journey, something caught the stellar mage's interest. Curiosity consumed the teen as she approached a maze of strange filing cabinets. Cautious fingers gently glided against the vent of a locker, wondering what their purpose was. Too entranced by her new surroundings, Lucy paid no mind to the shouts telling her to watch out, until—
"Damn it, you asshole," A familiar voice roared with irritation. Cocking her head to the side, Lucy couldn't help but notice a rosette haired moron flying in her direction.
Anticipating a violent collision, she covered her eyes and waited for the worst to be over with. By the grace of Mavis, the Salamander plowed into the locker beside her, leaving a dent in the metal. The once rowdy hallway fell silent as the flame eater attempted to regain his composure- not that he had any to begin with. "I'm going to kill you…" The Dragon Slayer pulled himself into a sitting position while grasping his head in his hands. It was difficult to tell if he was faint from the concussion he probably just received or was just hung over like the rest of the guild. Knowing Natsu, he was probably just exhausted from being up before noon.
"Try saying that again, Frying-Pan!" Gray stormed over towards him, and as usual, he looked less than pleased with his teammate.
"What, do you need a hearing aid, Brain-Freeze?" Natsu growled as he stumbled to his feet. Both imbeciles oblivious to the sudden change of atmosphere, they concluded their banter and attacked simultaneously.
"Ice Make—"
"Fire Dragon's—"
"It appears our bonds have brought us together yet again," A bold voice bellowed from the end of the hall. Both teens froze mid-attack and turned to face an utterly unimpressed Titania. "Is this how friends behave?"
As if on cue, Gray slung his arm around Natsu's shoulders, forcing a disturbing smile. "W-we wanted to show each other our new moves!"
"Aye!" Natsu shook his head enthusiastically, forgetting how to form a coherent sentence. Erza arched an eyebrow skeptically, making both boys shutter.
Lucy giggled at the scene, almost forgetting they were at school and not back at the guild. "Oh, Erza," She called, gaining the redhead's attention.
The S Class mage approached the blonde with a friendly smile on her face, as if the debacle just now hadn't happened. "Lucy, did you go swimming without me? You're drenched." She pointed out rather bluntly.
"I hope you're being sarcastic," Even though I can tell you're serious. "Are there possibly any spare uniforms?" She twisted the bottom of her skirt in an attempt to get rid of some of the water.
"There are a few in the office," She glared back at the others. "Gray, Natsu," They peered up at their superior, still frozen in each other's embrace. Folding her arms disapprovingly, she continued. "Knock it off, or I'll report you to the head master. Do you want that?" They slowly shook their heads, neither of them wanting to say anything and risk upsetting her even more. The redhead turned on her heels, Lucy following closely behind.
"Head master?" Natsu scratched his head in confusion.
"It's the person in charge of the school—"
"I know that, idiot." He snapped, cutting off the ice mage. Just how little did Gray take him for?
"Sorry, I wasn't sure of your level of stupidity." Sarcasm poisoned his voice. "You have to admit, though, that those uniforms are pretty nice." He teasingly nudged Natsu's shoulder; forgetting that they were previously trying to murder each other.
He swatted his arm away like a mosquito. "No, the colors are horrible. Red is obviously the better choice."
"What…?" He gawked at the 'man' beside him. "No, you ash-for-brains, the skirts," Who cares about the color?
Natsu pondered this for a moment, failing to comprehend what the ice-idiot was getting at. "The girls in our guild wear skirts all the time, it's nothing new." For once, Natsu had a valid point; the ladies of Fairy Tail were never known for being modest dressers. "Hell, I'm so used to it; it's weird to see them covered up completely. Could you imagine Cana wearing a turtleneck?" Natsu sighed, not being able to picture something so abnormal. "I've seen Lucy in less, anyway." It's not like he was aware she was changing when he broke in through her bedroom window.He shivered at the painful memory of being 'Luck kicked' in the groin.
"Seriously, you have?" The ice mage gawked at his comrade's casual expression.
"Oh, and you haven't?" He replied with a devious grin. "She must like me better than you." The fire dragon slayer flinched. Wow that felt weird to say.
"You're obviously bluffing." There was no way this air head was more popular than him; at least, he hoped so.
"Why would I bluff about something that's not a big deal? Don't most guys see a girl in their underwear at this age?" His voice was serious.
Gray didn't know which was more concerning; the fact that Natsu actually had a point, or that the flame-retard theoretically experienced more action than him. "Seriously though, you don't have any opinion on the skirts? And you call yourself a man." He mimicked Elfman to divert the conversation for the sake of his pride.
"I don't see why you're obsessing over them. Is it because you want to wear one?" He laughed half-heartedly at his frenemy. "That's sick, man. Though, you'd probably end up taking it off like you do the rest of your clothes."
"Damn it, that's not true! You're such an ass."
"Rather be an ass than a stripper."
"That nickname is getting old, think of something more creative if you want to piss me off." The Ice Mage smiled; feeling as though he won the fight.
"Fuck you, I'm going to see what class I'm in." He turned to walk down the hall. "Wait, Gray."
"What now?" He groaned with irritation, not that Natsu particularly cared.
"Put your shirt back on; you're disturbing the peace."
The mage glanced down, seeing his top discarded on the floor. "What the hell?"
Natsu slouched as he searched for the assignment board, feeling the urge to go home and sleep for the next week. "This sucks…" He grumbled sourly.
( -_- )(*w*)
"Here," The redhead handed the shivering girl before her a dry uniform.
"Thanks," Lucy sighed as she headed to the bathroom.
Erza rested against the wall as she waited for her companion to change. "Hey Lucy, what class are you in?" She called through the door.
She began to pull on a light blue skirt as she spoke. "I'm not sure, I haven't been able to check yet."
"I wonder if we'll be working together this year." She pondered this for a moment, hearing a grunt of agreement from the next room.
The door creaked open as the Stellar mage walked out pulling a beige vest over her cotton white t-shirt. "The council really went all out with this, didn't they? These uniforms are really nice." She glanced over at her superior. "Why is yours different?" Lucy gestured at the burgundy dress coat replacing the vest that ever other female student wore. Wait, was she wearing glasses?
She smiled devilishly as she peered into her partner's dark eyes. "Because, I am the class president," Pride drenched her voice as she spoke. The Celestial Mage stared in awe; currently unsure of her upperclassmen's sanity.
"O-oh, congratulations," She laughed awkwardly. She looked up at the clock, noticing how much time had passed. "I should probably get going if I'm going to have time to check the class board."
Erza strode to the hallway, motioning for Lucy to follow. "Then I'll go with you. I'm curious who's in my class, as well."
The girls walked quietly, both content with the comfortable atmosphere. Lucy grinned childishly as she observed her surroundings, realizing how similar the academy was to her childhood home. Back before her mother was gone. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Erza's words shattered the silence like one of her swords.
She snapped out of her trance- perhaps by a minor heart attack. Lucy pretended to not have just been scared shitless and glanced over at the girl beside her. "What do you mean?"
"This school is different than how I imagined one to be. It's pretty strange, if you ask me." She tilted her head to the side. "You haven't been to one either, right?"
Lucy's eyes drifted to the floor, remembering Erza's history. Now that she thought about it, everyone in the guild seemed to have a dark past. "Honestly, I was nervous when the Council told us about the academy."
"We all were," The redhead chuckled with embarrassment. "I didn't get much sleep last night because I had to make sure my uniform re-quip was in perfect condition." She admitted bashfully.
Lucy giggled at her friend's confession. "I had to hide mine and hope Happy wouldn't destroy it. As usual, he did, and I slaved over a sewing machine all day while Natsu constantly whined at me to stop being boring." She shook her head tiredly. She'd yet to understand what sick kind of satisfaction Natsu and his feline friend gained by making her life difficult, but somehow it didn't bother her in the least. If anything, she was grateful to have the duet of morons around. Wait, what the fuck? Now is not the time to have an intervention in my head. She slapped her hand on her forehead in an attempt to rid her mind of the thoughts.
"That's just how they show their affection, I suppose."
"I guess," She trailed off, forgetting she was in the middle of a conversation.
"Still, I can't believe anything that's happening right now. After all these years passing by without us knowing it…." Erza added after a few minutes. "It's funny how life throws you a curveball when you think you already know everything."
"That seems to happen a lot with us. We never know what'll happen to us, but," She admired the drops of rain rolling down the sleek glass windows. "We'll always be okay when we're together and be able to put on a smile at the end of the day. We really are just one big family, aren't we?"
"I couldn't have said it better, myself." They continued to walk in silence.
( -_- )(*w*)
Herds of people surrounded a small bulletin board hung on a wall, all of them shoving each other out of the way. Several papers were pinned to the board with all of the guild member's names printed on with their class number beside them. Some people cried with joy when they sought their name, while others cried for less-happy- reasons. "MOVE," Erza growled as she head-butted people out of her path. Finally reaching the front, both girls searched frantically for Lucy's name.
"Um…" The blonde scanned through the hundreds of names. "Aha! It says I'm in room 207." She mumbled, pointing at the bottom of a sheet.
Erza nodded in satisfaction. "It seems we'll be classmates."
She sighed with relief. "Who else is in our class?" She directed her attention back to the board. "Cana, Elfman, Erza, Evergreen, Happy, Levy, me, Makarov, Macau, Natsu…" That seems about right. Shit, wait. "Oh no,"
"What is it?" Ezra looked worryingly at her.
"Gray isn't in our class." She pointed at the list where Gray's name should have been. It'll be nice not to have him and Natsu slaughter each other over a pencil, but where's the fun in not having the entire team?
"This is bad," Titania tapped her chin. "We should use force to get him in our group."
"That's a terrible idea…" Lucy waved away the comment.
"W-what is this…?" Someone gagged. They glanced over their shoulders to see a horrified ice mage gawking at the paper with his name on it. "I'm stuck with…" He pointed a shaky finger at the paper next to theirs. "With…"
"Spit it out before I shank you." Erza glared at him.
"Ah, Gray-sama~!" Juvia sprinted to her victim of her stalking. Lucy felt tempted to ask her to make the rain stop, but decided she'd rather live to see the next day. "We'll be together," She fidgeted with embarrassment. "Please, take care of Juvia…" The Water Mage's face flushed with pink when she looked at her crush.
"Christ," He covered his face with his palm. This was too much for Gray, which was saying a lot.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Lucy assured the distraught man.
He shook his head and started to walk off. "I don't think I can look at you right now, Lucy." He had an unusually disturbed tone to his voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Juvia thinks it means that you should give up on Gray-sama…"
"Give up on what?" Already, the blonde could tell this day would be a long one.
"Enough small chat, we need to get to class," Erza pulled on her arm and turned to face the rest of the Guild. "You should all do the same, before the Head Master gets angry." Lucy wasn't sure why, but they seemed like they had just seen Acnologia as they scurried away.
"Who is the Head Master?" She called to the girl dragging her.
"You don't know?"
Lucy gasped for air as she tried to keep up. "No,"
Erza took a moment to choose her words before she spoke. "The Council needed to find someone who had the free time and power to take on the roll of the head master, so other guild masters weren't a possibility." She tightened her grip on Lucy's wrist.
"Erza…" She trembled, officially freaked out.
"The only other option was to find a high level mage, so they," Erza leaned over to Lucy and whispered secretively.
"What? That's disgusting!" She gaped at the distraught mage beside her.
"That's why, even if it costs us our lives, we can't get in any trouble."
"Right," She felt determination building inside of her.
( -_- )(*w*)
In room 207, all the mages conversed with the other students they'd be with for the next year. Well, other than Makarov. "This is madness." The stout man grunted as he found it difficult to get into his seat. Oh Edolas, he was going to destroy whatever dumbass proposed this idea; he's one of the Ten Wizard Saints for crying out loud! "Damn it, these chairs are huge!" The Master shouted while kicking it across the room; obviously finding any reason he could to complain.
Incidentally, the chair managed to land on Elfman's face while he was in the middle of a lecture about men. "Whoever did that isn't a man!" He picked up the desk and thrust it at Wakaba. Instantly a fight began to brew, as if they were back at the guild getting drunk like they usually did.
"You wanna go?" He stomped on his cigarette.
"Real men use fists, not desks!" Elfman charged at him. The smoke user instantly dodged his attacker; forcing Elfman to run face first into a wall.
"People these days…" Cana pulled out her cards, clearly not amused.
"You're all so annoying. Just shut up and sit down!" Macau barked as he prepared a spell.
"Knock it off." Natsu snapped as he leaned back in his chair. "You're just gonna piss off the Head Master, ya' know?"
"Pretty weird coming from you," Levy mumbled from her book. "Usually you're the one who starts these things."
Everyone glanced over at the bookworm. She's right. They turned their attention to the fire mage who was sitting peacefully at his desk. This was new- Natsu didn't want to fight. What next, he'll think summer is too hot?
The door swung open, effectively creating a dent in the wall. "Ah! Lu-chan, Erza," Levy waved over at them.
Natsu raised his head for a moment before looking down at his desk again.
"Natsu…" Happy whispered.
"It's nothing." He replied nonchalantly.
The girls walked over to Levy "Looks like luck is on our side!" Lucy put an arm around her shoulders.
"Nice to see another friendly face," Erza acted as though she knew no one else in the room. "What happened in here?" She put her hands on her hips as she observed the remains of what used to be a classroom. Nobody was expecting to have the Titania in their class, so they hadn't exactly used their best behavior.
"N-nothin'," Elfman scurried to pick up some of the discarded seats. Lucy shook her head and sat down beside the blue-haired mage. She was too tired to deal with this anymore, plus she still had her rent to worry about.
"Alright, everyone, take a seat that isn't knocked over." A stocky woman called from the front of the room. She resembled Mirajane- if she gained forty pounds and shrunk a foot. A messy red mane of hair sat on top of her head and stress wrinkles covered her round face. Okay, maybe she didn't look so much like Mira. "Let's get class started." She ordered as everyone obediently returned to their seats. The woman tuned to the chalk board and began to write on it as she spoke to her new class. "My name is Mrs. Mann and I'll be your instructor over this next year-"
"Pfft." Makarov covered his mouth to try to keep from laughing. Lucy buried her face in her arms, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.
"Is something funny, Mr. Makarov?" Mrs. Mann turned to look at the babbling idiot in the front row. It looks like she got the good class.
"Of course not," Elfman butted in, "There's nothing funny about being a man."
"Excuse me?" She felt her temper reaching her limit and it was only 6:05. Everyone could feel the tension growing in the air.
"Elfman, be quiet. Let the man talk so we can get class started." Erza raised her hand to get her teacher's attention. "Please continue, sir."
"Erza, she's not a man." Lucy mouthed to the girl beside her.
"Oh," She bowed her head to cover her reddening face. "I apologize for my outburst."
Mrs. Mann turned back to the board. "The purpose of this school is to teach you how to properly use your magic," she let out a huff. "But, I refuse to pass anyone who lacks manners, or common sense for that matter. That means, when someone says 'Mrs.', they're a woman." She felt like she was teaching kindergarten, but everyone in the class was the kid who sits in the corner and eats paste. Wonderful, fucking wonderful.
Natsu raised his hand, "I thought it just meant someone was married, whether they're a man or a woman."
"Bahahahahaha!" Makarov lost any control he could possibly have and fell out of his seat. "Who would marry someone with the last name Mann? Does that mean your husband is Mr. Mann?"
"I think that's a wonderful name." Elfman interjected once again. He thought everyone should be named Mann. Elfman Mann. Elfman the Mann. He recited his name in his head.
"Ugh, shut up, Elfman. No one cares about your obsession with men." Cana snapped at the talkative bone-head behind her. What she wouldn't do for a beer right now. Scratch that, she'd do anything for a beer; being sober was a drag.
"Shhh, Cana. Maybe he's into guys; leave him be." Macao hushed.
"You bastard—"
"God damn it!" Mrs. Mann yelled at her students. "If you don't stop talking, I'm going to fail you all so you have to take another year of school." They sat patiently as she tried to calm her nerves. "Your first assignment is going to be an essay."
Everyone looked around; unsure of what an 'essay' was. She let out a sigh and explained, "It's when you write about a subject to answer a question that has been provided." She stepped to the side to show what she had written on the board- not like they couldn't see over her. "Each class has their own topic. Our question is; 'What makes a strong team?' You'll being working in groups of two. This is to have you practice working together in a non-combat environment and better your understanding of teamwork."
Lucy hastily threw her hand in the air. "Are we allowed to pick our partners?"
Mrs. Mann smiled slyly. "Perhaps if I wasn't pissed off five minutes into class I would have allowed that. Instead, we'll be using this to choose." She walked over to Makarov and pulled off his hat.
"Hey, wha-" He tried to grab his possession back.
The teacher began ripping names off of the attendance list and folding them up before putting them into Makarov's hat. "Alrighty," She reached into the hat and pulled out two slips. "Cana Alberona and Makarov."
"Wonderful…" The fortune teller grumbled; looks like she'd be doing all the work.
"I heard that." Makarov turned to glare at his underling.
"Macao Combolt and Wakaba Mine."
The two men glared at each other, "As if," They scoffed simultaneously. "Don't copy me, jackass!"
"Moving on," She pulled out a couple more paper slips. "Happy and Elfman."
"Ehhhh?" Happy pouted at Natsu.
"Even a cat can be a man if he tries." No one bothered to tell him to shut up; all their efforts would be in vain.
"Evergreen and Levi Macgarden."
"Sorry, Lu-chan…" She mumbled after hearing her name.
She reached into the bag once again. "Oh, there are only three slips left; Erza Scarlet, Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel will be a trio." She tossed the hat back to Makarov.
"That group sounds a little dangerous…" Evergreen shook her head.
Mrs. Mann began going over the requirements for the project, even though no one was listening. "Lastly, an assembly will be held for all the groups to read their reports out loud this Friday. Anyone who skips out on the assembly or doesn't complete the essay in time will be required to take summer classes." Ah, that got their attention.
"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Whined the Exceed.
"I'm sorry, but the rules are the rules." She shrugged. "Now, get in your groups and start planning-"
"WAIT!" The door flung off of its hinges as a short figure slid into the room before tripping.
"What the hell are you doing?" Mrs. Mann screamed, officially regretting accepting this job. "Oh, Head Master, my apologies,"
"I need Erza Scarlett," The bulky man got back onto his feet. "Oh, my honey~!" He swooned when he caught sight of her.
"Ichiya…" The redhead pushed away from her desk.
"The school board is lacking staff at the moment, so we need you as a temporary replacement, men~." He inched his way closer.
"Wouldn't Master be better?" She pointed at Makarov who looked like he was off in lala Land.
"Don't put this on me." The master chimed as he scribbled on his desk with crayons.
"Master," Titania pleaded. "You'd be able to get the work done more efficiently." She lied through her teeth as desperation consumed her.
"Now, don't worry, my love. The work won't be too difficult." He took her hand in his.
Erza pulled from his grip and sprinted through the remains of the doorway shouting something along the lines of 'Fuck off, pervert'. Every had to feel bad as Ichiya pranced after her.
Mrs. Mann cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, I guess that solves things. Natsu, Lucy, you'll be a group of two now." She picked up her things and waddled towards the exit. "I'll go find someone to fix the door; try not to kill each other while I'm gone." With that, everyone started to get into their groups.
Lucy took the seat beside Natsu and pulled out her light pen to take notes. "Alright, how should we start this?" She faced him when he didn't bother replying. The usually rowdy teen was resting his head in the palm of his hand and staring at the window; a blank expression hiding any thoughts he could possibly have. She had only seen him like this once before, and honestly, it was a little scary. "Don't ignore me you idiot!' She smacked him upside the head.
"Jesus, Luce! That hurt…" He lost his words as he turned to face her. The way she was looking at him was unsettling. Her brown eyes looked at him playfully and a large smile was plastered on her face. He couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh at his friend's childish expression, she really was something else. "So, what were you sayin'?"
Lucy leaned forward and began writing in the air. He noticed she was using the pen he had gotten her for her birthday; he was fond of it because it matched his hair. "I was thinking we should start out with a rough draft to get the main idea. Then, we could add details to make it more interesting." She went on to talk about the importance of spell checking and what-not.
"Hmm?" He squinted at her writing. "Your handwriting sucks almost as bad as Mira's."
The blonde punched him in the arm, taking a great deal of offence. "You do it then," She grabbed his hand, catching him off guard for the millionth time that day. Lucy placed the pen between his fingers and sat back. He looked at her for a moment in confusion. "Well, write." She waved at him to go.
"Riiight…" He began adding his own scribbles next to hers. God damn it, what's wrong with me? Natsu cursed to himself.
( -_- )(*w*)
Natu's probably a little OOC, because he's not the type you'd usually use in a romance story. I'll try to keep them all the same, though. ^-^
The school uniforms are the same as in the Fairy Tail OVA's and the Academy is actually based off of Stadium High School (If you haven't seen it, you should look it up!). I first saw this school in the movie "Ten Things I hate about you".
Thank you who are bearing with me even though I'm still a beginner, I hope to keep continuing this story. :D