Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Never have, never will. There you have it, folks. Sad but true.

As soon as he saw Natsu's precarious position Macao's eyes widened, and he ditched the attempt to use magic.

"Don't worry, kid." He tried to reassure the boy, but it was then that he noticed that despite his precarious situation, the kid was showing no signs of fear. Just confusion.

The leader of the group of bandits, the one who had spoken earlier, stepped up next to the boy.

"I see you do care about this pathetic brat." He smirked nastily, tossing Natsu a dirty look, before turning his attention back to the guild members. "Now, unless you want the weird haired punk to bleed out before your eyes, I suggest you hand over that reward money you earned." He laughed, evil penetrating even that sound. "Honestly, how useless, worthless wizards like you even defeated those creatures, I'll never know. It must have been some stroke of luck. Everyone knows that Guild slime like you aren't worth the air you breathe, much less jewels. You miserable pigs make me sick."

Macao and Wakaba exchanged glances. The words spoken by the bandit leader angered them no end, and they had no desire to turn over their hard-earned cash, but they were in no position to argue. They could not allow harm to come to Natsu. Sighing, Wakaba shook one arm free and reached into his jacket for the jewels. He froze when a voice cut through the silence.

"You…" In shock, everyone turned to stare at Natsu. The boy was glaring at the leader from under his pink bangs. Macao was once again stunned to realise once again that despite the cold steel pressed to his neck, Natsu was not afraid. He still looked confused, as though he wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but now there was something else in his gaze. Anger. That was it. He looked confused and angry.

"How can you say that? Those are my friends!" Natsu snarled, jerking his chin towards the two guild members, narrowly avoiding being cut by the knife. Macao and Wakaba looked at each other. They were?

"They bought me food, so they are my friends!" Natsu announced dramatically. Had Wakaba been able to, he would have facepalmed then and there. But Natsu wasn't done.

"Why would you say something like that to them? That was mean!" Macao frowned. Was the air temperature rising? His eyes widened. It was. What was going on?

Natsu blinked, and when his eyes snapped open, both guild members and the bandits restraining them stepped back in shock. His eyes had transformed, pupils no longer round and normal, instead vertical slits, like a lizard's. Suddenly fire erupted from the boy's hands, lacing around them before forming into fireballs that settled in his palms. Screaming, the men threatening Natsu leapt away to avoid being burned. The leader stumbled backwards, instinctively joining the largest group of people, the one with the guild members and four of his subordinates. They took a collective step backwards when fire burst into life all around the kid, so he was standing in his own private inferno. His eyes glowed red, and he was terrifying. Macao stared in pure, unadulterated shock. This magic… it was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was powerful. Powerful and deadly. And it was being used by a child.

Suddenly the fire dimmed slightly, and Natsu's hard, lizard-like gaze focused on the bandits.

"I won't let you be mean to my friends!" He screamed, before crouching slightly and splaying his arms at his sides, fingers pointing towards the sky. It was an odd stance, one neither wizard had ever seen before. Then the kid leapt upwards, yelling "Fire dragon…" Macao's heart shuddered when he saw it. The fire dragon. He could swear it was flying with the kid, accompanying him, strengthening him, lending him power and support as he prepared his attack. And it was then that Macao knew that the attack was going to be devastating.

"Get down!" He shouted, tackling his friend to the ground. As they hit the floor, they heard the kid yell.

"… Wing slash!" Macao looked up to see long rivers of fire burst from the kid's arms, waving and rippling, burning with searing heat. They were wings of pure fire, the most powerful fire he had ever witnessed. Then the kid brought his arms down, and as he did, the fire he had created slammed into the ground, throwing bandits across the street and into buildings. It was wholesale destruction. There was the sound of an explosion, and then Macao just focused on hoping he would survive.

Minutes passed in total silence as the dust slowly settled. Wakaba shoved Macao off of him and stared at what was left. The kid, the one who had grinned adorably at them minutes ago as they bought him food, was now the only one left standing. He wasn't even breathing hard. The bandits were scattered, some lying unconscious, some already on their feet, shouting apologies as they ran. Two of the houses on the street had been turned into rubble. Next to Wakaba, Macao also rose. They exchanged looks to make sure the other wasn't harmed, before cautiously approaching the pink haired boy.

"Kid?" Wakaba called quietly. To his endless shock, Natsu turned towards him and smiled. He had the nerve to grin as though he hadn't just taken out seven bandits and two houses.

"Hey guys!" He called, waving happily. Macao gulped.

"Nat- Natsu, you took them all out." He said, stumbling over the kid's name. It now seemed too gentle for him. Natsu looked around, grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it, it was no trouble. I owed you for the food anyway." He said cheerfully. The guild members' jaws dropped. He was so… nonchalant. As though what he had done was nothing to him. As though it was ordinary.

Wakaba pulled himself together and whispered to Macao. "You ever seen anything like that?" Macao was quick to shake his head. No, this was new. Wakaba hesitated a moment, before continuing. "Did I imagine a huge dragon…?" Macao once again shook his head. No, he had seen it too. And he didn't like it. They looked at each other for a moment, but were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the distance. People were coming to see what had happened. Wakaba grabbed Natsu's arm.

"Kid, you realise that you just turned two houses into dust?" He asked. He gazed into Natsu's guileless, honest eyes as the kid replied, "Yeah, so?"

There was a moment of silence. Natsu seemed to pick up that something was wrong.

"Is that bad?" He asked, glancing from Macao to Wakaba.

Wakaba stared at the kid, before gaping in shock. Oh god, he actually meant it. He actually had no idea that being so destructive was most certainly not a good thing. The kid had no idea… And suddenly Wakaba realised that they couldn't just set this kid loose on the world. There was no telling what he would do with it. He let go of the kid's arm and managed a smile.

"I need a moment with my friend here." He said, dragging Macao a few paces away.

"We have to take him with us back to the guild." Wakaba muttered urgently. Macao glanced at the kid, who was brushing dust off of his scarf, and nodded in agreement.

"We have to hurry. I don't want to answer for this mess." Macao replied. They jogged over to where Natsu was standing.

"Hey, kid, whaddya say you come back to our wizard's guild with us, huh?" Wakaba said, attempting cheerful. Natsu frowned.

"Well, I'd like that, but…" He trailed off, biting his lip, before turning back to Wakaba. "I have to look for Igneel." He said, that determined glint back in his eye. Wakaba nodded.

"I get it. But joining the guild could really help your search." He said. Natsu's eyes widened and he looked up at Wakaba hopefully. "It could?" He asked.

"You don't really know where to look right now, do you?" Wakaba continued. When Natsu shook his head, he went on. "Well, in the guild, we get all kinds of information and rumours. You might get a lead to follow. Also, you might be able to get people to help you. And you'd be able to improve your magic."

Natsu considered this. Eventually he looked up and raised a clenched fist.

"This isn't an excuse, all right? I'm not ducking out of looking for him, I'm just trying to find out where to look! Got it?" He challenged. Wakaba nodded in understanding. Macao sighed in relief. Then he remembered about the people coming.

"Quick, we gotta run!" He said, grabbing his companions and setting off. Despite his small stature, Natsu kept up and followed them all the way to the train station.

They quickly bought Natsu a train ticket and hurried towards the one they had to catch. They were running a little late, and Wakaba was in no mood to wait for the next one. So he sighed in frustration when he realised that Natsu had come to a stop and was staring at the train.

"Kid, you coming?" He asked shortly. Natsu shifted uncomfortably, wide eyes never leaving the train.

"What does it do?" He said quietly. Wakaba realised that for once, the kid seemed a little unnerved. He sighed again.

"It'll take us home." He answered. This didn't seem to reassure Natsu in the slightest.

"It… it moves?" He asked, and his weight shifted backwards slightly, as though he was stopping himself from taking a step away. Or maybe he just didn't like standing still.

"Yeah, it moves. Now come on!" Wakaba said impatiently. Natsu gave the train another suspicious look.

"It just seems so wrong…" He muttered. Wakaba snorted, he had had enough.

"So bandits don't faze you, but at the sight of a train, you turn chicken?" He mocked. The words had the desired effect. Natsu's head flew up and he started waving his fist at Wakaba.

"I'm not scared!" He yelled, finally running over and jumping onto the train behind Wakaba. Macao waved from where he had found seats, and Natsu jogged over and took a window seat. He peered out for a while. Macao smiled.

"Never been on a train before?" He asked. Natsu shook his head mutely, and opened the window widely. Then the train departed.

Everything happened very fast. Natsu looked confused for a moment, before his eyes widened and then he doubled over, hands covering his mouth. His face turned an interesting shade of blue.

"Kid? What's wrong?" Wakaba asked, shocked. Natsu didn't answer, instead turning away and puking out the window.

"Eurgh…" Natsu groaned, looking decidedly unwell. Then he tried to climb out of the window. Macao grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back, despite the kid's resistance.

"Natsu! What are you doing?" Macao demanded. Natsu struggled, weakly trying to throw himself out of the train.

"I'm escaping!" He answered. Then he had to stop as he tried to not throw up everywhere again.

"What's up with him?" Wakaba asked, eyeing the pink haired kid warily. Macao shrugged. Natsu groaned again.

"Why is it moving?" He got out.

"Motion sickness?" Macao suggested, edging away from Natsu, who was looking worse by the second. A man walked past, took one disgusted look at the pink haired boy, and hurried away, muttering, "Worst motion sickness I ever saw…" Macao pinched the bridge of his nose. Nothing could be simple with this kid, could it? Now they would have to put up with his moaning and endless complaining, not to mention the constant threat of puke. But they had been the ones to drag him along, so they couldn't really move and leave him on his own. Besides, something would happen if they left him. He would set fire to something.

"How- oh no- how long is this gonna take?" Natsu got out. Wakaba sighed.

"A long time. We should arrive in the morning" He replied. The kid glanced outside and saw that it was only mid-afternoon. He slumped more. Macao and sat back and tried to relax, aware that this was going to be one long journey.

TBC