Nashi's First Job:
"Arriving in Hargeon Station soon!" a voice called over the loudspeaker of the train.
Nashi gasped excitedly. "Daddy! We're almost there!" she cheered, then frowned in concerned. "Uh...Daddy?"
"Ugh!" was the only response Natsu could give his daughter.
"Motion sickness is pretty bad today, huh?" Nashi asked sympathetically.
"It's always bad," Natsu grumbled, covering his mouth to keep himself from hurling as the train finally stopped. "Oh, thank goodness!"
"Yay, let's go!" Nashi cheered, jumping to her feet and running down the aisle of the train car, only to stop at the door when she realized. "Wait, Daddy? Daddy?"
Nashi made her way back to her seat, to find her father lying face down on the floor. She sighed deeply as she grabbed his arm and tried to drag him out.
"Come on, Daddy, we've got a job to go on!"
"Just give me a second, would you?" Natsu asked, still lying face down as his daughter dragged him down the aisle of the train car.
"Daddy, if we don't get off the train soon it'll start moving again," Nashi pointed out.
"Crap, let's go!" Natsu shouted as he jumped to his feet, tucked Nashi under his arm, and sprinted out of the train...and out of the station...and down three blocks before he finally stopped to catch his breath.
"Well, that got you going," Nashi exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah," Natsu sighed. "So...where are we going?"
"I thought you had the poster!" Nashi exclaimed.
"I gave it to you," Natsu said.
"You did?" Nashi asked.
"Uh, yeah, I told you to keep up with it after breakfast, remember?"
"And then I gave it back to you and said I was too scared I'd lose it!" Nashi exclaimed.
"You did?"
"Did we lose the poster!? Before we even got on the train!?" Nashi screeched.
"Ah, man, we're gonna have to go all the way to Magnolia, aren't we…" Natsu grumbled, just as his lacrima went off. He pulled it out of his pocket to find a message from Lucy:
"You two left this on the breakfast table. I knew I should have tagged along!"
Attached to the message was a picture of the poster.
"Okay, your Mommy just sent me a copy," Natsu sighed in relief as he set his daughter down to text his wife back.
"Thanks, babe, you're a lifesaver!"
"As always! Have fun! Don't burn down the whole town!"
"I won't make any promises."
Natsu read over the poster before putting his lacrima back in his pocket. "Alright, let's head to the beach."
"Uh...Daddy, we're supposed to be going on a job, not vacation…" Nashi said.
"I know, our job's on the beach," Natsu answered.
"It's WHAT!?"
"Yeah."
"You're joking me, right?"
"Nope!"
"This is gonna be the best job ever!"
"Whoa, let's not get ahead of yourself, alright, Firecracker," Natsu smiled as he ruffled her hair and the two walked their way to the beach.
When they arrived they found a group of rowboats tethered to the beach, and a group of fishing men and women gathered in a circle, piling filled fishing nets upon nets. One of the fishermen noticed them approaching and walked to meet them.
"Howdy, there, are you our wizards?"
"We are," Natsu answered as he shook the fisherman's hand.
Nashi held her hand out to shake as well. The fisherman smiled as he shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you too, little lady."
"So, what do you need us to do?" Nashi asked cheerfully.
"Well, let me show you," the man said as he led Nashi and Natsu back to the circle he and his comrades were sitting in. As they drew closer Nashi could see that the nets were filled with oysters.
"So...are we making chowder?" Nashi asked.
"Not quite," the fisherman laughed. "My buddies and I are pearl divers. We've been gathering these oysters all last night and early this morning. Now we're gonna start cracking them open and harvesting the pearls. As we do that, we'll be putting them into these lock boxes that we'll then need you and your old man to deliver to the jewelry shop a few blocks from here. We'll also need you guys to guard our spot so we can make sure no one tries to steal our haul."
"Okay, sounds easy enough," Nashi shrugged.
"C'mon, I'll show you and your dad the way to the shop so you can find it on your own once we get started," the fisherman offered, lading Nashi and Natsu back to the street to show them the way.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Alright, first box of the day!" one of the pearl hunters announced as he dropped the last of the pearls into the box and locked it up before passing it to Natsu.
"Can I take it?" Nashi asked. "Please, please, please!"
"You remember the way?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah!" Nashi nodded.
"Alright, stay on the side walk and don't go wandering off," Natsu warned as he gave Nashi the box.
"I won't," Nashi replied as she skipped off to deliver her package.
She hummed to herself as she skipped along the sidewalk, enjoying her stroll down the road. It didn't take her long to find the shop. She pushed the door open and skipped her way to the counter, placing the box on top of it.
"First delivery of the day!" she announced.
"Thank you, cutie!" the woman behind the counter said as she took the box away and Nashi skipped out of the shop. Nashi lazily strolled along the sidewalk, admiring the sights around her as she made her back towards the beach. Hargeon was a nice town. There was a park, and all kinds of neat little shops here and there. Not a lot of the magic variety, she noticed, but she guessed Hargeon was more of a fishing place than a wizards place anyways.
She reached her hand up to ring a set of windchimes as she walked along, deeply inhaling the salty sea air.
A loud clatter came from behind her.
"Leave him alone!"
Nashi turned and saw a young puppy whimpering as he ran off, tin cans and glass bottles tied to his legs and tail. A group of five dirty faced teenage boys chased after it, laughing menacingly.
A little girl, only about seven years old ran after them, crying as she grabbed onto one of the boy's wrists.
"Leave him alone, he's just a baby!"
"Scram, squirt," the boy sneered, shoving the girl to the ground as he chased after his friends.
Nashi frowned as she ran to the little girl's side and helped her up.
"Are you okay?" she asked, brushing the girl's now torn a dusty dress off.
"No, they're gonna hurt my puppy!" the girl cried, pointing down the alley the boys and the dog had disappeared down.
"Don't worry, I'll get him back, wait here," Nashi assured the little girl, patting her head as she ran down the alley.
The poor puppy was cowered in a corner as the boys crowded around it, tying more trash to it and spitting on it as they laughed.
Nashi's frown deepened as she ran and grabbed the first boy she could get her hands on by the arm.
"Leave him alone!" she ordered, jerking the boy out of the corner.
That gesture alone was enough to pull the group's attention away from the puppy and onto this strange new girl who had just entered their arena.
"What does he and that little girl ever do to you?" Nashi asked.
"Ah, beat it, tramp!" one of the boys said, shoving Nashi towards the wall of the alley.
Nashi stopped and looked down.
The boys' grossly misread this movement.
"Aw, is she gonna cry now?" one of them asked.
Nashi was nowhere near crying, though. She was instead looking at her hands, debating on whether or not to use her magic. On the one hand, this fight would be over a lot sooner if she did so. But on the other hand that didn't seem quite fair. She could tell these boys were no wizards.
She ultimately decided to keep the playing field at least somewhat even, and just went for a good, old fashioned sucker punch.
Turned out she made her choice just in time, as the same boy who shoved her earlier was also going in for a punch.
Nashi's turned out to be a hair quicker and quite a deal more powerful, as it landed the boy right on his butt.
"What the-" one of the poor, quite dizzy, soul's friends exclaimed.
"Alright, who's next?" Nashi asked, taking up a defensive stance.
The remaining four boys glanced at each other, then back at Nashi. Finally one of them stepped forward, looking a bit smug as he sauntered towards her.
He went for a punch to the face, which Nashi easily ducked. As she stood back to her full height she gave a hook punch right into the boy's chin, knocking him senseless and sending him stumbling back, groaning loudly.
One of the remaining three boys thought he could use this opportunity to sneak up behind Nashi while she was distracted.
He thought wrong.
Nashi spun around, lifting her leg for a deadly kick to the neck as she did so, which landed right on target and sent the poor boy to the ground.
The remaining two boys tried to come at her from either side. Nashi simply stepped out of the way. When the two inevitably fumbled trying not to hit each other, Nashi grabbed each of them by the arm and shoved them towards each other, their skulls almost cracking against each other. She then performed another spin kick, sending them crashing against the alleyway.
"We just got our butts kicked…" one of them groaned.
"...by a GIRL!" another wheezed.
"That's right, and if you don't want me to kick 'em again, you'd better scram!" Nashi warned.
The boys all scrambled to their feet and took off running. Nashi watched them go off in pride, before turning back to the still whimpering puppy.
"Poor thing, c'mere," she said as she gently drew the shivering animal into her lap to rid it of all the garbage the bullies had tied to it. Once she'd cleaned him off she stood up, and carried it out of the alley. It began wagging its tail as it saw the little girl and barked before licking Nashi's face.
Nashi smiled as she brought him to his very happy owner and set him in her arms.
"Here you go," she said as she stood back up, ruffling the little girl's hair. "I gotta go now, see you around."
"Thank you, Miss!" the girl cheered as Nashi made her way back to the beach. Nashi climbed from the street to the sand and skipped her way back to the pearl divers and her father.
"What took you so long?" Natsu asked.
"Just had to take out some garbage," Nashi answered merrily.
"Right…" Natsu arched an eyebrow, but didn't pry any deeper.
Nashi skipped her way to the water edge, kicking off her shoes to wade around in the shallow waves as she waited for…
"Box two!"
Nashi smiled as she picked her shoes up and raced back to the pearl harvesters.
"Can I take this one, too?" she asked.
"How about I take this one," Natsu said as he took the box from the pearl diver and began walking towards the street. "I think you've got a fan club who wants to meet you."
"Huh?" Nashi asked as she looked to where her father was pointing. The little girl who's puppy she'd saved was standing at the edge of the beach watching her, a ground of other young girls standing with her. Nashi smiled and waved to them.
The girls all glanced at each other, then shyly began to approach Nashi.
"Hey, um, Miss…" the girl with the puppy began. "You think you can show us to fight like you?"
"Huh?" Nashi asked.
"Those boys you fought today have been bullying us for months," the girl said. "Can you teach us to fight like you so we can make them leave us alone?"
"I mean, I dunno," Nashi said, rubbing at the back of her neck. "I've been learning to fight since I was little."
The girls all hung their heads in disappointment.
"But I guess I can show you a few moves," Nashi offered.
The girls all brighten up. "Please!?"
Nashi smiled. "Okay, okay, spread out a bit."
The girl all obeyed and took up their best fighting poses…
….which turned out to not be that good.
"Well, first thing first, don't stand like that," Nashi said as she moved to the girl closest to her to rearrange her position. "Both feet solid on the ground. Now keep your arms up like this...that's right. Put your left leg just a little in front of your right. Yeah, like that. Most of your organs are on your right side, so you want to keep them away from the other guys. Okay!"
Nashi stood back up and took up her pose in front of the girls to demonstrate. "First move. Step firm on your left leg, bring your right knee up and kick 'em right in the nuts!"
By the time Natsu returned Nashi had successfully taught the girls how to kick an attacker in the nuts, how to use the heel of their hand to break their nose, how to elbow them in the liver, and how to grab their arm and slam them to the ground.
Natsu couldn't help but chuckle in pride at the sight.
By the time the pearl divers had gone through all the oysters, Nashi had taught the girls about ten different moves. Natsu collected their payment, told the pearl divers goodbye, and then told Nashi to come along.
"Alright, take care! And make those boys cry!" Nashi called over her shoulder as she ran to catch up with her father.
"We will!"
"Thanks Nashi!"
"You're the best!"
"I'll be looking for you in Sorcerer's Weekly!"
"Well," Natsu remarked as they rounded the corner and fell out of sight from the beach. "Someone's popular."
"Eh, I was just helping them out," Nashi shrugged.
"By teaching them how to make boys cry?"
"Hey, some boys deserve it."
"You're not wrong," Natsu shrugged. As they made their way down the sidewalk, something caught Natsu's eye. He set a hand on Nashi's shoulder to let her know he was going down a different turn than before.
"Uh...Daddy, aren't going back to the train station?" Nashi asked.
"In a minute," Natsu said. "I want to look at something first."
Nashi still seemed confused, but followed along behind him nonetheless.
Natsu soon found himself standing in front of a yellow stone church. A small smile spread across his mouth as memories began coming back to him.
"Who the heck was that guy?"
"I dunoon, but he was a real creep. Thank you for your help."
"Uh…"
"Uh...Daddy...are we supposed to pick something up here or something?" Nashi asked, still utterly confused by her father suddenly getting sidetracked.
"Nah," Natsu answered, looking around. Was it still here? Yup!
"Hey, Nashi, want to get some lunch?" Natsu asked.
"Sure!" Nashi answered.
Natsu smiled as he led his daughter to a familiar nearby diner. He knew he didn't have time for a sit down meal, but even as he ordered two take out meals he found his eyes finding their way to a familiar booth.
"...enjoy the rest of your lunch and maybe I'll see you around!"
"Hm," Natsu hummed to himself as he thought back to that day. "'Maybe I'll see you around.' Yeah, maybe."
Natsu's smile widened as he turned and looked at Nashi. Yeah, he and that girl he'd bumped into all those years ago had seen a lot more of each other after that day. Now look where they were…
"Did you say something, Daddy?" Nashi asked.
"Nah," Natsu answered as their order was called out. Natsu took the two bags, passing one to Nashi as they began making their way towards the train station again. They soon made their way to the hill just on the outskirts of town. Natsu stopped and looked back over the scenery, his smile returning once again.
"Uh, Daddy, you sure you're okay?" Nashi asked. "You're acting funny."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Natsu said. "Just taking a trip down memory lane."
Nashi followed her father's gaze as he stared out at the landscape below them. She, of course, had no way of knowing the particular memories that were running through his mind at that moment.
"Oh, crap! We gotta get out of here!"
"Where the heck are you taking me!?"
"Just come on, you said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail guild, didn't you? So let's go!"
"Alright!"
Natsu chuckled to himself. "Who'd have known then…"
He smiled again as he turned to look at his daughter, standing in almost the exact spot her mother had all those years ago.
"C'mon, Firecracker, let's head home," he said, holding his hand out to her.
"Okay," Nashi smiled, taking his hand.
Natsu's smile widened, his mind still on that night all those years back. He'd run out of this town, having no idea he'd just experienced his first adventure with his wife. Now, all these years later, he was leaving after watching their daughter experience her first job.
It was all rather fitting.