Yo! So I had a new idea for a story, I think it's gonna be good! Let me know what you think :)
Rise, old friend. The time has come for you to take your place among the rest of the zodiac spirits.
Natsu Dragneel stood in front of the King of the Celestial Spirits warily, his eyes flitting among the twelve spirits he considered to be his brothers and sisters. They all stood in a circle, each one standing on their respective zodiac signs, leaving just one empty spot meant for Natsu. Leo smiled at him sadly, watching as the fire dragon slayer walked stiffly to take his place as the 13th hidden gate.
The rest of his brethren had great respect for the pink haired fireball, especially after what he had done to protect Leo and Aries. When Karen Lilica had been abusing Aries, Leo had stepped in to protect her, ready to take the punishment that came along with it. When the hot-tempered celestial wizard raised her hand to Leo, Natsu had forcibly opened his gate and had shown his fury on the wizard himself.
However, his actions action weren't condoned by the Celestial Spirit King. When he found out that Natsu had taken all of Karen's keys away from her and banned her from ever using one ever again (unless she wanted to suffer from the wrath of the fire dragon), he was not pleased. The king was a man who cared about the spirits, but the laws of the celestial spirit world were not ones to be broken. With a heavy heart, he made Natsu go to the dungeons along with Happy, the blue cat who accompanied him everywhere he went.
Happy and Natsu were in the dungeons for a long time, and their magic was cut off, meaning that they were prone to the harsh conditions around them. The dragon slayer's heart hurt as he had to watch his best friend shiver and whine with hunger, and he did everything in his power to help Happy. Natsu gave him most of his food, and he would cover him up in his scarf and hold him as they slept, hoping that his body warmth transferred to his friend.
Natsu didn't complain, he knew what he had done was wrong, but it didn't stop him from helping his friends. They had all visited him, each of them talking about their new owners as time passed. Eventually, he had come to learn that a certain girl, Lucy Heartfilia, had obtained a majority of their keys. Aquarius had quite a temper, but even she told Natsu that Lucy wasn't the same as the other celestial wizards. No matter how much praise the girl got, Natsu couldn't help but feel rage build up in his chest as he thought about the different possible treatments his friends received.
They weren't related, but Natsu saw them as his siblings. The pink haired fireball couldn't see them as anything more than his own flesh and blood, and of all of them, he had been the first one introduced into the celestial spirit world. Everyone had come after him, and they all considered him to be their older brother. He was very protective of his brothers and sisters, going so far as to beat up anyone that sullied their name - not even the Plues could escape his wrath.
The Celestial Spirit King gazed upon Natsu, the gate of the dragon king: the dragon slayer was the most powerful of all the gates, and the king smiled at him fondly. He watched as Happy peeked his head out of his friends scarf, his eyes quivering at the sight of the colossal giant in front of him.
Natsu kneeled in front of his king with respect, bowing his head low as Happy did the same. "Has my key been discovered my king?"
The King smiled, then gestured for him to stand up. "Natsu Dragneel, your time in the dungeons has been served well. You are being released after two hundred years, and I am here to say your key has been found by Lucy Heartfilia. She holds most of the zodiac keys, I know you shall serve her well. In a few moments, you will be summoned along with Happy. Take your place at your gate, and may you serve her to the best of your ability."
Natsu stiffened and watched as the king disappeared, leaving him alone with his siblings. As he turned around, he was caught off guard as Aries threw herself into his arms, crying and apologizing as she usually did.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she wailed miserably, not giving her older brother a chance to talk. "If I had listened to Karen-sama, you wouldn't have been in the dungeons. Oni-chan, I'm sorry!" Natsu shook his head amiably and squeezed her in a tight hug, tears forming in his eyes as he surveyed the rest of his siblings with affection. They had all taken to bowing their heads at the man they considered to be their leader, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance and rolled his eyes at their formalness.
"Don't start with that idiots, I might be your oni-chan, but that doesn't mean you need to be so formal. You know that no matter where I am, I will always, always, protect you." Natsu shifted Aries a little, holding her so that he was more comfortable. He was happy to see she wasn't crying as much anymore, and he patted her head lovingly before gently pushing her out of his arms.
The dragon slayer looked at each of his siblings one by one, noting that they all looked like they were in good health. With a small smile, he turned around and stepped onto his gate, with Happy immediately holding onto his best friend with his wings out. "Lucy Heartfilia," he mused out loud, "you all talked to me about her, but let me make one thing clear. I won't hesitate to talk to her about treating you properly, if I find she doesn't there will be hell to pay. Same goes for your master Libra and Pisces...I won't let anyone hurt you."
Natsu didn't miss the looks of disbelief on their faces. Leo opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a word in, Natsu's gate glowed a brilliant yellow, and in a flash, he was gone.
Lucy Heartfilia stood in the guild hall, which was surprisingly quiet. She had just announced that she found another zodiac gate key, one that was a different symbol than any of the twelve ones she knew. Master Makarov sat in front of her, his face showing no emotion as he nodded his head silently, giving her the permission to open the gate.
Erza, Gray, and Laxus stood right next to her to make sure that the key didn't release a threat, and the rest of the guild members stood back just in case anything happened.
"I don't understand what this is," muttered Lucy, "but if there is a 13th gate, it's supposedly the most powerful of all the zodiac spirits. The celestial spirits weren't allowed to talk about it - but they told me it's the gate of the dragon king."
Erza smiled at her friend and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry Lucy, we're all here to make sure this goes well. Go ahead and open it." The blond nodded, then took a deep breath and whipped the key out of her holster.
"Gate of the dragon king, I open thee!"
Within moments, a bright light was emitted from the key Lucy held, and the ground began rumbling. The light was intense, and when it finally dwindled, a young man with bright pink hair stood in front of her. It took her a minute to notice, but a little blue cat sat on the man's shoulder - surprisingly, it looked just like Gajeel and Wendy's cats.
The man looked right at Lucy and bowed, and she was shocked to see the cat do the same. "Lucy Heartfilia, I am Natsu Dragneel, dragon slayer and king of the fire dragons. As my owner, I swear this oath to protect and serve your each and every wish no matter what it be."
Her heart broke as she saw Natsu, who looked no older than her, act like no more than a servant. She rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders before gently pulling him up. "Natsu, I look forward to working with you, and it would be an honor if you could contract with me." He and Happy looked at each other with confusion, then he nodded at her before looking around to see the environment he was in.
"You two," Natsu said pointing at them, "are dragon slayers, right?" They looked at each other, and before they could say anything, he sniffed the air and smirked. "I can smell Grandine and Metalicana...so, a wind and iron dragon slayer, huh? Very interesting...to think that the Earthworld has people similar to me is quite the sight, isn't it Happy?"
The blue cat nuzzled into Natsu's head, chirping out a cute "Aye!" to agree with his friend. The blue haired girl walked forward shyly, and introduced herself as Wendy and the man grudgingly grunted out that his name was Gajeel.
"Natsu-san, do you know anything about what happened to our dragons?" Wendy twiddled her thumbs as Charle looked on with cautious eyes. "They disappeared on July 7, 777, nobody know what happened to them and well, as the king of the fire dragons, would you maybe know where they went?"
The fire dragon slayer looked at the little girl sadly and patted her head. "I'm sorry Wendy, I don't know where they are. My father Igneel was the fire dragon king before me, and he was killed by the one you all call Acnologia, if he were alive he may have known. Grandine and I have met before, she was a kind dragon, and if my master wishes I will help you find her along with Metalicana."
Lucy was amazed to see how well they were interacting though the three had just met each other. Maybe it's just a dragon slayer thing, she thought as she watched Natsu walk towards her. His face suddenly turned serious, and she was unsure of what he would say to her.
"Lucy-sama," he started slowly, "I wanted to say something to you about my siblings. I don't know if Leo has told you about the hardships us celestial spirits have suffered, but there's not much to say in that department. We are not treated well by celestial wizards, and I would like to warn you right now before you summon us again."
Natsu's aura began to change, and scales began growing on his face as fangs began forming in his mouth. Lucy was terrified: she couldn't move a muscle as she watched the transformation happen. Her friends were all in a trance, neither daring to take a step forward though it seemed like their friend was in danger.
The fire dragon slayer stood his ground, looking at her very soul with is piercing eyes. "I have been imprisoned for years after protecting my siblings from the abuse of a celestial wizard, and I warn you Lucy Heartfilia, should you hurt my brothers and sisters, I am not afraid to protect them first. They talk about how you are a kind owner, but that doesn't mean I think you are. I will be watching you closely, and if you hurt them...you will be sorry you ever met me. Do I make myself clear?"
Lucy was frozen from shock as she didn't anticipate Natsu's drastic personality change. "Natsu, I swear, I would never hurt them. They're my dear friends, and you are one too. If...if I do anything unsatisfactory, please, tell me and I'll change my ways."
The fire dragon slayer looked appeased, and his appearance from the demonic looking entity reverted to the normal form he was originally in within a blink of an eye. "Good," Natsu said, "I'm glad we got that out of the way. Anyways, Lucy-sama, I wanted to request you to bring me out when you're fighting an intense battle. Of course, you can call me whenever you want since you're my master, but I don't want you endangering my siblings. Got it?"
The blonde nodded at this statement, then paused. "Wait, siblings?" she asked, "You're all related? But, Aquarius and Scorpio...are dating?"
Natsu laughed at her confusion. "No, we're not siblings by blood. I was the first one to be formed out of us all, and I have protected them for so long I can only see them as my precious brothers and sisters. Now that this is out of the way, is there anything I can do to assist you Lucy-sama?"
Lucy sighed as she noticed he would only refer to her as his master, but decided to get over that hurdle when the time came. "Actually...Master Makarov wanted to talk to you once we formed a contract. Would you mind Natsu?"
He bowed, then shook his head. "As I said before, I will do whatever you say. Who is the person I am to speak with?"
She guided Natsu to the guild master, who had been watching the scene with a calculating gaze the whole time. Makarov wasn't sure if Natsu was a threat or not, but after seeing the celestial spirit vow to do anything Lucy said, his apprehensiveness died down.
"Natsu, this is Master Makarov, Fairy Tail's third master. Master, this is Natsu, the dragon king spirit." Lucy said, watching as the two shook each others hands.
The pink haired spirit shook the older man's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Master Makarov. Lucy-sama said you wished to speak with me?"
Makarov smiled at the young man before him. He had a feeling they would get along well.
It had been a long time since Lucy had felt this way.
Natsu had weaseled his way into her heart and was determined to stay there. He was a rude, crass, and snarky spirit, but Lucy knew the love he had for his siblings ran deep. The fire dragon king was still cold towards her and her friends, but he got along well with the dragon slayers.
Well, a dragon slayer. Gajeel matched Natsu's personality well, but it was Wendy who had warmed his heart. The little girl was so much like Grandine, and Natsu had already admitted that he had a lot of respect for the dragon.
It was a bond that nobody expected to be formed. Wendy had gradually began looking forward to Natsu's visits, and she even called him her big brother. He protected her and even assisted in her training.
Much to his chagrin, Natsu helped Gajeel out as well. As dragon slayers, they had to stick together, so the pink haired spirit had helped Gajeel strengthen his attacks.
This was all in preparation for the Grand Magic Games, which was slowly creeping its way onto the guild. In the four months that he served Lucy, Natsu had noticed several things about the girl that irritated him to no end.
For one, she was easily the weakest master he served. She had little to no physical strength and she definitely couldn't hold her own in battle. The whip that Virgo gave Lucy wasn't enough, and the busty blonde came off as incompetent to the fire dragon slayer.
Natsu knew that summoning him would take a lot of magic, and in order to help Lucy widen her reserves, he decided to train her himself. Her annoying friends, especially the Erza girl, had refused to allow Lucy to train with Natsu separately. He used his power and scared them off, threatening to burn them up if they irritated him any longer.
So in that time, Natsu had set a strict regime for Lucy. Using his own magic, he forcibly summoned himself to Earthland every day for two months in order to train his master. He had a strict regime, and Lucy learned the hard way the Natsu wasn't one to be trifled with.
At the end of the first week of training, she stopped running to take a break, and Natsu had chased her with his fireballs. Lucy learned that though the routine was incredibly difficult, she was slowly getting stronger.
She had the utmost respect for Natsu, especially after learning about how he saved Aries and Leo. If anything, the feeling she got when she saw him became more intense. Natsu was handsome, but he seemed to be oblivious to this fact as he ignored Lucy's blushes and brushed away her attempts for deeper conversation.
That didn't mean they didn't talk at all though. Lucy was a very, very persistent woman, and Natsu found that though it was a pain, talking to her wasn't as bad as it seemed. He was starting to understand why his siblings liked her so much - she seemed to genuinely care for the spirits.
After two and a half weeks, Lucy had improved significantly. Her hand to hand combat was substantial, and though Natsu could still overpower her with one strike, she could hold her own...sort of. If the enemy was weak and stupid, she would win easily. But Natsu knew that wasn't going to be the case in the tournament.
He decided to have a long talk with her. The fire dragon slayer had been blunt, saying that Lucy was holding herself back for some reason. Natsu questioned if she was being serious because the way he saw it, she wasn't making as much progress as he hoped for.
It was that night that Lucy had cried, and she hit Natsu's chest (well, it felt like a tap to him) while sobbing into it. He didn't know what to do, but according to his sisters, girls liked to be held when they were upset. So he did just that.
They were like oil and water, but for some reason, it worked. By the time a month had passed, Lucy surpassed his expectations. Natsu decided that Happy could finally get involved in the training, and he used the cat to carry the celestial mage high up in the air before dropping her into the ocean.
She screamed loudly the first time it happened, and when she finally got out of the water, Lucy was pissed beyond words. Natsu had been indifferent, and he lazily explained that she needed to be ready for any situation. He made her swim to the shore within a time limit, and he even had Happy try attacking her from above while she swam to slow her down.
It was then that the pink haired spirit had made a decision he hoped he wouldn't regret.
Throughout his whole life, Natsu had collected a large amount of artifacts and weapons. He treasured them all in their own way, and there were a few he wouldn't part ways with. However, one that he knew he could let Lucy...borrow one of them: his fire staff.
Natsu had thought about it for a whole week before giving it to Lucy, who hugged him to death for the present. He explained it very carefully, stating that the fire staff was incredibly powerful in it's own way. It channeled his magic, meaning that even if she couldn't summon him, Lucy had Natsu's magic as a fallback.
The only consequence was that it wasn't the most versatile tool. It spewed fire in various different ways and it definitely could block a sword, but if Natsu's magic was low, the staff would mostly be useless. Lucy didn't care about that though. She was more focused on how Natsu had given her something, especially an object that connected him to her in a weirdly intimate way. To her, this meant that the pink haired mage cared.
Two full months had passed by now, and their training was over. Lucy had done incredibly well, and Natsu couldn't deny her progress. She was a good fighter, and though she definitely was years away from remotely beating Erza, he knew she could take on a mildly strong opponent. Lucy even wore a new outfit that could better protect her compared to the skimpy ones she usually wore, and Natsu made sure the material was strong enough to stay intact.
She summoned Natsu, smiling at him as he whistled lowly, secretly liking her new look. He couldn't help but smirk at how she had changed, and he offered her his elbow.
"Shall we?"
Lucy took it eagerly, ready to go back to her home: Fairy Tail.
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