I'm not abandoning anything people. Man, I got so many messages from people asking me if I abandoned my Fairy Tail stories… I couldn't believe it. I won't ever abandon my stories, much less ones I just started. It is just that I have Uni and need to focus, so writing time is limited. In case you are wondering, I have a chapter of A Demon's Rebirth nearly done as well, so that will come soon. Also, I'm probably going to cave and end up doing the Natsu/Meredy story I've been desperately trying to refrain from (you see how many I have going now), but it keeps annoying me, so expect that sometime next month, most likely. I'm also going to put up another DxD and Bleach story soon as well…
Also, if you have the time, please check out some of the stuff I have posted on Journalister, more so my original story than anything, as motivation for that is lacking.
Oh, also, the poll for the pairing is up on my profile now as well, so please vote. Basically, Hisui is the defining factor, if she has the highest amount of votes, it will be a single pairing. If one person has more votes than Hisui, they will be added to the pairing, if everyone has more votes than Hisui it will be a full blown harem. I change the polls to reflect my most recently updated Fairy Tail fic, so when I do update A Demon's Rebirth, the poll for that will go up and this one will come down until I update it again. I will keep all polls going until all stories reach chapter 5.
Enjoy the chapter.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
*expression*
Flashback
Techniques
Chapter 2 – Green Chrysanthemum
After Natsu had agreed to stay, the King had told him to rest for a bit longer and he would have food brought for him soon, before leaving with Arcadios. Natsu gazed around the room for a bit longer, before focusing on the green haired girl next to him.
'So what do you do for fun around here?' Asked Natsu curiously.
'Fun? I enjoy reading I suppose.' Said Hisui shyly.
'What's reading?' Asked Natsu curiously.
Hisui looked at him in shock.
'What do you mean?' Asked Hisui, with an astonished expression.
'Um, I mean, I've heard people say it, don't really know what it is though.' Said Natsu, as he scratched the back of his head in thought.
'How can you speak, if you do not know how to read?' Asked Hisui in confusion.
'Oh, Igneel taught me how to talk.' Said Natsu simply.
Hisui had a small realisation at that. Of course Natsu wouldn't know how to read, he was raised by a dragon. Hisui tried to imagine a dragon reading a book, before laughing at the mental picture of a large, scaly red lizard with tiny spectacles.
'What's so funny?' Asked Natsu in confusion.
'I had an excellent idea just now. Please excuse me for a moment.' Said Hisui suddenly, before standing up and leaving the room.
'Uh… do you know what just happened, Happy?' Asked Natsu on bewilderment.
'Maybe she went to get fish?' Suggested Happy.
Natsu chuckled at this, before wincing and clutching his stomach.
'Are you okay, Natsu?' Asked Happy worriedly.
'Yeah, it just stings a little.' Said Natsu, as he gently rubbed his wound.
Happy and Natsu sat there in silence for a few minutes, before Natsu decided to restart the conversation.
'So aside from the fish, do you think it was a good idea that I decided to stay here for now?' Asked Natsu curiously.
'Fish is always a good idea.' Said Happy simply, causing Natsu to smile, before continuing.
'But I like Hisui, and it would be fun to stay here I think.' Finished Happy.
'Hmm, I suppose. I haven't met anyone like her before. For one thing, she believed me about Igneel, which already makes me like her.' Said Natsu, not knowing that Hisui was currently eavesdropping, holding two books and a pencil in her hand.
'Me too, she was really nice to me… before.' Said Happy, before trailing off, as he remembered the state his friend was in, during the time Hisui was being kind to him.
'Yeah, I like that her hair and eyes are both green, it reminds me of the forest me and Igneel hunted for food in.' Said Natsu happily, getting Hisui to blush slightly on the outside.
"He likes my hair and eyes." Thought Hisui, grasping a strand of her hair, which was currently just past shoulder length.
As she grasped her hair, her hand fumbled slightly, causing the pencil she was holding, to slip from her grasp and clatter to the floor.
'Hmm, is someone there?' Asked Natsu curiously.
Hisui quickly picked up the pencil and entered the room, a small blush still present on her face.
'E-excuse me Natsu, I was on my way back and dropped my pencil.' Said Hisui, hoping Natsu would assume her blush was out of embarrassment for dropping the pencil.
'That's okay, it probably didn't make too much noise anyway. I just have really good hearing because of my magic.' Said Natsu cheerfully.
'Really? What else do you gain from being a Dragon Slayer?' Asked Hisui curiously, sitting next to Natsu once again, as she rested the two books she had brought with her on her lap, with the pencil on top.
'Well, I can eat fire like I said, but I also can't be burned by fire either. Aside from that and my hearing, my nose is really sensitive as well. Plus, I'm pretty durable to most attacks and have good reflexes.' Said Natsu thoughtfully.
'I see.' Said Hisui, with a nod.
'So what are those?' Asked Natsu, gesturing to the books on Hisui's lap.
'These are books.' Said Hisui.
'What do you do with them?' Asked Natsu curiously.
'You read them.' Answered Hisui.
'Cool… so what is reading?' Asked Natsu.
Hisui smiled at this question and opened the first book, before placing it on Natsu's lap, on top of his blanket.
'This is a book, which will help you learn how to read.' Said Hisui.
'Hmm, what are all these scribbles?' Asked Natsu, squinting at the book in confusion.
Happy ambled over and looked as well.
'Ne, Natsu, they look a bit like fish don't you think?' Said Happy cutely.
'Not really… oh is that it! Do I burn this book and eat it to learn how to read!' Said Natsu excitedly, lighting his left fist aflame.
'No, no, that's not it at all!' Panicked Hisui, waving her hands frantically.
'Oh.' Said Natsu, as he extinguished the fire around his hand.
'See, this is the alphabet. We use the letters of the alphabet to make words, then use those words to make sentences.' Said Hisui patiently.
'So… does that mean my mouth is the alphabet?' Asked Natsu curiously, only for Hisui to giggle in response.
'Hehe, you have a cute laugh.' Said Natsu with a smile, which Hisui shyly returned.
'Thank you. Although, what I mean is, the words you speak are made up of letters. These are letters written down.' Said Hisui, gesturing to the words written on the book.
'Oh, I get it… so I've been saying these things all along, I just didn't know what they looked like.' Said Natsu, with a grin.
'Well, I suppose that is true.' Said Hisui kindly.
Hisui spent the next hour, teaching Natsu how to read and write. Since Natsu could already speak and form words and sentences, once he was able to memorise the alphabet and what each letter looked and sounded like, he was able to pick up reading fairly easily as well. His writing was rather messy, but was just neat enough to be legible.
'Wow Hisui, you are a great teacher!' Said Natsu in excitement, as he closed the second book Hisui had brought him.
'Ne, Natsu, wasn't that book kind of easy though… and there weren't any fish in it.' Said Happy.
'Yes, that was an easy book, to help children learn how to read.' Said Hisui, with a nod.
'Oh… you're still a good teacher though.' Said Natsu somewhat subdued.
'Thank you Natsu, but you are quite clever as well. I think that with a few more weeks of practise, you will be able to read as well as I.' Said Hisui encouragingly, giving Natsu a kind smile.
'Thanks.' Said Natsu, with a grin, before he smelt something.
'Food.' Said both Natsu and Happy.
Not a moment later, a chef wearing a white robe and top hat entered, pushing a small cart into the small infirmary, with Toma at his side.
'Well young Natsu and you too, Happy, here is the food I said I would bring you.' Said Toma happily, as he gestured to the cart.
There were five dishes present: one filled with fish: one filled with meat: one filled with chicken; one filled with vegetables and lastly, one filled with some small cakes and pastries.
'Wow it all looks so good!' Exclaimed Natsu in excitement.
The chef smiled at the praise. Having heard about the young boy who risked his life to save the Princess, he was more than happy to prepare a small feast for the Dragon Slayer.
'Fish!' Said Happy, with a grin, copious amounts of drool building in his mouth and running down his chin.
'Fine, you can have all the fish, Happy.' Said Natsu cheerfully.
'Yay, fish!' Said Happy, as his wings popped out of his back and he flew over to his meal.
Toma noticed the books on Natsu's lap, once Happy had jumped off it.
'Hmm, what is that book you have there, Natsu?' Asked Toma curiously.
'Oh this? Hisui was teaching me how to read and write, she is a great teacher!' Said Natsu happily, causing Hisui to smile at the praise.
'It was nothing.' Said Hisui modestly.
'Well, if you would like Natsu, I can have all manner of scholars teach you, it would be no trouble at all.' Offered Toma genially.
'Thanks for the offer, but I'd prefer Hisui.' Said Natsu happily, causing Hisui to blush slightly and Toma to laugh.
'Haha, then far be it from me to stop you, I'm sure Hisui won't mind.' Said Toma happily.
'Y-yes, I would be happy to help Natsu.' Added Hisui, with a shy smile.
'Awesome… um can someone give me the food now? I'm really hungry and still can't move a lot.' Said Natsu sheepishly.
'Of course.' Said Toma and nodded to the chef, who pushed the cart next to Natsu.
'Thanks a lot.' Said Natsu, before he quickly inhaled the plate of meat.
The three unfamiliar with Natsu's eating habits, blinked in shock, as an entire plate of food disappeared in under a minute.
'Hey, what are these things?' Asked Natsu, pointing to the plates remaining.
'These are vegetables.' Said Hisui, pointing to the plate of vegetables.
'What are those?' Asked Natsu, getting the chef to sweat-drop.
'They are food Natsu, you eat them.' Said Hisui patiently.
Natsu looked at the plate and picked up a small orange vegetable. Natsu studied it cautiously before taking a small bite.
'Hey this is pretty good! Not meat, but it tastes sweet.' Said Natsu, as he ate all the carrots on the plate.
'Hmm, this one looks like you.' Said Natsu to Hisui, as he picked up a stalk of broccoli and threw the whole thing into his mouth, causing it to widen to comical proportions, causing the rest of the humans in the room to gape, as he chomped down on the cruciferous vegetable.
'Well, it isn't very sweet and it doesn't taste like meat, but it's pretty good as well.' Said Natsu, after he had swallowed.
Natsu, then picked up a smaller, white looking version, of the broccoli he had just eaten and took a bite.
'Ugh, this sure doesn't taste like that green thing.' Said Natsu unhappily, before his fist was engulfed in fire, startling the chef, as he charred the cauliflower.
Natsu studied it appraisingly, before popping it into his mouth.
'Much better.' Said Natsu, getting the three to look at him in shock, as he enjoyed the vegetable charred to hell.
Natsu repeated this with the other vegetables, charring those he didn't like at first bite, before consuming them.
'Ok, so what's that thing?' Asked Natsu, pointing to the chicken.
The chef and Toma watched on bemusedly, as Hisui explained that chicken was like meat, with Natsu looking at her suspiciously, causing her to explain the difference between red and white meat, to convince him.
Natsu then ate all the chicken happily, especially after the first bite and finally looked at the last plate.
'Those are sweets Natsu.' Said Hisui, as Natsu poked a jelly filled doughnut.
'They look funny.' Said Natsu, as he flicked a bowl of lime jelly and watched it jiggle.
'Just try them.' Said Hisui kindly.
Natsu picked up a small rectangular piece of brown stuff, guessing that since it was the closest in appearance to meat, it would taste the best.
Natsu popped it into his mouth and chewed.
'Wow, what is this?' Asked Natsu, with wide eyes.
'That's chocolate cake.' Said Hisui.
Natsu nodded before going through the rest of the sweets quickly.
'That was good stuff old man, thanks.' Said Natsu, after he finished, noticing that Happy had passed out, after gorging himself on all the fish.
'I'm glad you enjoyed it.' Said Toma, with the chef also smiling slightly in happiness, before taking the cart, after Natsu had taken Happy off it.
'Well Natsu, what would you like to do now?' Asked Toma.
'Hmm, well I wouldn't mind if Hisui helped me read a bit more. I really want to be able to read whatever books you guys have on dragons.' Said Natsu excitedly.
'That's fine, although, Hisui, I think now that Natsu is up, you should go bathe and change your clothes.' Said Toma.
Hisui glanced down and noticed she was still wearing her white dress, which had now turned pink in large areas, due to Natsu's blood, and was torn at the bottom.
Hisui nodded in embarrassment at her father's suggestion, before giving Natsu a small nod as well and leaving.
'You know, she stayed by your side the whole day. I'm glad you turned out to be such a caring young man.' Said Toma, with a small smile.
'Haha thanks, I guess. I don't really think I'm that caring, I just don't see the reason in being mean. I mean, it doesn't help anyone.' Said Natsu happily.
'That is a good mindset to have.' Commented Toma, with a nod.
'Thanks, although, I suppose if Hisui is gone for now, I might take a nap. I'm still pretty tired, even with that awesome food.' Said Natsu, getting the King to smile.
'I see. I'll leave you to it then. However, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.' Said Toma, before leaving Natsu and Happy alone.
Natsu carefully slid back down until he was on his back, resting Happy on his chest, before giving a deep yawn and going to sleep, a peaceful expression on his childish face.
-line break-
Over the next few days, Hisui would come to Natsu's bedside and the duo would practise reading, with Happy joining in as well. Afterwards, Natsu would have different food brought to him and found that everything in the palace, was delicious. Happy though, decided to stick to fish. He nearly cried tears of joy, when they brought in a seafood platter one day, which caused Natsu to nervously chuckle and ask for another, seeing the undisguised gluttony in his partner's eyes.
By the fourth day, Natsu had finally gotten well enough to get out of bed and finally took the time to bathe, in the ginormous golden bathtubs of the castle. It was also on this day, that Natsu discovered soap did not taste nice at all. Hisui found this very amusing, when he reported his findings on the matter, after his bath. Since his red shirt now had a hole in it, Natsu ditched it and now wore a long-sleeved forest green shirt instead. When Toma had a tailor come in and measure Natsu, he had asked what colour shirt he wanted. Natsu had briefly glanced at Hisui, before giving his response, which caused Hisui to adopt a bashful expression and Toma to laugh in amusement.
By the end of the week, Natsu was now able to walk around the castle without pain, so Hisui decided to show him around. Natsu found the knight's training grounds particularly interesting and challenged those training to fights. Their laughter soon turned into groans of pain, as they underestimated the fiery character, who, even newly recovered, didn't understand the meaning of holding back. Needless to say, the knights found a reason to deny Natsu, whenever he asked for a rematch. Currently though, the duo, plus Happy, were in the library.
'Whoa, this place is huge!' Exclaimed Natsu in awe.
Hisui nodded, smiling, before informing Natsu about the library and its history.
'This library is hundreds of years old, it was built even before the formation of guilds. It has been looked after carefully since its creation and restored wherever needed. There are books in here which would have turned to dust by now, if they weren't so immaculately maintained. Even those that have started to fade, have had copies of them made, so we can preserve their knowledge for the future.' Explained Hisui proudly.
'So, do you mean there will be books on dragons?' Asked Natsu excitedly.
'Yes, but they would most likely be very old.' Said Hisui, before leading Natsu to a corner of the library.
'This area has some of the oldest books in our library. If there is anything on dragons, it would most likely be here.' Said Hisui, before looking the shelves over.
Hisui took her time, looking the books over carefully, before pulling out three different books.
'Whoa, there's three of them.' Said Natsu in awe.
'Yes, I'm a bit surprised myself.' Commented Hisui, as she led Natsu, with Happy on his head, to a table.
The three books were then laid on the table, allowing Natsu to read them. One was titled Dragon Historia and was the largest out of the three, being more than four times as thick, than both of the others put together. The second was only forty or so pages and was titled the Dragon King Festival. The last book, was even thinner, being only fifteen pages long, but the title caught Natsu's eye.
'Whoa, a book on Dragon Slaying magic.' Said Natsu in awe, as he picked up the small book and opened it. Hisui squinted at the characters in confusion, before glancing at Natsu who was looking at it intently.
'Can you read this book, Natsu?' Questioned Hisui.
'Hmm, yeah, why, can't you?' Replied Natsu, received a shake of the head from Hisui.
'I can't, the characters all look strange to me.' Confessed Hisui.
'That's weird… how come I can read it then?' Asked Natsu thoughtfully.
'It could be due to the fact that you are a Dragon Slayer.' Suggested Hisui, to which Natsu nodded.
'Yeah, that must be it.' Said Natsu, before realising something.
'Well, since you can't read it, I can tell you that it is about Dragon Slaying techniques.' Said Natsu, as he flicked to the fourth page.
'This is a page of Fire Dragon Slaying techniques.' Said Natsu.
Hisui merely nodded, trusting Natsu, as she couldn't read it herself.
'I see.' Said Hisui, before glancing at the largest book and opening it.
Natsu watched Hisui for a moment and noticed that she was able to read her current book. With this is mind, Natsu turned his attention back to his.
Happy hopped off Natsu's head and looked at the two, who were now reading quietly and decided to read the third book they had found.
The trio sat there for over an hour, reading through their respective books. Natsu, had finished his book first, reading the information on Fire Dragon Slaying magic initially, before looking at the information on the other types of Dragon Slaying magic.
Fifteen minutes later, Happy finished his book as well and handed it to Natsu, before walking over to Hisui and reading her book with her.
Half an hour later, both Hisui and Natsu finished their current book and looked at each other.
'Wow, that book was quite the read.' Said Hisui, as she closed the large tome.
'I'll say, the one which had techniques was really interesting and the other one on the Dragon King Festival got me thinking about something.' Said Natsu.
'What is it? The Dragon King Festival was also mentioned in this book, but not in great depth.' Asked Hisui carefully.
'Well, it seems to talk about the festival relating to demons, dragons and mages all fighting each other… but in the picture of the painting, showing the events of the Dragon King Festival, there is only a person and a dragon… so where is the demon?' Asked Natsu in confusion, as he gave the book to Hisui, open to the picture in question.
Hisui studied the picture for a moment, before furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance.
'You're right. I wonder what that means. Does it mean to say that dragons are also demons? Or, that mages are in fact the demons… I can see why that caught your attention.' Said Hisui.
'Yeah, what about your book though, anything interesting? It looks pretty long.' Asked Natsu.
'It talks all about the history of the dragons. It even explains how Dragon Slayers came to be; however, the most troubling part is about Acnologia.' Said Hisui.
'Yeah, he was in this book too. A Dragon Slayer that transformed into an actual dragon from overusing his magic, killing all dragons indiscriminately, good, and bad.' Said Natsu, with a frown.
'Do you think that might happen to you?' Asked Hisui.
'I don't think so. I mean, if he was fighting in a dragon civil war, he would need to fight all the time and use really powerful techniques often. I don't use my magic anywhere near as much as that, and I've still never needed to use any of my really destructive techniques to this day.' Said Natsu.
'Well, that is a fair point I suppose, moreover, perhaps you need to actually kill dragons, to trigger the transformation.' Hypothesised the Princess.
Her Dragon Slayer friend nodded his head in agreement.
'Just imagine though Natsu, if you had wings, you could fly like me.' Said Happy in excitement.
'Yeah, that would be pretty cool.' Said Natsu in agreement, giving a small nod, to the excited flying cat.
'What would you like to do now?' Asked Hisui.
Natsu hummed in thought for a moment, stroking his jaw.
'Well, I would like to go out looking for Igneel sometime, maybe go see a guild or something.' Said Natsu, getting Hisui to smile sadly.
'That being said, I wouldn't mind sticking around for a while as well.' Said Natsu, which caused Hisui to perk up.
'I could show you the gardens.' Suggested Hisui.
'Hmm, is there something to eat there?' Asked Natsu curiously.
'No, but it really is a sight to see, we can go now if you want?' Offered Hisui.
'Well, what do you think, Happy?' Asked Natsu.
'Aye.' Said Happy, raising a paw in the air, before his wings popped out of his back and he flew up to Natsu's head, before settling on his short, spiky hair.
'Okay, we'll go just after I put these books back.' Said Hisui, as she stood and collected the three books and put them back on their shelves, before gesturing for Natsu to follow her.
Hisui led Natsu through the many corridors of the castle with practised ease, following a path she had obviously taken many times before. Eventually, the trio reached a small garden, filled with pink, yellow and white, with a few other colours sprinkled in.
'This is my favourite garden in the palace. It is one of the smallest, but it has one of my favourite flowers.' Explained Hisui.
'Hey Natsu, those ones look like your hair.' Said Happy, hoping off Natsu's head and walking over to a small set of flowers.
'These are chrysanthemum, we have some in every garden and use a symbol of them for our official seal.' Explained Hisui.
'What about those?' Asked Natsu, pointing to a small group of white flowers.
'Those are also chrysanthemum.' Said Hisui.
'Eh? They're white though, didn't you say those were chrysanthemum before?' Asked Natsu, pointing to the flowers in question.
'Actually, all of the flowers here are different types of chrysanthemums. They're my favourite.' Said Hisui, with a smile.
'Wow, all of these are the same type of flower.' Said Natsu, as his eyes darted around and looked at the various plants.
'Hmm, those are interesting.' Said Natsu, as he spotted a small section on its own and walked over to it.
'Look Happy, these ones are green.' Said Natsu in surprise.
'Look Natsu, I found blue ones like me.' Said Happy in response.
'Yes, green chrysanthemum are rather rare. We only have them in this garden as well.' Hisui informed Natsu.
Natsu squinted at them for a moment, before glancing at Hisui, then back to the flowers, causing Hisui to look at him funnily.
'What is it?' Asked Hisui pleasantly.
'They're not the same.' Said Natsu simply, confusing Hisui.
'Not the same as what?' Asked Hisui curiously.
'You, their colour is duller.' Said Natsu simply, as he looked at Hisui with a focused gaze.
'How can you tell that? I think they are very similar.' Hisui said questioningly.
'Your hair and eyes have a richer colour, more like the forest, these are paler.' Explained Natsu.
'How can you discern that?' Asked Hisui in wonder.
'Must be my eyes, I guess being a Dragon Slayer helps me see things better and these flowers can't match you, Hisui.' Said Natsu cheerfully, as he scratched the back of his head.
Hisui smiled, blushing slightly, as she looked away.
'Thank you Natsu.' Said Hisui.
Natsu just grinned, before Happy walked over.
'Hey, what are you guys talking about?' Asked Happy curiously.
'Just about those green flowers and how they don't match Hisui.' Said Natsu, pointing to the flowers in question.
'Eh? What do you mean Natsu? They look the same.' Said Happy, glancing between the Princess and the flowers.
'No they don't.' Said Natsu.
'Look Natsu, they're green just like Hisui.' Said Happy.
'They are a different green though.' Rebutted Natsu.
Happy gave him a look of bewilderment.
'What do you mean? Green is green.' Said Happy naively.
'Well, I guess you can't see it, but I do.' Said Natsu happily.
'Ne, Hisui, what do you think?' Asked Happy curiously.
'Well, I think they are the same as well. However, if Natsu says they are different, I'll believe him. I trust him after all.' Said Hisui, with a soft smile.
'See Happy.' Said Natsu.
'I dunno…' Said Happy unsurely.
Natsu bent down and plucked one of the flowers, before placing it behind Hisui's ear.
'See Happy, completely different.' Said Natsu triumphantly.
'Natsu, they look the same.' Said Happy, with a deadpan expression.
'Nope, Hisui looks much better than the flower.' Countered Natsu, causing Hisui to blush once again.
'Hmm, if you say so… I still say they are the same colour… maybe you're talking about something other than colour.' Said Happy thoughtfully.
'Well of course Hisui is better than the flower, but the flower's colour pales in comparison to her.' Said Natsu.
'Whatever.' Said Happy, with a shrug, before his wings appeared and he floated to the top of Natsu's head.
'Where would you like to go now?' Asked Hisui curiously, before receiving her answer in the form of two grumbles.
'Food.' Whined both Natsu and Happy, to which Hisui giggled in amusement.