Hey again, guys! Sorry this chapter took longer than the rest - I was at a loss as to what I should write next. Eventually, I got it sorted it out, so everything's fine now. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.

Three and a half years have passed since the death of one of Fairy Tail's most loved wizards - Lisanna Strauss. Natsu vowed to get stronger to protect his friends, with Erza and Cana joining in. Pretty soon, a few others (namely Mira, Levy, and Bisca) began training with him - for the exact same reason, one might add.

Natsu is now eighteen years old, and on his way back from a mission. Currently, he is in the port city of Hargeon.

"Did you hear? It's Salamander!" a teenage girl squeals with delight.

"No way!" another responds.

"Yeah, he's in the middle of town! Let's go!"

Natsu was curious. Someone was either going by his nickname - masquerading as a Fairy Tail wizard, which Natsu would not approve of - or just happened to have the same moniker. He quickly decided to check it out, having nothing else to do.

Little did he know, a certain blonde-haired female of the same age was having similar thoughts. "I've heard of him! He's a Fairy Tail wizard, right? I have to go see!"

Pretty soon, Natsu arrived at the scene. A crowd of teenage girls surrounded a blue-haired male with a strange tattoo on his face. The girls all seemed to be falling over themselves to get his autograph, be near him, or even touch him.

Natsu teleported beside him. The man almost fell over in surprise. "Hello. I hear you're calling yourself Salamander? Could you tell me who you are?" Natsu asked, doubting he would have a good answer.

The man regained his composure quickly, deciding he must've missed the man walk through the crowd earlier. He stood up proudly. "Yes, I am Salamander. I am a Fairy Tail mage. Would you like an autograph?"

Natsu just scowled. "You're not a Fairy Tail wizard, and you're certainly not Salamander. That's my nickname, and my guild. Learn who you're impersonating before you try to trick him."

Natsu requipped a communication lacrima into his hand. He tapped it a few times before speaking. "Hello? It's Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail. Bora of Prominence is with me in the middle of Hargeon. Yes, he's in my custody. Alright, I'll take him there immediately."

Before anyone could react, he teleported into one of the Magic Council's outposts. He took him over to a guard. "This is Bora of Prominence. He's wanted for slave trading already, but now he's guilty of imitating a wizard of a guild. Keep the bounty."

Natsu quickly teleported back to the same spot in Hargeon. The girls were beginning to react with shock, fear, panic, and even anger. The last one sparked the great idea of attacking the skilled wizard who had just teleported about three times in a row within a few seconds.

None of the punches or kicks even affected him, but he realized he would need to explain. Natsu just telepathically communicated with them, explaining that Bora was an impostor, and was attempting to take them in as slaves for a trading market in a different land. Eventually they got the message and began walking away.

One girl around his age with blonde hair, however, walked up to Natsu. "I want to say thanks," she stated simply with a smile.

Natsu laughed. "I didn't really do anything. He was just some criminal, and not a very good one at that."

The girl laughed along with him at his modesty. "I'm sure you put him in the custody of the Magic Council, which is a pretty awesome feat considering it took about four seconds. Not only that, but you ended the charm spell. Thanks again. You know what? I want to repay you."

"If you say so. I guess I am kind of hungry, so thanks, …?" he ended, looking at her askance.

"Lucy. I know a place not far from here. Come on!"

Once they had arrived at the restaurant, Natsu ate ravenously. Fortunately, he still had some manners, having been taught by Erza. Lucy smiled at his antics.

"I'm a little disappointed about that guy being a fake. I was excited to meet a Fairy Tail wizard," Lucy said with a hint of sadness.

Natsu grinned at her mischievously. "You just did. He was impersonating me, in case you didn't hear."

Lucy's eyes widened. "No way! You're Salamander?"

Natsu nodded. "Not sure why they use that nickname. Only seems to pertain to my fire magic, to be honest. I guess it could have something to do with being very diverse…." he trailed off, his brow furrowed.

"Wow, he looks really cute when he's thinking. I mean, now that I think about it, he's really attractive. Not only that, but he's a Fairy Tail wizard!" Lucy thought to herself with a blush.

Natsu noticed this but decided not to say anything. "Not her, too? Man, all the girls I meet…."

He spoke up. "So, are you in a guild?" He could already tell she was a wizard by his ability to see magic power.

Lucy shook her head. "I know it sounds silly, but I'd like to be in Fairy Tail."

Natsu laughed. "It's fine. In fact, you can come with me to the guild hall if you want to join. I'm sure you're a great wizard, and even if you aren't, then you'll get better from training and doing jobs," Natsu said encouragingly.

Lucy was happy beyond words. "He's super nice, too!" Then she frowned a bit. "How'd you know I was a wizard?"

"I can sense magic power. Once you get strong enough, it's easy," Natsu replied.

"Seriously? Wow, you must be super powerful, huh?" Lucy replied, awestruck.

At this, Natsu grinned. "I'm not an S-Class wizard without reason," he said modestly.

Eventually, Lucy and Natsu arrived at the guild doors. Natsu gave Lucy a reassuring glance before grabbing a handle and pulling one of the doors open. He gestured for her to go in first, for which Lucy, after walking in, thanked him.

Almost immediately, a couch (which didn't even make sense because there were no couches in the guild hall) flew right at the two. Natsu caught it with one hand and set it down.

The guild slowly noticed the dragon slayer and the never-before-seen blonde female with him. They greeted them cheerfully, though most were wondering who the girl was.

As Natsu recognized their question without words, he responded while taking Lucy to the counter at the other side of the guild. "This is Lucy. She's joining Fairy Tail," he said with a smile.

The guild was silent for a moment, but quickly shouted "A new member! Let's party!" and went back to the exact same things they'd been doing, although with renewed vigor.

A gorgeous white-haired female sat at the bar in a pink dress. When Lucy noticed her, she immediately had a slight breakdown. "It's Mirajane! She's all over Sorcerer Weekly! I can't believe I'm standing right by her! Mirajane! Oh my gosh!" she thought, almost squealing.

Natsu looked over at her with concern. "Lucy, are you alright?" he asked. After Lucy had calmed down and nodded at him, he turned back to the white-haired woman. "Hey, Mira! This is our new member, Lucy. She needs a stamp."

Mirajane smiled at Natsu. "Always a good thing for you to be back from a job, Natsu! I missed you," she said, embracing Natsu.

The dragon slayer hugged her back, smiling as well. "It was only a week!" he exclaimed, pretending to be annoyed.

Lucy watched this with a tinge of jealousy. "What am I thinking? There's no way someone who does bikini-shoots on Sorcerer Weekly all of the time and claims the title of one of the most powerful female wizards in Fairy Tail could like Natsu! Though, he is really handsome… and he's also super strong. I wonder…" she thought to herself.

Lucy was brought back to reality by Natsu, who shook her gently. "Hey, Lucy? You need your stamp."

"I'm sorry. Can I have it on the back of my right hand?" she asked.

Natsu grinned. "Sure. What color?"

Lucy thought for a moment. After a moment, her eyes settled on Natsu's hair, and with a slight blush she responded. "I'd like it in pink."

"Great choice!" he said as he held the stamp on her hand. "You're all done, now. By the way, if you need accommodation, you can rent a dorm in Fairy Hills for a hundred thousand jewels a month. And if you're in need of cash, just ask me. I'm loaded since I never spend my money, and I do a whole lot of S-Class jobs," he said with a grin.

The reason for Lucy's color choice did not go unnoticed by Mira, who frowned slightly at the decision. "I don't want any kind of competition, and she's not bad-looking," she thought to herself.

"I do need somewhere to stay, so I'll check it out. But about the money - thanks, Natsu, but I couldn't ask for something like that," Lucy said, shaking her head slightly. "Wow, he's so nice! I don't think I've ever met anyone who is this happy to help others."

After realizing something, Lucy frowned. "Where's the master? Don't I need to ask him to join?" she asked.

Mira smiled. "Don't worry, Lucy. The master's on his way to a conference. I've been given authority for the moment, and I decide that you are a Fairy Tail member."

"Thanks, Mira!" Lucy said. As looked around for Natsu, she heard her name called out from the very same person.

"Hey, Lucy! Come over here!" he called.

She turned toward his voice and saw him at a strange billboard covered in papers.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, walking toward him.

Natsu responded while looking at the papers. "This is the mission board. People make requests for wizards to complete, and they go up on whatever guilds they choose. Each one has a certain reward, and most of the time, the more cash there is, the more danger as well. I thought we could choose one to go on together, since it's your first."

"Oh, I get it. So what kind of mission should we go on?"

"Aha!" Natsu exclaimed as he plucked a paper off the board. "This one is perfect."

Lucy grinned. "Alright then - let's go!"

So, yeah. Natsu's met Lucy now. Also, you can tell that he's been having even more trouble with women - they all fall in love with him. Ugh, poor Natsu, am I right? Heh. Well, anyway, peace.