Hello again, my dear readers! Here's the next chapter!
Thanks everyone for your reviews, I'm really do appreciate your time.
Chapter updated 17/11/2016
Chapter II – Welcome to Fairy Tail!
…
July 3rd, Year X784, 14:00, Magic council Era HQ.
"Can you believe it?! Those idiots of Fairy Tail have done it again! This time they managed to turn an entire port into smoldering ruins!" One of the council members exclaimed, banging his fists on the table.
"I believe you should be saying '…managed to defile the entire port…' I guess he'll like it more," Ultear said with a cunning smile.
News of Natsu's battle against Bora reached Era at the very next day and Magic Council gathered for an unscheduled meeting to discuss the recent incident, in which Fairy Tail's members were involved once again.
"You think this is funny, Ultear?" Growled a tall old man with a little bat sitting on his head.
"That's enough. We are gathered here to discuss Fairy Tail's recent activity, not to fight each other," An old woman interjected.
"We should not take this matter lightly; I wouldn't have been surprising if an entire town would've simply disappeared one day…" The old man with the bat said.
"Anyway, I reported to the government that they did it to arrest the slaver Bora. Apparently, that was an official request from the town's municipal council," Siegrain said casually. "Moreover, I like that bunch of idiots…"
"It's true that they're a bunch of fools, but it's also true that they have a lot of skillful and reliable mages," Councilor Yajima nodded.
"That's why we are quite at a loss," The old woman said.
"Indeed, it is a tricky subject," The old man with the bat agreed.
"Just let them be, after all, if it was not for dimwits like them, think how boring this world would be," Siegrain said, causing most of council members to growl powerlessly, while Yajima smiled and Ultear chuckled a little.
'You're definitely have a style, my dear Cardinal. I hope I'll be able to meet you one day and we'll have some fun, Natsu-kun…" Ultear thought to herself, licking her lips at the thought of the young warlock wearing the black-gold one sleeved coat.
July 4th, Year X784, 11:20, Town of Magnolia, Fairy Tail guildhall.
"Well, this is the place, Lucy," Natsu waved his right arm forth, as he, Lucy and Sin approached Fairy Tail main building.
"It's huge!" Lucy exclaimed with an excited smile on her face.
"You surely are an unpretentious person…" Natsu noted to himself, observing blonde's reaction.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail then," The little dragon made a welcoming gesture.
"Alright, if you didn't change your mind and still want to join, follow me," Natsu headed toward guild's doors, prompting Lucy to follow.
"Right!" Lucy still seemed very excited. Natsu approached the double door and pushed it open with a sweep of his right hand. The door opened wide and Natsu stepped inside, inviting Lucy to come inside as well.
"Hey people, we're back!" Sin announced, he was sitting on Natsu's shoulder.
"Welcome back, guys!" Several people greeted them. Others nodded to them or waved.
A man with buckteeth looked at Natsu with quite stupid grin on his face. "Natsu-san, I heard that you managed to burn down half of Hargeon during your last mission. You really know how to make a good impre…"
That was all he was able to say before he got smashed in the back of his head with a flying chair. He crashed into another table and wrecked a few chairs as well. "Be silent," Natsu said indifferently, though his attitude seemed quite haughtily. "When you'll manage to make any kind of impression, on anyone, with a well-done job, I promise to listen to the whole story, from the beginning and till the very end," God slayer added.
However, it seemed that no one heard Natsu because the man with buckteeth attracted everyone's attention. "You bastard! How dare you interfere with my lunch?!" Another man shouted – his table overturned and food now was all over the floor.
"It was not my fault, it's Natsu's!" The bucktoothed man protested.
His words fell on deaf ears, "You want to fight? Let's go!"
"Bring it on!" The bucktoothed man shouted before the two began to fight. Their malice spread to the rest of the guild, turning a fight between the two of them into an everyone-for-himself battle royal.
Lucy stood staring in amazement as she watched everyone and everything inside the guild. "Whoa… I really am in Fairy Tail!" She practically squealed before continuing to watch the fight. The brawl turned into a huge mix of humans, dust and wooden furniture as more and more mages were joining in. However, out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Natsu did not join the fight… not that it was expected. Instead, he headed to the bar counter and joined some black-haired woman, who wore brown pants and a sea-blue colored bikini top. 'Joined' isn't the right word though, 'just sat nearby' would be better description. Lucy spent almost entire yesterday in company of that man, and learned the basics about his behavior; not that he seemed unsociable… just somewhat aloof.
"Cana, I assume everything's going well in here?" He asked the woman wearing the bikini top.
"Well, yes. I mean, it was, until you started this," She rolled her eyes and pointed at the brawl.
"I didn't start anything, just gave them initial impulse, at best," Natsu denied the accusations. "Better tell me, has Gray returned from his mission?" The god slayer inquired.
"Nope, looks like his mission appeared to be a bit tougher than he initially assumed… Or he again lost his pants somewhere and now he's looking for them," Cana giggled, Natsu just shook his head slightly.
"Understood. Is Mirajane here?" He asked.
"Yep, she's around here somewhere, probably in the basement," Cana looked back at the fight before giving a sigh. "Ah, they're so noisy, I need a drink," She reached for the barrel next to her and began to drink right from it, taking big gulps. Natsu just turned away and Lucy stared at her as blonde's eyes widened in shock.
"Don't mind her," Sin noted as he flew closer to Lucy, "Most of our wizards have a few… quirks."
Lucy shook her head, trying to focus. "So, Natsu-san can also use Terekineshisu? [Telekinesis]" The blonde asked as she remembered the scene when Natsu tossed the chair into another person without touching it.
"Yep, but only at level that is quite basic, he never really trained to use it on advanced level – this magic's just too predictable for being used in a real combat. Besides, telekinesis is void-based, and Natsu has an opposite attribute," Sin explained. "Still, sometimes it's quite useful in a regular daily life."
Listening to Sin's explanation, Lucy heard a few unknown words, but before she could ask for some clarification, someone else appeared right in front of her. "Yapping in the middle of the day… You're not little kids, you know?" A man with tall and muscular appearance said as he walked up to the brawl. His name was Elfman Stratus. Lucy couldn't help it but become a little nervous around him due to his size. "So fight with your fists to show your manhood!" He suddenly announced.
'So it all came down to fighting, after all…' Lucy facepalmed.
"Elfman, get away from here, you're annoying me," Natsu said, not raising his voice as he rose his left arm and Elfman suddenly flew forth, crashing into the wall at the other side of the guildhall. Seemingly, Natsu used the same Terekineshisu magic. Cana raised her eyebrow and looked at Natsu. "No Cana, it has nothing to do with those events – I forgave him long ago, you know it. It's just as I said – I can't take it when someone starts acting smart and swing his hands right in front of me," Natsu noted, examining his left arm. Well, Elfman really stood too close to him, swinging his arms, just a bit closer and he could actually hit Natsu.
Lucy was about to ask what he was talking about, mentioning 'those events', when she heard another man's voice behind her. "It's so noisy around here," Someone said with a soft voice, causing Lucy to turn around, only to see a bright orange-haired young man wearing sunglasses, sitting there with two girls on his lap. She knew who he is – his name was Kurosake Ichi... ahem… Loki. 'Ahh! Loki, the top ranked 'Mage you want to have as your boyfriend'!" Lucy thought as she stared at him in delight.
"I'm going to join the fight now," He announced as he stood up. "Of course, only for you two, ladies," He winked to his girls, causing hearts to appear in their eyes.
'And his image is officially corrupted!' Lucy took out a marker and crossed Loky's photo out of her 'potential boyfriend list'. "What's with this place?" She mumbled, 'It seems like none of them are normal…'
"What do we have here, a newcomer?" A nice voice sounded from behind her. When Lucy turned around, her eyes met with a very pretty girl, with large sky-blue eyes and snow-colored hair. She was standing there with her usual welcoming smile, holding tray full of drinks with one hand and adjusting her hair with another.
Lucy knew who this girl is, as well. "Mirajane! The real one!" She exclaimed, winning her a chuckle from the waitress. Though, both girls' attention was shifted as they heard Natsu's voice.
"Hi there, Jane," Natsu greeted her as Sin waved to Mirajane, welcoming her. The little boney creature now was sitting near the god slayer, on the bar counter.
"Ara… you two are back already?" Mira gave the two of them a very warm smile.
"Jane?" Lucy inquired.
"Yep, Natsu prefer to use second half of her name as a diminutive name," Sin explained, "And she isn't responding if someone else calls her like that, by the way… but you can call her 'Mira', just like everyone else here do."
"Aha…" Lucy murmured thoughtfully.
"I heard about your thundering success on your last mission," Platinum blonde said, giggling.
"I wish it was at least 'thundering'… but no, I just lost money over nothing," Natsu sighed heavily.
Lucy couldn't remember fight's conclusion – she was knocked out in the middle of it when she came too close (at least she was told so), though, even summarizing that she could remember – that battle seemed pretty reckless…
"Chin up, Natsu, not all is lost yet," Platinum blonde tried to reassure him. "I'm sure you still have a chance to win your bet, just take another mission tomorrow."
"I hope you're right… Anyway, we have a newcomer here," He said, as he nodded towards the stellar spirit mage. "…She provided assistance during my mission and helped to preserve civilians' lives whilst I was arresting my target, so I think she has potential (Natsu didn't call Lucy by name because he couldn't recall it). I think she may be a valuable addition to our family," Natsu explained.
"Wow, that's a high praise coming from Natsu," Mira said as she looked at Lucy. She then turned back to the god slayer with slightly narrowed eyes. "However, Natsu, I hope her potential has nothing to do with her breast size?"
"Why, you think those are dependent variables?" Natsu asked as he glanced at Mirajane's own huge bust.
"Humph!" Platinum blonde snorted, turning away, yet she still smiled a bit shyly. "Alright, welcome to Fairy Tail," Mirajane then said cheerfully as she turned back to Lucy, "And thank you for helping with Natsu's mission."
"Oh, it was nothing," Lucy waved off the thanks. "Natsu-san was the one who did most of the fighting, I only provided a bit of help…" She looked back at the brawl, then back at Mirajane, "Don't you think we should stop them?"
"Not really, it's better to let them continue until they finish. Besides…" As Mirajane was speaking, Natsu waved his left arm towards flying bottle that was heading straight at Mira's head, and the bottle turned to black dust "…it's quite fun that way, don't you think?" Platinum blonde smiled as if nothing happened, whilst Lucy was freaked out by her behavior.
A moment later, Lucy noticed a table flying towards her and scrambled to dodge it, but suddenly she found herself picked up by Loki in the nick of time. Natsu continued to chat with Mirajane, again, as if nothing happened.
"Ah geez… People with no elegance are really troublesome, don't you think?" Loki said to the quite shocked Lucy. "By the way, which modelling agency do you belong to…?" Loki didn't finish his phrase as he was punched in the face by Elfman.
"Real men should fight with their fists!" Elfman shouted, sending Loki crashing into a column. In the next moment big guy himself was tackled away by two bodies.
Cana, who was still sitting at the bar, turned around in her seat, "Ahh… So noisy… I can't even drink peacefully… It's time to stop this," She mumbled, pulling out one of her cards. She prepared to use her Majikku Kādo [Magic Cards], as green magical seal appeared. "Okay guys, time to stop that nonsense!"
"NOOOUUUAAAHHH!" Elfman roared as stone debris began to cover his right arm, as purple seal moved along it.
"Oh dear, what a troublesome bunch..." Loki said as his magic ring started to glow.
"Hmm, it seems that things actually began to heat up," Natsu noted as he watched his guild members preparing to use their magic.
"Ara… this is getting a little too intense…" Mirajane sighed as she scratched her chin.
But before anyone could do anything magical, a giant foot came down in the middle of the guild hall, splitting the room in two, "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Lucy looked up with wide eyes at the giant creature standing there. "CUT IT OUT, YOU FOOLS!" The giant commanded, making everyone to freeze. The only people who remained calm were Mirajane and Natsu.
'HE IS HUMONGOUS!' Lucy thought in a panic.
"Oh, master, I wasn't aware of that you've already came back," Mirajane smiled.
'Master?!' Lucy's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Greetings, Ojii-san," Sin welcomed old man as Natsu slightly bowed his head.
"Did you say master!?" Blonde inquired, unable to divert her eyes from the giant, who turned his head to look at them.
"HELLO THERE, YOUNGSTERS!" Makarov replied before noticing Lucy among them. "And what do we have here?" He inquired as he started to transform back to his original form and walked up to Lucy, who just could not believe her eyes. "A newcomer, huh?"
"He is so tiny… He's really the master?" Lucy asked.
"Physical size means quite little when it comes to magic," Natsu explained as Sin nodded.
"I would like you to meet the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov," Mirajane introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Master said giving her a small wave before jumping up, onto the railing, smacking his head to the wall in the process. He, however, quickly recomposed himself as he now stood on second floor's fences, looking at everyone, quite sternly.
"You have gone and done it again, you bunch of goofs!" He shouted, waving with thick pile of paper at them. "Look at all this paperwork which magic council has sent me! This is the biggest pile of complaints we've had yet!"
"First, Gray…" He started as he read from the list. "Good job on sweeping out the smuggling organization, but then you walked around the town naked and stole underwear that was being dried…"
"Um… Master, Gray did not come back yet…" Mirajane pointed out.
"Moreover, wouldn't it be worse if he were naked?" Elfman muttered.
"He should not be naked in the first place…" Cana noted with sigh.
"Not back yet? Okay, I'll deal with him later. Then, Cana…" Makarov sighed before he turned to her and continued to read the reports, "You have to stop buying alcohol and then charging it to the council's credit! This recent charge was for 15 big barrels!"
"So, they found out…" She said, rubbing the back of her head, she seemingly underestimated them.
"Elfman, you had a mission to escort the VIP, but you assaulted him during the mission…" Master continued.
"He said men are all about education, so…" He replied while scratching his cheek. Makarov shook his head slightly at those words.
"Loki… You were flirting with magic council member's granddaughter, Elder Reiji's specifically, and a certain talent agency charged us for damage compensation, too…" Loki turned away from the master, looking down in shame.
Makarov turned to look at Natsu, who still was sitting near the counter, looking somewhere aside, as if everything what's going on right now has nothing to do with him. Master Makarov hung his head in defeat. "And Natsu… this time you managed to exceed yourself! Good job with liberating the Auria castle but, you know, there were other options to deal with terrorists, aside from obliterating the entire castle! There is also a short list of your recent exploits: levelling a historical clock tower in Tully Village, annihilating a church in Freesia, incinerating several parts of Lupinus Castle, Nazuna Ravine observatory has been devastated and turned to dust, and just yesterday the entire port of Hargeon town has been turned upside down!"
"At your service," Natsu saluted to master, retaining his indifferent voice, though Lucy noticed somewhat helpless expression on his face as Mirajane giggled at his reaction and Makarov made a "facepalm" gesture.
'So, it was Natsu-san behind most of the articles in the magazines, huh?' Lucy thought as she stared at the god slayer.
"To be honest, on that last one…" Sin called out while pointing at Lucy, "She was responsible for about one third of the damage."
"What did I do?!" Lucy asked as she crossed her arms. "He is the one who caused that blast!"
"Let it go, Sin," Natsu called for his familiar. "It is true that in order to send the ship back to the port she summoned a huge tsunami, which also caused some damage to the port and town's buildings, but it was me who ordered her to do so," Natsu explained, winning a warm smile from Mirajane. "It was my operation, so I'm taking all the responsibility for that incident."
Lucy looked at him with somewhat strange expression and tried to say something, but nothing came to her mind. For some reason she felt herself guiltily a bit. 'I am not even a guild member yet, but I've already began to cause troubles…'
Makarov continued down the list, naming many wizards in the building: Levy, Jet, Droy, Max, Warren, Bisca, Alzack, Nab, Vijeeter, Reedus, and others. The named mages were becoming confused and tried to avoid looking at the Guild Master as soon as their names have been called. The old man started to tremble as he finished with the papers, which were being crushed by Makarov's tight grip.
"Guys… thanks to you the council members are angry at me all the time…" Makarov growled, causing everyone to shiver a bit, except for Natsu and Mirajane. "But… I say – forget about the fools of the council!" He shouted with a pleased smile as the pack of papers turned to ash. Makarov's outburst about the council made Lucy look up at him in surprise. Everyone was silent as the Guild Master spoke; almost all of them were paying an undivided attention to his words.
Master continued his speech "Now listen up. The powers to overcome reasoning are born from reason. Magic is not a miracle, it's a power of our own souls. When the "spirit" that flows within us and the "spirit" that flows in nature connects in perfect union they will form an embodiment for the first time. You will need a strong mentality and a lot of concentration for that. I mean – pouring all of your soul into whatever you do – this is what we call magic. If you keep worrying about watchful eyes of the higher-ups, your magic won't improve. Screw those old farts from the council, don't let them scare you with their rules. Do whatever you think is right! That's the only way for Fairy Tail wizards!" He finished his speech with a cheerful yell.
The entire guild followed his example, cheering as Makarov finished his speech. As the guild hall was filled with loud excited shouts and laughing, Lucy noticed that Natsu was not cheering with the others. He still was sitting near the counter, looking around and examining other guildmates, and calculating something in his mind, as if estimating them.
July 4th, Year X784, 12:10, Town of Magnolia, Fairy Tail guildhall.
"You want it here?" Mirajane asked before placing the magic stamp at the back of Lucy's right palm.
"Yes!" Lucy answered without hesitation.
"There you go!" Mirajane said cheerfully as she removed the stamp from Lucy's hand, revealing a newly placed, pink guild mark. "Now you're officially a part of Fairy Tail!"
"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed joyfully as she stared at the mark and turned towards the next table where Natsu and Sin were sitting. Mirajane went away to put the magic stamp back on its place before returning to her work.
Natsu was writing something in his black, leather bound notepad. Sin was reading, sitting on Natsu's shoulder.
"Natsu-san, look! I've just got the guild mark of Fairy Tail!" Lucy grinned as she showed her new mark to the god slayer.
"Nice, welcome to the guild, Jo-chan…" Natsu replied without lifting his eyes from his notepad, ["Jo" (女) means "young woman"], he still got no success in remembering Lucy's name.
"I'm Lucy!" Blonde yelled angrily.
"Don't mind him, Lucy," Mirajane called to her from behind the counter. "It is his well-known quirk that he keeps forgetting names. Don't worry – three or four days and he will remember yours… probably…" Mira smiled wryly. "Oh, and he does not like being interrupted when he is writing in his notepad. Just leave him be for a while."
"Okay…" Lucy replied hesitantly. She noticed that almost all members of Fairy Tail do have their own peculiarity. For example, this muscular white-haired guy, who always talks about being a man, manliness, manhood, etc… On the other hand, there is Loki who always walks around with at least two girls attached to him. Don't even mention this black-haired woman, Cana, who drinks alcohol right from the barrel…
A few minutes later, Natsu finished his writing and hid his notepad and golden pen in his coat's internal pocket. As soon as he finished, two men approached him.
"So, Natsu-san, what's the story? Where did you find such a cutie?" One of them asked, causing Lucy to shiver a little.
"I envy you… I wonder if she'll join my team…" The other one added.
Natsu turned around and scrutinized the two, confusing them slightly. "No, I don't think so," He concluded, answering the man's question. "Moreover, you are a married man… Wakaba," Natsu recalled his name, "…and you… whoever you are – close your shop door," Natsu said with his usual, emotionless face expression.
"Ugh!" The wizard who came with Wakaba turned away in embarrassment as Wakaba laughed at him.
"Wakaba, I think Natsu is right…" Mirajane's voice called to him from behind. "You should not flirt with other girls when you have a wife of your own." Wakaba turned around and met face to face with his wife.
"DWAAAHHH! Don't transform into my wife!" Wakaba screamed in fear as he ran away, covered with cold sweat. The entire guild burst into laughter. Natsu slightly nodded to Mirajane as snow-haired waitress regained her normal form and winked to Lucy, meaning 'Don't mention it.'
"Which reminds me," Natsu said as he actually remembered something, "I still have a bet to win, so it's time for a new mission."
But as soon as he stood up from bar stool, the god slayer heard a very sad and worried voice. "Is my dad back yet?" He looked to the side and saw a boy with black hair, wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and brown shorts, standing in front of Makarov, who was taking a nap, sitting on the bar counter.
"You are becoming annoying, Romeo. If you are the son of a mage, trust your father, be a good boy and wait for him at home," The master said with his right eye half-opened.
"But master!" The boy protested, "He said he'll come back in three days, but it's been a week since then!"
"Macao's job is at the Hakobe Mountain, is not it?" Makarov said as he tried to recall the details of the mission that Macao accepted.
"Yes, and it's not far from here, either," Romeo's eyes rimmed with the threat of tears. "Please look for him, I'm worried about my father!"
"No way! Your dad is a mage of our guild! And we have no mages here who can't take care of himself! I told you to return home, and wait for him! Go and drink some milk or something!" Makarov shouted. Romeo jumped in front of him and smashed his little fist right between master's eyes, before running away from the guildhall with tearful eyes.
"IDIOT! I hate all of you!" The small voice of an extremely upset boy echoed within the walls.
"It is very strict in this guild, isn't it?" Lucy asked as the discussion ended.
"Master is like that, he always tries not to show emotion, but he actually is worried about Macao, too," Mirajane said as she started cleaning plates.
"He has not returned for a week…" Natsu sighed as he watched at guild's opened door. "Ah, come on, this is really bothersome…" He said tiredly as his eyes blinked with crimson light. "As if I really have the time to waste it for such things… Sin, come on," Natsu headed towards the exit. Makarov sighed heavily as he watched young warlock walking out with his familiar on his shoulder.
"Are you really intending to let him go to Hakobe Mountain to look for Macao, master?" Nab asked as he moved closer to the guild master, seemingly he guessed Natsu's intentions right, despite the god slayer's complains.
"It doesn't matter how powerful this guy is, he's still a kid," The bucktooth mage commented, "If he does that, it'll only hurt Macao's pride…"
"Comparing to him you two are just toddlers," Mirajane suddenly gave Nab and the other guy quite a dark glare. "And you two can still catch up with him and discuss his childishness face to face, by the way. Alternatively, I can transfer your complaints to him when he'll return, so you could speak. Should I?"
"No, Mira please don't!" Both Nab and the bucktooth guy trembled in fear. Mirajane turned away from them with a satisfied smile.
"No one can decide what he should do," Makarov replied with a pleased smile. "Just let him walk his own path, he already walked a long one…"
"What happened all of a sudden?" Lucy asked as she stared at the doors, "What's this all about?"
"Well, as you, no doubts, have already learned – looks can be deceiving. Natsu possesses much more of a life experience than you can guess by his age," Mirajane smiled as she started her tale wistfully. "He claims that he was raised by a goddess, the Supreme Goddess of War, Morrigan," Platinum blonde informed.
Lucy fell off from her chair in shock as she heard the words of sky-blue-eyed girl. No, she already heard that from Sin, but back then she thought that it was a metaphor of sort. Did he mean it literally? "What?! Natsu actually was raised by a real goddess!?" Lucy exclaimed, as she attempted to stand up.
"We have no way of knowing that for sure," Mirajane smiled wryly.
"To be honest, this is the first time I've heard about her…" Lucy murmured. Actually, Lucy wasn't sure that she heard anything more or less specific about any god or goddess, at all.
"Neither have I," Mirajane nodded. "But magic, as Natsu claims, he inherited from her, definitely is a real deal – about that you should have no doubts by now," Waitress winked to Lucy.
"Right…" Lucy mumbled. She couldn't remember everything about Natsu's fight against Bora, but she definitely remembers quite enough.
"According to Natsu, the warrior goddess Morrigan – also known as 'The Great Queen', 'Supreme War Goddess', and 'Specter Queen' – she represents the heavenly powers of battle, magic, fate and death," Mira informed. "Is that true or not – I have no idea," Platinum blonde smiled helplessly, "But I can say that Natsu definitely do know things about our world that most of us cannot even comprehend…"
"Anyway," Mirajane got back to the topic, "I bet she was a pretty stern mother, yet, Natsu holds very warm feelings towards her. However, just when he was 13 years old, Morrigan-sama stated that she gave Natsu everything she could and from now on he should continue to get stronger on his own…"
"And she... left him?" Lucy gulped a little.
"Yes, she left. But before she did so, she gave one last gift to Natsu – the divine blade – Gladius Terminus, the Sword of the End," Mira replied.
"She left him with just a sword?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"With the sword and an order to become a peerless warrior," The snow-haired girl smirked. "For me or for you Lucy, it's just a sword, but for warriors... To whom a warrior entrusted his or her sword – she's entrusted EVERYTHING to him."
"Warrior?" Lucy echoed.
"Don't let this word confuse you Lucy, being a warrior has nothing to do with magic or swords – this is the way of life, the state of soul… but we digress from the topic," Mirajane waved her arm. "Natsu joined Fairy Tail about two years after his mother left him. About that you should ask Natsu himself. I'll only say that he was a real asshole back then. Lazy, selfish, arrogant – he even declined the S-class trial, he said it was, quote: 'Too much trouble, and in return I'll only get more troubles.' He was like that until… an incident happened, about two and half years ago…"
Lucy noticed that Mira shivered a little…
"One of our guild members died during mission, someone quite precious to Natsu. And I think he still blames himself, despite it never was Natsu's fault to begin with. After that incident he changed drastically, he passed an S-class trial at very next opportunity and took over senior mage's duties. But most importantly, he gave a word that if it will be within his power – he'll do everything he must to prevent another tragedy."
Mirajane put a glass of juice in front of Lucy. "You see… we are… mages of Fairy Tail are… all carrying something… Wounds… Pain… Suffering...and I as well…" Mira shivered again.
"Eh? What's wrong?" Lucy asked worriedly.
"No… It's nothing," Mirajane quickly regained her wits and smiled warmly to Lucy, "Everyone in Fairy Tail is free to decide his own path."
Lucy went silent for a few seconds before jumping on her feet and rushing after Natsu.
"Natsu-san! Please, wait a second!" Lucy managed to catch up with him a few minutes later.
The god slayer turned around. "What is it Lucy, I'm in a hurry. Macao may be in need of help, and that's not the only urgent concern I have right now."
"I know…" She replied, panting a little, "I want to join you, I wanna help!"
Natsu looked at her for a second. "Alright...When it comes to search and rescue mission – the more eyes you have, the better. It will be a long ride so I'm going to find a carriage. Use this time to bring winter clothes, it will be pretty cold up there…"
July 4th, X784, 15:35, Hakobe Mountain.
"So, Natsu-san, why did you join Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked after almost four hours of awkward silence (though, apparently, Lucy was the only one who was feeling herself awkward).
"You may drop the honorific," Natsu replied as he looked at Lucy with evaluating sight. "Well, I think there is nothing bad in telling you, it's not a big secret anyway. I suppose Jane already gave you the short version of my life's story… So, after I've left okā-sama's citadel, I only could think about one thing – power. I trained, sought for ancient spells, forgotten knowledge, magical artifacts, anything. I was also constantly fighting with every random mage I met in order to test myself. After my victories, I always was taking all of their money for myself, as a 'punishment for their weakness.' In other words, as I've realized a bit later, I was just a robber back then, no more, no less…" Natsu said, his voice was emotionless as usual, though there was some barely noticeable bitter irony.
"It was before I met one man. He was nothing special in looks, but I was quite surprised with his powers... considering the circumstances, of course. He was much older than me, about 45 years old. I followed him for a few days…" The god slayer noticed Lucy's sight "…no, I never fought with him, despite my pride I always was very careful," He answered Lucy's unspoken question.
"His eyes alone were enough for me to understand that we were in completely different leagues. I only followed him to learn who he is and where he came from. In the end, I managed to find out that he is a mage of a guild named Fairy Tail. So, I thought that if a mere human may achieve such power, then there's definitely something unusual about that guild," Natsu spoke out as he looked into the window.
"He was the strongest among mages I met during my journey across the continent, so I decided to join his guild. It was not too difficult to find out to which guild he belongs, and, fortunately, I haven't robbed any of Fairy Tail's members – it was quite small guild back then. And now I'm here…" Natsu finished his tale, pointing at crimson guild mark on his right shoulder. "Don't get me wrong – those two years of free roam was quite interesting, the only thing I'm regretting about are robberies… those were pretty dishonorable deeds. But still, during my journeys I saw almost the entire continent and met with Sin, however, that's another story for another day…"
"Looks like we have arrived," Natsu noted as few minutes later passengers felt that carriage has stopped, Natsu stood up and looked into carriage's window.
"Did we arrive to Hakobe Mountain?" Lucy asked the driver.
"Almost, but this is as far as I can take you, sorry," Driver replied.
Sin opened the carriage's door and Lucy immediately felt the harsh cold wind. "Wow, it's really cold in here. Thanks for the warning about winter clothes!" She said, looking at the snowy terrain around them.
"Don't mention it," Natsu waved it off. "C'mon, we have to find Macao as fast as possible. This frozen wasteland isn't the best place to die…"
"Okay," Lucy agreed. "What job did Macao-san come here for? Where should we begin to look for him?"
"I wish I knew…" Natsu replied quietly. "He came here to subdue the local monster, Vulcan."
"M-m-m-monster?!" Lucy's voice shook. "No one told me anything about monsters! I thought we came here just to find Macao-san!"
"If here would've been no danger, we'd have no need to come here in the first place," Sin facepalmed at Lucy's reaction.
"Too late to back down, jo-chan. You're already here and I'm counting on you and your magic," Natsu replied, leaving no place to argue. "Now, summon one of your spirits with capability to see and move and make it help us in our search."
"All right, but only if you promise to stop calling my spirits 'it' and 'that'!" Lucy exclaimed a bit angrily. Then she pulled out one of her silver keys and shouted, "Open, Gate of the Clock – Hororogiumu!" Out of the golden magic seal came a giant grandfather clock with arms, legs and a dial-like face.
"Weird…" Sin murmured.
"Maybe, but I don't think we are the ones to talk…" The god slayer noted. "Whatever… jo-chan, you and your spirit should head this way…" Natsu pointed to the left "…I'll go there…" He pointed to the right "…And Sin will search from above."
"I'm Lucy!" Blonde shouted resentfully.
"MACAO, CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" Natsu called out through the powerful snowstorm, standing near the cliff's edge as he tried to look around.
"Just as I thought…" God slayer looked around, "Alright, let's spread out… and be careful, everyone…" But before he could finish his phrase a Vulcan came crashing in-between Natsu and the others with a grin on its face, aiming for Natsu.
The God Slayer quickly stepped aside and prepared for combat as crimson energy started to swirl around him. The Vulcan stared at him for a few moments before sniffing the air and looking back.
"A human woman!" A big, perverted grin came to the monkey's mug before it ran off.
"What's with the number of idiots this week?" Natsu asked himself, eyeing the retreating monster, before realizing it was heading to Lucy. "Oh, that's not good… Jo-chan! Watch out!"
Lucy managed to see the danger at the last moment, and in panic she hid inside the clock-spirit. In the meantime, Natsu managed to take a good look at monkey, "Oh, come on…" God slayer rolled his eyes. The Vulcan grabbed Horologium, lift it up and ran away. "You'd better have a good explanation about this…" God slayer facepalmed.
"'Stop standing there like a statue! Get over here and save me!'... she cried through tears," Horologium pronoubced with emotionless voice.
"What did I tell you? You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," Sin stated as he landed on Natsu's shoulder.
"We cannot know what future holds…" Natsu said quietly as he shook his head. 'Okā-sama, lend me your aid…'
Few minutes later…
"How did I become like THIS!? And that damn monkey is hyper for some reason!" Lucy asked herself tearfully. "How did I allowed myself to be dragged into this!?" She shivered as Vulcan was running around the Horologium.
"A human female!" The Vulcan shouted again as he pressed his mug against the glass of the grandfather clock, freaking Lucy out even more as she stared at the monkey's drooling maw.
Then, at the most inopportune moment, Horologium disappeared, eliciting a slight cloud of blue smoke.
"Where did you go, Horologium?! Don't you dare to disappear at such a time!" Lucy wailed as she's been left unprotected in front of the perverted monkey.
"Sorry but my time is up. Farewell," the clock's voice replied.
"Extension! I need an extension, please!" The stellar mage cried as the Vulcan rushed its way over to her with a large perverted grin on its face. But, suddenly, a ray of crimson energy hit the Vulcan and smashed him into the wall of the ice cave.
"Keep your hands to yourself, weak-minded scarecrow," Natsu demanded as he appeared from the shadows. "This is just pathetic… Macao, I've always knew that you are a way far from being a gentleman, but don't you think this is a bit too much even for you?" Natsu addressed to monkey as Lucy dashed towards the god slayer and hid behind his back.
"Huh?" Lucy looked at Natsu questioningly.
"Molest a young lady without even introducing yourself? Not to mention the fact that you let some monkey to use its Teiku Ōbā [Take Over] spell on you… You've really disappointed me this time... " Natsu spoke out. In the meantime, the monkey managed to get back on its feet.
"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Lucy asked, but he remained focused on the enemy.
Suddenly she heard Sin's voice, "Natsu, behind us!"
Natsu turned around only to see three more Vulcans, "Oh, that is really out of time…"
"More monsters?!" Lucy cried in a panic.
"Don't panic Lucy, nothing bad will happen to any of us, I promise," Natsu said with completely calm voice. "Those are just the same Vulcans…" God slayer's eyes flashed with crimson light. "And those three… we don't need alive…" He added passionlessly.
'What's with this guy… Only by looking at him I'm becoming confident in our safety…' Lucy asked as she stared up at Natsu.
"Alright, jo-chan – you take care of this one," He pointed at monkey that kidnapped Lucy. "I'll explain it later but we need him alive, do not use lethal force. Sin – insure her if needed. And I'll take care of those three," Crimson energy covered the god slayer's palms, "Be swift, we're running out of time."
Seemingly, Lucy gave up on trying to remind Natsu about her name. "Yes sir!" She and Sin saluted simultaneously. "Natsu, I don't know how it happened, but I already feel like I'm part of the family. And I'll fight for the sake of my friends!" Lucy stated, grabbing one of her keys.
"That's how it works…" Natsu nodded, "Now, let battle rejoice…"
Lucy raised up her key and shouted: "Open, the gate to the Golden Bull's palace – Taurosu!" Out of the magic seal a large creature, that seemed to be a hybrid of a bull and human, wielding a big two-handed axe and wearing blue trunks, appeared.
"Moooooo!" The bull bellowed.
"A bull?" Sin stared at Taurus with a question mark above his boney head.
"Taurus, the most powerful melee fighting Seirei [Stellar Spirit] in my contract, will be this monkey's opponent. He'll be more than enough to deal with this perverted scarecrow!" Lucy said with a bit of bloodlust in her voice. Vulcan had scared her and now she wanted revenge.
"Come on you three, I have no time to fiddle around with the likes of you… Senjin no Sōken!" [War God's Twin Blades] Crimson energy formed into two long blades on each of his fists as Natsu rushed toward the approaching monsters. He got close so fast that monsters were taken by surprise. Once he was close enough, Natsu swung both arms, hitting the monsters with his crimson energy blades. The blow elicited a cloud of iced dust and sent them flying in different directions…
"Oh, Lucy-san, your boobs are nice as always. Moo-re amazing than ever. How about you let me touch them a little?" The perverted bull asked, making Lucy to clench her fists.
"Oh, I forgot... he's a pervert as well," Lucy muttered, making Sin to facepalm.
"Uho! Don't touch my woman!" The monkey roared.
"Your woman?! This is the moo-st unforgivable remark! You should say 'my boobs' instead!" Taurus proclaimed as steam bursted out from his nose.
"That's not right!" Lucy shouted. "Anyway, Taurus, knock him out!"
"Sure, anything to protect your sexy boobs, Lucy-san! I'm moo-re than ready!" Taurus saluted as he reached for his axe. "I hope you are ready for a beating, stupid moo-nkey!" Taurus exclaimed as he slammed his axe to the ground and sent a shockwave toward the Vulcan, but it quickly dodged as it jumped out of the way. The Vulcan rushed towards Taurus with his arms ready to land a powerful blow. Taurus moved his axe in front of him and prepared to counter the monkey's attack. They clashed against each other with full force.
Their strength seemed equal until Sin came and dropped an icicle on the Vulcan's head. It distracted the monkey for a mere second, but that was enough. Taurus pushed monkey away and struck it with his axe, knocking Vulcan out.
"Nice work you two!" Lucy shouted joyfully.
"Anything for your sexy boobs, Lucy-san!" Taurus answered with hearts in his eyes, making Lucy to facepalm before she remembered something Natsu said earlier.
"Hey, Sin, why did Natsu call this Vulcan 'Macao'?" Lucy wondered.
"That's because he is Macao," Sin answered as defeated Vulcan started to glow and shrink. A human male appeared in its place. Lucy stared in shock as Sin started to explain. "Vulcans survive by using Teiku Ōbā to possess their victim's body and using it as their own, they are just monstrous body abductors."
At the same time Natsu was 'fighting' with the other three Vulcans… though, it wasn't fighting at all. Monkeys recovered from his last attack and all three of them now rushed towards the god slayer, trying to attack him all at once. "So, you still didn't feel like running…?" Natsu sighed as he leapt toward the enemies. Senjin no Shōkya! [War God's Shock Kick] He landed a crushing blow right into the maw of the one of the Vulcans, smashing him into the floor, then somersaulted and performed another attack. "Senjin no Saiken!" [War God's Crushing Fist] He used both of his fists to knock down the last two monkeys. The Vulcans had no time to recover as Natsu shouted "Senjin no Dogō!" [War God's Howl] A massive flow of crimson energy produced powerful blast that smashed the Vulcans into the wall, knocking them out. However, Natsu haven't finished yet: "Senjin no Bakusō!" [War God's Explosive Spear] The god slayer brought his arms together and created a massive magical spear composed of crimson energy, and hurled it at the Vulcans. The spear landed a direct hit and obliterated part of the cave's wall, creating a huge hole and throwing out the monsters through it.
"Hmm… have I overdid it again…? Ah, who cares – no one will ask me to pay for that…" Natsu noted to himself as he dashed toward Lucy and Sin to check Macao. He knew, however, that he was lucky – just a bit more damage and the entire cave would have collapsed…
"That's Natsu for you. He never can stop in time," Sin commented as Lucy stared at the current result of the god slayer's thirst for destruction.
"How's Macao?" Natsu inquired as he approached Sin and Lucy, who already started to unpack a first aid kit and bandaging Macao's wounds.
"Pretty bad I'm afraid. He got several severe wounds and chilblains. We should transfer him to warmth as fast as possible…" Lucy explained as she removed her winter coat and covered Macao's body with it.
"Well, I guess that's to be expected… There was a violent fight before the Vulcan finally took him over," Natsu said as he examined Macao. "No time to waste then, come on, we have to carry him away from this mountain," The god slayer stated as he picked up his friend's body. "And, by the way, thanks for learning the first aids methods, whenever you did, jo-chan, Macao is alive thanks to you…"
Lucy blushed a little as Sin commented, "Natsu only knows how to do damage, not how to treat it." Then, little boney creature leaned to Natsu's ear and asked quietly, "You really still didn't memorize her name, or you just mimicking Haishera?"
"Both," Natsu replied as if it's nothing special.
July 4th, X784, 19:20, Halfway between Magnolia and Mt. Hakobe.
Natsu's group reached the low lands, where the environment became warm enough for Macao to recover a bit. "Okay, we'll put him here," The god slayer pointed at the bottom of a large tree. "We'll wait here until he regains consciousness. As much as I'm in a hurry, I still don't think that his son will be glad to see him like this."
Lucy nodded. She understood Natsu's reasoning. After about five minutes, Lucy noticed that Macao moved a little. "Hey, look! It seems he's waking up!" Blonde called for others.
Macao opened his eyes and saw Natsu, his familiar, and some blonde girl who was staring at him quite worryingly. "Natsu-san… gah… ghau… Is that you?"
"Lay still for a while," God slayer ordered. "People should not try to run around right after returning from the frozen hell," Natsu pressed Macao to the ground, restraining his movements.
"Shit… What a shame… I got nineteen… of them… but twentieth one took me over…" Macao tried to explain. Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she listened.
'What?! There were nineteenth more of those monkeys?! And he took care of all of them by himself?!' Lucy thought. She also remembered how Natsu effortlessly smashed three of the monkeys by himself. 'Amazing… I'm really no match for them…'
"Sorry Natsu, but I'm angry at myself. How can I face Romeo like this?" Macao asked but the god slayer seemed uninterested in excuses.
"I'm also quite displeased with you," Natsu replied emotionlessly. "You wasted my time, made your son worry, and if things will continue like this – others may start thinking that I have nothing better to do but babysit incompetent mages."
Natsu's words were harsh, but it seemed like Macao was prepared to hear something like that, he didn't seem offended or shocked… unlike Lucy.
"Natsu, he's wounded!" She exclaimed, "Don't you think that scolding him like that is a bit too much?!" Besides, Macao seemed at least twice as old as Natsu, yet he was scolded like a schoolboy…
Natsu didn't reply, so Sin did instead, "If he would've been kind and supporting, that experience would've been be for nothing. He should feel himself depressed and ashamed – and he should do everything within his powers to not experience these feelings ever again."
Lucy scratched her head. She got the idea, but she couldn't agree with that method.
"Oh, this is Lucy, our guild's newest member," Sin explained as he noticed that Macao is looking at blonde in confusion.
"Also, she's a girl who saved your life using her first aid skills, and a girl who you tried to rape whilst being possessed by a Vulcan," Natsu added calmly, "So I'd say you got pretty close to the pinnacle of shame."
Macao closed his eyes in defeat, "Just… bring me back on that mountain… and bury me in snow…" He croaked.
"Hah, you won't get away that easily," Natsu snorted.
As she heard that exchange, Lucy relaxed a little. It seems that, even though Natsu is like that, he actually cares about his guild and fellow guildmates.
"Anyway, if you feel better, then get on your feet," Natsu said as he offered his hand for Macao to grab. "And you really have to thank the jo-chan here for bandaging your wounds. You are well aware of my own medical skills," Natsu informed as Lucy blushed a little. That phrase was truthful, by the way.
"Thank you, young lady," Macao thanked her as he bowed to Lucy as much as his wounded back allowed. "Damn, that's one way to meet with the new guild member…" Macao mumbled, making Lucy to chuckle a little.
'Quite an unorthodox way, but Natsu knows how to cheer up people,' She thought.
"C'mon Macao, Romeo is waiting for your return, let's go," Sin suggested.
"All right, Sin. Damn… I'm good-for-nothing… If it was your boss or his girlfriend, ten times more monsters would've been annihilated within just a few minutes," Macao complained, making Lucy to look at Natsu curiously.
"Macao, I really don't think that you should be getting on his nerves right now…" Sin advised as he noticed Natsu's that left eye flashed with dark blue light. Macao also noticed that so he didn't say anything else.
After that scene, Lucy decided to hold onto her curiosity for a while.
July 4th, X784, 21:15, Magnolia, not far from Macao's house.
Thanks to long summer days, sun was still slightly above the horizon. In the rays of sunset, an extremely sad and worried Romeo was sitting on the border fence with his head hung, looking down at the pavement. He remembered how he was bullied and insulted by other boys because his father is a wizard.
"What's so great about Fairy Tail mages?"
"They are just a bunch of cowards who spent all their time drinking!"
"We all want to become knights when we grow up!"
"Wizards are all a bunch of drunks!"
He then remembered how he begged his father to take a mission so that the humiliating teasing would stop. He remembered that his dad gave him a cheerful wink before he picked a mission and left.
"Romeo! We're back!" The Sin's voice called out, catching Romeo's attention. When he looked up from the pavement, he saw his father leaning on Natsu's shoulder. They were accompanied by Sin and the blonde girl whose name he did not know yet.
Romeo's eyes widened from happiness before he ran toward his father. However, then he came closer, he lowered his head and said, "Dad… I'm sorry…"
"No Romeo, it is I who should say sorry," Macao answered. "Sorry for making you worry."
"It's all right, I'm the son of a wizard, after all," Romeo said as Natsu waved to Macao and started to walk toward the guild building.
"Then when those brats tease you next time, ask them if their old men can defeat nineteen monsters by themselves!" Macao boasted. As he heard that, Natsu didn't say anything, he just continued his way towards the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"Natsu-san! Sin! Thank you!…" Romeo shouted. Without turning around Natsu waved his hand once again, Sin, who was riding on his shoulder, did the same. "And thank you too, Lucy-nee!" Romeo added. Macao had told his son about this new girl. Lucy turned a little and waved back with a smile on her face.
"Alright, jo-chan, I'm going to give a report about Macao to the master. Thanks for your help and sorry for that our rescue mission took so long. Still, I think you have a bit of time to find a place to settle into. If you get no luck with it, come to my house, I'll find a room for you," Natsu said as he headed towards guildhall, with his familiar still sitting on his right shoulder.
"Oh, right! I steel need a house!" Lucy exclaimed in panic and rushed towards the town's center, as she hoped to find some rent offer at the city bulletin board.
As she was running, she thought, 'Fairy Tail is a reckless and outrageous guild, but it's also fun, heart-warming and kind. I'm still a rookie mage, but I think I'll enjoy being a part of this guild a lot…' Lucy smiled to herself. 'I also have to ask Mira-san about this "Natsu's girlfriend" as soon as I can, or I'll just die from curiosity!'
Spell list:
Senjin no Dogō – War God's Howl
Senjin no Saiken – War God's Crushing Fist
Senjin no Shōkya – War God's Shock Kick
Senjin no Bakusō –War God's Explosive Spear
Senjin no Sōken –War God's Twin Blades
Terekineshisu – Telekinesis
Majikku Kādo – Magic Cards
Hororogiumu – Horologium
Taurosu – Taurus
Teiku Ōbā – Take Over
Okay people this is it, chapter II completed. I hope it was enjoyable for you. And I would like to know your opinion about this chapter, so be sure to REVIEW it!
See you in the next chapter – Chapter III – Thirst For Annihilation.