Fiore Academy
Chapter Two – The First Day
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any shape or form. I am a mere FF writer paying tribute to the world of Hiro Mashima, the rightful owner of Fairy Tail.
Authors' Note – I'd just like to say how grateful I am that everyone has picked up my story so quickly and are enjoying it. This next chapter is the first day of school for Natsu, so read on and see how it goes.
The next morning, bright and sunny as it was, Natsu Dragneel was waiting patiently at the fork between the boy's dormitories and the girl's dormitories. Yesterday, Mirajane Strauss, the class representative of class 2A, had told him to meet her here at half past seven so she could begin showing him around. However, it was now quarter to eight and there was still no sign of the beautiful blonde.
"Where is she?" Natsu wondered aloud.
"She's going to be here in a couple more minutes" a stern voice spoke behind Natsu startling him.
Natsu quickly turned around, startled at having been snuck up on and saw none other than Erza Scarlet, the Student Council President.
"Hey there prez… wasn't expecting to see you so soon" Natsu comments nervously.
Erza smiles at Natsu discomfort, "What is it?"
Natsu shakes his head, "Nothing, just… I'm sorry if I hurt you yesterday".
Erza laughs, startling Natsu and seeing how confused Natsu appeared to be, Erza explained, "Natsu Dragneel, I have been hurt worse than that more times than I can count… don't you worry about apologising".
Natsu nods, "Still… I might've gone too far".
Erza nods, "Yes… you may have… but maybe I did as well".
Natsu raises an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
Erza sighs, "I can tell you're not the brightest fire so to speak… I understand that I took things a little too far with that boy yesterday… especially now that I know that he was Mirajane's little brother".
Natsu thought he'd caught something in that sentence, "Are… you and Mirajane… friends?"
Erza nods, "We've been friends since we started here exactly one year ago today… we also happen to be roommates as well, so she told me all about you as well Natsu".
Not sure what to say to that, Natsu replies, "Well in that case, I guess you and I are going to be seeing a lot more of each other, so If that's the case, why not start over and try to be friends?" Natsu asks hopefully.
Erza smiles, "That goes without saying".
A somewhat comfortable silence followed before Erza broke it, "Well I'd better be going Natsu… I have a lot to do since it's the first day back… I guess we'll see each other at lunch" and so with that, Erza Scarlet walked away.
"I have a feeling she's going to be hard to understand" Natsu mutters to himself.
As he was saying this, he noticed a dust trail coming from the girl's dormitories, speeding it's way closer and closer to his position until he could make out a girl with long blonde hair; Mirajane.
When Mirajane finally made it to fork, hands on knees and puffing out air as though it were in short supply, Natsu asked her what was obvious, "Slept in?"
Mirajane nods as she stands up straight, "Yeah… in the mornings my bed holds me hostage, I swear".
Natsu laughs, "Well If it ever really does, I'll come by to save you".
Mirajane copies the laugh and decides to tease him a little, "And afterwards you could join me in the bed".
There have been red roses that have been a fainter red than Natsu's blush at that moment.
Mirajane loses herself to laughter, "Just a joke Natsu… just a joke".
These words had an astonishing effect upon Natsu as he breathed out in relief.
"You shouldn't say things like that… I might get the wrong idea" Natsu says simply.
Mirajane smiles, and at this moment, Natsu was starting to be able to picture Mirajane as a demon.
"Anyways, what now?" Natsu asks.
Mirajane looks around and shrugs her shoulders, "I suppose… I just show you around and we can talk at the same time?"
Natsu pulls off his most charming smile and says, "Let's go then".
…
"Let's see, over there is the cafeteria… though if I were you I wouldn't go there, the food may be cheap but It tastes like it too" Mirajane says fifteen minutes later as she is showing Natsu around the Academy Campus.
"Where else can I eat then?" Natsu asks her, looking dejected; he hadn't eaten breakfast yet and at that moment, his stomach decided to voice out it's hunger, making Mirajane smile.
"Well, since we both haven't eaten breakfast yet, I'll take you to my favourite café" she smiles sweetly, leading Natsu toward the other side of the square the two were standing in.
Mirajane led Natsu to a really good looking Café. The outside looked like most Cafes did, with dark signs, and flowers growing in window pots with some tables and chairs sitting outside for those customers who prefer to eat and drink outside.
When they walked in, Natsu realised that it was actually a maid café, where some late teen girls were serving a dozen or so other customers in maid outfits. The interior decoration reminded Natsu of the word; rustic. The furniture was all wood and homemade looking upholstery. It looked very comfortable to Natsu.
"Hello my Lady, it's nice to see you again after the school break" a maid with pink hair greeted them from behind the bar counter.
Mirajane waves at the girl, "Hey Virgo, it's nice to see you as well, just showing a new friend of mine the best café ion Academy Island".
The girl, Virgo, smiles, "So when are you taking him there?"
Mirajane laughs, "You always crack me up Virgo, you and I know very well yours is the best".
Natsu pointed a finger at Virgo, "You have pink hair… do you dye it?"
Virgo frowns at him, "No, it's natural… and you can't make fun of me you know, hypocrite".
Natsu waves his hands defensively, "No, no, it's just that I've never met another person with pink hair before".
Virgo seems to relax and smiles, "Fine then… your orders?"
"I'm on a diet, so just a salad and my usual latte please Virgo" Mirajane orders.
Natsu raises an eyebrow at her, "Diet?"
Mirajane nods, "Lately I've been feeling like I've been a bit of a piggy".
Natsu takes in a breath, shocked at how oblivious Mirajane seemed to be about her looks and figure. Yesterday she had no idea that she was gorgeous, and now she's thinking she's getting fat? He hadn't met anyone with a better body than Mirajane.
"Mira? What makes you think you're getting the least remote bit fat?" Natsu asks, still shocked.
Mirajane looks up at him, "Because I am".
Natsu shakes his head, "Mirajane, half the girls in the world wish they had a body like yours and the other half wouldn't believe you had a body like yours".
Mirajane laughs sweetly, "Oh Natsu, that's so sweet… a lie of course, but sweet… now what are you ordering?" she finishes, pointing at the menu.
Natsu still couldn't believe how oblivious Mirajane was about herself, but looked up at the menu before deciding, "The menu".
"Yes, that's the menu, but what do you want of it" Mirajane asked him.
Natsu looks at her and says, "The menu… I want all of it, one of everything".
Some of the passing maids look up at this, but all Virgo does is write it all down.
"I hope you don't expect me to pay for it" Mirajane frowns, not believing someone with a body like his could eat that much… she knew sumo wrestlers didn't even eat half of this in a week.
Natsu shrugs, "Not polite to make the girl pay for everything anyway, that's the guy's job".
Mirajane blinks, "Are you saying you're paying for me as well?"
Natsu nods, "Why don't we take a seat?"
Mirajane nods and the pair take a booth by the window.
"Natsu, you realise that your order alone is going to cost you a fortune right?" Mirajane asks him.
"What's your point?" Natsu asks her.
Mirajane sighs, "You must be rich then".
Natsu copies her sigh, "Yeah, I am"
Mirajane looks up at this, "What? Really?"
Natsu nods, "I don't like to brag about it like some guys I know… I chose to go to a public school before this for a reason… I prefer to feel normal… although it's kind of hard when I'm in situations like this" he smiles at the end which Mirajane copies.
"Can I ask, who are your family exactly?" Mirajane asks him.
Natsu shrugs, "I come from the Dragneel Clan… one of the five Royal Clans".
Mirajane gasped at this; there were three different kinds of clans; Mage Clans, meaning a family that has had magic for at least ten generations. General Clans, families that have had magic for twenty-five generations… and then Royal Clans, the five original families that possessed magic.
Being a member of even a Mage Clan, gave you a lot of status… but a Royal Clan? Made you out to be just like the name… royalty.
"Can you now understand why I don't like to voice out about my… circumstances?" Natsu asked her, and she nodded.
The Strauss Clan was a member of the General Clans, which there were currently forty-eight of, and was ranked sixth among them, meaning it was the sixth oldest… she knew perfectly well what it was like for people to look at you and judge you from who your family is.
"I'm sorry Natsu… I do understand, and I'm sorry" Mirajane sympathises with Natsu who just nods as six maids deliver all their food.
"Well now… let's dig in" Natsu begins to feast eagerly, as Mirajane smiles at him sadly.
Wonder what It would be like… to be that infamous? It sounds… lonely. Mirajane thought to herself as she took a sip of her latte.
…..
"It's nearly nine o'clock, you'll need to get to class soon" Mirajane pointed out a little later as the pair walked the grounds of the Academy.
"That's right!" Natsu exclaimed and turns to Mirajane, "That piece of paper you gave me said I was in class 1A… where is that?" Natsu asks.
Mirajane smiles, "Natsu… do you by any chance have a bad sense of direction?"
Natsu scratches the back of his head, "I suppose so, always been like this… but then again, most of my family is the same".
Mirajane laughs, "Oh well… guess I have no choice" she begins to walk away, until she realises that Natsu wasn't moving and was frowning into space.
"What's the matter?" Mirajane asks him, a little concerned.
Natsu shakes his head, "I just remembered… is it normal to have a room to yourself, because I do and I was wondering why" Natsu says, remembering how odd it was that he had a room to himself when all the other boys in the dormitory had to pair up.
Mirajane cocks her head to one side, thinking, "Well… I suppose it might be because you're a member of the Royal Clans… not too sure about that one".
Natsu nodded, "Yeah… thought it might be something like that". Natsu looks down dejectedly; wherever he went, his family's influence would always follow him.
Mirajane seemed to know what was going through his mind, "Don't worry about it Natsu… be yourself and I'm sure that people will soon start liking you for who you are and not your last name".
Natsu gave her one of his wide grins, "Thanks Mira… means a lot".
Mirajane smiles before realising the time, "Come on Natsu, we gotta go, you have only five minutes before they take the roll".
With that, Natsu and Mira sped off, to class 1A.
…..
"Well we're here" Mirajane says a couple minutes later, a little breathless.
"Thanks for showing me around Mira" Natsu thanks her.
Mirajane looks up at him, "It's no problem Natsu… maybe on the weekend I can show you around the Island?" She suggested, a little hopefully.
The Magical Academy of Fiore sat in the middle of an Island, created by magic. There was never an official name for the Island, but most referred to it as 'Academy Island'. Being the center of the Island, the Academy made up only about a fifth of the Island, the rest being made up of a vast city of one million.
Natsu smiled, "Yeah absolutely".
Mirajane nods, "Then It's a date… see you at lunch Natsu" she said these words as she moved off, running to her own class, leaving Natsu a little confused. Date?
Natsu shakes his head and opens the door to Class 1A.
…..
"Greetings students, as I'm sure you'll remember I'm your Head Teacher, Ur Milkovic, but I will be called Milkovic Sensei seeing as I am also your teacher for the year" Ur Milkovic spoke out once she saw all the students had arrived.
Natsu decided to take a seat in the back, one desk away from the windows. Next to him sat a girl that looked sort of like a younger Mira, and on his other side sat another blonde, who excited his closet pervert side with her semi-exposed and impressive bust.
Natsu was however at that moment, paying adamant attention to the teacher.
"Now, I'll all take your names off the roll, and when I say your name, I want you to stand up and talk a little about yourself" Ur spoke to them all and began to take the names off the roll.
The first couple of students held no interest to Natsu, until his name was called out.
"Natsu Dragneel" Ur spoke and immediately, Natsu stood.
"Hey guys, I'm Natsu… let's see… well I'm a fire wizard and-" he began to say before one of the boys in the middle of the class spoke up.
"Yeah, we know who you are, flame brain, now why don't you sit down before you bore us all to death" the raven-haired boy spoke.
"Gray!" Ur growled.
The boy, Gray rolled his eyes, "Like I care about a little flame-head" he spoke condescendingly.
"And just what is that supposed to mean" Natsu growled, annoyed by the boys' attitude.
Gray stood up, "The name is Gray Fullbuster, and I'm an Ice wizard, meaning I'm the perfect guy to put you down if you annoy everyone… although your hair is enough to do just that".
"Gray, I'm telling you to stand down" Ur Sensei warned him.
"I don't care Aunt Ur, this guy decided to make himself out to be a big-shot before the first day even started, over at the Opening Ceremony; somebody needs to put him in his rightful place" Gray smirked, "And like I said, I'm the guy to do it".
Gray looked like he was ready to talk even more, but suddenly he yelped out loud and held onto his mouth.
"Now that I've… frozen… the words right out of that brats' mouth" Ur began to say, followed by chuckles from the rest of the class. "I think we should continue with the role".
So, the roll continued with no more disturbances. Natsu was surprised to find out that Elfman Strauss, Mirajane's little brother, was in his class, as well as who appeared to be Elfman's twin sister, Lisanna, the girl who sat beside him.
"Now that is over with, let us begin the class" Ur announced, and for the next three hours, the class began to learn the basics and fundamentals, of magic.
…..
"Hey Natsu! Over here" Mirajane called from one of the tables at the Maid Café at lunch.
Natsu had just finished the first two periods of class that day, and decided to head over to the maid café, where he believed Mirajane would be having lunch. To no surprise on his part, Natsu noticed Erza was sitting with Mirajane.
"Hey Mira, hey Erza, how's class?" Natsu asked them cheerfully as he sat down with them.
"A lot harder than last year" Mirajane admitted.
"Class is class, no matter how you look at it" Erza spoke simply in reply.
Natsu nodded, "That's good to hear".
Just then, Virgo decided to make her appearance, "Hello Master… what can I do for you?"
Natsu looked at Virgo as though he thought he went deaf, "Sorry, uh… Master?"
Mirajane laughs and Erza sighs and says, "Natsu, this is a maid café, of course you would be called 'Master'".
Natsu made an 'oh' face and turned back to Virgo, "Okay, same as this morning then, the food was great".
Virgo nods and walks off.
"Same as this morning?" Erza asks.
Natsu nods, "Yeah… everything on the menu".
Erza made a gaping face whilst Mirajane just smiled.
Ten minutes later, Virgo and four other maids returned with plate upon plate of food.
"Thanks for the grub!" Natsu called out as he immediately began to feast, making Mirajane, Erza and even Virgo smile.
"Appetite much?" Erza asks him when he takes a short break.
Natsu only nods in reply as his three second break was over.
"So Natsu, I hear you're in the same class as my siblings" Mirajane says conversationally around a coffee mug.
Natsu nods, "Yeah, I'm even sitting next to your sister… Lisanna I think her name was".
Mirajane nods, "That's the one… would you do me a favour and make sure they don't get into too much trouble when I'm not around?" Mirajane asks in the most serious voice Natsu had heard from her yet.
Natsu just shrugs his shoulders, "Goes without saying".
Mirajane smiles in reply, "Good to hear".
Erza clears her throat, telling the pair that she wished to speak.
"What's up Erza?" Mirajane asks.
"I just wanted to ask Natsu something while we're here" Erza stated looking at Natsu.
"Which is?" Natsu asks.
Erza places her hands underneath her chin before saying, "Well you see… there's a vacancy on the Disciplinary Committee Squad… we spent the first half of this morning, Mirajane and me and all the others of the council, trying to think of someone suitable to fill that vacancy. I was thinking… maybe you could Natsu".
Mirajane sets down her mug slowly, not expecting Erza to think of Natsu. That morning, they had indeed spent a long time thinking over possible choices to fill in the vacancy in the Squad… but she didn't think she'd pick a first year.
"What makes you think I should be the one?" Natsu asks her, more serious than before.
Erza shrugs her shoulders, "It is the duty of the Disciplinary Committee to ensure all the rules of the school are carried out, and sometimes they'll need to fight with magic to do so… seeing as how you handily beat me yesterday… I'd say you're more than strong enough for the job".
Natsu finished his food with a sigh and began thinking. Erza's logic was reasonable, it even made sense even to the dimmest of people… however…
"Isn't there a rule saying no first year can be a member of the squad?" Natsu asks.
Erza's eyes widen in surprise; she didn't expect Natsu to know the rules of the school to that much depth.
"That's not strictly true… it's more that it's deeply discouraged… but I can convince the Headmaster to let you in, if that is your wish… not even a problem actually" Erza admitted.
Natsu nods; he remembered all that Mirajane had told him about Erza, she was very influential with all the teachers in the school.
"I'll have to think about it Erza" Natsu says softly as he begins to drink his cappuccino.
Erza nods, "I understand… but you don't have much time to ponder over this, tomorrow is Club Selection Day, and you need to pick a club by the end of the day, whether it be the Squad, or somewhere else".
Natsu nods; he knew this, he just needed a little time to think is all.
"I know and I understand that you are probably even more pressed for time" Natsu says.
"Very well then… until tomorrow Natsu, meanwhile Mirajane, I need to head over to the Council Room… there's a few things I need to take care of before tomorrow" Erza says, getting up and leaving a half drunk coffee behind.
Mirajane nods, "Good luck Erza".
Erza nods and looks at Natsu and smiles, "It was good talking to you again Natsu".
Natsu waves her goodbye as she leaves.
"So… Erza wants you to join the Squad" Mirajane sighs.
Natsu exhales tiredly, "Yeah… who knew I'd make that much of an impact".
Mirajane had to smile at that; this boy had no idea how big of an impact he really had made, not just to Erza, but to herself.
…..
After that, Natsu spent a further three hours in class before they were all allowed to go home.
Natsu was walking outside the Academy Gates, when he heard a familiar voice speak behind him, "Hey stranger".
That voice was a voice that Natsu had not heard in over a year, and he was glad to hear it right then and there.
"Hisui!" Natsu turns around and immediately begins to hug his long-time childhood friend.
Natsu had expected to see Hisui sooner or later, seeing as how her family were the founders and owners of Fiore Academy. Her family was one of the four other Royal Clans, the Fiore Clan. He had met Hisui when they were both five and bored while their fathers were discussing politics and business and the such. Ever since, the pair had been as close as siblings; closer than that even.
"It's good to see you Hisui" Natsu breathed out.
Hisui was a slight and relatively petite girl with green hair. It was always done up in an intricate layout, and was the source of many jokes for Natsu. Of course, Natsu's pink hair was the source for many jokes for Hisui as well.
"Likewise, Natsu… I hope you're settling in alright" Hisui asked him.
Natsu nods into her shoulder, "I've made some friends, and the place seems pretty cool".
Hisui smiles, "Glad to hear it… and I guess we'll be seeing each other more often now".
Natsu pulls away from the hug and looks at her questioning, "How do you figure?"
Hisui smiles, as though she were about to tell Natsu a major secret, "Well… I'm in Class 1B of course".
Natsu could really smile at that, "Awesome, I guess we will be seeing more of each other then".
Hisui smiles more before saying, "Listen Natsu, I'm sorry to cut this reunion short, but my father wanted a word with me after my first day here, and you know how he can be".
"I know he liked to dress up in a pumpkin hat when we were little" Natsu says jokingly, making her laugh.
"But he is also very strict… I'll see you tomorrow though Natsu".
And with that, Hisui made her leave.
Natsu smiled; everything seemed to be going great, he had made two new friends, and got back an old one too. He was at a great school… and most people seemed to somehow forget who the Dragneel's are exactly. For the first time in a long time, Natsu felt happy as he looked upon the stone buildings and towers of his school, before turning around and heading for his dorm. What a first day he'd had.
Authors' Note – Well there goes 'Chapter Two – The First Day' and I hope you all enjoyed it. I would also like it if you took some time to make a comment in the comment's section below because not only would I take in all your feedback and apply it to my story, I also find it very motivational. For instance, a reader pointed out in my last chapter that Mirajane's eyes were Blue and not Purple like I said, so I'd like to thank Mexican Ninja for pointing that out to me. Other than that, if you like my story, then why not follow it? Later.