Chapter One

Never-ending Battle

Of all the die-hard reasons heroes and enemies battled for, covered in blacks and blues and bloodshed, Natsu Dragneel never thought it'd be over a stupid rose. It's supposed to be a symbol of love, Happy said. Some guys back at Fairy Tail fought to protect their lovers, he said. Yeah well now they're ex-lovers. Case closed.

One good whiff of sweaty armpit by a gorilla-like mammoth ain't gonna make him pine for some chick. And that thing stood only a few meters away from him, one of the downfalls of being the son of a dragon. Tracking its hiding spot behind the dense bushes of the East Forest, Natsu rolled to the side before heavy tons of fist hammered onto the earth, shaking its foundations. It was worth the sniff. Natsu rested on his foot and knee as the white dust settled. The Gorian towered 15 feet over him on tiny hindlimbs and beefy knuckles. It was definitely the tallest one he'd ever seen in all his 18 years of life. Natsu wouldn't be surprised if this was an alpha male of the pack.

White beady eyes tinted with predatory heat. "Human." A chuckle reverberated deep beneath hollow, ripped torso.

A deadly form of energy emanated from its body, preparing for chowtime. And he was today's lunch special. Natsu wiped the sweat off his mouth with a thumb. "Sorry, pal. But all I'm serving is my knuckle sandwich!"

Provoked, the Gorian swung at him, striking the ground with its fist. Natsu high-jumped and landed on his arm. He charged up to its shoulder and aimed his fist between the eyes. Upon impact, something smacked against his side. He soared through the air and his back struck against wood, knocking the wind out of him. He fell forward and his stomach crashed onto a thick branch, rattling his ribcage.

"Natsu!" A familiar, high-pitched voice sounded. Happy hovered in front of him, flapping his white wings. "You alright, buddy?"

Natsu grinned, biting back the pain rippling across his body. "Are ya kiddin'? That didn't hurt one bit."

Returning the grin that earned his name, the blue feline held up the white rose bouquet with his tail wrapped around the stem. "Since that monkey on steroids won't quit, I'll distract it and buy you some time."

"Happy! Look out!" He shoved him out of the way and beefy fingers gripped around his torso. Leaves and branches slapped his face and bare arms as he was pulled up close and personal to the pointy triangular face of a chuckling beast.

"Time to get in my belly, Pinkie."

Heat boiled beneath his skin; the precursor of unregrettable destruction. Natsu forced tight air through gritted teeth. "Call me Pinkie. One more time."

Broad, yellow teeth spread from ear to ear, needling with a long drawl. "Pinkie."

His body ignited into a smoldering inferno. The Gorian roared in agony, pulling back its hand covered in third-degree burns. Natsu landed on one knee, heaving tons of air back into his lungs. He picked up his head as another fist headed towards him. Then, Happy head-butted into the Gorian's cheek in a blinding light speed. A yellow tooth flew out upon impact.

Nice hit!

Stumbling back, the Gorian fell against a tree that tilted beneath its weight and hung over a steep cliff that overlooked the heart of the forest.

Natsu formed an idea. "Happy, catch me!"

"Eh?!"

He was already darting towards the Gorian, chanting. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Fiery ropes shot out of his hands as he whipped them forward. Flames latched around the Gorian's arms and Natsu flipped over him, landing on the other side of the tree. "Let's get one thing straight." He yanked the behemoth towards him with all of his might, their combined weight tilting the tree over the cliff. "My hair ain't pink." He was weightless as gravity plunged them into bottomless heights. The Gorian reached out to strike, but he evaded, his feet shooting fire to gain higher advantage. "It's reddish!" He spun, heel colliding into its face with one fell swoop, fire and bone cracking the air. The Gorian crash landed into the bed of tree canopies. And the birds took flight, coloring the sunset sky into a vibrant rainbow.

Happy nose-dived, pushing off from the falling rock debris and branches to gain momentum, and grasped Natsu by the underarms. Looking down, Natsu watched the ape menace lying on the concave of dense foliage, dazed with a slackened jaw. It would probably take a while for him to recover and crawl back to the uncharted territories of mythical beasts.

"Yeahah!" Natsu pumped both fists into the air.

"Told you those roses would attract wild beasts." Happy muttered, securing his grip, and flapped his wings towards their next destination closer to the sun. "We should've flown instead of walk."

He crossed his arms, feeling nothing but satisfaction. "Nah, I needed somethin' to get all this pent-up energy out."

Happy smirked light-heartedly. "Figured you would say that."

They soared towards the snow-capped mountain ranges of Mt Hakobe and landed near an iridescent stream of golden ripples. Natsu kneeled down by the pebbled riverbank, cupped his hands for a refreshing drink, and splashed some on his face. The rivulets felt cool on his skin as he loosened his scarf and pressed the warm, cotton fabric into his face. He remained there for a moment, taking in the familiar scent of century-old earth, ancient volcanic ashes and brimstone... and roasted savory meat of all kinds. The knitted smooth scales formed grey square patterns, reminding him of the nights he would sleep on his father's belly and listen to his steady cavernous breaths. But those days disappeared along with him. No letter. No memo. Nor anything that hinted of his swift return. Only this scarf and the unanswered questions of a young boy lost in an unknown world remained with him.

"Fish!"

Natsu jolted out of his stupor and glanced over at Happy salivating over the stream of exotic fish. His stomach growled along with his, having not eaten anything but pancakes stored in Lucy's fridge since this morning. And those scales glistened with possibilities, standing out from the blossoming lily pads and ugly-looking amphibians croaking for potential mates. Natsu reached over for a quick grab of lunch and dinner. The school of fish fled within seconds, leaving behind pink marble-like eggs that blended with the colorful pebbles. He then remembered the years of fishing with Gildart, one of the few people from the guild he got along pretty well. He said in Gildart's exact words to them, "Best to let 'em have their fun, so we can catch more of 'em next season." He looked to Happy with an encouraging smile. "K, little buddy?"

Happy merely watched them disappear with disappointment.

Pushing himself up, Natsu gestured with his head. "Come on. Let's not keep Lisanna waiting."

That got his attention. He picked up the white roses from his side. "Aye sir."

Passing by a few hedges around the corner and ducking under low-hanging tree branches, they stepped into the yellow plain stretching towards the crystalline, snow-capped mountains. In the center of all the natural beauty stood a straw hut and a gravestone. Happy paved a trail through the grass, approaching the threshold, and replaced the brown, withered roses from last year with the fresh bouquet. The white roses were all of Natsu's idea. Whenever he'd flipped the white petals upside down, they'd looked identical to Lisanna's hair; short and white. They'd framed her big, blue eyes and her sweet smile. Not a day had passed with Natsu forgetting about that smile. Especially if they radiated unconditional kindness to every living soul.

As a loyal member of Fairy Tail, Lisanna had gladly called them family. She'd never wanted to be away from people, unless she was too busy looking for those who don't like people. Natsu knew this about her because he was one of them. She'd found him sitting alone outside in the grey downpour one day, and he'd lashed out at her. But instead of countering with the usual jab of cool intelligence, she'd asked about Igneel, a curveball he didn't expect. Most of the orphans from the guild didn't believe that his father was a real dragon. To them, dragons were just a myth.

But she believed.

Kneeling down before the gravestone that her brother, Elfman, made with his bare hands, Natsu wiped the moss off the stone slate with his thumb, revealing the engravings: In Memory of Lisanna Strauss. His shoulders grew taut; the pain of her absence weighing on him as if it was yesterday. But this year, he found some closure with the help of his new friends in Fairy Tail. Lisanna had always wanted that for him. So he placed the lid on the guilt brimming to the surface. No use in making her cry if she'd been watching him blame himself for not being there to protect her, for taking her and their friendship for granted. Exhaling slowly within himself, he turned his back towards the grave, and sat beside Happy. They watched the sunset with Lisanna.

Just like the good old days.

A/N:

Hello readers and aspiring writers! Thank you so much for reading the chapter to the end! I hope you find some things that sparked your interest which would inspire you to keep reading. Please feel free to comment on what you like (or don't like) about this chapter, and what events do you expect will happen in the next future chapters.

Were the characters believable? What was your favorite part of the chapter? Did the story flow well? What questions you have that you want answered later on in the next chapters?

Your constructive feedback would help me improve my skills in plot development, writing believable character arcs, and keeping you guys entertained.If you choose to review, favorite, and follow my first Fairy Tail fanfic, I'd be very grateful and hope to review your fanfics as well (if you want me to).