Alright, next chapter is up, it's not Beta read so deal with that :DI had to change the direction of the story because of the new chapters in the real manga, Natsu is END and he dies if Zeref dies, shocker! So I've been trying to not go to off with the whole story and stil connect it to the manga a little bit but it's harder than I thought. ^.^ Anyway I got asked how long I'm planning on making this book and I don't want to make it too long so I'm going to wrap it up in 13 chapters, probably less, I'm giving myself a few extra chapters just in case :p oh, and I'll probably have an epilogue too, but I promise that I won't make it MORE than 13, honest.
The Ice in Our Stars Chapter 7 - Welcome to Fairy Tail.
"Oh god I hate that carriage, why couldn't she have gotten some teleporter? No she had to get a freaking super transporter." Gray muttered as he sat down once again trying to get rid of the nausea. He had just dealt with this a couple of hours ago.
"Are you ok?" Koshi asked and started rubbing his father's back a little.
"How come you're ok?" Gray asked and watched his son unaffected by the ride.
Koshi thought about it but couldn't really find a reason so he shook his shoulders.
"Used to it?" It came out as a question but Gray nodded at the answer.
"What are you up to now ice princess?" A shouting voice could be heard as it approached them. Gray let out a low growl, of all the people…
"Go away flame head, I don't have any time to deal with you" Gray said loudly and held his head, too much had happened and he was feeling the headache coming.
Natsu looked down at his friend and noticed a smaller figure behind him.
"Dude there's someone behind you" Natsu said as he pointed while trying to get a better. look.
"I could say the same for you" Gray answered and nicked his head towards his friends feet where a small figure was standing and giggling.
"Hi uncle Gray." She said and gave a small wave. Gray smiled towards her, no matter how he feels he would never take it out on a child.
"Hi Lina. Would you be so kind as to take your daddy away from here?" Gray asked hoping for the little girl that had stolen his friends heart from the first day to get him away from him. Unfortunately she signaled no and he sighed.
"Now back to the important stuff… Who's the one behind you?" Natsu asked and stepped closer.
Gray felt it as Koshi pushed himself closer to him in what he could only assume to be fear.
"Natsu, stop it now" Gray took a hold of his outstretched hand and stood up.
"You don't have to scare him for no reason, if you want to know I'll just introduce you" Gray explained harshly, he didn't want his sons first impression to be fear.
"I didn't mean to" Natsu said but stepped back understanding.
"Natsu, Lina meet Koshi Heartfilia, my son" Gray introduced and felt how the word hit wrong in his mouth. It was supposed to be Fullbuster and this wasn't supposed to be the first time he had to say them.
"Seriously!? Lucy's kid?" Natsu screamed shocked, he immediately approached the said child and took a good look.
"To bad, he should've gotten more of her looks" Natsu said with a sigh and raised his hands.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gray asked loudly while rolling up his sleeves.
"Ah? It means that you look like shit" Natsu barely got out of his mouth before he got socked punched a few feet away.
"You're no prize either, flame brain, Thank God Lina got her mother's brain!" Gray screamed back and chased after him.
"What was that you icicle?!" Natsu returned and gave a flame punch that Gray dodged and returned, before they knew it they had started a fight that neither felt like losing.
The two children were left standing there in silence watching their fathers fight, one was used to it and didn't really bother looking while the the other one was seeing it for the first time wondering if he should help or not.
"Don't worry about what Dad said, he only did it cause he was bored and wanted to fight" Lina explained to Koshi and gave a smile.
"I'm Lina, that's my dad over there." Lina introduced herself once again and pointed towards her dad that was getting thrown into another ally.
"Koshi" He simply said too intrigued about what was happening.
"So, you're uncle Gray's child?" Lina pushed while rocking back and forth on her heels.
Koshi glanced at her before he nodded, which in return made Lina pout, a little annoyed at the lack of interest.
"So, are you joining Fairy Tail?" She asked and noticed him tensing up. It made her wonder if she said something wrong and then thought that maybe he wasn't a magician like uncle Gray, which in turn made her apologetic and regretful.
"No, Yes, Maybe, I don't know" he fumbled over his words, he never thought about that, all he wanted to see was the place where his father was and where his parents had met.
"Fairy Tail welcomes everyone if you want to join." Lina happily said before she got pushed aside by some debris that had hit her because of her father's stupid bickering.
It had angered her enough that she had wanted to join the fight but she figured not talking to her father for a few days would do the trick, plus squealing on him to her mother was better.
Those thoughts left her when she heard Koshi laugh, and then realized the hilarity of the situation and couldn't help but laugh as well.
"I'm sorry, are you alright?" Koshi asked in between laughs and then extended his hand for her to take, she graciously accepted his help and stood up happy about the change in attitude.
"Yeah, thanks." Lina thanked and tried to fix everything that had become disheveled during her fall.
"So… Do you use fire like you father?" Koshi asked and observed how his father defended a fire spell with and icy one.
"No, I got my mom's magic. Take Over, I'm not very good at it yet. We kind of have to take over other creatures parts and use them as ours, and it's a little hard to do since I have an overprotective father." Lina explained with a sigh, she would have loved to learn more creatures but every time she tried her dad would jump in and hinder her.
Koshi didn't know how to respond, although he knew there were different kind of magics in the world he hadn't heard about this one, it seemed interesting, the idea to borrow an animal's strongest for yourself in a fight seemed genius.
"What about you?" Lina asked when she noticed him clamming up again.
"I have my father's magic, in other words Ice." Koshi said while nicking his head towards his father that was launching another attack using ice.
"Do they always fight like this?" Koshi asked wondering what grudge they have against each other for them to continue to bicker till now.
"Kinda, mom told me they've been at it since they were my age. Fighting over who's stronger, but she also said that it was a rival thing and that it's a fight that shows that they are friends." She explained somewhat not understanding.
"How long until they stop fighting?" Koshi wondered out loud and started playing with his fingers creating some minor ice at his fingertips, his teacher had told him to always practice. Lina noticed but didn't comment on it.
"Oh, it's actually easy breaking them up, all I have to do say one small sentence" Lina explained expertly with a finger in the air.
Koshi raised an eyebrow at her confidence.
"Want to see?" Lina asked with a smile. Koshi nodded and watched the fight wondering how she could break them up, they seemed far too gone in it to be able to stop at a mere sentence.
"Hi auntie Erza!" Lina screamed at the top of her lungs making sure they could hear her.
Everything stopped, the attacks, the insults even the hostility.
"Erza! Nobody is fighting here"
"Yeah, we're good friends" Natsu and Gray chorused, while hugging and jumping.
Lina immediately began laughing and Koshi joined in, she had every right to be confident, because she had stopped them with an sentence.
Gray was the first to notice that they had been set up and let go of Natsu, he saw his son laughing and he liked how it lit up his face. Children were supposed to be laughing and not crying.
"Lina, sweetie, what did I tell you about saying that?" Natsu asked the moment he realized he was tricked.
"It's payback for throwing that plank at me" Lina simply said and crossed her arms, while pouting.
"I would never throw a plank at you princess, it must've been stupid Gray" Natsu explained trying to push the blame away from him. He heard Gray cough but ignored it.
"You're the one that started the fight so it's your fault that the plank was even thrown at me" Lina argued, she knew that her dad had no comeback for that one since his mouth opened and closed unsure of what to say.
"That's the second time today that I've seen a child outsmart an adult" Gray said as he held his stomach while he laughed. Koshi gave a smile because he knew that the first time was him.
"Anyway sweetie, we need to go. Your mother wanted us to go pick up, uh, something." Natsu started but realized he had forgotten what they were supposed to do. He was so dead.
"She gave us a list daddy!" Lina said holding up the piece of paper her mother had given her in secret knowing that Natsu would forget.
"Oh thank god, good job Lina!" Natsu happily praised and ruffled up her head.
"Alright see you at the guild Ice Queen! You too Ice princess!" Natsu screamed as he started leaving.
"Bye bye, Koshi!" Lina screamed and waved like a lunatic happy for the new friend.
He waved back a little but didn't say anything.
"Am I supposed to be the Ice princess?" Koshi asked after they both disappeared from their sight.
"Probably, but don't worry about it, that's just Natsu, he's always like that" Gray answered.
"So what do you want to do now? I'll let you decide, want to go to the guild or my house so that you could get settled?" Gray asked after some serious consideration.
"I don't really have anything to fix, I left everything at home." Koshi said and tugged at his pockets showing that he had nothing.
"Right, right. On to the guild then!" Gray screamed and grabbed his sons hand to guide him, and not lose him.
"So, um. How long have you been a Fairy Tail Mage?" Koshi asked, trying to break the silence.
"About your age I guess, and I've been here ever since. Allot of my generation came here when they were young," Gray answered while he started thinking about how many of them had arrived as children.
"What about mom?"
"She got here later. Natsu was actually the one who brought her after he saved her from a human trafficking case. She then later on joined the guild and then we started a team with me, her, Natsu and Erza." Gray answered while reminiscing about old times. So much has happened since then.
"Who's Erza?" Koshi asked curiously.
"Erza is an equip mage a few years older than me. She was already in the guild when I arrived, she's like an older sister I guess. She's strong, she's even called Titania because of her strength." Gray explained, he only got more curious wondering how Lucy never told him about them with each question.
"Well you'll meet her soon enough, if she's here today" Gray said and ruffled the kid's hair. They had arrived in front of the guild.
Gray didn't hesitate as he walked inside, this was second nature to him, unfortunately it left Koshi with little time to get prepared and he followed him closely.
"Gray? You're back so soon? I thought you would be gone for a while?" Mira asked as she spotted him walking in the guild hall.
Gray walked towards the bar and stopped right before it, he picked up his son and sat him down on to the closest bar chair.
"Give me water and he'll have a milkshake?" It came out as a question and he looked down to see if it was alright. Koshi nodded immediately happy, his mom would make them for him and they would drink it together.
"Water? Are you sure?" Mira questioned the decision, it wasn't often people walked up to her and asked for water. Gray nodded, this wasn't the right time to drink, he had too many things to think about and alcohol wasn't going to help him.
"Ok, and what about you sweetie? What kind of milkshake would you like?" Mira asked and leaned over to him to get a better look, as far as she knew Gray wasn't on a mission, he had left on personal business so who did he bring back?
"Strawberry?" Koshi barely whispered a little uncomfortable with the bartender leaning so close to him.
Mira nodded but the words didn't register with her, now that she was closer she saw the resemblance between the man in front of her and the child. She quickly looked up at Gray then at the child, and then between them at such a fast pace that Gray wondered if her head would still be attached at the end. He did raise an eyebrow at her action but let her brain process the information that she no doubt realized.
"KYAH! Omg, omg! He's so cute! Gray why didn't you tell me he was coming, I would've prepared something." Mira screamed and drew the attention to the guild to herself.
"Sweetie, what's your name? Is your mother with you? How old are you? Can you use magic? And if so what kind?, look at these blond curls so cute!" Mira took some of his hair and fired questions at him at such a speed that Koshi wondered when she had time to breathe, he glanced towards his father and received a nod.
"My name is Koshi, I'm turning 5. Um, mom isn't with me, I came with dad. I use the same magic as him." Koshi answered and she squealed with each answer.
"Gray! He called you dad!" Mira happily exclaimed and jumped in the same spot, Gray looked at her curiously. Why wouldn't he, he was his father.
"Ok, honey. Give me a second I'll go get your milkshake ready, strawberry right? Just like your mother. Kyah, and after that you're gonna tell me everything about yourself ok, hold on." Mira said and ran to the back in a hurry, not wanting to miss anything.
In the meantime a crowd had gathered around the bar wanting to see the child they had heard so much about during the last month.
"Gray, hurry up and introduce us!" Wendy said and tugged at his shirt impatiently.
Gray looked at her and drew his hand through his hair.
"Alright fine, everyone, this kid over here is my son, his name is Koshi and he'll be staying with me for a while." Gray put his hands on his son, who looked around at the small crowd.
"Koshi the people over here are annoying loud people that are member of this guild. That's Wendy, over there is Cana, Macao and Romeo. The scary looking guy over there is called Gajeel and his wife Levy. Then we have Evergreen and Elfman, married. The bartender is Mirajane but called Mira. You already met Natsu and Lina. Whoever is not here right now I'll introduce later. Some might be on missions or haven't gotten here yet." Gray introduced smoothly and explained in the way. He heard some complains about the way he introduced them but shrugged them off.
"Ok, here's your shake honey, water for you." Mira said and handed them the drinks.
"Ok, now tell me everything. How long have you known ice magic?" Mira asked happily, Koshi took a sip of the milkshake and enjoyed the taste.
"Um, two or three months." Koshi answered while counting on his fingers.
The nest minutes were spent asking questions that could help figure out his character. Favorite things, hated, loved, and everything in between, Koshi barely had any time to breathe from all the questions he had to answer, but he liked it. At home there weren't any people interested like this, his mother and grandfather being the exception.
"How long are you going to stay?" Mira eventually asked, curious if Lucy would come and get him so that they could meet again.
"I don't know" Koshi answered and lowered his head, he felt a little bit guilty since he had ran away from home. Mira noticed and looked toward Gray for an explanation but all she received was a head shake.
"Well you're welcome to stay here as long as you like." Mira gave a smile, and Koshi nodded happy.
A loud boom interrupted the crowd and they looked towards the guild doors, Koshi tried to see as well but was too short.
"Mira, where is the master?" Erza asked loudly and approached the small crowd at the bar.
"He's out right now but should be back tomorrow. Is anything wrong?" Mira asked and gave her a cheesecake slice.
"I don't know yet. Something peculiar happened in the mission and I need to consult the master on it." Erza explained and took a big bite, it calmed her immediately. She kept on eating her cake in a bliss until she saw the small figure across the bar table looking at her curiously.
"Gray?"
"Yeah?"
"Is that who I think it is?" Erza asked and looked at her friend.
"Probably, God knows how your mind works." Gray said and took a sip.
"Erza, meet Koshi. Koshi this is Erza" Gray introduced after he Erza stopped glaring.
"You're Erza?!" Koshi screamed and looked at her in awe. Her name alone could stop fights and she was the strongest one here. Erza gave a nod, surprised by his eagerness.
"Lina told me about how strong and cool you were, and that your magic is the best." Koshi explained and jumped on his chair.
Gray wondered why his son was so excited but didn't dwell on it. Erza on the other hand blushed from the compliments and gave him a pat on his head, not knowing how to handle it.
Now it was Koshi times to ask the questions and he asked as many as he could and Erza answered them all. The crowd started thinning out leaving Gray, Erza and Koshi at the bar with Koshi questioning, Erza answering and Gray just sitting and listening.
Natsu and Lina eventually came with Lisanna and met, Lina immediately joined the conversation happy to be able to talk with someone her age.
Lisanna sat down with Gray and Natsu followed.
"He really looks like you" Lisanna said and Gray nodded.
"Is Lucy going to come back? You know, now that the secret is out." Lisanna asked and Mira leaned in curious. Natsu cheered up at the realization that she might be coming back.
"I don't know, none of this was planned, even coming here" Gray said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Lisanna asked and furrowed her eyebrows. Gray glanced at her and then proceeded to tell her everything that happened when he had gone over there. The fights, the explanations, and most importantly the outburst from his son's side.
"Wow, I can't even believe, wait does that mean that she doesn't know he's here, safe? Gray! You can't do that!" Lisanna scolded immediately turning angry, a mother worries. She should know and she would be damned if someone took her daughter across the country without telling her.
"No, I'm pretty sure she knows. Loke knew and he told her the moment he got back, relax." Gray told her with an chuckle.
"Alright, ice princess. What's the plan now? Just staying here forever and riding on towards the sunset with your son while Lucy is all alone?" Natsu asked annoyed that nobody took her side, sure it was true that they haven't talked in a long while and she had been keeping some big secrets but she was still their friend.
"Shut up flame head. It's not like that, but right now Koshi feels betrayed so he doesn't want to meet her. I did bring it up but he threatened to disappear and I would much rather have him here safe and sound then God knows where because I pushed him to far." Gray explained his reasoning and Natsu couldn't help but see the logic in it.
They didn't have anything more to say and continued to watch the children talk Erza's ear off. She indulged them the best she could but you could see that she wasn't used to the attention. The pink hue on her cheek was enough proof.
Eventually more people came and got introduced and then left, the day turned darker and in the evening they left.
They returned the next day and time moved that way until it had become a habit to live like that, and before they knew it enough time had gone by that months passed.
"So Koshi want to go on a mission with me?" Lina asked and held up a flyer to him. Koshi gave it a quick glance before accepting, he liked doing missions with Lina, she was his first friend that was around his age.
"Ain't Mira, aunt Mira! He said yes, could you call and tell them we accepted?" Lina asked as she ran towards the bar. Mira chuckled at the scene, finding it too adorable. The next generation of Fairy Tail were just too cute for their own good.
They left as soon as Mira had given the clearance. The parents watched them go and reminisced about the time they had been at the exact same position in life. Until a thought popped up in Natsu's mind.
"Wait just a freaking second here Ice Queen! I just realized something, but your son better not aiming for Lina, she's way too good for him" Natsu screamed at his rival flaming up his hand in a threatening manner. Gray merely snorted and chugged a bit of his drink.
"Honey, listen, it's probably the other way around." Lisanna said with a laugh and Gray gave a grin.
"What?" Natsu asked his wife confused of the meaning.
"Lina is the one who likes Koshi." Lisanna clarified, and the shocked look on her husband's face was enough to make her start laughing again.
"No way? My little flower likes an icicle?" Natsu asked nobody in particular and staggered towards the bar in need of a stronger drink.
"Do not fret Natsu. I am sure that Koshi will make Lina happy, he is a good kid." Erza said as she approached him in the bar.
"The hell he is, my little girl isn't getting any guys until she's at least 30," Natsu argued and slammed his hand on the counter.
"We're around that age, and we had her when we were younger." Lisanna said with a sigh.
"That's different," Natsu countered.
"Because it was you?" Lisanna asked with a giggle, Gray decided it was his time to speak and stepped in, he gave his friend a pat on the back and smirked.
"Don't worry Natsu, when the time comes I'll be sure to have the birds and the bees talk with my boy, so you won't have to worry about anything." Gray said and immediately got hit with an fist throwing him across the room.
Gray didn't retaliate, instead he stood up calmly, and gave a smile. Natsu glared and launched into another attack, this one Gray returned mostly because he didn't feel like getting hit without a reason.
It created a mess in the guild and more people joined until eventually the whole guild was fighting each other.
"This place hasn't changed at all," a voice spoke out calmly, and it stopped the fighting immediately.
"Lucy?!"
Said person nodded her head and then asked Mira for a drink, who obliged immediately, too shocked to speak.
"So, is Makarov around?" Lucy eventually asked since it was obvious that nobody was going to start talking.
"Yeah, he's in his office, but Koshi just left. Hold on let me go and get him, if I hurry I should be able to catch up" Gray said fast already moving towards the door.
"No need to bother yourself with such trifle things." Lucy interrupted and waved her hand at him to stop him from going.
"Trifle? He's your son" Natsu questioned. Lucy gave him a look and then a dark chuckle.
"Would you call someone that abandons his mother and then doesn't keep in touch a son?" She asked in a monotone voice.
"That's… But there was a reason for it" Gray retaliated feeling a little guilty that he hadn't done more during this time.
"Nevertheless, I can't be bothered with him." Lucy said and stood up, she began walking towards the office leaving the people behind her shocked.
"Which guild is it?" Natsu questioned and it stopped her on the way. She gave a smile that turned into a laugh.
"I wouldn't expect any less from you" She said and then continued on her way, she entered without knocking and disappeared from their sight.
"Guild?" Erza questioned the dragon slayer.
"Yeah, I could feel the smell of magic ink on her." Natsu explained as he tapped his nose.
It took a few minutes of silence before Lucy came flying through the door breaking it and was thrown into the wall, creating a hole.
She didn't say anything and stood up while fixing her clothes, and then dusted off the debris that clung to her.
It shocked everyone so much that most were standing with their mouths opened wondering just what had happened.
"I thought better of you Lucy." Makarov screamed as he followed the mess he had created.
"Oh? How so? What did you know about me and my life exactly?" Lucy asked uninterested about his rant.
Her answer angered him and his magic started flaring around everyone in the guild.
"Master what's going on?!" Erza screamed trying to step in to stop him. He ignored her and continued his glaring at the blonde who continued to look uninterested.
"Is this the choice you're going to make, despite everything?" Makarov finally asked, magic flaring everywhere growing in intensity.
"Yes" Lucy simply answered, while growing annoyed at him.
"I see, well then. It's a parent's duty to punish their children when they do bad things, and you my child, has done some bad things" Makarov said and grew bigger with each word.
"Last time I checked I wasn't in Fairy Tail anymore" Lucy said completely unfazed by his growing stature.
"Even runaway children are still my children in the end." Makarov said, and started reaching for her. Nobody moved not sure what was going on.
Lucy on the other hand sighed, growing bored at the little charade.
"I don't have time for this, I came here to warn you out of courtesy." Lucy said and held her head while she shook it feeling herself getting more impatient as the seconds ticked by.
So she flared her own magic, bringing it up to his level without even breaking out in a sweat.
It shocked most members, although most of them had grown during this time Lucy's was abnormally high. You could easily tell that she had even more to spare. She brought up her hand and flicked it a little.
It's effect were immediate and Makarov shrunk to his original size. He looked down towards his hands not sure what had happened.
"What did you do to my magic child!?" He screamed at her feeling the fear of being powerless, he couldn't feel any of his magic at all.
"Don't worry, I merely drained you of it, as long as you rest it will come back normally." Lucy explained and then started walking towards the door.
"This isn't your magic!" Makarov screamed, trying to stop her from leaving so that he could convince her that what she was doing was wrong. It succeeded and she looked back.
"You know nothing of my magic, and how it works. Although it has the name celestial magic, it's much more than that." Sighing she looked away.
"I warn you to heed my previous warning" Lucy said with pity and then disappeared right in front of them, yet again using a magic that wasn't hers.
They all stood there watching the spot she had disappeared from and then turned towards their Master, and after they had asked how his health was they questioned what had happened.
"She's joined forces with a demon" Makarov said sadly wondering what had gone wrong.
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked not understanding what he meant, no one did.
"Zeref, the dark magician"
The name alone sent shivers down everyone's spine and their blood ran cold.
"Bullshit! She wouldn't!" Gray screamed, remembering that he was the man that created the demon that killed his family, Lucy knew this. She would never join forces with someone like that.
"And yet she did" Makarov said and tried to figure out why.
"Perhaps she didn't have a choice?" Mavis spoke up for the first time, appearing in front of them while looking over the damage.
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked hoping for a logical explanation.
"Zeref is a man that won't allow anything to get in his way, no matter what even if it is a person's own will. He will stop at nothing to get his way, and Lucy does come from one of the richest family around, perhaps he needed that wealth?" Mavis offered and it seemed to make sense.
"What did she come here to warn us about Master?" Erza asked, trying to shift the subject from the previous one.
"She wants us not to get in their way since Fairy Tail has a habit of putting its nose where it doesn't belong. They are planning something and she advised us not to listen to the council if they approach us on the subject." Makarov explained and ruffled his mustache.
"At least it's proof she still cares about us, otherwise she wouldn't have come all this way just to warn us." Lisanna said with a smile trying to get everyone's mood up.
"Levy, would you mind looking into what she meant when she talked about her magic?" The first asked the guilds walking library, brimming with curiosity. Levy nodded equally curious.
The rest of them looked around and then moved on, it took a while but eventually the guild mood returned but Lucy and her warning was still fresh in everyone's mind.
Gray on the other hand was busy thinking how this happened, when it happened and how he should explain it to their son. Natsu took pity and gave him a pat on his shoulder.
"Don't worry I'm sure she has a reason." Natsu said with baseless confidence.
"Do you think Koshi knows about this?" Lisanna asked worried for the poor child.
"I don't think so, but if somebody does know anything it's bound to be Loke. He knows everything going on in her life, we should talk to him." Gray said forming a plan.
"How are you going to do that?" The First asked while approaching the table.
"I'm pretty sure there is another celestial Mage in Saber Tooth, she could get to him, with her own contractors." Gray explained his plan to his friends and since nobody told him not to he assumed it was a good plan so he got up and left to contact Saber Tooth.
"For the love of God Lucy, what are you up to?" Gray whispered while he walked, knowing that she had far more secrets than this.
Hope you enjoyed, what in the name of the heavens are you up to Lucy. geez. Hahaha, just kidding I already know. Anyway I guess you noticed the change in writing the last part, it was over here that I changed the whole direction of the story. Sorry, I'll write better the next time now that I have a clearer image of where I'm EXACTLY going with this.
