Prologue

When she first met Fairy Tail she was bruised and beaten. Her clothes were torn and covered in mutt as she had been running for days. Beneath that ripped garment were scars and cuts, some from her escape others from long before that. They littered her thin thighs and way too prominent rips, distracting everyone who would come to see her from her undernourished body. The physical wounds were sever but the real problem ran even deeper. She had been mentally scarred enough so to turn away every single person who extended their hand to her. Unconsciously she had started to grow suspicious of everyone who would even glance at her for too long let alone try to speak to her.

So it came as more than a surprise to her when she met emhim/em and actually was capable of granting him access into her life. Maybe it was because his bruises and cuts reminded her of her own or because she could relate to the sadness displaying in his eyes. Or maybe it was simply because his anti-social behaviour rivalled her own attitude. Whatever may have drawn her to him she decided that she would not give up on this grumpy mess of a kid until she had him figured out.

When he first noticed her little body hidden behind a large tree he brushed it off, probably thinking that she was lost and would leave him alone if he did the same. So he just continued his training focused and oblivious of his onlooker. The next day he would come to the same spot in the woods again to train on his skills. He would work for hours trying to perfect both his physical as well as his magical abilities. And everyday she would be there to watch him. What sounds like an unhealthy obsession was actually more of a cry for help for her. She didn't have the trust to directly talk to him or at least make herself known but still she craved contact, human interaction, more than anything else. So she decided to stay. There in the woods close to the training spot of the sad-eyed kid so she could watch him train and pretend like he knew her, like he would protect her.

In all honesty she was more than capable of protecting herself. With her own magic and her hidden secret she was probably stronger than most mages but her fear held her back. Using her powers openly would give away who she was and that information in the hands of the wrong people would put her in danger. So she hid her primary magic and adopted a new style of fighting which was – of course – inspired by the dark haired child she always watched. She didn't try to copy his magic, but she did take note of how he would push his physical powers to the limit in every training. He would practice martial arts as well as muscle strength before he would even begin to use his magic.

Impressed by how strong the boy was and comparing it to her own weakness she tried to adopt his practice routine. So she secretly used the boy's training spot while he was away. She would try to imitate his kicks and punches against a tree, but only ended up with bloodied knuckles and aches all over her body. Her lack of food also didn't help the matter. Nevertheless, she practiced every day to get stronger, to be able to defend herself when the time came. She would go to the boy's training area and practice his physical routine until that day.

She was so engrossed in her practice, so keen on getting the move right and hitting the mark on the tree perfectly that she didn't sense the presence nearing her.

"Oi! Who are you?"

Heart nearly jumping out of her chest she flinched, turning around to find the young boy she had been watching every day since she came to these woods watching her, leaning next to the large tree she normally hid behind hands crossed and scowl on his face. She couldn't speak, too terrified of what would happen now that she had finally been caught. She was using emhis/em training spot, imitating emhis/em routine.

"I asked you something, so answer already." He barked the order, clearly agitated to find someone else use his secret training spot without asking.

"I-I-I'm Ayaka," she stammered in fright. Her eyes were as big as a deer's as she looked at the confident mage standin in front of her. She hadn't talked to anyone in months let alone fought anyone so if this boy was going to give her a hard time for her intrusion she would stand no chance against him.

"What are you doing here?" He squinted his eyes at her. "Aren't you the one who's been watching me train every day like a creep?"

It wasn't a question, much more an accusation, she knew that. She knew she had been caught, but still admitting what exactly she had been doing felt wrong to her, she didn't even admit how obviously weird her actions were to herself so now being confronted about them was more than just uncomfortable.

"I-I'm not a creep! I didn't want to intrude, I just saw you train one day and I-I've never seen anyone train like that so I wanted to learn it as well!" She hastily explained her actions, then continued, "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable! I really just wanted to learn!"

"Tsk…" He pushed himself away from the tree, letting his arms fall to his side as he slowly stepped towards her. Ayaka flinched again at the sudden movement and pressed her back against her previous target (aka a tree at the end of the clearing). Ignoring her defensive stance he neared the tiny girl.

"If you want to train you should get a teacher, because what you were doing just now was nothing like what I did. In fact, you mostly just hurt yourself. Look!" He reached forward, taking her bloody hand in his and ever so gently stroking her wounded knuckles with the tip of his thumb. "You injured yourself. If you leave it like this it will scar."

Dumbfounded Ayaka stayed silent. She didn't care about scars, how could she with the ones decorating her skin all over her body. Just because her knuckles were a more visible place than her stomach didn't make her care about them anymore.

"Why are you even here? Don't you have a home? Parents waiting for you?"

"No." The answer was firm this time, no stutter in her voice.

"Hmm… me neither. But I have the guild, I guess. Even with annoying ass twat in there." He sounded like he was speaking to himself rather than her. Still she couldn't help but chuckle at his expression of "ass twat", which made him smile.

"You look lonely," he commented.

"So do you."

He was taken aback by that. But still he didn't stop pestering. For some reason he was intrigued by the thin girl with bloody hands who by the way seemed way too skinny for her height.

"Are you?" she inquired. Somehow she wanted him to be. Selfish, she knew, but she wanted someone to share her fate.

But he didn't answer. Instead he looked her up and down, furrowing his eyebrows as he did so, as if disapproving of what he saw.

"You need to eat", he stated, leaving no room for discussion. The girl obviously was undernourished. Not only that but she was filthy. Her hair was dishevelled and her clothes dirty and torn. She looked like she had been sleeping in these woods for the past month, which actually seemed quite plausible for the boy.

Taking the initiative he tugged at her hand. "Come on. I will bring you to the guild. You can eat there and clean up. Maybe one of the others has spare clothes that will fit you." He tugged at her hand again, meaning to pull her away from the tree she was still leaning against and in the direction of the guild building but she wouldn't budge.

"Come on, let's go!" He tried again but Ayaka just pressed her heels into the ground as a response. There was no way in hell she would go to a bunch of strangers for help. Just because this boy trusted this 'guild' didn't mean that she would.

"I don't even know your name, why should I follow you anywhere?" She asked, unnerved by the now stronger pull on her wrist. The young mage, being way stronger than she herself, had managed to unroot her from her firm position against the tree and drag her into the middle of the training area already. Still she tried to break free from the grip on her hand. She probably could get him to let go through her magic but she didn't actually see a threat in the young man who she had been watching for a month now. The thought of being dragged in the middle of a bunch of other mages, however, made her more than nervous.

"I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster. And I'm taking you to Fairy Tail." With those words he heaved the light girl over his shoulder and carried her out of the shadows of the woods, while she kicked and screamed into his back.