Hey guys, figured I should introduce Lucy into the story. Ya know, she is a main character and all, I'm just really not the biggest fan of her character because she's super whiny and kinda just annoying. If you've noticed a particular lack of her, well it's because she's not a guild member just yet. I'll probably introduce her in the same way, maybe some slight changes but I do enjoy that first episode/chapter.
Natsu blinked away the sleep as the first rays of sunshine entered the room. Best sleep he'd had in a while. Natsu sighed contentedly before looking down at his chest. Had he always been laying on his back? He absolutely didn't mind though. Mirajane had felt him stir as she had been awake a bit earlier. Natsu looked down at his chest to see Mirajane staring at him as she laid on him.
"How'd you sleep?" Natsu said with his voice taking on a deeper undertone because he was still sleepy. Mirajane hummed happily. She didn't mind that sound one bit.
"Pretty good," she said, "Sorry I fell asleep on you."
"Why?"
"Because I fell asleep on you?"
"So?" Natsu asked, "I don't really mind."
"Really?" Mirajane asked, glancing down at herself, "I was so tired last night and you were so warm so I just kinda fell asleep."
"You okay?" Natsu asked, slightly cocking his head in order to get a better look at her.
"I'm okay now," Mira sighed as she flopped onto the floor and laid on her back, "This is nice too."
"Yeah?" Natsu asked, sitting up.
"Yeah. The couch isn't the largest or easiest place to sleep."
"I'd agree!" Natsu laughed.
Mirajane rubbed her head, "I didn't drink that much did I?"
"Mmm you finished off most of that bottle on your own. Maybe you just didn't feel it," Natsu said curiously, "Who knows?"
Mirajane was kind of glad she had drank that much. It had given her the bit of confidence she'd needed to just cuddle the pinkette. She knew he wouldn't do anything anyway, so she felt comfortable enough being drunk around him. She stretched, "I want to take a shower."
"That sounds nice," Natsu said.
"You can use Elfman's bathroom. I'll get you a towel," Mirajane said as she got up.
"Towel?" Natsu cocked his head, "What for?"
"So you can… Oh wait," Mirajane said, mentally slapping herself. She had taken advantage of his magic even, so why had she forgotten?
Natsu just laughed, "So where's the bathroom."
"Up the stairs and to the left. It'll be the third door on the right," Mirajane said as she walked towards the stairs. Natsu pushed himself off the couch and followed her. She turned to the right and Natsu smiled as the door shut behind her.
His shower didn't take long. He'd taken a nice cold shower to cool off a bit and wake himself up. After that, he'd simply dried himself and changed into the clothes he kept in his pocket dimension. Natsu sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and opened the door. What did he do now? Mira probably wouldn't appreciate him just leaving. He shrugged and walked down the hall and back down the stairs. Minutes later, Mirajane came out wearing a T-shirt and sweats. Her hair was let loose, hanging freely down to her back. Natsu quite liked the look.
"Hey can you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what do you need?" Natsu asked.
"Would you mind helping me find my keys?" Mira asked, "I just need to find them so I can lock the house up and we can go."
"Did you leave them in kitchen when we were cleaning?"
"I haven't checked but would you mind? I might have left them in my pants or my room," Mirajane said. Natsu nodded and sniffed the air. Mmm nothing metally like keys in the kitchen or living room. So that left Mira's room and bathroom.
Natsu strolled up the stairs and pushed the slightly open door so that he could get in. Natsu watched her bustle around her room and smiled. She seemed so peaceful. Mirajane went around, checking various places. He wondered if she'd usually misplaced things. Mirajane made a little sound of triumph as she found the item she'd been looking for. She turned to leave and jumped, having not heard Natsu come in. She had nearly bumped straight into him.
"Hi!" Natsu said as he laughed, "What's with you?"
"I didn't think you were in my room," Mirajane said, "Do you like it?"
"I like it!" Natsu said, looking around. Various pictures were hung up on the pink walls.
The beachy white furniture perfectly matched the soft pink of her walls and bed sheets. Natsu found that he quite liked the bookshelf that she had in her wall. Natsu hadn't seen that before.
"Most of the people in the guild would probably say it's really pink. Apparently it's weird and that it doesn't match my personality," Mirajane laughed.
"Why's that?" Natsu asked, scratching his head.
"Well," Mirajane said rubbing her arm, "I used to have quite the mean streak."
Natsu stared at her for a second. He brought his hand up to her chin and angled her face up to his own. Mirajane giggled as he scrunched up his face adorably. He seemed to be thinking awfully hard. After a long while, Natsu sighed, "Nope. Don't see it."
"Really?" Mirajane asked, snaking her arms around Natsu and squeezing a bit harder than normally.
"Nope!" Natsu said jovially as he stood up a bit straighter and started walking. Mirajane, having been holding him rather tight, found herself being lifted ever so slightly and then swung around as Natsu turned. She let go (as any sane person would).
"Hey slow down!"
As soon as they entered the guild, Natsu found getting stared down by Erza. Erza looked at him rather intently before grabbing Mirajane's arm and nearly squealing with childish glee. Mirajane found herself being helplessly dragged away. Natsu just shrugged and continued on his path towards the bar.
Natsu sighed as he pulled out a seat and slumped into it. After a while, he was aware that someone was standing near him. Natsu turned to see the diminutive figure of the third Master of Fairy Tail. Natsu's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and he turned away.
"You're upset Natsu," Makarov spoke carefully.
"Damn right I am," Natsu grumbled.
"You're being petulant, Child. Laxus endangered the guild so I did my duty as Master."
"I disagree," Natsu said, looking at Makarov, "To me, it seems like you couldn't handle your own failure and wished to keep any memory of it as far away as you could."
Makarov took a deep breath and slumped down a bit, "Maybe that's part of it, but I would never send away my own family for just that."
"Do tell then," Natsu growled, "How is Laxus any worse than Gajeel?"
"I didn't do it because I wanted to, Natsu!" Makarov raised his voice slightly. Natsu watched as the old man trembled and struggled to keep calm, "Laxus has spent all of his life in this guild. He knows he can rely on his family, but he has to find his own faith in himself first. My hopes were that seeing the world would cause him to open his eyes to the things around him. He was obsessed with power."
"And so you sent him away to find the value of his own powers," Natsu sighed.
"Yes m'boy," Makarov sniffled, "He knows his physical strength all too well. What he needs to learn can only come from deep introspection and self-determination. At the guild, everyone let him do what he wanted. In Magnolia as well."
Natsu shook his head, "I'm sorry for causing trouble."
"It's alright, Child. It's hard to see one's family leave so suddenly," Makarov sniffled, "Even if it's necessary."
"I suppose so," Natsu said before slouching down into his chair a bit. Eventually, Makarov wandered off. He still had more things on his mind. Unfortunately, many people came to talk to him about various things which halted any previous thoughts. After a while, Natsu found a reddish Mirajane coming up to him.
"Did you get sunburned or something?" Natsu asked curiously, cocking his head.
Mira shook her head, "Just embarrassed."
"Why?"
"Erza got it in her mind that we're a thing and that we spent the night "making passionate love" or something," Mirajane sighed before shaking her head, "Sure you spent the night but I was drunk and you were making sure I didn't do anything stupid."
"Making passionate love huh?" Natsu laughed, "I'm not even sure what that means but it sounds fun."
"Natsu! That's not for us!" Mirajane smacked his arm before thinking one word to herself.
Natsu just cackled, "So what did Erza say exactly?"
"She wanted to know how you were in bed," Mirajane said, "How good it was and all that."
It was at this point that Gray had approached them, "Uh, am I interrupting your uh-"
"We didn't have sex, Gray. Erza just thought that we did because we walked in the guild together," Mirajane said, before smiling sweetly, "Now, if you know what's good for you, you'll just forget about this. Okay?"
"O-okay," Gray said, taking a step back before turning to Natsu, "Just wanted to let you know. There's some guy in Hargeon claiming to be you. Dunno if you care that much but I figured it would be nice to know."
"That sounds boring," Natsu scratched his head, "Why would anyone wanna do that?"
"Sorcerer Weekly does think you're one of the most dateable mages," Mirajane laughed. She didn't disagree.
"They think what?" Natsu asked, confusedly.
"Sorcerer Weekly has a weird thing for Fairy Tail. I'm on there too," Gray said before mumbling something.
"Oh I'm number one?" Natsu asked, rubbing his head, "When did that happen?"
"I forget that you have freakishly good hearing," Gray sighed.
"Yep!" Natsu chirped, "How does it work?"
"Remember that shoot you and I did a while ago?" Mirajane asked.
"Yeah why?"
"Well, Jason decided that you were likeable and wrote a bunch of good stuff about you in one of the releases."
"Why'd he do that?"
"He likes you," Mirajane shrugged, "Personally, I don't see it but everyone to themselves."
Gray laughed and was promptly punched into a wall, "I wanna meet this guy!"
"Why?" Mirajane asked. Gray just groaned in pain.
""So I can beat him up! It's not cool to take someone's identity," Natsu laughed, "Let's go! We can get lunch or something too."
"Hargeon is about three hours away by train," Mira said. Suddenly, Natsu seemed a whole lot less enthusiastic.
"Let's just get it over with please," Natsu moped, consigned to his fate.
"Don't understand why you can't just teleport there," Mirajane said, rubbing her chin.
"I have to have been there and I have no idea what Hargeon even looks like," Natsu rubbed the back of his head, "I wouldn't know where to start."
"Can you teleport to people?"
"If I could, I'd have teleported to Zeref already," Natsu shrugged as he began his walk to the train station, "Maybe I can use magic to do it. Let's go."
Three hours and seventeen minute later, Natsu flopped lifelessly onto the floor. Mirajane had instead chosen to have Natsu lay his head in her lap as he slowly died in the train car. It worked slightly better, she supposed. He wasn't whimpering and he didn't shake as much. She still didn't understand why he couldn't dull his own senses, but Natsu said it happened regardless. Maybe it was mostly psychological?
As soon as Natsu realized he wasn't on the train, he jumped to his feet and happily proclaimed his rebirth. Mirajane laughed as everyone took a step or two away from the pinkette. She dragged him out of the station where he perked up even more.
"This place is cool," Natsu said as he sniffed the air, "Where are we exactly?"
"Hargeon is a port city north of Magnolia. It's pretty big for trading and stuff," Mira said before lowering her voice to a whisper, "It's also big for slave trading. Lot's of smugglers come through here."
"Is it?" Natsu asked, "Let's go see if we can't fix some of that."
"Sounds good to me. When are we going to eat?"
"Don't ask me!" Natsu laughed, "You and I both know that if it were up to me, we wouldn't stop eating."
"Yeah, I know. Let's just go look around," Mirajane didn't exactly blame him though. Food could be quite addicting. She really wasn't joking when she said she should weigh a lot more than she did.
Natsu found the fishy smell of the outdoor market quite intriguing so naturally, they had ended up wandering that way first. The two went from stall to stall asking if they knew anything about the person who was going around with Natsu's name. Natsu didn't really care as long as his name wasn't being used badly. What was the worst that could happen. As it turns out, a lot.
Natsu, feeling particularly bored, had snagged the ribbon that Mirajane used to tie up her hair and ran. Of course, he wasn't really looking where he was going (who wouldn't be more concerned about the semi-murderous model who could snap someone in half?). Given that he wasn't really paying attention, he ended up almost running over a group of people (mostly girls) who were crowding around someone. Mirajane, not expecting him to stop, slammed into his back and they tumbled forward, straight into the middle of the odd ring or people.
Natsu brushed off the hand that offered him help and helped Mirajane to her feet instead. Natsu, rather confused, and Mira, rather annoyed, found themselves completely enclosed in a throng of (mostly) women though none of them seemed to be paying attention to either of them.
"Hey there," the same man who had offered Natsu his hand was standing behind them, "Name's Natsu! I see that I have some quite rowdy fans. What can I get for ya?"
"You're Natsu Dragneel huh?" Natsu asked. Mirajane could hear the barely suppressed smirk in his voice. Mirajane, wondering where he was going, quickly used a bit of transformation magic to hide her face, "Name's Igneel."
"The one and only," the man said in a slick, overly confident voice. He had managed to procure a pen and board and had signed "Natsu Dragneel" on it. He had obviously ignored Natsu's own introduction, "Here. Have it. Special just for you."
Natsu was about to wave him off but he seemed rather enraptured by the totally not Mirajane, "And who might you be ma'am."
"I'm Mina," Mira giggled. Natsu had to stop himself from laughing at the expression on her face. It was so obviously fake that you'd have to have been an idiot to not see through it. Unfortunately for "Natsu Dragneel," he was an idiot.
"Might I say that your beauty knows no bounds? Of course, I'd love to have you aboard my ship later tonight. Might I ask if you'll attend?" The fake Natsu's voice was heavy with implication. Natsu nearly burst out laughing. This guy!
"I'd be honored Mr. Dragneel," Mirajane said coyly.
"Please, it's just Natsu to you," Natsu found the board was all but shoved into his hands. Natsu sighed and started to walk away. Mirajane turned on her heel and sent a wink backwards over her shoulder to "Natsu." The real Natsu openly chuckled and tossed the board over his head. A moment later, he found himself in the middle of a circle, made up of angry fangirls who tried to pummel him for disrespecting the great "Natsu Dragneel."
Mirajane let her magic slip away and glared at anyone who dared approaching Natsu. The fangirls suddenly remembered that they had something to do. Natsu turned to Mirajane who just smirked at him.
"Really laying it on huh?" Natsu teased, "That guy's an idiot."
"I'd say he wasn't too far off. You're not the brightest candle in the window," Mirajane shot back.
"Hey! I'm dumb but I have way more class than that!" Natsu said, feigning indignance, "And I didn't know you could be so forward, Mina."
Natsu had stressed that last word and Mirajane laughed boisterously, "Whatever Igneel. Couldn't you come up with something better?"
"What should I have said? Zeref? Cause that won't scare anyone at all, and I refuse to say my name is Gray."
"Fair enough," Mira laughed before hearing someone's hesitant voice.
"Uh hi," a blonde woman stood behind Natsu and Mirajane. She was about as tall as Mira, maybe a bit shorter given the boots she was wearing. Natsu stood over her by a good bit though, "Oh wow, you're Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail!"
"Hi there," Mirajane said kindly, "And who might you be?"
"I'm Lucy," she said before looking over Natsu appreciatively, "And you're Natsu! Like the real Natsu Dragneel!"
"That's me," Natsu said easily, "So why are you stalking us?"
Mirajane swatted Natsu's arm, "Natsu! It's not stalking if she said hi. If she was following in the bushes it would be stalking."
"Sorry Mira," Natsu rubbed the back of his head. Mirajane watched as Lucy's eyes roamed over Natsu. Huh. She did have to admit though, when Natsu did that, it showed off his arms quite nicely, "Uh Luigi was it?"
"Lucy."
"Yeah Lucy right, why are you following us?" Natsu asked forwardly.
"I just wanted to thank you for breaking me of that creep's charm magic," Lucy said, "Do you want lunch? It's just my way of saying thanks."
Natsu looked at Mirajane who laughed, "We'll give you one chance to rescind your offer."
"W-what?" Lucy asked, confused.
"I'm not hearing a no!" Natsu said gleefully. Lucy wasn't sure she liked the glint in Mira's eyes, "Lead the way Lucy!"
Mirajane smiled as Natsu happily followed Lucy. Lucy heard her whisper something though she had no idea what. Natsu groaned after hearing it. He sighed. He guessed it was the least he could do.
The trio (Lucy) picked out a nice restaurant and sat down. Lucy soon realized why Mirajane had given the chance to take her offer back. She sighed. She wasn't going to have any money after this. Natsu sat across from Lucy with him and Mira sharing one side of the booth.
"So Lucy," Mirajane asked, "Why are you out in Hargeon?"
"Well I'm actually a wizard and I'm trying to join a guild but I'm not sure how exactly," Lucy said, tapping the table a bit.
"That's neat," Natsu said as he cut off a piece of food, "We're wizards too ya know."
"Oh really?" Lucy asked Natsu, "What kind of magic do you use?"
"I know a few types," Natsu waved her off, "It's rude to ask before revealing your own magic."
"Well, I use celestial spirit magic," Lucy said happily.
"Oh, you summon spirits with keys don't you?" Mirajane asked.
"Yeah pretty much," Lucy said, "So Natsu, what's your magic?"
"I'm a dragon slayer," Natsu said simply, taking a bite out of his food. He turned to Mirajane, "it's not as good as yours."
"Mirajane cooks?" Lucy asked.
"I do," Mirajane said easily.
"I'd love to try it someday," Lucy said honestly. Natsu wasn't sure what to make of her.
"Mira uses a pretty cool magic too," Natsu said, taking another bite.
"Oh what kind of magic do you use?" Lucy asked curiously. She didn't seem all that serious as a mage but not everyone could be as strong as they were.
"I use demon take-overs," Mirajane shrugged.
"What's that?"
"I take over demon souls and can use them as different forms that give me special powers."
"That sounds neat!" Lucy said before turning to Natsu, "I've never heard of dragon slayer magic."
"Most haven't," Mira said as Natsu chewed his food, "It's used especially for killing dragons."
"How did you learn it?" Lucy asked.
Natsu swallowed, "From a dragon."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"That's pretty cool. I didn't know dragons were real," Lucy smiled.
"My dad's a dragon," Natsu shrugged.
"Wait really?" Lucy asked, surprised, "There's no way."
"Dragons are rare nowadays but we're still around," Natsu said.
"We?"
"Natsu's more dragon than human," Mirajane said, taking a bite herself. Between her and Natsu, about seventeen plates had been cleared.
"Really? What's it like?"
"Dunno how to explain it," Natsu brought his drink to his lips, "Hey Mira. I kinda want to crash that guy's boat."
"Let's do it tonight then," Mira shrugged, "Sounds fun."
Natsu wasn't particularly interested in the conversation and so his responses were often short. They also came a lot more frequently as compared to Mira, "So Lucy. What spirits do you have?"
"I have a few silver keys but I have four of the zodiac," Lucy smirked. She was doing pretty well for herself, "I have Aquarius, Cancer, Taurus, and Leo."
Natsu perked up, "Leo you said?"
"Yeah, what about him?"
"I wanna beat his ass. I haven't seen him in forever!" Natsu said happily. Mirajane wasn't really concerned. Lucy on the other hand was a different story.
"What?"
"I wanna kick his ass!" Natsu repeated himself.
"How do you know Leo?"
"I met him a while back," Natsu said simply, "Now bring that bastard here so I can kick him to the curb."
"I don't think I should do that," Lucy said, eyeing Natsu nervously.
Natsu deflated for a second before perking up again. He had an idea, "Say Luigi. If I traded you a key for getting to beat up Leo, would you let me?"
"What?" Lucy asked, surprised.
"I'll give you this key," Natsu said, pulling a golden key out of his pocket dimension, "And you bring me Leo so I can beat him up."
"I can let you see him but it's up to him if he wants to fight," Lucy said, eyeing the golden key.
"Deal!" Natsu said, tossing the key to Lucy. She couldn't believe her luck. She'd gotten another celestial spirit today basically for free. She was about to summon the spirit but found that another had come quickly before. In the seat next to her sat an orange headed man with glasses and a pressed suit.
"You," He said to Natsu, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Mirajane assumed this was Leo.
Natsu just smirked, "Me."
"Do you two know each other?" Mirajane asked curiously.
"You could say we have a history," Leo chuckled, "He and I used to spar a bit. Always wondered what was stronger, celestial or demon magic."
"Demon all the way," Natsu laughed.
Loke smirked, "I wouldn't be so sure. You have to remember, I'm not the strongest celestial spirit."
"Maybe," Natsu laughed, "But I'm pretty sure Mustache Man wouldn't be interested in getting his ass handed to him."
Leo laughed, "I'm sure most aren't."
Lucy and Mira watched the duo talk. They seemed almost like Natsu and Gray. Mirajane listened and occasionally threw in a jab of her own but Lucy for the most part was silent. At some point, Natsu looked out the window. He realized it was getting a bit darker and so he quickly bid Leo adieu as he and Mira rushed out. Mira had to change and Natsu wanted to scope everything out a bit.
"So, I'm going to go on the ship and while you chill outside where it's nice and there are no creeps? Why can't you go instead"
"You're the beautiful woman who was invited. Plus, I wouldn't make it two steps before getting sick," Natsu shrugged, "Just don't eat or drink anything there."
"Why not?"
"That guy smelled weird," Natsu said as he sniffed the air, "How are you even supposed to get aboard?"
Natsu thought for a second before throwing his hand out with the other covering his mouth as he hunched over, "Wait don't let me think about that."
"It'll be docked at a pier," Mirajane pressed on, "Now, when I flare my magic, you come in and blow the ship if something is us."
"I get to destroy a boat?" Natsu's eyes lit up, "Hell yeah!"
"You're a bit too excited about that, " Mirajane said evenly, "Just don't do anything dumb while I'm gone."
It didn't take Mira long to get aboard. Natsu was flying above, wings out and on display. Because of this, he was rather high up. He was just barely obscured by the clouds. Thankfully though, Natsu's good vision made it easy to keep track of the boat and everyone on deck. He nearly got queasy and fell out of the sky. That wouldn't have been good.
Natsu hadn't been waiting there long and easily passed time, messing around with his magic. He focused on making a small ball of fire and then teleporting to it. If he could get that down, maybe he could use that as a way of getting places fast. Natsu wasn't great at it as it was hard to concentrate on a moving object while maintaining his form and staying still, not to mention maintaining the ball itself. Natsu was about to throw it again when he felt Mira's magic flare slightly. Ah, the signal.
Natsu flapped his large wings once and did a backwards somersault and dove straight down to the boat. His wings were tucked in and he silently shot towards it. As soon as he got near, he flipped and fanned out his wings to their fullest. As per usual, he tried slashing the tiniest gouge into the soft wood with his tail. He landed lithely, wings drawing into his back. Natsu, not thinking, nearly doubled over as he hit the floor. Natsu barely fought off the urge to throw up and dragged himself up until he could stand. It was a few seconds before he could start walking but walk he did, taking each painful step. Soon enough, he found himself below deck.
"Took you long enough," Mirajane teased as she pulled him into a nearby room, "So, this is apparently a slave trafficking ship. You were right about not drinking or eating."
"Blergh."
"Very helpful Natsu," Mirajane smirked, "Now, I'm going to deal with the slavers and you are going to take the women back to shore. Got it?"
Natsu barely met her eyes before doubling over again, but it was enough. Mirajane left and Natsu began the arduous trek back up to the open air. Eventually, taking much longer than any normal person would, he made it.
Natsu focused and his wings popped out of his back slowly, ripping and tearing their way together as the bones knitted themselves into their shape. Natsu groaned and flapped them tentatively. Okay good, they worked. Natsu propelled himself into the air and felt himself gain strength again.
"Okay!" Natsu said, "I'm alive! Now… How to get everyone to shore."
Natsu's eyes lit up and he grinned widely. He flapped his wings until he was in front of the boat and placed his hands on the ship's hull. He then flapped his wings as hard as he could and noted (with no small amount of satisfaction) that the boat moved several yards back. Natsu nodded to himself, severed the anchor with a quick slash of his hand, and continued with what he was doing. In no time at all, the boat found itself back at port. Port, of course, was used loosely as Natsu had instead chosen to ground the ship on the beach next to the pier they launched from.
Natsu laughed as the boat tipped a bit. He then went and sat on the beach. Minutes later, Mirajane came out followed by a handful of bound men.
Natsu smiled as he saw their predicament, "I didn't know you were into tying people up."
Mirajane laughed before rubbing her chin in thought, "Nah, only being tied up."
Natsu laughed boisterously, "Kinky."
Mirajane just nodded, "Well, I found these idiots. Oh, and Lucy too."
"Who?"
"The blonde who got us lunch from earlier, "Mirajane prodded, "The one who summoned Leo."
"Oh Leo's whoever! Got it."
Mirajane deadpanned, "Sure. Well, apparently this guy offered her a chance to join the guild if she joined him on the boat. Since she's a wizard, she resisted getting knocked out but not by much."
"That's cool I guess?" Natsu rubbed the back of his head, "So what do we do now?"
"Turn these guys in for a bounty and call it a day?" Mirajane asked, "I wouldn't mind being home again."
"Sounds good to me," Natsu shrugged, "Do you have any leftovers?"
"You ate them all that night, Natsu," Mirajane giggled.
"Alright," Natsu sulked, "Let's get home yeah?"
Hey guys, that's the end. I think my dislike for Lucy shone a bit ._. but hey. Can't help it. Anyway, tell me what you guys want to see, leave a review if you care. See ya!
