Disclaimer: Same as usual
"Huh?"
Natsu stared dumbly at Lisanna, who was standing in front of him patiently.
"I said, do you want to come on a job with me and my sister?" She repeated. Natsu grimaced.
"A job?" He whined. That sounded like a major pain in the ass. Lisanna nodded.
"Yeah. We take them in order to earn money to pay for things like rent and clothes." She replied. Natsu still looked unconvinced. "And food, of course."
"I'll come." He said immediately. Lisanna giggled.
"Okay then! We're leaving this afternoon, so you should probably go pack. We'll meet you at the train station, okay?"
To her surprise, Natsu turned vaguely grey.
"The what now?" He got out, looking horrified. Lisanna hesitated.
"Uh... the train station? We're catching an overnight train - Natsu are you okay?" She gasped as her friend threw his hand over his mouth and turned away slightly. After a moment's silence, he seemed to pull it together and turned pleading eyes on the white haired girl.
"Isn't there another way?"
She shook her head, confused. "Sorry, but we're going to a town that's pretty far away. If we walked, it would take days. And Mira... well, Mira's not very patient." She thought about it. "Or fond of walking."
Natsu scowled. He was torn: he could get money for food, not to mention the opportunity to beat some people up, which sounded so awesome. But he would once again have to board that moving monstrosity.
On the other hand, he might get lucky and run into Igneel. That settled it.
"What time?"
That afternoon, Natsu raced into the station, blissfully unaware of the disdainful stares he was receiving, though he wouldn't have cared if he had noticed them. Ignoring the way his stomach lurched when he saw the trains, he started looking for the Strauss sisters. As it happened, Mira Jane was hard to miss.
"You!" She screamed, slamming her fist down on his head. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting? The train is about to leave, you idiot!" She spun on her heel and strode away. Rubbing his head, Natsu got to his feet and glared at her retreating form furiously.
"Hi there Natsu! It's nice to see you!" Lisanna said, smiling happily. All the anger vanished from his expression as he turned to look at the takeover mage. He returned the grin, and together they took off after Mira Jane.
The second the train started moving, Natsu groaned and dropped his head onto the table.
"What wrong with him?" Mira asked her sister, jerking her thumb at the Dragon Slayer. Lisanna shrugged worriedly.
"Macao mentionned he gets motion sick." She explained. Natsu managed a small nod. Vaguely reassured, Lisanna pulled out the request they had accepted.
"So, we've been hired to track down a magic gem -" She started, but was interrupted by Natsu, who overcame his motion sickness in order to be appropriately outraged and horrified.
"What? We're looking for some stupid rock? I thought there would be people to beat up or something!" He shouted. "Why did - oh no..." Before covering his mouth again and going back to being ill. Mira Jane looked disgusted.
"I swear, if you throw up on my new outfit, I will throw you out of this train myself." She threatened. Natsu didn't seem to hear her. Lisanna smiled sympathetically.
"Don't worry, Natsu. It'll still be fun!" She said earnestly. The only responses she received were a groan from her friend, and a snort from her sister.
"Really? Because I'm with puke-face over there. It sounds boring." Mira drawled. "But, the Master says you kids need more experience with the easy stuff before you can take on cooler missions, so here we are."
Lisanna smiled serenely. "Well, the gem was stolen. So maybe it will be interesting for you two." She offered. Mira scowled.
"Are you kidding? The poster said it was stolen by one guy. One. I bet I could take him out with one punch!" She declared. holding up her fist. Then she sighed. "How am I supposed to show up Erza when I keep getting stuck babysitting?" She turned to look out the window angrily. Sensing that conversation time was over, Lisanna started humming to herself. Natsu's grip on the table intensified. A few minutes passed in silence, before Mira sighed.
"This is going to be such a long ride."
The next day, they arrived, and Natsu threw himself out of the train almost before it had stopped moving. Lisanna giggled at his antics, whereas the older Strauss just rolled her eyes.
"Get up, we've gotta go. The train doesn't stop in the town we're headed to, and it's a few hours walk from here." Mira snapped. Natsu looked up hopefully.
"We are walking, right?" He asked. Lisanna nodded.
"Uh huh. We don't really have the money to hire someone to take us." She explained, before setting off after her sister. For a while, there was complete silence, but eventually Lisanna, ever the peacemaker, managed to start a conversation involving both of her companions, and they talked right up until the town appeared on the horizon.
"Woah." Natsu breathed, a huge grin breaking onto his face. Even from a great distance, the town seemed to bustle with life and energy. Lisanna smiled at his enthusiasm, but Mira just snorted.
"I've seen way cooler places than this." She bragged. Then she turned to her sister, for once smiling sweetly instead of fiercely. It made her look a lot like her younger sister, despite the very different outfit. "Do you remember than job we took a few months ago? Just you, me and Elfman?"
"Of course! I had so much fun!" Lisanna replied, smiling back.
"Well, the city we went to then was something else."
Natsu watched their interaction curiously. They seemed so completely comfortable with each other, it reminded him of how he spoke with Igneel. It was so painfully obvious that they were family, and that they knew each other in a way no one else ever would. It made Natsu uneasy, and suddenly he wished there was someone else there as well, another outsider, so he wouldn't be the only one intruding on something he clearly wasn't a part of.
Then the moment passed and they all hurried on, unwilling to loiter when their destination was in sight. Natsu in particular was looking forward to finding food. What seemed like minutes later they found themselves standing in the middle of a busy street, filled with people going about their day. Natsu grinned. Everything was so lively! It was completely unlike the forest he grew up in, and he loved it.
So, now all he had to do was find the gem. And keep an eye out for Igneel, just in case. Without a better plan, he decided to head off in a random direction. He didn't get very far before a hand grabbed his scarf, pulling him short.
"Huh?" He twisted around to see Mira glaring at him.
"Where do you think you're going? The town hall is the other way!" She snapped. Lisanna pointed in the right direction helpfully. Natsu stared at Mira, confused.
"Why do we want to go there?"
There was a moment of silence, before Mira whacked him over the head.
"Hey! What was that for?" The pink haired boy asked angrily, rubbing his head. Lisanna took it upon herself to explain.
"The mayor is the one who put up the job request, so we have to go and see him and say we're here. Also, he might have information we can use to track down the thief."
Natsu blinked, before nodding slowly. That made sense. He was starting to realize that it was a good thing he was with people who knew what they were doing.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who read my story and for leaving positive reviews!
