Chapter 1: Where It Begins
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
The sound of footsteps echoed through the holding cells as a single man flanked by two guards walked past the prisoners. The cells were cold and damp. The only source of light came from the few windows that were allowed in the holding area. The lack of light didn't hinder their movements, they knew where they were going.
The man in the middle was far shorter than guards that escorted him. He held a stern expression as he passed by the prisoners. No one wanted to be the focus of his gaze. They knew who this person is. After all, no one in their right mind would want to get in the way of an admiral from the World Navy.
"The prisoner is up ahead sir, last cell on the right." One of the guards said in the respectful manner. While the prison cells were filled with people, there was only one person here that the Admiral wanted to see.
Makarov paid little attention to the guards words. He has long since gotten used to walking towards this specific cell. It has unofficially gained the reputation of being a specific inmate's home away from home with how much time he has spent in there.
When they arrived at the cell, no one payed any attention towards the prisoners that were cowering on either end of the cell. There focus was on the pinkette leaning against the back wall of the cell, his hands resting behind his head.
"Hey Gramps," Natsu said casually as he didn't bother meeting eyes with the Admiral.
"Natsu," Makarov began to say only to stop to release a frustrated sigh. Far too many times has he had to see the pinkette behind bars. "Can I go one deployment without being informed that you were arrested?" he asked sarcastically. The annoyance in his voice was clear for all to hear. In the last few years, Natsu has held the record for being arrested the most times. While the reasons vary for the pinkette's detainment, it doesn't stop being a hassle for Makarov.
Natsu glared at Makarov. The admiral knew why Natsu does the things he does. The pinkette isn't the type of person to sit around and let bad things happen. When Makarov is on the Crius Islands, all the marines are taking an active role in their duties and need little supervision. When he is away, the marines only get involved when they must. Something Natsu has an issue with.
Without being told, one of the guards opens the cell, he's been through this enough to know the drill. While he would like to not rush an admiral, neither him nor the other guard want to be in between these two when they start arguing.
Going through the motions as they have so many times before, Makarov starts walking towards the exit with Natsu following.
"You're lucky I was in the area; you could have been in that cell for quite some time" Makarov said as him and his adopted grandson walked through Magnolia towards the docks. The town wasn't the largest in the area. It mainly relied on fishing and trading for most of its income.
No matter how many islands he visits, the admiral has always had a soft spot for Magnolia. This town is his home. It's the reason he joined the navy, so islands and towns like this can continue to exist safely. Many generations of his family have been born in this town and shaped them into the people they have become. Everyone in town holds most of the Dreyar family in the highest regard, so much so that the very sight of them fills them with a feeling of safety and assurance.
Natsu felt a similar way about the town. The people were friendly enough and the town was only occasionally boring. While people all but worshipped the Dreyars, the pinkette never received the same treatment. Everyone looked at the pinkette as if he's some delinquent, understandably so though it did get on his nerves. The people were friendly enough though they did try to keep their distance.
Like the Dreyars, the Dragneel family line held quite the reputation. Unlike the Dreyars, the Dragneels carried the reputations of being monstrous fighters that leaves devastation in their wake. Within the World Navy, their family is often sent after the worst criminals the world has to offer. As such, the Dragneels have become infamous for their actions and as such the World Government goes to great lengths to keep their family on a tight leash.
Even though there are very few Dragneels alive today, people still fear their family name.
As soon as Natsu was old enough to walk, the local marines always kept an eye on him. What irritates Natsu the most was how quick people forget about all of his families good deeds. People quickly labeled him a monster from a young age. To an extent, he couldn't blame them. Before he became a teenager, he had already taken down a few local gangs by himself.
As the duo made their way through town, they made a slight detour into a nearby alley.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop picking fights?" Makarov ask as soon as he sees that there is no one around to hear their conversation. Far too many times has he had to have this conversation. And so many times did he feel like he was repeating himself for no reason.
"What do you want me to? There were these guys that were threatening some merchants for protection money."
"Why did you have to handle the situation yourself? Why couldn't you find a marine to handle the situation?"
"Because they were too busy pretending not to notice." Upon the pinkette saying this both men released a frustrated sigh.
Makarov believed every word of what Natsu was saying. The pinkette is a lot of things but a liar isn't any of them. The Admiral could think of a few reasons why these marines did what they did. The one positive possibility is they were waiting until things turned violent or money was being exchanged before getting involved. While possible this wasn't likely the case. What is more likely was the marines there were either too lazy to get involved or they were being paid off. Both options leading to those marines being kicked out of the Navy if they're lucky.
Magnolia is by no means large in scale. The island itself is a small out of the way island with very few resources that could be considered worth stealing. Pair that information with the island being associated with the Dreyar family and the island becomes almost not worth the effort or the aftermath.
As much as Makarov would wish it, the Navy isn't going to post their most reliable marines on a remote island with very little pirate activity. As a result, a good portion of the marines that are posted on the island are mainly incompetent rejects that mainly served to maintain the peace and fill boots.
To make matters worse, the marines stationed on the island know it and are willing to act accordingly. There are only three times when they did the job they were supposed to be doing. The first is when they had to. The second being when Makarov is on the island, in other words when they really must. And the last is when Natsu is making their lives more difficult for any reason. Unfortunately for the pinkette, that means anytime that he breathes the wrong way.
As far as the local marines are concerned, anyone who is a danger to their status quo needs to be dealt with. Contrary to popular belief the marines here like their posting. The island presented very few difficulties to deal with. All they must do is keep the peace and make sure everyone is paying their taxes. Sometimes they have to break up a bar fight or give incentives to certain individuals to not make a scene, but that's the extent of their duties. So long as they do their job then as far as everyone is concerned their heroes of justice that fight to maintain peace.
Makarov is an obstacle, but he's an obstacle they can navigate. He isn't stationed on the island and the government keeps him on the move. So long as they perform up to his standards then there's nothing he can do to them. At least that's what they choose to believe. The only person that gives them any issue is Natsu.
Anytime an issue does arise, the pinkette is usually found at the center of it. If someone is being threatened, Natsu is their to beat person making the threats to a bloody pulp. If he did this discreetly this wouldn't be a problem. But the pinkette's action usually drew a crowd. Anytime time the marines tried to play of Natsu's actions, he shoots them down. He reminds them, in front of everyone, that if they did their job there wouldn't be a reason for him to get involved.
This always results in the same thing, Natsu getting arrested for disturbing the peace, aggravated assault, or whatever crime they feel like adding to his ever-growing rap sheet.
If the marines could get rid of Natsu they would. They certainly aren't shy about letting the pinkette know how they feel about him. They've already told him on multiple occasions that they would throw him in a hole and throw away the key if they could.
"What a mess," Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a frustrated sigh. He remembers a not to long ago the marines on the island were more than just competent. Ever since he was promoted to an admiral, he has jumping from one station to another. With every posting it seems he gets farther away from Magnolia. The farther away he gets from Magnolia, the more the marines either become lazy or complacent.
He's tried rectifying these problems for years. Every time he replaced the commanding officer that allowed these things to happen, another one would be promoted and the cycle would eventually repeat. Every time someone that lived up to his expectations would take command, they would eventually be transferred somewhere else.
As much as Makarov would love to stay and watch over the island himself, he can't. The navy has him chasing down the most dangerous criminals that are out terrorizing the seas. Unfortunately, Makarov isn't the type that could live with himself if he knew people were suffering because he placed his wants first.
"Please tell me you only fought with your fist?" Makarov asked in a serious tone. He already knows the answer, but he needs to know for sure.
"Of course. Did you really think I would just expose myself over some fist fight." It was more of a statement than anything else. That caused Makarov to let out a sigh of relief.
While magic isn't unheard throughout the world, it is a rare phenomenon. So rare that the World Government will take certain actions against mages. If a mage has a passive magic, then the government will keep monitoring them. Mages with a more active magic are often abducted and either forced into the navy or experimented on. Lost magic users have it worse than the others. If the mages with a lost magic don't enlist then they are thrown into maximum security prison for being to dangerous to allow to roam freely.
For as bad as mages have it with the World Government, they could be considered the most lenient group towards mages. Mages can easily be sold as slaves for millions of jewels on the low end. Pirates will go to great lengths just to have mages join their crews.
While Makarov is a lost magic user himself, he has proven himself loyal to the World Government throughout his career. As such, the admiral has earned him plenty of privileges that fully utilizes, including keeping Natsu's status as a mage hidden from the World Government.
Out of every lost magic user in the history of the World Navy, very few has every compared to Igneel, one of the most powerful and dangerous mages they have ever had. Ever since his death, the government has kept a close eye on Natsu in the case that he inherited his father's magic.
Natsu not only having a lost magic but spending years in training how to use it is one of the many secrets that Makarov has kept to himself. Igneel directly served under Makarov and was the admiral's first mate for many years. Makarov adopting Natsu was his way of looking after the pinkette as part of a promise he made to Igneel before his death.
As much as Makarov would like to bring Natsu aboard his ship, there are too many complications. Given Natsu's arrest record, the pinkette would never be allowed to enlist. If Makarov pulled strings to work around this problem then there's the issue of Natsu getting into trouble for getting into the fights which either lead to him getting again or kicked out of the Navy all together. If by some miracle Natsu can make it through basic training without getting into too many fights, the moment he's discovered to be a lost magic user, the both of them would be in hot water.
"Look Natsu, I know you don't like how things are being handled. But you need to be more mindful of your actions." Makarov said as him and Natsu left the alley and continued walking to the dock.
"I get it Gramps," their trip to the dock went by in relative silence. Makarov told Natsu about some of the pirates that he's crossed paths with which made the pinkette want to go out to sea.
"Hey Gramps, so you finally got the punk out of jail" Laxus yelled from the ship as he saw the duo approaching. For the last few years Laxus has took up the position has his grandfather's first mate. Thanks to his status as a Dreyar, a lost magic user, and a top tier combatant, he rose through the ranks and achieved his status as second in command on an admiral's ship in record time.
Hearing this, Natsu had to fight the urge to kick the blonde's ass for that remark. "Yeah, missed you to Scarface." For a moment, the two stared each down as the tension in the air began to rise. As fast as the tension had risen it disappeared as the two laughed at their banter. This has been their typical relationship ever since they were kids. If they weren't fighting, they were busting each other's chops.
"Natsu, remember what we talked about," Makarov said as he boarded his ship, as much as he would like to go to the bar and catch up with his adopted grandson, that was a luxury he simply didn't have the time for.
"Got it Gramps," Natsu said as he saw his grandfather off.
"Try to stay out of trouble Pinkie"
"Yeah, you too Blondie," as their ship disappeared into the horizon, Natsu made his way towards the opposite end of the town. He's spent the last week in a cell and he could use a shower and a change of clothes. Reaching the end of a road the orphanage came into view.
Natsu has been coming here ever since he was a kid. After Igneel died, Natsu spent a lot of time here. Once he became old enough the pinkette started working here to help where he could. Standing near the entrance, a man with slicked back fading blue hair reading a newspaper looked up to see the pinkette walking towards him.
"I was wondering when you would show up Natsu," Macao said as he set his paper to the side. "So, what was it this time?"
"Fight in the market," Natsu answered as he made his way to the staff quarters with Macao.
"And that got you a week in a cell?!" Macao asked incredulously. "When I was your age, I would get into bar fights that would wreck the whole place and they let me out the next morning."
"Well, I would have been there longer but Gramps was in the area."
"Oh damn, he must be busy if he couldn't even stop by for a drink." The older of the two said as they reached the staff living quarters.
"Must have been, he pretty much left as soon as he bailed me out." Natsu said as he sniffed a few of his shirts to find the cleanest one of the bunch. It was only when he found a clean shirt, relatively at least, that he realized that he was searching for clothes through a large duffel bag. It took him a moment to realize that the whole room had been cleaned up and everything he has was in this one bag. "Macao, what's going on?"
"I'm sorry Natsu," For the last few days Macao has not been looking forward to this conversation. "The mayor contacted me as said if I kept you employed here that was going to cut our funding." The look of remorse on his face was all the proof Natsu needed to know that this wasn't an easy choice for Macao, not that he needed it anyways. "You know we love having you here especially with how much you help us out and the kids love you but I have to think of the kids."
"It's okay Old Man, you did what you had to do. Hell I probably would have done the same." Natsu said as he sat on the bed and ran his hand through his hair.
"No, you wouldn't have. You would have kicked the mayor's ass for even thinking of it." That brought a chuckle out of the two of them as Macao took a seat next to the pinkette.
"Probably. Do you know why the mayor would force you to kick me out?" As far as Natsu knew, the two were on amicable terms. They were not friends or anything, but they were never at odds with each other.
"My guess, he was pressured into it by the bases captain." While the mayor is competent at his job, he's a spineless coward who's afraid of confrontation. Glare at him in the right way and he'll give in to just about anything.
"Great…" Natsu said as he took a seat on his bed. First, he finally gets out of a cell that reeks of piss and mold, then he has to deal with Makarov who's mad not only at him and the marines that imprisoned him, and now he lost his job and his place to live. "You ever have those days when it feels like the world is shitting on you." He asked rhetorically.
"More than I care to count," Macao said as he took a seat next to the pinkette. "Here, it's not much but it'll at least help you get back on your feat." He said as he pulled an envelope full of jewels from his coat pocket. Macao has held a soft spot for the pinkette ever since he was kid. He was there when Natsu was born and when Igneel died. The pinkette always acted like a big brother to his own son Romeo. Macao wishes he could do more but the kids in the orphanage must take priority.
"Thanks Macao, but I'll be fine," Natsu said as he gave the money back to the older man.
"Heh, stubborn brat, your just like your father," he grinned as memories of the day when he served along side Igneel. For a moment he could see his old friend in the pinkette. "I'll give you moment. Oh and take a shower before you leave. You smell like a piss trough." Macao said as he left the room, ignoring the pinkette the winced at his own sent.
Seeing the older man leave, Natsu moves the bed he was sitting on. Pulling out a few of the floorboards, he grabs the only thing that wasn't already in his bag. Looking at the book he pulled from the floor was one of the two things he had left from Igneel. Looking at the runes inscribed into it's cover, he put's it into his bag.
Scene Skip
"Tough day?" Cana asks as she pours Natsu another drink.
"What gave you that idea?" Natsu asked sarcastically as he finished off his drink in a single gulp
"Just a hunch," Cana said as she held the bottle of whiskey that was nearly emptied by the pinkette in the span of a few minutes. Seeing the empty glass, the brunette grabs a glass for herself and pours them both a drink. "Let me guess, the marines?"
"Yeah, thanks to those assholes I lost my job and a place to live," the pinkette stared at his glass, thinking on the events of the day.
"That's rough." The world is full of great marines that do whatever they can in service of the people they swear to protect and by some chance they're stuck on an island with lazy and corrupt assholes masquerading as marines. "If you want, you can stay at my place." She offered with a sincere look on her face.
"Thanks Cana," Natsu said gratefully. "Great, now I can't skip out on my tab," he said jokingly/
"You can, but I will have to kick your ass." She threatened jokingly. This has been a reoccurring thing for the two ever since Cana started working as a bartender. When ever one of them was having a tough time for whatever reason, the duo would drink their problems away. Despite their excessive drinking, Cana never got in trouble for it. Whether it was because her boss is a pervert or that she was great at bringing in a crowd was anyone's guess.
For the next half an hour, the two talked while drowning their problems. Despite the many empty bottles that they left, neither of them had even a slight buzz. For that brief moment of time they were just enjoying themselves.
Just as Cana was pouring them another drink, the doors were slammed opened. Not turning towards the commotion, Natsu focuses on his drink, his good disappearing in an instant. He doesn't need to look to know who's standing at the door, glaring daggers at his sitting form.
"Well well well, drinking this early in the morning. I never knew you were such a degenerate." The voice said tauntingly as he slowly approached the pinkette. "So Natsu, how does it feel to be free again."
"Not bad," Natsu replied, taking a sip of his drink. "How's your jaw, do you still need to eat through a straw." He shot back, causing the marine captain to lose his sickening grin. The marine rubbed his jaw as memories of the pinkette shattering his jaw with a single punch the last time the shit stain decided to interfere in 'marine business'. It's been over a year and he still feels pain every time he chews.
"Careful there, unless you want to get arrested for public intoxication." The captain threatened, though Natsu couldn't care less about the threat.
"If you're only hear to harass me, then fuck off. I'm not in the mood for it today." His day was finally starting to get better, he wasn't in the mood to deal with this rat bastard.
"You arrogant little shit," this delinquent before him has done so much to tarnish their reputation, to get people to openly question their command and usefulness. "You don't even understand how lucky you are. If I had it my way you would have been hanged for everything you've done."
"We both know you wouldn't do it, you're too scared of gramps to even try it." If there was anything that was causing the marines to stay their hands was the fear of what Admiral Makarov would do to them for doing such a thing to his grandson. Not that Natsu was worried about meeting the hanged man anytime soon. There aren't nearly enough marines on the island that can hold him long enough to execute him.
"Tch… If it wasn't for that foolish senile midget, you'd be dead right now." The captain threatened as he rested his hand on his sword. "Just because we can't execute you for your crimes doesn't' mean you can't have an unfortunate accident." He continued to threaten the pinkette that still hasn't turned to face him
Unbeknownst to the captain, Natsu's mind went blank halfway through the marine's tirade.
"Are you even listening to me?!" the captain demanded as he reached for the pinkette. in only a moment, Natsu smacked the captain's hand away and smashed his glass into the captain's head. Not satisfied with just that, the pinkette grabs the marine by the back of the head and slams it into the bar top, causing a portion of it to shatter.
Seeing the captain on the floor, Natsu picks him up by the throat and brings him up so that he is staring straight into his eyes. The pinkette ignored the blood that was pouring onto his hand from the open wound on the marine's head. "If you ever speak of Gramps like that again, I'll snap your neck like a twig you rat bastard." Natsu warned before he through the captain towards his men that stared at him in disbelief.
As soon as their captain hit the floor, they raised their weapons towards the pinkette, fully intending on arresting him. Watching from the sidelines, Cana had to resist the urge to grab the shotgun from underneath the bar. Natsu wasn't even fazed by the marines pointing their weapons at him as he took his seat at the bar and reached for a rag to get the blood off his hand. He didn't want his stained by that poor excuse of a marine's blood.
"You… you… What are you idiots waiting for?! Shoot him!" the captain ordered his men as he held his bleeding head. Looking at the commanding officer for a moment, the hesitated to follow his orders.
"Captain Louis…" one of his men tried to question only to be cut off by his commanding officer.
"I said shoot him dammit!" Louis has had enough of Natsu constantly making his job more difficult. Constantly questioning his competence. Always showing him up in front of the citizens. Making him look bad at every chance this pink haired peace of shit. Thanks to him, an admiral is critically examining his every action.
Without another moment of hesitation, the marines followed orders and raised their rifles and opened fire. Their single moment of hesitation was enough time for Natsu to jump over the bar, grab Cana and take cover.
They were covering their heads with their arms from the booze and glass that was raining down on them as the gunshots flooded their ears.
"YOU IDIOT! Did you have to push him this far?!" Cana yelled, trying to make sure the pinkette next to her could be hear her over the gunshots. The marines in town have gone far a few times whenever someone has crossed them. But this was far more than anything they have done before. The brunette never thought they would openly try to kill someone in broad daylight.
"How was I supposed to know they would do this?" Natsu asked rhetorically. He needed a plan, the longer they hide behind the bar, the worse their situation will get.
After a few moments the gunfire came to a halt. The bar was covered in bullet holes. Splinters, glass, and booze covered the floor. What ever customer was in the bar is long gone by now.
The marines stared at the bar wondering if the pinkette was dead. Two marines slowly approach the bar with their rifles raised. As the reached the bar, they peer over the bar top. Before they had time to see anything, Natsu punches one of them off their feet, knocking the marine to the ground. Seeing his friend go down, the other marine turned to check on his comrade.
Seeing the distracted marine, Natsu grabbed a bottle of booze from underneath the bar and smashed it against his head. Jumping back over the bar, Natsu rushes the group of marines while they are caught off guard.
Seeing the pinkette taking out the marines in quick succession, Louis orders one of his men to get some reinforcements. "You useless idiots, kill that son of a bitch!" he yells angrily. There's a group of them against a single man. This should have been a one-sided fight. It was, but in Natsu's favor.
Closing that distance, Natsu ducks underneath one of the marines rifles and lands an uppercut on the fool's chins. Knocking him out, the pinkette grabs his rifle, spins it around, and swings it at another.
Catching the sight of another marine raising his rifle towards him out of the corner of his eye, Natsu tosses his rifle towards the marine. Seeing this, the marine easily dodged the side. Unfortunately, that left him open long enough for Natsu to get close enough to land a devastatingly powerful kick on his gut.
Turning to face the other marines, one of them got close enough to plant the butt of his rifle into the side of the pinkette's face, knocking him over a table.
Rushing the pinkette while he's down, the marine that rushed was caught off guard as saw a beer mug flying towards his and knocking him out on impact.
"You sneaky son of a bitch," Natsu groaned as he got to his feet. That hit is going to sting tomorrow.
"Sir, we can't hurt him," one of the marines reported
"I can see that, you idiot." How moronic can these his men be, to think that he is incapable of noticing the obvious. A direct fight isn't going to gain them any ground. "Go for the bitch behind the bar."
"Sir," If the pink haired bastard has any weakness it his friend.
While the pinkette was distracted with their comrades, two marines approached the bar, rifles ready and determined to turn the tide of the scuffle.
"Sorry boys, but no customers behind the bar," Cana said as she fired her shotgun towards the ceiling, causing both marines to take cover. Cana doesn't want to get involved in the fight, though she isn't opposed to it.
"You go left, I'll go right," one of the marines said to the one to his side. The longer the fight with the pinkette goes on, the more their comrades get injured.
Rushing the bar, one of the marines levels his rifle with the brunette. While he was quick, he wasn't quick enough as Cana knocked away his rifle and fired her shotgun right next to the marines head, disorientating enough for Cana to kick him away.
While Cana was busy dealing with one of the marines the other was able to get behind her. "Carson, get over here and help me!" the marine yelled as he tried to restrain the brunette.
Seeing the downed marine slowly get back on his feet, Cana forcefully turns herself and the marine holding her towards the bar top. Raising both her feet, Cana kicks against the bar top as hard as she could, forcing the marine into the back of the bar. The sudden impact caused a bottle to fall and crash into the marine's head. The bottle falling wasn't enough to knock the marine out, or even to break the bottle itself, but the pain from the impact couple with the hit against the bar was enough for him to lose his grip on the brunette.
Now free, Cana grabs a bottle closest to her and breaks it against the head of the dazed marine behind her, knocking him out. Turning her attention towards, Cana rushes towards him and slams his head into the bar top.
"You useless idiots!" Louis yelled. 'How is it that a squad of trained marines are getting decimated by to civilians?!' the captain had to restrain himself from screaming his inner thoughts. His men may not be the cream of the crop, but they should be able to handle two people! "Fine, looks like I'll have to handle this myself" the captain said as he raised his sword.
By the time he raised his sword, Natsu was already in front of him with leg cocked back. Time move in slow motion for a moment as he witnessed the pinkette's leg getting closer to him. When Natsu's kick finally landed, the marine was sent flying threw the doors and rolling onto the street.
While satisfying, that kick left Natsu open to a small group of marines who managed to raise their rifles towards him. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Natsu brings his arms up to block the incoming gunfire. It wouldn't do anything to protect him, he's hoping their shooting is on par with the fighting ability.
Closing his eyes, Natsu waits for the sound of gunfire to flood his ears. His body tenses up in anticipation only for him to slowly open his eyes in confusion as nothing happens.
Looking up, Natsu is confused when he sees that all of the marines had vanished. Looking around, the pinkette searches for answers and finding them as his eyes land on Cana behind the bar with a deck of cards in her hand.
"Looks like you owe me one, again." Cana said with a smirk on her face. In Natsu's opinion that would be an understatement. Out of everyone currently on the island, Natsu and Cana are the only mages there. This has been a tightly held secret between the two of them since they were children. Now that the cat is out of the bag, they'll need to figure out what to do next. Though for now, their immediate concern would be the bastard marines trying to kill Natsu.
"Put it on my tab," Natsu said as he walked out of the bar and towards the downed Captain Lewis. Seeing the marine trying to get back on his feet, Natsu delivers a quick kick the marine's jaw, knocking him back on the ground.
Natsu would have hit the marine again, but the sound boots rushing towards him caused him to pause as he looked up to see a much larger marine force in front of him with their rifles ready to fire upon the pinkette.
"Captain Lewis, I got the reinforcements." One of Lewis' underlings said as he helped the captain get to his feet.
"I can see that for myself, idiot." Lewis said as he rubbed his aching jaw. "What took you so long." He asked rhetorically as he turned his attention back to the pinkette. Now the pinkette was going to get it. Him and his men had been beaten and humiliated to the point where they may never be able to save face. The pinkette deserved to die, but that would be to simple. He wants to make him suffer for everything he has done. Than he needs to take care of that bitch behind the bar. A mage hiding in his town without his knowledge would destroy his reputation if word of this ever got out. A malicious grin spread across his face as thought of a way to kill to birds with one stone.
"Men, burn down the bar!" Louis ordered his men to the shock of everyone around. Clearly Natsu and Cana are friends, if he spins the story just right then Natsu is an accomplice in harboring a mage. With enough effort he could even blame the fire on the pinkette.
"Sir, what about our men still in the building?" one of his subordinates questioned only to shrink in size under the intense glare he received from his commanding officer.
"DO IT NOW DAMMIT!" Louis yelled his orders this time. The fear of what would happen to them was enough to make them comply.
Throwing a single Molotov into the bar, the building went up in a blaze. All the spilt booze caused the flames to spread faster.
Seeing the building burning, Natsu's eyes shrunk down to mere dots. In that moment Natsu forced his way past Louis and his men towards the bar. He would have entered to save Cana, but a sudden blaze kept him from entering.
"Hahaha, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT," Louis yelled from behind Natsu, clearly caught up in the moment. Natsu didn't pay attention to his mad ramblings, his mind was already preoccupied.
Seeing the bar burning and Cana being trapped inside, Natsu began taking a deep breath. With each second the pinkette inhaled, the flames were being sucked up by Natsu. Slowly but surely the flames had disappeared into Natsu's mouth. Seeing the building in a much safer situation, Natsu turns his focus back towards the marines. His obsidian eyes turned yellow as pitch black sclera replaced his pupils.
The sight alone scared a few of the more cowardly marines into fleeing the fight though most stood their ground on shaky legs.
"So, you're a lost magic user," Louis has encountered a enough mages to know what he was seeing. Never has he seen enough pyromancers to know that what Natsu was something more. Despite their immediate danger, the situation couldn't be better. Not only do they have the means to justify their actions, now he has a plan to take care of Makarov. Harboring a lost magic user is a profoundly serious offense. One even most marines of his rank can't get out of.
Seeing that his secret is out, Natsu takes another deep breath. With his secret out, he might as well make it worth it. "Fire Dragons Roar," Natsu yells a stream of fire is comes blazing out of his mouth. The marines could only watch in awe and terror as they watched the torrent of flames come their way.
They attack only lasted for a few seconds but it was enough to leave all of the marines on the ground, seriously burned and unconscious. Other than the marines, the only damage from the attack was to the street. The buildings had signs of being burned but that damage was cosmetic only. The attack was much weaker than what normally possible. While the marines are total bastards, the town doesn't need to suffer that kind of devastation.
Scene Skip
It had been hours since the fight, since then he has been hiding out in the forest along coast. Staring at the small fishing boat in front of him, he's reflecting on the days event. He was in such deep thought that he didn't notice the footsteps behind him.
"Penny for your thoughts," Cana said as she came from the trees. Like Natsu, she has been hiding out since the fight. Thankfully the marines were busy with recovering from the fight, giving her plenty of time to get away before they start searching for her. Two mages fighting the marines was going to bring a lot of unwanted attention their way.
"Just thinking," Natsu said absent mindedly.
"No wonder why I thought it got colder," Cana said as she took a seat next the pinkette. "Hell must have frozen over if your using that head of yours." She said, getting a small laugh out of them.
"Sorry about today," Natsu said, sounding so quiet that Cana almost couldn't hear them. "If I had kept my cool with that bastard we need to go on the run."
"It's fine, if you hadn't hit that jackass after what he said about Makarov I would have," Cana tried to comfort her long-time friend. Makarov has always been a grandfather figure to the two of them.
While not much it did alleviate at least a small amount of Natsu's guilt. "So, what are you going to do now?" with their secret out their options are limited in what they can do. Staying in Magnolia, or even the Crius Islands as a whole, is just asking for them to be arrested. "I can give you a ride to any island you want." He offered. It was the least he could do in their situation.
"What, and leave you to watch after yourself," Cana replied as she rested her head on Natsu's shoulder.
Natsu's head practically snapped towards the brunette when he heard what she had said. Their both well aware of how serious the World Government is in their hunt of lost magic users. The safe bet would be to part ways now and start over somewhere new. Cana is certainly smart and talented to do so with ease.
"Why so surprised?" Cana asked, sounding more vulnerable than Natsu has ever heard. "Everyone we grew up with left years ago to find their own lives. I'm tired of seeing people I care about leave while I sit back and watch."
In that sense, the two are kindred spirits. Natsu never knew his mother and his father died when he was young while Cana's mother died when she was a child, and her father grew distant afterwards. So many of their friends had left Magnolia to find their own path. Sure, there are people here they are friendly enough with, but no one they were ever close to. There is so much of the world they want to see and, despite their situation, finally have the chance they thought they would never get.
"Are you sure about this, this is probably going to be a one-way journey?" Before he would let Cana join, Natsu needs to know they're on the same page.
"Of course," Cana said as she turned towards the pinkette and gave him what he would consider the sincerest smile he has ever seen from her. "And before we go, you're going to need your things." Cana said as she brought out a card from a card pouch on her belt. In a flash of light the bag he had left back in the bar had reappeared.
Seeing the bag made Natsu chuckle. "Always a step ahead," he joked as he stood up. "Is there ever going to be a time when you're not covering my ass." He offered a hand to the brunette to help her up.
"Someone has to, no way you would have lasted this long on your own." The two laughed as they look towards the boat. "Oh, I almost forgot," As if forgetting something important, Cana retrieved yet another card from her card pouch. This card, in contrast to the other one, was moving. More like the image on the card was moving. Upon closer inspection, Natsu could see that the image was that of Captain Louis and it looks like he's trying to force his way out of the card.
"You didn't," Natsu asked, showing an amount of childish glee and mischief.
"I did," the smirk that Cana was sporting surpassed Natsu's expression in pure enthusiasm. "Saw this idiot looking for us earlier without any back up. So, what should we do with him?" Louis began to sweat buckets as he could practically feel the duo's sinister grins.
In their time of need. Mother Nature provided an answer as a single goat walked past them.
One minute later
"Well, I feel better" Natsu said with a satisfied expression as he quickly cleaned his hands.
"That goat isn't going to for a while," while Cana has no love for Louis, she certainly feels bad for using the goat as the instrument in their admittedly petty revenge. Shaking her head, Cana turns back to Natsu with only one question in mind. "So, where to?"
"Alvarez"
Hey, first chapter of another new story. I've had the idea for this story in my head for a while, and I felt like now was a good time to finally put this out. I'm curious to see what everyone thinks of it. For this story, the setting is completely AU, if that's not already obvious. Some characters will seem out of character either for the sake of the story or for the sake of not having too many OCs. While I have a lot of ideas for this story they're still jumbled and not finalized yet. I will try to update as frequently as I can.
For the pairing, I have no idea what it will be at this point.
And before I forget, there is something that I want to announce. My work schedule has finally changed to give me some more free time. as such I'm going to do a whole lot of updating. Infernal Dragon Slayer is getting another chapter that I'm already halfway through. I'm working on a follow up chapter for Path of Revenge. Cursed Sword is being rewritten and a second chapter will also come out at the same time as the rewritten first chapter. There's also another Fairy Tail story, maybe two, that I'm working on in addition to a One Piece story.
My question to all of you is how you would like me to release everything. Would all of you like a update a day for a week or one update a week for as long as I can. Regardless of the answer, don't expect anything to come out until late January, at the earliest, or mid February, which is more likely.
There are two reasons for this. The first is an apology for all my lack of updates, my job takes a lot of time and energy and I'm trying to rectify this. The second reason is that I have to many story ideas and I want to give them a try.
Anyways, so what do all of you think? Like it, hate it, wish this wasn't such an info dump chapter, guess what so do I. Let me know.
Till next time.
Mreh