Fairy Tail Guild Hall - X785

"Another round over here, Mira!"

"Here, here!"
"Coming right up!" Mira called in response. Lately, the white-haired barmaid has been rather happy. She's been on a job recently, Natsu came back to her, and everything in her life seems to be going back to normal. 'I wonder if they'll be back soon…'

As if on queue, just as Mira finished handing the next round to a table of mages, the doors burst open to a sight that was both peculiar and normal.

"We have returned alive," the figure called.

"Natsu!" Mira yelled excitedly but stopped a few feet in front of him. "Wait, why aren't you wearing your cloak? And who is THAT?"

"This here is my hunky dragon savior," the woman that Natsu was carrying replied. Their agreement was that Natsu would carry her back as long as Gray took care of her until she got her leg back. Erza, needless to say, was unusually quiet their entire trip back.

"For the last time, would you stop saying that? Here, Gray, take this please…" Natsu sighed, handing her off to Gray.
"Hey, wait a-oof," Gray replied, catching his falling teacher.

"Natsu...are you going to tell me who that is?" Mira said with a devious smile. Everyone behind Natsu shivered.

"There's the demon, I was starting to wonder if she disappeared," Natsu answered with a smirk. "She's a new recruit. Is the master here? There's quite a bit of information regarding her that needs to be discussed."

"He's in his office. Mind telling me why you were parading her around?"

"She's missing a leg, Jane…" Natsu deadpanned. Mira's eyes widened and she blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea," she stammered.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, cutie," Ur told her. "My name's Ur."

"Right! I'm sorry. Come with me and we'll get you your stamp," Mira told her, guiding Gray over to the bar with a one-legged ice mage in his arms.

"Alright, everyone!" Natsu announced loudly as Makarov emerged from his office. "I'd like you to meet our new member Ur Milkovich!"

A cheer rang out among the guild members, in addition to a few loud declarations of 'Let's party!' and drinks started flowing like wide-opened floodgates. Lucy, Happy, and Erza went to go socialize and devour comically high amounts of strawberry cake respectively, and Natsu used this confusion to head over to the master, who was currently investigating the new member…'s assets…

"Master...how many times have I told you to keep your hands to yourself," Mira scolded, before adding another one of her trademarked sweet smiles that promise death if you don't heed her every word. "Or do we need to have another discussion on how to properly treat women?"

Makarov paled and began stuttering his acceptance. "You never change do you, Master," Natsu sighed, shaking his head.

"There you are Natsu! You never answered my question, and I never got my hug!" she pouted.

"Well, we can fix both of those things," Natsu replied, giving her a quick hug. "Master, I need you to come with me to Porlyusica's house. Ur needs a new leg as well as some important information. Jane if you'd like to come too, you're more than welcome to accompany us."

"Can do, my boy," Makarov replied, hopping off his stool.

"Sure!" Mira replied happily, following Makarov towards the door after calling for Lisanna to cover for her.

"Alright, let's go," Natsu sighed, yanking the newly added ice-make mage into his arms.

"I'm all yours, dragon boy," she purred.

"We're gonna have to do something about that…Gray! Let's go!"

"Where are we going, kindling-for-brains?" Gray taunted back.

"Where do you think we're going? Unless you want to be Ur's taxi, she needs a leg!"

"Right…"

And so, the group of mages, including Natsu, who has been finally recloaked, Gray, Mirajane, Makarov, and Ur, who was being carried by Natsu, departed for the home of Porlyusica. They arrived within the hour to a very displeased pink-haired old lady.

"What is it, brats? Why are you here?" she snapped.

"Good to see you again, Porlyusica," Natsu spoke up, stepping in front of the group and shaking off his hood. "I need to call in a favor."

Porlyusica sighed and shook her head. "Very well, Natsu. Come inside. Why are the rest of the brats here?"

"There's a lot of information that Gray and Makarov need to hear, and Jane is my plus-one," Natsu told her, as he stepped in.

"Well, fine. Come on in brats, but hurry up about it. I've had it about up to here with you humans…" she grumbled.

The rest of the group followed, everyone including Makarov shocked that she seemed reasonably friendly with the dragon slayer, and Natsu set Ur down on the bed while the rest of them found a place in the room to stand and Natsu took a seat at the foot of the bed.

"This is Ur Milkovich," Natsu explained. "She's recently been released from a ten-year-long seal inside of Iced Shell, so I'd like you to give her a once-over to make sure everything's ok with her. In addition, as you can tell, she's missing a leg, so I'd like you to get her a replacement."

"Iced Shell? How on earth land is she alive?" Porlyusica gasped.

"I've told this story four times now, but the short version is since it is a spell derived from dragons, and I use White Fire Dragon King magic, I was able to free her." The healer nodded and left the room to prepare a few things.

"You know, you could sit here and let someone else take the chair," Ur told him, patting the spot right next to her.

Mira's eye twitched slightly as Natsu just sighed and rubbed his face again. "That's quite alright, Ur. Now if you please, this is serious. First off, I need to give the mission report to the master." Natsu explained how he received a mission from 'an old friend' to free Ur from her seal and kill Deliora who was currently residing on Galuna Island, which is why he freaked out hearing that Gray took a mission there. He then told them how they arrived, how they found the demon and convinced Lyon to allow him to free his teacher, how the fight went, and finally the conclusion with Deliora's death and Ur's order to Lyon for him to find somewhere to reevaluate his goals and decisions.

As his story finished, there was a long moment of silence, where the only noise was from Porlyusica who was running various tests and things on Ur who was paying more attention to Natsu than anything else. Mira walked over and knocked him on the head before hugging him again.

"You need to be more careful, Natsu," she said softly.

"You need to stop hitting me on the head," Natsu teased. "And no stuck-up demon is enough to kill me!"

"Well, that certainly is a lot of information to process," Makarov said, thinking deeply. "And you're certain that Deliora is dead?"

"Positive. I'm quite surprised a corpse remained," Natsu replied. "I wish you could've come, Jane. You would've gotten a new satan soul."

"From what you described I doubt that I was strong enough to control it anyway," Mira sighed, releasing her imprisoned dragon slayer.

"What, no hug for me?" Ur piped up.

"I've carried you around for two days, you've gotten plenty of contact," Natsu sighed back. "But anyway, that's not the real information here. Ur...this is a very personal question I need to ask you."

"No I'm not a virgin," she replied. Makarov started coughing, and Gray and Mira blushed fiercely.

"THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS IMPLYING!" Natsu shouted, also blushing. "I want you to tell me about your daughter."

"How do you know I have a daughter?" she whispered in shock.

"I'll answer your question after you answer mine. You'll just have to trust me on this."

"Ok…" Ur told the story of how she had her daughter years ago with her loving husband, who passed away before she was born. How she named her daughter Ultear for her tears that she wept at having a new light in her life, but sadly, her daughter had a serious excess of magic forcing her to go to the Bureau of Magical Development for help. "After a few years, they told me they had a cure...but when I went back for her...they told me she'd died…"

Ur was now sitting up leaning against Gray, crying slightly, who'd gone over to console his master, knowing how difficult a topic it was for her to talk about. "Why'd you make her go through that again, Natsu?" Gray asked him. His seriousness was conveyed both in his tone and the fact that he didn't use an insult, addressing the fire mage by his actual name.

"Because I needed to hear the story from you. Ur," he stated very seriously and stared back into her eyes. "Your daughter is very much alive."

The silence that overtook the room was thick, the only sound was that of the beating hearts pounding away in the chests of the mages who were holding their breaths.

"What…?" Ur whispered.

"Ultear Milkovich is alive. She is the one who contracted me to free you from Iced Shell," Natsu explained. "Unfortunately, I don't have much other good news for you other than that about her. I've done all I can to bring her back, but the reason I was willing to risk my life to free you and Deliora, was because you are the only one who can do that."

"What do you mean by 'bring her back,' lizard breath?" Gray snapped. "You just told us she was alive, and now you're saying she isn't?"

"She is alive...however...she is currently walking a path of darkness. When I met her long ago, she was losing herself. The best I was able to do is start inching her closer to the light. Ultear Milkovich works for the council as a cover for her primary job, which is the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory for Grimoire Heart. I'm not sure if they were around during your time, Ur, but it is one of the most powerful dark guilds in Ishgar."

Ur cried harder, a mix of joy that her daughter was alive and utter horror that her daughter was working for such a dark guild.

"Child, why didn't you tell me about this?" Makarov asked while Mira was still in shock.

"Ultear is a friend of mine...I met her about five years ago..."

Flashback - X780 (Ultear's Perspective)

Ultear was on a job for master Hades. It was fairly simple really, meet up with one of his sub guilds to collect payment. Very rarely did any of the Seven Kin actually go on jobs like this, however, this was a personal favor for Hades. This place had been rubbing Hades the wrong way for some time, and he was hoping that a bit of a scare tactic would get them back in line. While by all means vicious and ruthless, Hades was by no means an idiot. If he destroyed a sub guild every time they did something he didn't like, he would run out of them rather quickly, so he kept them in line through intimidation. Sometimes, he'd kill one or two of the members, other times he'd have his guards threaten them, and other times...he just let Ultear do her thing.

She was approaching the guild, a well-hidden building containing the members of the guild Ember Fang, when a loud explosion rang out and the ground trembled slightly. Ultear found a place to hide momentarily so she would be able to get some information before anything could go wrong. She stayed there for a moment before a cloaked figure emerged from the guild. He was rather short, she supposed, but that's all she could tell from him. His entire person was covered and she had no idea who he was or what he was doing. So, as a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, she stepped out to meet him head-on.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? Are you a member of Ember Fang?" Ultear demanded, glaring at him suspiciously.

"I thought I missed one, but I don't sense nearly as much malice from you as I did from those inside. You aren't from here are you?" the figure asked inquisitively. He seemed rather interested in who it was that approached him, and why they seemed so set on attempting intimidation.

"Hmph! You must be mistaken! I'm a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory from Grimoire Heart! Now, before I end your life, mind telling me why you're here?"

"How strange…" the figure replied thoughtfully. "For someone to be so lost and so confident all at once. I took a job to destroy the place, and I have completed such a job. Though you are a member of Grimoire, I see no reason to fight with you, so if-" he was interrupted by a crystal ball flying past his skull.

"Lost? Who are you calling lost? Pity you have no desire to fight, but I suppose such a thing comes from staring at the last person you'll ever see!"

"Your eyes…" he said, staring at her while easily dodging her various attacks. "They're just like mine...Lost and alone…"

"I'm not alone! What are you even talking about?!" Ultear continued to command her army of orbs, sending them flying around him, yet each one he dodged with ease.

"Very well...I shall fight you if only to see your eyes once more...Fire Dragon's Iron FIST!" the figure shouted, shattering several crystals in one shot.

'What power!' Ultear's eyes widened. "You'll have to do far better than that!" and she snapped her fingers, smirking as the orbs reformed themselves before his very eyes.

"Fire Dragon's BLAST WAVE!" he called out, scorching the ground beneath him and destroying all the orbs. Before she could reform them, he charged at her, kneeing her in the stomach and elbowing the back of her head until she fell to the ground. Natsu placed a foot on her back to keep her in place and spoke again. "I simply wish to speak with you, can we finish this farce for now?"

"You want to SPEAK? You completely DESTROYED the guild I was supposed to collect from! If you want to live, you'd better kill me now, because if I make it out of here alive you'll-" Ultear was interrupted by the figure as he tossed a small pouch in front of her face and removed his foot.

"There. I'm sure that will cover it." Ultear looked inside the bag which was filled with jewels, there looked to be around half a million inside.

"Why are you-?"

"Your eyes. When I look at you, I see my eyes in you. They are the eyes of something being taken in front of you, the eyes of feeling lost, lonely, and helpless, the eyes of losing yourself in something that is wrong but convincing yourself it's right. They are the eyes that I have within me."
Ultear's eyes widened, shocked at his words as she got up to a sitting position, and he sat down against a tree across from her and removed his hood. He looked no older than her, possibly a bit younger even, and had a vertical scar over each eye. His hair was very peculiar, a brilliant white on the right side and pink on the left, and he wore a pair of silver earrings with a black scale dangling from each side. Looking closer at him, she saw what he meant. His eyes were the same eyes that she looked at in the mirror every day, not that she would ever admit to it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. How could you possibly know anything about me?"

"I can't, so why don't I tell you my story and you can tell me yours?"
"I don't want to hear your sob story. If you want sympathy, find some other sucker. I don't know why I'm even still talking to you!"

The man chuckled and smiled slightly at her. "It's because you know in your heart that what I'm saying is true. My father used to tell me that the heart is a thing that defies all logic and reasoning, but sometimes you need to ignore what you know, and listen to it…"

The man shared his story of loss to her, how the parents who took him in were killed in front of him and how the village he moved to was destroyed again, and how he became a bounty hunter to avenge his parents' killer. Ultear told him her story, of how her mother abandoned her and found better children. How she'd killed her tormentors and wandered until she was taken under the wing by the master of Grimoire Heart.

"Have you ever spoken to your mother since then?"

"That wench is dead…" Ultear grumbled.

"I see. Perhaps she never abandoned you, perhaps she thought you had died. I am familiar with the Bureau of Magical Development, and it was run by a despicable man known as Brain. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he just told a lie in order to-"

"Nonsense!" Ultear snapped. "My mother was a horrible, despicable woman who abandoned me for better! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Did you see her, or did you see her eyes?"
"What's with your obsession with eyes? And of course I saw her eyes!"
The man chuckled again and explained. "Many people's eyes hold a story, and if you can read the story, you can understand them. Those who are losing themselves, their eyes speak the loudest. Those who are lost cannot be read. That is how I know you aren't lost, that you can find your way back again."

"I'm not lost and I'm not losing myself either! What are you on about?!"

"Perhaps in time, you shall understand. I must be going. Until we meet again-?"
"Why should I give you my name? At least give me yours first," Ultear snapped.

The man donned his hood once again and stood. "Natsu, my name is Natsu Drakeneel."

As he began to walk away, Ultear called out to him. "My name is Ultear...Ultear Milkovich…"
"Goodbye, Ulty...I'm sure we'll meet again someday."
"ULTY? HEY, WHAT ARE YOU-(sigh)" Ultear shook her head and investigated the guild. Sure enough, it was destroyed. Most of the members were alive, but the structure was on the verge of collapse and everyone was unconscious. However, she couldn't get out of her head what he had told her. It was so distracting that she almost didn't notice a very peculiar mark at the entrance…

Flashback End

"We've run into each other several times since, each time by pure coincidence. Sometimes I'd be leaving a job, sometimes I'd be going to a job, and once she joined me and Happy for lunch," Natsu explained. "My point is, that I believed, and always have believed, that she can be saved. Because you, Ur, did not abandon her, and she needs to hear this from you. You are the one that can bring her to the light and save her from herself, which is exactly why I agreed to her job."

"I'm such a failure as a mother…" Ur muttered. "I never should have believed them...I could have demanded to see her...and this never would have happened."

'I can't believe she's been alive all this time,' Gray thought to himself, holding his master while she cried. Somehow the shock of the story overtook the fact that Natsu was working as a bounty hunter before Fairy Tail, and he didn't even process the information until much later. 'Every night, she cried. She held a shirt to her face and cried as she remembered her daughter. Every single night…'

"It's not your fault, my dear," Makarov said. "Both you and your daughter were going through a tragic experience, you with her supposed death, and her with the undoubted torture of the experiments performed on her and the fact that her mother had been missing from her life for so long. In the face of tragedy, we humans make rash and unwise decisions, and it is from these decisions that mistakes are made. You made the mistake of accepting the lies of a greedy organization, and she made the mistake of believing you could possibly abandon someone you loved with all your heart. But from mistakes is where forgiveness lies. That is why we give second chances."

The group smiled fondly at Makarov's speech, Natsu immediately reminded of Igneel's wisdom and teachings while Gray reminisced about his time with his beloved teacher.

"Alright, brats, it's time to go," Porlyusica told them reentering the room. "I'll be keeping Ur here overnight, so you can come visit her tomorrow. I should be able to get a functioning leg within a week or two."

"Thanks for this Porlyusica, it means a lot," Natsu told her, and she just huffed. "Ur, would you like to stay at Fairy Hills? It's the girls' dormitory for Fairy Tail, though I don't know much more about it than that. Laki Olietta is good friends with the owner, so you can talk to her about it if you're interested."

"Is this your way of telling me I can't stay with you?" Ur teased.

"Well, not originally, but sure, we'll go with that. I'll find Laki and tell her you're interested and I'll pay for your first month. After that, you're on your own."

"How chivalrous of you," Ur cooed. "And I'm sure you'd be interested in helping me test out the-"

"Ok, that's enough of that!" Mira interrupted, grabbing Natsu's hand and walking out. "Hope you get well soon, Ur, and thanks for your help Porlyusica," she told them, before dragging Natsu out. Everyone else just chuckled, and Porlyusica left to grumble about irritating humans and their loudness.

"What was that about, Jane?" Natsu asked, faking shock. "It's almost as if you didn't want me to join her at Fairy Hills."

"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED!" she shouted. "In Fairy Hills! I mean, boys can't go into Fairy Hills!"

"Hmmm...if that's what you say, Jane…" Natsu replied, while Makarov and Gray just snickered. "So, have you picked out our mission?"

"Actually, I did!" Mira replied, happy to have the subject changed. "A Khmer dragon has been terrorizing a town's farmland and livestock, so I figured, what better to kill a dragon than with a dragon slayer!"

"A DRAGON?" Gray shouted.

"WHEN DID THAT GET IN?" Makarov yelled.

"It's not an actual dragon," Natsu explained. "It's a Khmer dragon, a type of dragonkin. However, they are just as rare as dragons and can speak draconic fluently. Even salamanders, which are some of the strongest dragonkin alongside wyverns, can only really growl, roar, and yip. I've never even seen a Khmer dragon before."

"You didn't see it because I claimed it when it first came in a few days ago, Master!" Mira replied happily. "Natsu promised a mission, and this one is perfect."

"Sounds great, Jane. Should we leave tomorrow? It's getting rather late."

"Sounds good to me!" she chirped back.

"I hate to interrupt your flirting session, but how are you such good friends with Porlyusica, Natsu? I've known her for years and she rarely calls me by my name," Makarov asked.
"Well, Porlyusica hates humans, and I'm only part human. I also buy most of her materials for her, and have gone on a few runs for special herbs and things," Natsu explained.

"Why would you do that, smoggy lung?" Gray taunted.

"Well first, that was the worst insult you've had yet. My fire doesn't give off smoke or smog. That's rather strange, don't you think? When things are lit on fire, even if it's something I've lit on fire, it releases smoke, however, my fire releases nothing at all. Perhaps it involves-"

"Just answer the question, flame brain," Gray sighed,

"Right...sorry...and I'd been getting so much better at that too. Anyway, because before I got here, she saved my life. After I joined, I stopped by once a month asking if there was anything I could do to repay her, and after about six visits she just caved and gave me lists of things to buy or find."

The group continued back to the guildhall, where they spent most of the evening partying. Natsu recollected his tale to Lisanna and Levy, the latter of which was extremely interested in his new royal dragon force developments, spoke with Laki about Ur and Fairy Hills, giving her 100,000 jewels to his supreme displeasure at how pricy only one month was, and chatted with Lucy about her new place. He even found time to write a bit in his journal before going home. After about an hour, he decided he'd had enough socializing for one day and returned to his house of trophies

The next morning was a rather ordinary day at Fairy Tail. The sun was shining, Lisanna was working the bar and welcoming the members, Cana was begging for alcohol, and Erza was muttering about how that 'conniving wench' was 'stealing away Natsu with her evil schemes.' Ok...it was mostly normal. Regardless, it was a rather pleasant day when a particularly nosy guild member just so happened to make a discovery.

"Hey, what's this?" she inquired, inspecting the new object.

"What's what, Cana?" Lisanna asked, approaching the shockingly sober brunette.

"It looks like a book of some sort. A notebook maybe? I don't know, I can't tell…"

"I'm not sure, maybe it belongs to someone here?" she inquired.

"I'll bet it's full of juicy secrets…" Cana said, smirking evilly.

"Cana...you shouldn't go snooping in other people's business. There could be private information in there!" Lisanna scolded.

"That's the point!" Cana happily replied.

"Canaaa~!"

"What's got you two so worked up this morning, hmm?" Mirajane asked, approaching the duo.

"Why are you here, harlot? I thought you were busy corrupting Natsu with your filth…" Erza grumbled approaching the now sizable group.

"Sounds like someone here is a little jealous," Mira teased.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Lisanna squealed. "You have your first date today, Mira! Are you excited?"

"Wh-what are you t-talking about?" she stuttered back. "It-it's not a date-we're just going on a mission! And it's later today!"

"A hot, steamy, romantic, mission for two, huh?" Cana drawled. Somehow, she sounded and acted the same drunk and sober; years of practice one must suppose… "Just be careful you two, we don't need any more guild members around here!"

"CANA!" Mira squeaked.
Cana and Lisanna laughed while Erza glared and continued to grumble to herself. If this had been two years ago, the two would have been having a fearsome duel already, but since Natsu's temporary absence, they developed somewhat of a friendship, so they were able to restrain themselves frequently.

"Oh, relax, big sis! We're just teasing!"

"Right…" Mira replied, calming her raging blush. "So what were you two talking about?"

"Oh, Cana just found this, and we were wondering what it was." Lisanna showed her sister Cana's discovery. It appeared to be a journal, larger than a notepad but smaller than a book. The outside was black leather, the pages not visible at all behind its casing. Holding it closed was a thin black string that was attached from the back, went around twice, and wound in on itself back at the front. On the cover, there was an intricate design of two dragons. One was white on a black background and had a small white flame emitted from its mouth and the other was black on a white background with a small black flame from its mouth. The two were in a circular formation, reminiscent of the yin-yang symbol. In addition, there were eight stamps, four on the front and four on the back. On the bottom left and top right of both sides were intricate red flame designs, and on the bottom right and top left were white crowns.

Mira's eyes widened at seeing the journal. "Where did you get that and why do you have it?!"

"Do you know what it is, big sis?" Lisanna questioned. Erza turned over to investigate as well, and she seemed to have the same reaction as Mira.

"That's Natsu's journal! Why is it here?! Explain yourself, Cana!" Erza demanded.

"Easy there, red," Cana replied. "Found it here when I got here. But this makes it all the better, I definitely gotta read it now!"

"You can't do that!" Mira exclaimed. "Imagine what he would do to you if he found out!"
"For once the demon is right," Erza agreed.

"Aww, come on! You two aren't the least bit curious to know what your little dragon writes about?" Cana teased.

"I don't know about this, Cana…" Lisanna said nervously. "I really don't think you should invade his privacy like this. It would be wrong to do to anyone, but especially Natsu. He has a hard enough time trusting people as it is."

"Psh! I'm sure he'd be fine! What's the worst we could find in here? Besides, everyone knows that what you leave out in the open is fair game. He should be glad someone in the guild found it!" Cana defended.

"Cana…" Erza glared.

"It's wrong…" Mira added.

"But what if he wrote about the two of you in there?" Cana asked, returning the glares at the redhead and the demon. "Don't you wanna know what goes on in that scatterbrain of his?"

The two paused for a moment and glanced at each other. "Mira, don't even-" Lisanna started.

"Open it!" the two demanded.

"All right! Let's do this!" Cana declared, chugging down her morning beer.

Lisanna sighed and decided it wasn't worth fighting them over. They'd regret it later, but once her sister had her eyes set on something, especially if that something was in any way related to their dragon slayer, there was no convincing her otherwise.

Cana slowly unwound the string, leaving it dangling from the back of the journal. She found the separation between the aged leather and thumbed it apart, slowly opening it for the dramatic effect of her fellow nosy guildmates to reveal...absolutely nothing. Not a single sheet of paper.

"WHAT!" Cana whined. "Come on! What's that all about!"

Lisanna giggled. "That's what you get, Cana!"

Mira and Erza were visibly disappointed for a moment before a hand made its way on both of their shoulders.

"Looking for something?" the figure asked.

"U-uh, er-um...you see...we were…" Mira stuttered.

"N-Natsu! Wh-when did...uh…" Erza added.

Lisanna started giggling again, and Cana just looked horrified. "I told you not to look, big sis!"
"I wasn't going to! It's just...I mean...I-er…"

Natsu gripped the two's shoulders harder and forced them to turn to face him, where his face was shadowed by his wild dual-colored hair.

"Natsu...I didn't-I mean...we can talk about this...I'm sorry for invading your privacy, I didn't…" Mira tried to get out.

Natsu released his grip on their shoulders and lifted his hands and flicked both of them in the forehead.

"W-what?" Mira and Erza blushed, touching their foreheads lightly.

Natsu sighed and rubbed his temples slightly. "You could have just asked me, you know?"
The two looked at each other and bowed their heads.

"I'm sorry, Natsu...I was just really curious…" Mira mumbled.
"Yes...I apologize as well...If you wish, you may strike me again."

"Hmmm...I may strike Cana…" Natsu replied thoughtfully, causing the brunette to pale, before pulling the two into a quick hug to whisper in their ears. "Because I just happened to hear the entire conversation. You two caved pretty quickly, huh?"

After releasing the now horrified duo, he chuckled and took the book back from Cana. Natsu placed his right pointer finger in the center of the book, causing the flame and crown stamps to glow and flicker slightly. After a moment, he dragged the finger in a circle around the center design, causing the dragons to rotate with it. After a moment, he returned his finger to the center, and the slight movement stopped. He handed the book back to Lisanna before turning around. "Hmm...it seems I've forgotten something that is somewhere else. I don't suppose you could look after this for me, could you?"

Lisanna giggled. "Why certainly! I'll keep it safe for you!"

"Ah, thank you! I'll be back for our mission soon, Jane."

Mira blushed again, while Cana and Lisanna giggled and Erza grumbled more about 'thieving demon women and their evil schemes.' Natsu, as quickly and quietly as he had arrived, disappeared back out of the guildhall.

"Well, come on then! Open that sucker up!" Cana demanded. "The guy basically just gave us permission!"

"Right…" Lisanna opened the book, and this time, there were pages. Hundreds of pages, yet somehow none of them seemed to be too old. "Wow…"

Natsu's Journal - April 13th X776

Isn't this the coolest! Draco brought back this book for me today! He told me that if I really wanted to write about him and Igneel, then I should practice by writing every single day! That overgrown lizard just wants to be famous, but that's ok I guess. This journal is so pretty too! He said that he had it specially designed so that I can choose who has access to it and that it will never run out of paper! I can just keep adding more! He finds something like this but can't find a salamander? I think scaleface is just a lazy gecko! I have to go train though, apparently Igneel is actually gonna teach me some more royal dragon slayer moves!

"He sounds so goofy!" Mira giggled.

"He's like a totally different person! I can hardly believe that's his writing. Though I must say, even then his penmanship was rather impressive…" Erza commented.

"Alright, I wanna pick next!" Cana demanded, snatching the journal and flipping to a random page.

Natsu's Journal - July 27th X778

It's been a week...I can't believe I'm still alive, but am I really? Happy's the only one keeping me on earth, otherwise I'd be dead already. Sometimes I wish I had been killed. Then I wouldn't have to live with this...this pain. It's unbearable sometimes, the tightness in my chest and the tiredness in my eyes. I focus on what Igneel taught me, he always seemed to know what to say. I would give anything for him to help me through this again. He'd know what I should be doing, and if this is all a mistake. I know Happy says he's doing ok, but I can see it in his eyes. He needs a new family, but I'm keeping him from having one. Someday I'll find one for him...I hope…

"Wow…" Lisanna said sadly.
"What happened to him? It sounds like his best friend died or something…" Cana commented.

"Well, unfortunately, you aren't too far off there, Cana…" Mira sighed.

"I suppose we can tell her...I mean he did leave the journal here…" Erza commented. "From the date on it, it looks like this happened right after his village was attacked."

"Wait, what village? I thought he lived with dragons?" Cana questioned.

"He did, but after they died, he stumbled across an orphanage in Rösch," Lisanna explained.

"Exactly. He lived there for about a year, and that's where he met Happy. Every time he told us a story about his fellow children he would always have a smile on his face," Erza smiled sadly.

"One day he went to a river with a bunch of his friends, and when they came back they were under attack by a dark guild. Only he and Happy made it out alive…" Mira finished.

"Wow...and I thought having his parents killed in front of him was bad. No wonder he's always so depressed," Cana commented.

"He's not always depressed," Mira defended lightly. "It's just very hard for him to open up. I'd guess that he doesn't want too many people to be too close to him because he thinks that he'll lose them again."

"Shall I pick the next page?" Erza asked.

Natsu's Journal - November 19th X780

I feel like a monster...I can't eat...I can't sleep...I can't even think. They're all gone, all of them...Well, one lived I guess...I can count that as good, right? I don't even know why I keep writing in this anymore...Maybe it's the only thing other than Happy that keeps me here…

"This was a few months before he joined, right?" Lisanna asked nervously.

"I guess so, but even I don't know what this one's about," Mira replied glumly.

"Neither do I. I thought he wandered around after the orphanage. Who do you think he was talking about?" Erza questioned.

"Who knows, but this dude's got one more chance for something juicy! Pity the man later, and keep digging!" Cana declared.

"You should really be more sensitive, Cana!" Lisanna scolded.

Mira sighed and shook her head, but took her turn choosing a page.

Natsu's Journal - February 14th X 782

I've learned of a rather peculiar human holiday today called Valentine's Day. Strange really, I never did understand human customs. Especially relationships; dragons have always done it better. However, much about the writer that I am, I am a fan of the...poetic...aspect of this human holiday. Most of them are fairly...unappealing...to say the least, but at least the prospect is there. I've always admired Charles Bukowski and others like him. Regardless, I thought it appropriate to write my own for today's entry. This one came to me fairly recently, and I feel it represents me rather well.

Burning Dreams Are Beautiful

Tainted black, in sultry form

Singing edges, flame adorned

Leaning, longing, destitute

Freedoms falling, absolute

Dreaming empty, wanting more

Changing visions, start to roar

Seeing now, what once I missed

Blazes waited, fringes kissed

Flames and fire, start to sing

Open hearts, arrive my king

Don't fear flames, their shackles dull

Burning dreams are beautiful

"He's a poet?!" Cana shouted.

"I think it's kinda cute," Lisanna giggled. "Right, Mira~?"
"It is pretty good, I guess…" Mira mumbled.

"I remember that Valentine's Day! You spent all day trying to come up with something to get for him, and when you gave it to him he didn't understand why you were giving him a present!" Lisanna teased. "You had to explain-"

"Lisanna!" Mira squeaked.

"Let's not forget what Erza here did…" Cana drawled. "Our innocent little knight here got some new reading material after-"

"Cana, if you finish that sentence you won't be able to drink for a week…" Erza threatened.

Lisanna and Mira giggled, before suggesting they try and find another entry.

They each got one more turn around, though nothing else was too interesting. Cana managed to find a page where Natsu wrote that he rather enjoyed the company of both Erza and Mira, even though they could exhaust him at times, and Lisanna found a page where Natsu complained about how he was expected to remember the date of birth of people because of 'some strange human custom called birthdays.' That got a good laugh from the four before Natsu managed to make another silent entry.

"Enjoy my book?" he asked quietly, directly in the ear of Mira.

"EEEK!" she squeaked, jumping up. "Natsu! Stop sneaking up on me like that!"

Natsu chuckled and ruffled her hair while she weakly hit his chest a few times. "Aw, but you're so cute when you get all embarrassed like that! Now, I thought we had a mission to go on?"

Mira blushed harder and nodded her head before giving the book back to him.

"A poet, eh?" Cana teased.

"I find they allow words to be stitched together in ways we never think of," Natsu explained, casually resealing his book. "Think about it like this; one can only explain something so well to another. If we leave it up for someone to interpret, they may understand better than if we told them ourselves."

"I'll never understand you, big guy, but write me a good poem about wine or whisky and I'll be first in line to read it!" Cana drawled.

"I thought it was pretty good!" Lisanna told him. "You have any more?"

"Thanks, but I'll have to show you another time. Ready to go, Jane?" he asked.

"All set!" she replied.

Natsu pocketed the book and put a hand on Erza's shoulder. "Keep an eye on the guild while I'm gone, ok?"

"Of course!" she declared.

Natsu chuckled. "Maybe you can pass the time by giving Gray some punishment?"

Erza grinned evilly and rubbed her hands together. 'Scary!' the rest of the group thought.

Natsu just chuckled again. "Never change, Erza...Don't give Happy too many fish, ya' hear!" With that, he and Mira left the guild off on their da-I mean mission.

"He liiiiikes you!" Happy droned entering the guild after Natsu had left.

"Damn you, feline!" Erza roared, while Lisanna and Cana just looked at each other and broke out into another fit of giggles.

A/N: Another chapter down and out! The plan is to have one chapter out before Christmas, and hopefully one more on Christmas as my present to you all. If you don't celebrate Christmas...well...that's unfortunate. Accept my present anyway. A few things I do want to note. I wrote Ultear's backstory a while ago, including the meeting between her and Natsu, which is part of the reason it's from Ultear's perspective rather than Natsu's. The other reason is that I find it fits really well and makes it a lot easier to understand rather than if it was from Natsu's, such as the fact that when Natsu told the story he would obviously be able to avoid telling his life story to those who didn't know it, such as Ur and Gray. Lastly, yes the poem Burning Dreams Are Beautiful is an original poem, but no I didn't write it specifically for this story. If you guys liked the 'Natsu's Journal' section of this chapter, perhaps I can fit more of that in. I enjoyed coming up with things for him to write about, and I feel that poetry fits his scatterbrained personality. That's all for now, Phantom Lord arc will start within 3 chapters max, since this was a transition chapter, albeit a necessary one.