(A/N) This chapter (along with the next one) are the last ones before the time-skip into canon. These first few chapters are to show why canon won't roll completely the same way once it kicks off.
Again, any feedback is greatly appreciated and goes a long way to help me improve the overall quality of the story.
Please enjoy!
xxxxxxx
"Sorry everyone, I can't join Fairy Tail just quite yet. Now that I'm free, I need to know what happened to my sister," spoke Simon, his voice muffled by a wire neck brace that came around to cover the lower half of his face.
They stared understandingly at the navy-haired boy, who chose to look at the ceiling above his hospital bed as opposed to any of them. They were still shaken from their escape, and freedom was something they were all coping with differently.
Sometime during the night of their departure, they had all fallen asleep. It was a miracle they didn't die. Luckily, they washed up on shore near some fishing town, and some morning beach-goers rushed them all to the hospital when they were found.
Sho and Wally, both covered in bandages, were struggling not to cry. Millianna was in a similar state, but chose to sit in Erza's lap instead of taking a chair for herself.
Said redhead had a small smile on her lips. You'd think she was fine if it weren't for the eyepatch.
Natsu, surprisingly, looked spotless. His injuries seemingly healed overnight on the boat ride. He didn't sit like the others, choosing instead to lean against the wall right next to the bed.
"Same."
They all turned to look at Natsu, wide-eyed. They could understand Simon's reasoning, but never in a million years did they ever think that Natsu would choose not to go with them. Did what happened with Jellal shake him that badly?
That could very well be it. After all, the two promised each other that they'd have a lot of adventures seeing the world and taking down "big, scary monsters."
"There are parts of my magic that I don't understand," he tried to explain, "and I couldn't control it. Because of that, I… actually killed someone– no, a lot of people. It scares me, the same as it scared all of you."
They couldn't meet his eyes because they knew exactly what he was talking about, except for Erza since her thoughts weren't lucid at the time. More importantly though, no matter how much they loved Natsu, they couldn't deny that they were very much afraid when he killed the dark mage that captured them.
"Hey now, I'm sure no one holds that against you," tried to reason the eyepatch-wearing girl, "You were afraid just like everyone else, and you have been out of practice with your magic for close to a year!"
None of the others backed her up.
"Everyone?" she turned to them inquisitively, but they avoided her gaze. She got frustrated, "Hey–
"No, Erza. It's fine. If you were there you would understand," imposed Natsu, looking down at his trembling hands, "I still have the shakes just thinking about it. My magic has always been good at burning things, but I obliterated that tower, and probably every person in it too. I didn't want that at all! I…" he lowered his hands, taking a deep breath, "I'm not saying I won't join, because I'm for sure joining Fairy Tail. I just need to… get everything under control first. That's all."
A heavy silence fell over them. This isn't what any of them had in mind when they daydreamed about being free from that hell.
Millianna jumped up from her spot on Erza's lap. Despite the discomfort it caused her, she hobbled over to the dragon slayer and caught him by surprise with a big hug.
"Na-chan… I'm sorry! Even now, I'm still so scared… but I don't believe what… he said about you, either! There's no way that Na-chan is a demon, cuz Na-chan is my hero!"
Natsu's wide eyes grew watery. "Millianna…"
"We promise we'll have a big welcome party for you when you get to Fairy Tail, so come back soon, m'kay? We love you, Na-chan!"
He grabbed onto the girl like a lifeline, trying and failing to keep the tears from falling down his face. The rest of his family smiled and gathered around him for a group hug. Simon, while he couldn't move just yet, grabbed Natsu by the arm as a sign of support.
"You guys… I love you all too."
xxxxxxx
It had been three months since Natsu left to "understand himself"; or rather, understand what an Etherious is. Having left Hargeon port roughly three hours ago, he had been walking down a dirt path through the forest with his destination nowhere in immediate sight.
"I'm gonna be so pissed if I don't find a demon," the boy grumbled to himself.
His decision to go out in the middle of nowhere hadn't been a simple whim. While he was passing through Hargeon town, he overheard a couple of merchants speak.
"I don't usually send my shipments through Hargeon, but apparently there are some issues further east."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, quite. I heard a demon has been terrorizing villages, some that just so happen to be on my ground route. The port town is more commercial and costs a little more to send goods as a result, but I didn't want to take the risk this time."
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll get the Rune Knights to deal with it. Or even a mage, maybe?"
"Probably, though I do feel sorry for the poor saps."
He'd left in a hurry soon after. From what little he did understand, demons weren't common at all. He needed to find see it before he lost his chance.
A big wooden sign finally came into sight after ages of nothing but green and dirt.
Azalea town: 2.5km
"Finally!" Natsu shouted. He picked up his pace to get there as soon as possible.
As he got over the hill, he could see houses down below. The sunset cast a beautiful orange light that seemed to make the church in the center block glow in an ethereal way.
It would have been breathtaking if Natsu cared enough to pay attention to that.
CRASH
The church's stained glass windows exploded outwards. Even from a distance, Natsu could make out the sound of panicked cries, if ever faintly.
His jog turned into a sprint as he rushed right past the gates, going straight to the source of the commotion. He noted absentmindedly that everyone else was going in the opposite direction.
Pushing open the large wooden doors of the building of worship, they damn near slammed shut in his face again as a pew crashed against them.
Running amuck in the church was an odd creature that could be described as impish if it weren't for its impressive stature. It had wrinkly purple flesh and purple, bulbous protrusions all over its body. It had a shallow cut going across its abdomen.
"Grihihihihi!" it laughed, "You're very good at not dying, little girl!"
Leaning against the far wall was a young girl with pure white hair. She was breathing heavily, what were the tattered remains of clergy robes clung loosely to her body. She was holding an ornamental pike so firmly in her hands that the knuckles turned white.
The demon charged directly towards her, making her widen her eyes.
Luckily for the girl, the imp-like creature stumbled over the remains of the upturned pulpit, leaving itself unprotected as it tried not to fall to the ground. She capitalized on the mistake fairly well and plunged the subpar weapon straight through its chest.
It screeched, its mouth opening disturbingly wide. It pushed itself back erratically, trying to get away from the victim-turned-hunter. It collapsed right at Natsu's feet.
"You…" it said under its breath, both the demon and the girl noticing the pink-haired boy's presence at the same time, "You smell like– the creator would– one of us…"
Panicking and being close to death, what it was saying was nonsensical.
Ignoring the thing at his feet, Natsu addressed the girl, "Hey, you. Are you okay?"
She didn't answer. Sighing in relief, she instead slid down to the ground and leaned her head back.
The imp demon glowed oddly as particles of light flecked off of its body. "I don't understand… You're the same, but you act like the sheep! Different– danger– I cannot– you won't live! The book must know…"
Its beady black eyes widened by twice their normal size. "You must both die! THE BOOK WILL COME!"
It disappeared.
Natsu walked up to the demon's frightened little killer. "That was pretty cool what you did, so I guess I'm not too mad that I didn't get any clues outta the ugly bastard. Y'er doing okay there?"
"W-who are–?"
She screamed in pain as the motes of light that emanated from the now-dead terror were drawn to the area around her arm. Before both of their eyes, the limb transformed into an exact replica of the demon's.
"Freaky," chimed Natsu lamely.
"WHAT THE HELL–"
Before the clergy girl could have too much of a panic attack, a strong gale whipped about in the middle of the church hall. Anything and everything was sent flying in every direction. Natsu knocked away stray blocks of the debris before it could injure either of them.
Where the corpse of the imp once rested stood a monster that was perhaps even more terrifying. It had the same skin and bulbous protrusions as the last one, but that was where the resemblances ended.
It stood at an impressive three meters, and its evil, smiling visage was full of razor-sharp teeth. It had four eyes as opposed to a single pair, and had both a set of bat-like wings and the horns of a ram.
"So my cute little gargoyle was killed. I must admit, I'm a little curious as to why it deemed it necessary to summon me for a reason as silly as dying… Though I acknowledge that I didn't expect it to be at the hands of a couple of… hmm?" The new demon trailed off, looking contemplatively at Natsu. It smiled.
The previous smile was nothing but a grin, as vile as it was. This was the face of a true demon.
"Strange… You have the face of a fleshman, the body of a fleshman, but you aren't a fleshman. I would love to hear what you're all about."
The spitfire glared back. "Yeah, fuckface, that's what I wanna know."
The amused look fell from the giant's face. "Ah, so you're either a pretender or a mistake. Either one is shameful for the greater beings, so I'd do well to kill you now. Be proud, lesser one, for you have done well to engage me for a moment, no matter how brief."
It flew at them at unexpected speeds. Anticipating the worst, the girl lifted her arms and looked away.
Igneel was a lot faster. The blood-red flame surrounding Natsu's fist connected with the greater demon's shoulder. Its unbalance sent it off course as it slammed harmlessly into the wall beside them.
Well, "harmless" may not have been entirely the correct word. The impact with the wall obliterated it, chunks of brick and dried mortar sailing into the surrounding buildings. Luckily no one was hurt since the town had already evacuated.
Natsu met the demon at the point of impact. The same flaming horns and wings from the tower returned, but were noticeably more defined.
"So you aren't a lesser one. It is a shame that you cannot be allowed to draw breath longer than you already have, since you have thoroughly captured my interest," mused the "book", "I must inquire: how is it that your soul is so young, yet your vessel is so ancient?"
"What does that even mean!?"
Natsu shot out a torrent of fire from his mouth. His opponent, however, didn't have much difficulty simply swatting the attack away.
"How droll. You invoke so many questions, and yet you haven't a single answer. Very well then, I'll end the mistake of your existence." The winged creature's arm glowed an off white, and the cobblestone path beneath them seemingly came to life, catching the flame user by surprise by ensnaring him with large, rocky makeshift arms.
"Jerk! Let me go!" Natsu squirmed, trying to break out of his bindings.
"It's no use. Such young curses won't be enough to break those of an Etherious as old as I."
"W-wait, what did you say? You said Etherious just now, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU!?" The boy's flames grew in size many times over, no doubt reacting to his troubled state. "Why do you control demons? What are we? What am I?"
"HEEEEEEH?" The Etherious grinned maliciously, "You really are a one-man spectacle, you know? You say the most precious things! What am I you said! GRIHIHI! So at the very least, you know that you're an Etherious, but evidently nothing more than the name itself." It released its magic, dropping the angry tween on the ground.
"GAH!" Natsu fell to all fours, gasping for air. He nearly suffocated.
"You will die either way, so I'll grace you with the knowledge you seek, if only for my own amusement."
The demon grabbed the still-recovering child by the scarf and pulled him in uncomfortably close to its madly contorted face, "You had it right, you know, I really am a demon."
"Then why did you call yourself an–
–I called myself an Etherious because they are one and the same, fool."
Natsu didn't know whether he should stop struggling or struggle more. "N-no…" he countered pathetically.
"Believe what you wish," the Etherious' hands turned to a stone-colored grey, pulling back one of them to his side and aiming its fingers at Natsu's chest area, "it won't matter to me. Though I must say that it's a shame: you're talented for a matchstick. I don't know your story, but if you had the mind of a proper demon, then you would have grown to be a great asset to Tartaros."
It flung its hand forward, fully intending to drive it through the kid's ribcage. The action was stopped, however, as an object collided with the back of his arm.
It looked detachedly at the poor quality spear that caught itself in his forearm, once again dropping his target. It pulled out the ornamental weapon, noticing that was now covered in stone similar to how its own powers worked. The demon turned to where the weapon came from.
The white-haired girl, throwing arm still extended, gave the giant a glare that was half fierce, half terrified. She hoped for the best, but she never expected that the Gargoyle arm would be so strong.
"GET OUTTA THERE, DUMBASS!"
Natsu realized that he wasn't exactly home free, and proceeded to just that. In one leap, he landed right next to his savior.
"Thanks for the save, sis!"
"Wha– don't call me that! My name is Mirajane, not sis. Besides, I'm just a helping hand, not a member of the church."
Natsu looked at her incredulously. "Why would you fight this dude's mob at the church then? Are you dumb or something?"
"Watch it–!" they barely avoided getting sliced by a bunch of strangely sharp flying shingles.
"I find it strange that your kind finds banter appropriate in moments like these."
Not understanding how his "demon power" worked, Natsu decided to just follow his gut. He thought I need to get in front of that guy as fast as possible, and his body complied.
The flaming wings on his back sputtered like thrusters, the horns of fire on his head turned into backward-pointing streaks. He jumped at the demon, his takeoff being so powerful that it left a booming crater where he previously stood.
'Fast!?'
It only took an instant. Before even Natsu realized what was happening, his bloody flames left his fist and blasted the Etherious in the stomach.
"GRRRGL!?
The impact deformed –most likely crushed– whatever innards the demon had… If demons have innards at all. It was sent skidding back nearly a hundred meters, leveling houses and businesses alike as it involuntarily passed through them.
"Strong…?" whispered Mirajane incredulously.
If the duo hoped that was enough to put the terror down, they were sorely mistaken. "Grihihihi… you have some bite, youngling, I'll definitely give you that."
It was definitely battered, but not as much as something with a liquefied stomach should be.
It moved at speeds that surpassed even Natsu's. The two kids only lost track of it for a second, but it was enough time for it to appear behind the "younger Etherious", grab him by the skull and pitch him at the half-destroyed church.
Mirajane took the moment of distraction to retrieve the pike. It really wasn't an ideal weapon by any means, but it would have to do if either of them wanted to survive.
As the demon turned his attention to the girl, Natsu came bursting out of the rubble that was once a church with nary a scratch on him. He caught the demon in the back of the head with a vicious axe kick.
The three-meter being hit the ground, and Natsu did everything he could to keep him pinned there. His mind raced to figure out how to get the damn thing out for the count as his small body struggled to suppress the behemoth for more than an instant.
Natsu noticed that he was having a much easier time holding down the arm that was impaled by Mirajane. 'Is it the weapon she used? Does it have some strange church power thingy?'
Unless…
He looked to the girl's arm. It turned into the same arm as the demon's minion earlier, so maybe it was useful somehow?
It was worth a shot.
"Mirajane, I won't be able to hold him down much longer!"
She seemed to understand what he was implying. Once again with impeccable accuracy, she threw the weapon at the downed monster.
"You're a million years too young for that, girl!"
The Etherious shoved Natsu off at the last second. Using the uninjured arm to catch the pike mere centimeters from the middle of its forehead.
It didn't expect the white-haired girl to chase her throw and grab the other end of the pole.
"Die!" she shouted, using the strength granted to her by the gargoyle to push the pike forward. While it seemed to be a stalemate for a moment, things quickly changed as the demon did something that it had yet to do the whole time it was present.
It snarled.
The panic in Mirajane's eyes was evident to Natsu as the polearm steadily inched away from its target. Natsu made a split-second decision to vault himself over their opponent's body, landing next to his partner in crime.
"Need a hand?"
"Stop wasting time and PUSH!"
"GRAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Unfortunately, one arm wasn't enough to fight back against both the girl and the youngling. The demon's arm eventually gave out and the pike went right through the middle of its head.
There was no blood. Cracks started spreading outwards from the wound, while its skin turned to the same stone color as its power.
It fell to its knees, shoulders slumped. Having accepted its fate, however reluctantly, the smile found its way back to its face.
"You've done well youngling. You as well, girl. While still being inferior to the great me, I can now see how my gargoyle had been slain."
It looked Natsu straight in the eyes. The three beady black orbs unnerved him somewhat. "As the victor of this skirmish, the spoils go to you; you're a lost little one, so I will give you direction. To find the answers to your questions, your true questions, you will seek Tartaros."
Natsu knew that he shouldn't take the words of a demon at face value, but recent revelations made him a little more unsure of himself. "I don't understand… What's Tartaros?"
The grin on the demon's face didn't budge.
"Best of luck to you, young Etherious."
Its whole body turned to stone, then crumbled away in the wind.
Or rather, that's what it seemed to do at first. In reality, the dusty remains gathered around Mirajane.
"Again? Seriously!?" The girl hadn't the time to think too much about her arm's transformation earlier, but now that everything had calmed down a bit, panic was able to settle in. Was she being possessed? The logical part of her brain told her no, but the insecure part of her wasn't so sure.
The arm changed, the differences more evident internally than externally. Cosmetically, the arm was a bit less jagged, and the purple orbs were a bit less prominent. To Mirajane, however, it couldn't feel more different.
Before, it gave her a little power boost. Now, it felt like the arm was power. This was the difference between a real demon and a mere pawn.
Natsu ruffled his hair in frustration. "Ah, damnit! Now I just have more questions."
He removed his hands from his scalp to drop them on the panicky girl's shoulder. "Anyway, that's a pretty cool magic you got there! How's it work?"
Mirajane frowned. "I… don't know what this is. It's never happened to me before. And not that I mind your help, but who are you?"
Natsu blinked twice, processing the question. It took him a moment to remember that he kind of barged in and imposed himself on the town's situation. Did he even introduce himself?
"Ah, sorry. My name is Natsu. I was around 'cuz I heard that there were demons nearby, and it was just luck that I was here at the same time this whole…thing went down."
"That's some luck, then." Mirajane walked right past Natsu and headed towards where the other townspeople ran off to. "Look, I don't want to be rude, but I gotta go."
"Ehhhhhh?" Natsu whipped his head back to look at the suddenly-grumpy lass, "Hold on, I have so many questions! Why was that demon-gargoyle thingy here? Why were you fighting it alone? How were you fighting it alone without magic? How long was–
"Give it a rest, will you?" she snarled back and made him shrink in on himself, "I need to find my siblings to make sure they're okay, then I need to fix my arm. Help me out, and I guess I can answer some of your questions."
The firecracker's exuberance came right back. He paced himself to catch up to the girl. "I'll give you a hand then! If your siblings ran in the same direction as everyone else, I know where to look first– oh!" he slapped his fist, "I know who could probably help you with your arm too!"
That caught her attention. "Really?"
"Yeah! My friends and I were supposed to meet up at this wizard guild called Fairy Tail! They're really super-duper awesome, so they'll for sure know what's up!"
"Well that's convenient," she mumbled to herself, "Where can I find it?"
"…"
"…"
"Well–
"You don't know, do you?"
"Nope."
Mirajane sighed. "I can't believe you called me dumb."
Natsu pouted. Trying to change the subject, he asked, "So why did you end up fighting that demon-thing alone?"
"I couldn't let my little bro and sis get hurt," she answered easily, "they came to the church to see me –I help out there every once and a while for cash, you see– but when they came, that thing just came flying in through the top window from outta nowhere. Everyone was panicking, so I had the clergymen take my siblings and get away while I held it back."
"You did a pretty good job of that," Natsu shared his input, "Not many people without magic can kill a monster on their own."
"Well, yeah," she admitted awkwardly, absentmindedly noting that they found the villagers all gathered up at the front gates of the town, "After our parents died, it was up to me to look after my little siblings. I know I can protect myself, even if it's just a little."
She felt uncomfortable when she noticed the tears streaming down Natsu's face.
"That's so saaaaaaaab!" he cried, "Sis, you're so amabing!"
"Didn't I tell you not to call me–
"Onee-chan!"
"Nee-san!"
Two other young white-haired kids barrelled into her.
"Lisanna, Elfman, I'm so glad you're safe." The tender expression on the elder sister's face and her previous attitude was night and day.
"We thought you were gonna die!" sobbed the younger girl with a bob cut. She reminded Natsu of Millianna.
Mirajane did her best to assuage her little sister's bad mood. "Don't worry, don't worry. The big bad demon wasn't so tough! Natsu here helped me, so I'm fine, I promise!"
The two seemed to notice the scarf-wearing boy for the first time. "Thank you for helping my sister!" The large-yet-fidgety boy lowered himself into a deep bow.
"But who are you?" asked bob-cut girl, "I don't think I've seen you here before."
"Oh, that's because I'm not from here," he thought of how he should explain it, "I was… passing through, so I thought that I should lend a hand."
It was only then that either of the siblings noticed the arm. "Nee-san! What happened to your arm!?"
Elfman's shout caught the attention of the people gathered around them. They were still afraid, and most of them had no idea what was going on. Mirajane frowned at the murmurs that started to spread amongst the crowd.
"Okay, you two, let's go home now. It's safe." She purposely ignored her brother's question because she didn't really have any answers herself.
Lisanna pulled on her big sister's finger. "Onee-chan, Natsu-chan is coming too right? Didn't you say he helped you?"
The girl in the tattered black robes turned to the pink-haired boy blankly. She let out a small smile. "Yeah, sure I guess. If you want to come I won't stop you; I'll admit that you maybe saved my butt back there. You hungry?"
Natsu's stomach growled, telling her all she needed to know.
"Oh boy! We don't have people over a lot," cheered Lisanna, "I'm sure you'll love onee-chan's cooking!"
Natsu licked his lips.
xxxxxxx
They were all seated around a small and short table, save for Mirajane. She placed their dishes in front of them, the demon arm being wrapped in some sort of bandage.
Natsu couldn't stop staring at the simple fish and rice dish. He'd never seen food that looked like that, even though it smelled ridiculously good.
"Is it edible?" he asked wearily.
"Oi." The chef grabbed his scalp in a vice grip and gave him a death-glare that made him quake in fear. Natsu wasn't someone that was frightened very easily, but he seemed to be 'weak' to the girl, somehow.
"I-I mean," he scrambled for an explanation, "I've only ever had burning meat and some weird liquid soup stuff, so I don't…" he trailed off.
Mirajane relented and loosened her grip. "Burning...?"
"Yeah! I lived out in the forest until about a year back. My dad's a dragon, so we'd eat flaming bear most nights."
"…" Mirajane forgot how to use her voice.
The younger siblings just started eating, not really understanding what the big deal was.
The elder sister sighed, choosing to pull out her chair and crumple into it instead of arguing. "You know… It bugs me how much I don't think you're lying right now."
"Why would I lie?" Natsu sounded fed up. Why is it so hard to believe that his dad's a dragon?
She didn't dignify that with a response. "Eat. Tell me what you think."
"So it's–
"It's edible, jackass."
Natsu's self-preservation instincts kicked in and he stuffed a bite of Salmon into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed and–
"Ah."
Mirajane was worried about the lackluster response. Lisanna and Elfman looked up from their dishes because they weren't expecting that response.
Natsu's eyes were glazed over. "I get it now. You're an angel."
The chef's cheeks flushed in an instant. "WHA!?"
In the time it took for the poor girl to compose herself, Natsu's meal had already been inhaled.
Tears.
There were actual tears running down the kid's face. Mirajane didn't exactly know him, but she was under the impression that he wasn't much of a crier.
"I… didn't know. I didn't know food could taste as good as flames."
She ignored the flame part. "I'm… glad you like it. It wasn't much, so stop embarrassing yourself."
He remembered something Rob told him he should do if ever someone does him a favour. He got up from his seat and prostrated himself before her. "Thank you kindly for the food."
Mirajane looked like a white-haired tomato, and her brother and sister laughed quietly at her expression.
xxxxxxx
Mirajane was just about ready to either kick the matchstick out of her house for the mortification he caused her, but Lisanna and Elfman managed to talk her down into letting him stay the night.
The little shack of a house barely had room for one person, let alone four. They only had one futon, but since Natsu was a guest, Lisanna basically insisted they give it to him. For whatever reason though, he much preferred to sleep on the ground.
The next morning, Mirajane had Natsu help her with the groceries. They walked through the village market that, despite the commotion yesterday, still seemed quite lively in the early morning hours.
Mirajane pretended not to notice the weary looks directed at her wrapped arm.
"So Mira," Natsu tried to start a conversation. Mirajane's eye twitched at the nickname –she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable enough with the boy for that yet– but acknowledged him with a tilt of her head anyway, "When do you plan on sorting out the problem with your arm? People staring at us is pretty annoying isn't it?"
The girl sweatdropped. He's a pretty straightforward person, huh?
"I'll get around to it when I can, but I can't make my siblings move around like that. Not anymore. I finally managed to get us a place to stay, and I'm sure as hell not leaving them on their own."
Natsu pulled his scarf up a bit to hide the frown on his face. "If you're really not sure what's wrong, then you need to get help. Demons are dangerous that way."
She had them pull up to a street vendor, deciding on her own that the conversation was finished. "Hey old man," she spoke up to the elderly farmer running the stall, "how much for four eggs?"
His brow started to sweat as he avoided any eye contact with her. When she caught on, she didn't vocalize her dissatisfaction, settling for narrowing her eyes in annoyance.
"Sorry, no more eggs today."
Natsu looked back and forth between the two dumbly. He pointed at the eggs packaged by the dozen in front of them. "Huh? Aren't these eggs? Are they no good or something?"
Natsu began to suspect that temper was something that wasn't available to his companion in large quantities. She grabbed the farmer by his overalls and pulled his face inches away from hers.
She looked him in the eyes, almost relishing the panic she saw in them, "Look, buddy, I have two siblings and a dumbass to feed, so–
She recoiled as a small rock hit her in the side of her head. She was forced to let go of the terrified man so that she could wipe away the red liquid dripping down her brow.
It was blood.
"HEY!" shouted Natsu angrily, "WHO THREW THAT?"
A bunch of the sellers and passersby gathered into a mob around them.
"She's assaulting that poor man; she must be possessed!"
"G-get out of here, demon!"
"Leave us alone!"
"Don't think you can hide behind those bandages!"
"My wife and daughter almost died because of you!"
Mirajane's jaw swung open and closed uselessly. She trembled and looked away.
"What the fu…" Natsu trailed off when he felt the bandaged girl grab his arm and pull him into a run.
They ran until they were out of sight from anyone, slowing down to a brisk walk down some alley. Natsu could tell the one dragging him was still bothered because of the vice grip on his wrist.
"…Mira? You okay?"
"…"
"You don't actually believe any of that nonsense, do you?
"…We're leaving. I'm grabbing my siblings and we're getting out of here" if possible, her grip got even tighter.
For now, Natsu pretended she didn't avoid answering him.
xxxxxxx
To their credit, Elfman and Lisanna didn't complain at all when their sister told them that they would be leaving town without any kind of heads up. They packed their belongings (as meager as they were) and were out of the now-abandoned shack of a house in less than fifteen minutes.
Even so, it was painfully obvious that Mira felt guilty about forcing the outcome on them because she wouldn't. Stop. Talking.
"Don't worry you two," they weren't, "that place was just a middle ground for us, it wasn't supposed to be for us to settle down in or anything!" It totally was. "I know you're scared," not really, "but–
"Would you quit it already!?" Natsu had enough. "Look at them! They're just nodding along like a pair of braindead zombies now because you've been trying to feel better about yourself for the past four days!"
"What did you say, dick-sack? Wanna die?" Mira's face darkened.
Natsu started to sweat bullets.
"Elf-nii-chan, Mira-nee's doing the scary thing again," whispered Lisanna to Elfman.
"I, uh…" the dragon slayer looked for an excuse, "was just saying that I see a town ahead! Yeah, that's it!"
It was completely coincidental, but they had, in fact, stumbled across a town.
"Clover town, is it?" said Mira, reading off the sign they just passed. Luckily for Natsu, it seemed that she was also willing to pretend he didn't say something stupid."
As they got closer, the eldest sibling buttoned up her cloak. She took to wearing it over her clothes to avoid circumstances similar to the one in Azalea.
"So, this town should be okay, right? To ask about Fairy Tail?" asked Elfman, as timid as always.
That had been the plan, after all. Find a town, get directions to the wizard guild, and get help for Mirajane.
"Yeah," agreed the now-hooded twelve-year-old, "but don't be discouraged if we don't get anything right away. We don't know how popular the guild really is, since this pink doofus is the only person I've heard talk about it–
"Hey!"
–so don't expect some random person to be shouting–
"Fairy Tail has successfully completed the mission. Can you pay us now, man?"
The four whipped their heads towards the sound of the voice. It was, oddly enough, a naked kid around their age talking to some fancily dressed man in front of a hotel. Said man was noticeably uncomfortable with the youth's state of dress.
"Erm, yes, thank you," said the man awkwardly, handing over a stack of coins, "we appreciate your help with tonight's gala, but… could you please put some clothes on?"
The nude boy's eyes bulged out of his head. "WHEN DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN!?"
He noticed the traveling group approaching him. He eyed Natsu suspiciously. "Hey, you. Did you steal my clothes?"
Natsu had a funny feeling he wouldn't like this kid.
xxxxxxx
The siblings, Natsu and the Fairy Tail boy sat in the hotel lobby. To protect his modesty, the staff offered the naked mage a spare bellboy uniform.
He was currently taking off the bellboy uniform.
"Hey, uh…" trailed off Lisanna awkwardly, "why are you taking your clothes off?"
That caused him to pause, notice that he was stripping, and zipped the fly to his pants back up.
"So, you four are trying to get to Fairy Tail, right?" he asked.
It was impressive how he pretended that didn't just happen.
"Yeah," it was Natsu that answered for them this time, "I'm meeting up with some friends of mine, and we were hoping that someone could help my friend here with her magic," he said, pointing his thumb to the cloaked figure beside him.
"Well, I suppose there's no problem with that," replied the stripper, scratching the side of his head, "I'm waiting on my partner to finish up his part of the mission, then we're taking the train southbound to Magnolia. You're free to join us."
Lisanna and Elfman high-fived each other with wide smiles splitting their cheeks, and Mirajane elbowed Natsu good-naturedly. "Guess you aren't all that useless, even if you are a dummy."
After the jab, Natsu's expression was somewhere between proud and pouty.
A voice that was strangely familiar to Natsu spoke from near the elevator, "Gray, I've unpacked all the furniture, so we're good to go. If we catch the train coming in fifteen minutes we should be able to make it back to the guild before it gets dark out."
It was a boy with tanned skin and golden blonde hair. Despite being fairly young (about Lisanna's age), he was dressed smartly, wearing a white button-up shirt, brown shoes, and slacks of the same color.
It didn't even take an instant for Natsu to recognize him. "Sho! Sho is that you? How are you?"
He ran up to the younger boy and ruffled his hair with a laugh. Sho laughed in turn, but it was a bit more subdued.
"I'm not bad Nii-chan, I'm surprised to see you here. You're coming to the guild, right? It's everything Rob-ji said it'd be."
The older one nodded almost comically. "I can't wait to see everyone! How are they?"
"Everyone is fine, nii-chan," Sho reached up to pat his older "brother's" shoulder, "Millianna and Erza will be thrilled to see you again. Unfortunately, Wally decided that he'd follow Simon's example and left to go find his brother."
Natsu was sad to hear that Wally left, but he was still happy to hear the younger boy was doing what he wanted to do. At least now, they were free to make their own choices. "Is he gonna be okay on his own?"
It was Gray that answered him. "He's fine. He told the Master where he was headed, so the Master was able to contact the guilds in the area; he even hired their mages to help the kid out, I think."
"That's good to hear!" Natsu really did mean that, despite wishing that the younger boy would have been around when he got to the guild.
Moving the conversation along, Gray addressed Mirajane, "If you don't mind me asking, what's the problem with your magic?"
Mira looked decidedly uncomfortable with the question. "Uh…"
"Well, we were fighting a demon and it kinda-sort-of possessed her arm. I'm sure it's no biggy though," chipped in Natsu.
All three siblings stared at the pink-haired boy with varying degrees of shock.
"Natsu-san… I don't know if you should have…" mumbled Lisanna.
"Hey, jackass," intoned Mira, "What are you up to, telling people like that?" Her voice was stone cold.
Both Gray and Sho seemed to be just as uncomfortable as the siblings.
Natsu still didn't know what the problem was. "What do you mean?"
To everyone's shock, Mira was out of her seat in an instant and grabbed Natsu by the neck. Not thinking properly, she used her demonically possessed arm.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I MEAN!?" she squeezed harder, making the pink-haired boy wince. Lisanna and Elfman gaped in horror, while Sho and Gray looked ready to interfere. "Don't you understand how much this arm is hurting my family? Is all of this some sick joke of yours? Are you trying to shame us publicly because you know that I'm a de–"
Natsu's fist blasted into the side of her head faster than anyone could even blink. He didn't use any magic, but his physical strength alone was enough to send her tumbling to the other side of the lobby.
Panicked yelps from the hotel's patrons resonated as the white-haired girl shot past them. Elfman tried to grab Natsu, feeling some sort of familial retribution was in order, but was held back by the two Fairy Tail kids.
Natsu stomped over to where the eldest sibling was still lying on her side, rubbing her sore cheek. He glared down at her, and shouted, "Don't you ever say that you're a demon! Got that?"
"Na…tsu…" Mirajane was still a little shaken.
She let out a surprised grunt when he took her arm and pulled her to her feet. "We need to figure out what's wrong with your arm, so quit pissing and moaning and let's get to Fairy Tail!"
Her eyes, still wide, blinked before allowing themselves to relax. "You're right…"
He grinned at her and turned to face the four they left behind at the table they were occupying. "We can go now, right?"
None of them could answer him properly, still trying to process the outlandish series of events that just took place in front of them.
Gray whispered to Sho, "Man, that guy… He's actually pretty crazy, isn't he?"
Sho didn't answer.
Since no one was answering him, Natsu took the silence as a "yes". He grabbed the girl in front of him by the arm and pulled her towards the hotel's entrance. "Let's go, then."
Everyone allowed themselves to follow Natsu out of the front door. On Mira's part, she was starting to feel that she was understanding the pinkette a little better now; he was brash, straight to the point, and could get on people's nerves more easily than he could breathe.
But he was the dependable sort, too.
"Hey, Natsu."
He tilted his head back towards her. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry… and thanks, I guess."
He gave her a big smile.
xxxxxxx
"So… you're 'Natsu', I suppose."
The short elderly guy with the funny hat had met them at the guild's door the moment they had arrived. He stroked his mustache as he looked up curiously at the young dragon slayer and the three white-haired siblings.
"Who are you, old man?" how did he know his name?
"Hey!" barked Gray. "Show some respect, flame-brain! That's the guild's Master you're talking to."
The Master laughed off the comment. "I suppose I am an old man, there's no denying that now. I've heard much about you from my children, boy."
Natsu tilted his head. "Children?"
"Yes," a proud smile crossed the old man's lips, "every member of this guild is my child. Fairy Tail is a family after all."
"So by children you mean–"
"Your friends, yes. Erza, Millianna, and Wally speak quite fondly of you when you're brought up."
The corner of Natsu's lips were drawn upwards as a pleasant expression crossed his face. It was nice to hear that they thought of him, every once in a while. "Where are they, by the way? I heard that Wally left, but what about Millianna and Erza?"
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, they'll be back around this time next week. They left on a mission together. Nothing too hard, really, but it was unusually far…" he trailed off.
"Uhm…" Mirajane decided to announce her presence, albeit awkwardly.
The Master took notice. "Ah, yes. Who might you three be?"
Mira gave the man a respectful nod. "My name is Mirajane Strauss. These two," –she motioned to her siblings– "are my little sister Lisanna and my little brother Elfman. You see, I'm here because, ah…"
She was having a little trouble explaining herself. She had made it this far, so she didn't want to mess it up by giving the man the wrong impression.
Natsu took it upon himself to help her out. " Mira's been having issues with…" –he thought back to how she reacted the last time he said too much and thought better of it– "her magic, and since you're a super awesome wizard-guy, we thought that you could help her."
The short man closed his eyes and hummed. "I can see what I can do, but I'll need to know what the issue is first. Come with me upstairs; we can talk more in my office." The man probably noticed that the subject was touchy enough for the girl to not want to talk about it in public.
Mira placed her hands on top of her siblings' heads. "Natsu, can you look after them for a second? I'm going to talk with the Guild Master."
The fire mage nodded, though a little reluctantly. "Let me know how it goes, then."
She smiled gratefully.
Once seated in the fairly comfortable chair facing the Master's desk, she explained to the man everything she could remember concerning the series of events that lead to her arm being possessed by the demon. Hesitating for only a moment, she lifted the cloak she wore and showed the elderly man the affected limb.
He stared at it for a moment, then spoke slowly, "I'll tell you right away, finding a 'cure' would be unlikely–"
"What!?"
"–But thankfully you won't be needing one."
The girl's panic turned into confusion. "…What?"
"You aren't cursed or possessed," he elaborated. He seemed to know exactly what her fears were. "In fact, it would be more accurate to say that you're the one that possessed the demon. While it's quite rare, this state of yours is caused by poor control over a magic called Takeover: Demon Soul. Your arm should go back to normal on its own, once your body acclimates itself to the magic."
"B-but… how? I haven't learned any magic!"
"Not all magic is learned, my girl. In fact, young Natsu's friend, Erza, discovered her magic in a similar fashion. Our world truly works in strange ways."
"…"
The Master could tell something was still bothering the girl. "What's wrong, child?"
"At the end of the day… call it what you want, but there's a demon inside of me, right?"
Silence reigned for little more than an instant.
"…Young Mira. The demon is dead. Remember that. As long as you put in the effort to control it, this is your magic, not the demon's."
She nodded again, but the Master had a funny feeling it was just to get him off her back.
xxxxxxx
Mira and the Master came back down to the main level, seeing the odd sight of Natsu being held back from pummeling Gray by a white-haired girl many years his junior.
"You're so weak that you can't get past a little girl, matchstick? Ha! What a joke," mocked Gray.
"Shove it, Icicle dick!" retorted Natsu
"Both of you, stop it!" pleaded Lisanna.
Mirajane tapped Elfman on the shoulder. "Say… what's going on here?"
"Like I said, moron," sneered Gray in a condescending tone, "I don't wanna hear nothin' from some delusional kid who thinks they've been raised by a dragon."
Ah. That's what happened.
Before things could escalate further, a tall, orange-haired man came up and smacked the two trouble makers upside the head… and effectively launched them through the stone walls of the guild.
"Kids shouldn't make such a commotion. Maybe when you're older," said the man evenly, acting as if he didn't just knock the shit out of them.
They can't hear you! And age has nothing to do with it! Was left unsaid by everyone else.
"So you're back, Gildarts," said the Master from behind Mira, as if the last ten seconds didn't just happen.
"Master Makarov," he acknowledged, "the mission was a success. A little easier than I thought it would be, all things considered."
Makarov Dreyar, third Guild Master of Fairy Tail, beamed with pride knowing that he had one of the strongest mages in the continent representing their family.
He looked at his destroyed wall and pouted. If only the man weren't so… damage-prone.
…Hoh?
The pink-haired boy, Natsu, came crawling out of the wreckage with a pissed off expression on his face. It's quite formidable for a kid his age to take a strike from Gildarts and not be out like a light.
"Hey, old man!" shouted the dragon slayer. Gildarts looked to the Master and pointed to himself as if to say, 'who, me?'
"Yeah, you!" the boy's hands lit up in a magical fire that didn't quite look right. "You're pretty strong. Fight me!"
Wings and horns made of pure flame sprouted from the boy's body. Erza had told him that the boy was raised by a dragon; maybe they were dragon horns?
For such a runt, he was no slouch. A powerful kick of his legs was all it took to propel himself into Gildarts with the poundage of an elephant.
The orange-haired man went bug-eyed, but otherwise was able to hold Natsu's diminutive form at bay as he regained what little balance he lost. "Easy there, firecracker. Maybe later. You just joined the guild, didn't you? Why don't you take a step back and have a dr– erm, how old are you again?"
"I dunno, twelve maybe?"
Gildarts glanced at the Master questioningly. Said Master sighed in response. "No, Gildarts, you can't share a pint with a maybe-twelve-year-old."
It should have alarmed him that he needed to tell the man that. It really should have.
Natsu pouted. Not only was he not getting his fight, the Guild Master said he couldn't have the strong man's "pint" thing. It probably tasted good too.
The pinkette relented, however, once he remembered something he wanted to ask the older man. "Oh yeah, gramps." –Gray shouted something about showing some respect, which was ignored by everyone– "My magic's been kind of weird for a few months now, too. Could ya help me fix it?"
"Sure, my boy. What's the issue?"
"Well…" Natsu thought about how to explain it best. "You know how I was with the others in…" He was about to mention the Tower of Heaven, but thought better of it. Judging by what happened with Mira when he talked about stuff that was 'emotionally involved' for her, he didn't want to risk the same thing happening with Erza and the others. "…that one place, right?"
The Master nodded.
He continued. "Well, one of the guys there locked up my magic. It went away eventually, but I think it screwed something up."
"Hmmm… Natsu, could you show me your back for a moment?"
"Like this?" the boy lifted his top and presented his naked back to the man.
The short man didn't answer back. Instead, he uttered some gibberish words and placed his hands in front of him.
Natsu's back glowed, then the light shattered.
"…There you go. Try using your magic now."
Being given the green light, Natsu did just that. Surprisingly, it took a moment for him to remember what using magic was supposed to feel like. Was his magic thrown off that much?
"Ah!" the boy exclaimed as a familiar magic circle appeared below the flames he conjured in his palm. "Thanks, old man!"
Said old man jumped onto the bar to pat him on the head. "No problem." Natsu absentmindedly swatted the appendage away.
Unseen by the Dragon Slayer, Gildarts shared a look with Makarov.
"Macao," called out the Master. A blue-haired man stepped out from the crowd. "These kids must be tired, so go help them get set up in the barracks downstairs. We'll be sure to help them get settled properly in the morning."
"You got it. C'mere, shrimps," said Macao. The man took the four new faces to the sleeping quarters with only minor protests from the older two.
Once they were out of sight, the rest of the guild was quick to realize that the entertainment had called it in for the night and so they resumed their previous activities.
The only two left at the bar were Makarov and Gildarts.
"Hey, master." The uncharacteristic tightness in Gildarts' face held true. "The kid said the magic blocker wore off, didn't he?"
"Indeed."
"But what you just removed was a magic blocker, wasn't it?"
Makarov closed his eyes. A closed-mouth sigh let air escape through his nose.
Again, he repeated, "…Indeed."
xxxxxxx
Macao brought the kids to an old and plain-looking room with two decently sized beds hugging the walls. After telling them to make themselves at home, and letting them know that the master would help them find better accommodations in the morning, the man left them to their own devices.
Mira sat next to Lisanna on one of the beds, who immediately placed her head on her big sister's lap. "Was the master able to help you?" asked the younger girl.
"Yeah!" shouted Natsu exuberantly. "What did he say?"
Mirajane absentmindedly ran her fingers through her sister's short hair. "He said it won't be a problem. As long as I can train to get it under control, I should be fine."
She could see that the man was likely telling the truth, too. While the arm under her cloak didn't look any different, the malignant aura that she could feel from it was slowly being replaced by hers. It wasn't much of a stretch to assume it would go back to normal in a few days, once it fully merged with the rest of her.
Admittedly, the thought of that ugly thing becoming a part of her was unpleasant.
Elfman, who sat on the other bed with Natsu, clapped his hands together. "That's great news!"
"Mhm." Though her reaction was much more subdued, she gave him a small smile and a nod.
"Hey, you'll all join Fairy Tail now, right?" –Three white-topped heads turned to Natsu – "I mean, you don't have anywhere to go. We're already friends, so if we're guildmates, we can go on lots of adventures together!"
"That sounds great!" Elfman's smile threatened to split his face.
Lisanna pushed her head up from her sister's lap. "Yeah! Onee-chan, we'll stay, won't we?"
Mirajane's eyes widened but for a moment, the question catching her off guard. Though almost as soon as the surprise came, it was replaced with a warm smile. She brushed a strand of hair behind Lisanna's ear. "Of course."
xxxxxxx
Morning came, and the siblings-plus-one were well-rested. Natsu stretched his arms with a yawn, accidentally knocking Elfman out of the bed.
"Hey!"
The boy's cry was ignored. Through bleary eyes, Natsu could see that the bed next to theirs was still. Mira and Lisanna were probably still asleep.
Footsteps could be heard descending the staircase. Greeting them with a wave and a goofy smile was Makarov Dreyar, the Guild Master. "Did you four sleep well?"
Still rubbing his backside, it was Elfman who answered. "Y-yes. Thank you for the room, Master Makarov."
Natsu butted in, excited. "Hey, old man! We'll all be joining the guild, that fine with you?"
The man's smile grew even warmer. "Of course. I'll get the stamps, so you just let me know where–"
"Onee-chan?"
Lisanna woke up, and to the shared confusion of everyone in the room, there was no one sleeping next to her.
xxxxxxx
"I don't get it…" tears lined Elfman's eyes. "Why would nee-san leave us like that?"
Lisanna stayed quiet, though the occasional sniffle escaped her lips as Makarov rubbed her back comfortingly.
Upon discovering the disappearance of the eldest sibling, they all made their way upstairs to the common room. It was still early in the morning, so the only one present was the Master.
"Now, now. I don't doubt for a second that your sister thinks the world of you both. I'm certain that she has a perfectly good explanation for doing what she did." Despite Makarov's best efforts to calm the two remaining siblings, he couldn't drop the frown from his face.
Strangely, Natsu remained quiet.
Makarov sighed. "You three wait here. She wouldn't have gotten far, so I'll–"
He couldn't finish speaking as Natsu abruptly stomped out through the door. Before he left their line of sight, he spoke clearly, "I'll go get her."
He was gone before anyone could process what had just happened. Elfman let out a soft "Eh?" and Lisanna blinked through her tears.
Makarov's frown flipped into a thin smile.
xxxxxxx
Mira dragged her feet through the still-empty streets of Magnolia. Part of her acknowledged that she should be moving faster to avoid any kind of confrontation, but the thoughts plaguing her mind held her back.
She shook her head and steeled herself. Again. "I need to do this," she told herself. "This is for them. What if they get hurt because of me? I need to get my magic under control."
When she heard that her sibling wanted to join the guild, she immediately took the opportunity presented to her. This way, they would have people to look after them. They wouldn't be in danger anymore.
"I won't be putting them in danger anymore," she amended, rubbing her mutated arm forcefully. Once again, her feet felt like lead weights.
The city gates were in sight. Taking a deep breath, she resolved herself to–
"OOF!"
Two feet crashed into her back, sending her tumbling to the ground. The offender was laying on top of her, legs crossed.
She twisted her head as much as she could to yell at the person on top of her. "Hey, Jackass! The fuck are you–"
Her throat dried up upon seeing the expressionless face of Natsu.
"You're making Elfman and Lisanna sad, you know." He didn't say anything else. He didn't yell at her, criticize her, or anything. He didn't have to.
Mira grit her teeth and averted her gaze. Despite the discomfort it brought her, she pushed her forehead back into the ground beneath her. "I know, damnit."
"They'll start thinking you've abandoned them."
"I know."
"Why?"
"…"
She kept her head to the ground, not saying a thing. Her body went slack. Unseen to her captor, however, her hands were still wound tightly into fists.
The moment Natsu shifted his weight to get a better look at her face, she capitalized on his imbalance to flip their positions. He was slammed hard into the ground as she pinned him down.
"AS IF I WANT TO DO THIS, ASSHOLE!" she screamed right in his face. "I LOVE THEM MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD!"
Seeing as he didn't so much as flinch, her voice became more subdued. "I love them, so, so much, so that's why I can't be with them. I'm a–"
"If you say demon again, don't be surprised if I punch you for real this time."
The words died in her mouth. Though her confidence was quick to bounce back. "So what? Take-over, possessed, call it whatever you want! Can you honestly tell me that Elfman and Lisanna are safe while I…"
She trailed off as flaming horns wisped into existence on top of his head. As close as she was, she could see Natsu's eyes turning into crimson slits.
"Are they any safer with me around?"
She didn't have an answer to that. "Natsu…"
"Are they? You might have a demon arm, but I'm a demon. I might just go off and kill everyone in this town just because I feel like it."
"I don't… I don't think…" whatever it was she wanted to say, she didn't have the courage to say it.
Mirajane's arms lost their strength, so she leaned back off of him. She squeezed her eyes shut.
The Dragon Slayer gently pushed the girl off of him. Getting to his feet, he just stared at her.
She didn't, look up. "Natsu. I'm sorry."
He offered her a hand. "Let's go back and join Fairy Tail. All of us together."
She took his hand.