Ok, so with Uni kicking off, I can now make an accurate assessment on how much I can write. Given the massive amount of contact hours and the insane workload, I can really only write a little bit on the weekend. Given how I can get out about 3-5K words in the amount of time available to me, including time needed for proofreading, I should be able to update two or three times a month. I say two or three instead of four, because this week had no content in it and I figure since this week we will start getting actual material for Med, I may not be able to write at all on certain weekends. Basically, I'm keeping my expectations low. Two or three updates should be my minimum, but if I'm lucky, I might be able to get out four a month.
I'd also like to thank my latest patron for their support. Once again… ah, wait a minute, I never explained the situation on this story…
I've set up a pat reon, so people can support me. This serves the purpose of allowing me to be able to write, instead of getting a part time job, to pay for the costs of Med, which would cut into my writing time. There is a better explanatory note on my pat reon page, the link for which is on my profile page (or you can just google SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan pat reon) but basically, the more support I get, the more I can write. I also wrote a chapter for this story in particular, as my newest patron particularly wanted this story updated.
As far as other writing I did this weekend, I almost finished the next chapter for TTONU, so that will no doubt be the update for next week (or the week after, if this week is particularly heavy).
Now, back to this story, I added Wendy and Chelia to the poll for the harem. I gave it a bit of thought, and both would work. That being said, Wendy will not get frozen in Fairy Sphere, so she will age and mature appropriately. Also, for those of you thinking that is a bit weird, she is only five years younger than Natsu, which isn't that much. That being said, she is technically way older, if you are up to date with the manga…
Well, that's all for now, 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 3 – A Girl Named Meredy
Natsu and Happy had spent the next few weeks exploring the castle with Hisui, who was more than happy to show them around. However, as Natsu started to become accustomed to his new surroundings, a mysterious letter, addressed to him and him alone, suddenly arrived. It was a plain letter, with the only word written on it being Natsu's name, written in simple black ink. The king had examined the letter and didn't find anything strange about it, so he decided to give it to Natsu. He didn't know the contents of the letter though, although, even if he did, he wouldn't have understood it. Toma made his way to Natsu and Hisui, who were once again, in the garden of Chrysanthemums. Toma smile as he saw the two sitting there in comfortable silence.
Before Natsu's arrival, Hisui had been a very kind and polite girl, but she had been terribly shy as well. However, now, it seemed some of Natsu's natural exuberance had rubbed off on her and she happily greeted everyone whose path they crossed. Whereas before she could only give a polite nod and a smile, she was now familiar with almost half the castle and had many conversations, with those who roamed the same hallways as her.
Happy had also taken well to life in the castle, frequently letting his gluttony get the best of him. It amused the king more than anything. They weren't exactly short of money and it still amused Toma that such a tiny creature, could consume more than its entire weight in fish.
'Natsu, a letter has come for you.' Announced Toma, surprising Hisui and getting Natsu's attention.
'A letter? For me? I don't know anyone outside the castle though.' Said Natsu in confusion.
'And why are you the one bringing the letter father? Surely someone else could have. You didn't need to trouble yourself.' Added Hisui.
'I am surprised myself my boy, but it really is addressed to you, see for yourself.' Said Toma, handing Natsu the letter.
'As for why I brought the letter myself, I wanted to see a certain someone, who seems to enjoy spending time with her new friend, more than anything else.' Said Toma cheerfully, causing Hisui to look away bashfully.
'Sorry, I didn't mea-' Started Hisui, only for Toma to interrupt her, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
'Hisui, I'm not upset, in fact, I'm glad that you're happy. At the end of the day, as long as you are happy, so am I.' Said Toma kindly.
'I'm Happy too.' Added Happy, getting Toma to laugh.
The three all shared a small laugh, but it wasn't until they stopped, that they remembered there was a fourth person with them.
'Natsu, what is it?' Asked Hisui, seeing Natsu staring intently at the letter.
'This letter… it is telling me spots where Igneel might be. I don't know how though. Also, these places aren't even near each other… but the letter says that if I go to these places, I have a good chance of finding Igneel.' Said a stunned Natsu.
'Hmm, that's awfully convenient, are you sure you can trust this letter?' Asked Toma.
'I think…' Said Natsu uncertainly.
Happy then hopped onto Natsu's right shoulder and looked at the letter.
'Ne, Natsu, why does the letter look like a bunch of scribbles?' Asked Happy curiously.
'Wh-what do you mean, Happy?' Asked Natsu in surprise.
Hisui then approached Natsu from his left and looked at the letter as well.
'Natsu, I can't read it either. It is just like that book from the library, only you can read it.' Said Hisui, confirming Happy's observation.
Natsu was silent at this for a moment and furrowed his brows, giving the letter a quick read through again.
'I-I think I should go to these places then. If it is written so that only I can understand it, it must mean that it was written by someone with a connection to dragons… this is too much of an opportunity to pass up.' Said Natsu seriously.
'Hmm, you do make a compelling argument Natsu. Would you like any help getting to the places you need to visit?' Asked Toma.
'Nah, I'll be fine on foot, the letter also says it would be better for me to go on foot as well and try not to attract too much attention.' Said Natsu, shaking his head in a polite refusal.
'I see. When do you believe you will set off then?' Asked Toma, with Hisui listening very carefully.
'The letter says I should leave an hour after dusk, so no one sees me leave. Since no one ever saw me come to the castle, it makes sense that no one should see me leave either.' Said Natsu calmly.
'Very well, I'll make the arrangements for you to be able to leave unhindered and unnoticed. I only hope your search yields what you are searching for.' Said Toma.
Natsu smiled at the man, before noticing Hisui frowning off to his right.
'Don't worry Hisui, I'll be back before you know it. Happy would never let me hear the end of it, if we don't come back for fish.' Said Natsu cheerfully.
Hisui was momentarily startled by Natsu noticing her mood, before smiling upon hearing Natsu's words.
'I'm glad.' Said Hisui happily.
'Remember Natsu, you'll always be welcome here.' Added Toma.
'Thanks.' Said Natsu, giving a toothy grin.
Toma excused himself after that and headed back into the castle, leaving the trio of younglings behind.
Natsu noticed Hisui had stopped smiling and seemed sad, despite what had just been said.
'Hisui.' Said Natsu, getting Hisui to look at him again.
'Let's make a deal.' Said Natsu, confusing Hisui.
'Every time I go out to search for Igneel, I'll promise to come back to you, if you do one thing for me.' Said Natsu, confusing Hisui.
'What is it?' Asked Hisui curiously.
'I'll come back, just as long as you promise to give me a smile when I leave and a smile when I come back. Sound fair?' Said Natsu.
Hisui blinked in surprise for a minute, before a smile slowly spread across her face.
'Okay.' Said Hisui softly.
-line break-
Under the cover of dusk, a Dragon Slayer and his blue furred companion left the castle silently. The boy's green shirt camouflaged him well amongst the various plants and it only took the pair ten minutes to exit Mercurius. After they had safely gotten out of view of the castle and started to near the edge of Crocus, Natsu slowed down to a comfortable walk.
'Natsu, where are we going now?' Asked Happy quietly, from atop Natsu's head.
'Apparently, a town really far north of here. There was no name given, but the letter said it should smell like charcoal, so I'll find it eventually I guess.' Said Natsu softly.
'Why would a town smell like charcoal though? Do they do a lot of cooking?' Asked Happy in curiosity.
'Maybe… maybe they do a lot of roasting or something. Like grilled meat, or grilled fish.' Said Natsu, drifting off towards the end, as he started to salivate.
'Natsu, now you made me hungry.' Whined Happy cutely.
'Ah, sorry about that buddy, we can't stop now though… I'll make sure to get you some fish soon though.' Said Natsu, to which Happy started to drool.
'Faster Natsu, faster.' Cheered Happy quietly.
'Yeah, faster.' Muttered Natsu, picking up speed.
-line break-
The days passed slowly for the duo. Natsu walked at a steady pace, and they only stopped to catch some food along the way taking a few short naps here and there. Natsu was still a little uncomfortable listening to a letter that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, written in a language that only he could read, but any chance to find Igneel was a chance he couldn't pass up, no matter how slim it may be.
The further the duo travelled, the more the landscape changed. Immediately around Crocus, there had been mountains and rocky terrain, coupled with numerous exotic plants, all of which were flourishing. The further north they got though, the more the landscape became barren. First the trees had started to shrink and become slightly withered, followed by fewer and fewer water sources. Luckily, the animals were still plentiful, meaning Natsu and Happy didn't go hungry, but more aggressive animals were beginning to emerge. Only yesterday, Natsu had spotted a Forest Vulcan. Natsu had decided to sneak by, rather than confront the creature, as the letter had stated that Natsu would want to be as stealthy as possible, when approaching each place listed in the map.
It was now late in the afternoon and Natsu's nose had finally started to pick up the scent of charcoal, however, it smelt very fresh and was mixed with other smells.
'Happy, I think we are almost there, be careful and quiet. It might be Igneel… but I'm actually getting a bad feeling about this… make sure you stick with me.' Said Natsu, to his companion, who gave a soft aye of agreement.
Natsu locked on to the scent and started to run in its direction, his feet barely making any sound at all against the ground, in the soft brown shoes he had gotten from the castle, along with his green shirt and tan shorts, with light blue trim. Eventually, Natsu realised where the smell of charcoal was coming from and as he neared the smell, he suppressed a small gag, as he picked up another scent.
"Burnt hair and clothing… and blood. This can't be Igneel, but who could do this?" Thought Natsu in anger.
Natsu climbed over a small cliff and finally saw the source of the smell. It was a town all right, a town that smelt like charcoal, just as the letter had said. A town that was in ruins and on fire. A town from which Natsu could hear faint cries of panic and fear. A town from which Natsu could hear crying. A town from which Natsu could hear very faint maniacal laughter.
Natsu dropped all pretence of stealth at this point and charged down the hill at full speed, his scarf waving behind him wildly, with Happy gripping on to his hair for dear life. Natsu quickly passed through the crumbling wooden structures, which marked the entrance of the town and tried to locate any nearby people. Natsu ran through the town, desperately searching for survivors, but there was nothing. Dead silence, emphasis on the dead, as it seemed there had been no survivors. Natsu gave a soft growl, before stopping suddenly. Natsu strained his hearing to his absolute limit and heard a very faint sound, the very faint sound of someone crying. Natsu made his way to the sound, this time, being extremely stealthy. If whatever had destroyed this town was still around, Natsu didn't want to meet it. The fire it used felt off to Natsu, almost unnatural, which was also why he didn't try to consume any of it, being nervous about what it might do.
Natsu eventually located the crying, which had been steadily increasing in volume, as Natsu neared it. As Natsu turned around a building, he found the source of the noise, a small girl, with hair that resembled his own. She wore red earmuffs and boots along with a slightly tattered cream button-up shirt and blue shorts. She appeared to have a few scuffs and cuts on her legs and hands, but was otherwise unharmed.
'Shh, be quiet, or whatever did this will find you.' Whispered Natsu, as he approached the girl.
The girl gave a hiccup at this and stopped her wailing, but tears continued to fall from her eyes.
'W-who ar-re you?' Asked the girl fearfully.
'I'm Natsu and I'm here to get you out of here. It's dangerous and we need to leave.' Said Natsu softly.
'Aye and I'm Happy.' Chirped Happy, from atop Natsu's head.
The girl noticed Happy for the first time and looked at him in wonderment.
'Ah, look what we have here, a couple of little kids. Too bad neither of you is going to leave here.' Cackled a new arrival.
Natsu whirled around to locate the sound of the voice and saw a rather strange looking man. He had long and spiky blond hair, which reached down to his lower back, along with red pupils, consisting of several concentric circles. His attire consisted of a yellow and dark blue skirt-like armour, with a red waist ribbon, which exposed the right side of his chest, as well as his right shoulder.
'Don't be so rash Zancrow, these two show a great amount of magic potential.' Said a woman from Zancrow's right.
The woman had a voluptuous figure, which was shown through her choice of attire, a deep purple dress, which showed much of her flawless pale skin. Her hair was a much darker purple and her brown eyes studied the two intensely.
'Doesn't that mean they're dangerous?' Added a nervous man.
The man was very large and wore a large dark robe. His skin was also chalk white and his black hair was very messy.
'Kain, you are a member of the Kin of Purgatory, please try to act like it.' Said the woman tiredly.
'S-sorry.' Stuttered the large man nervously.
'Come on Ultear, that's how Kain is, although, why we are not burning these kids to a crisp right now, is beyond me.' Said Zancrow, as black flames engulfed his hands.
'So you are the ones who destroyed this town! I could feel your magic, those weird flames of yours are all over this place.' Said Natsu, glaring at Zancrow.
'So? What's a little kid like you going to do about it?' Taunted Zancrow.
'I'll stop you!' Declared Natsu strongly.
'Now, now, there is no need to be hasty.' Intervened Ultear.
'Eh, come on Ultear, to get the key, we need to wipe these brats out.' Cackled Zancrow.
'Perhaps, however, they could both be valuable allies to us.' Said Ultear calmly.
'I would never ally with mages, who slaughter innocent people.' Said Natsu firmly.
'There, that's one down, can we finish the job already?' Questioned Zancrow irritably.
Ultear looked at the girl who had been quietly sniffling. The girl noticed Ultear's gaze and moved to hide behind Natsu.
'*sigh* Fine then, do what you want Zancrow.' Said Ultear, turning on her heel and leaving.
Kain gave a quick glance to Natsu and the girl, before looking to Zancrow and quickly following after Ultear.
'Well kid, looks like you're out of luck.' Said Zancrow confidently.
'Happy, get out of here and take her with you. I'll find the two of you after I deal with this guy.' Said Natsu.
Zancrow cackled madly at this.
'You think you can beat me? You've lost your mind kid.' Said Zancrow in amusement.
'Natsu, are you sure you can do this?' Asked Happy nervously.
'Aye sir.' Said Natsu, with a smirk.
Happy smiled at this and reluctantly hopped off Natsu's head, before walking over to the little girl.
'Hi, I'm Happy, what's your name?' Asked Happy cheerfully.
'M-Meredy.' Sniffled the little girl.
'That's a nice name. Meredy, we should go now, Natsu can handle this.' Said Happy brightly.
Meredy looked at Natsu uncertainly, before looking at Happy's bright grin.
'O-okay.' Said the girl, before Happy led her away.
Natsu continued to stare at Zancrow unflinchingly.
'Why'd you let her go away? Especially if you already killed everyone else in this town.' Asked Natsu, with narrowed eyes.
'Hahaha, it doesn't matter if she gets away for now, I'll deal with you in a minute and then track her down easily. No one ever escapes Zancrow, the Flame God Slayer!' Boasted Zancrow, holding his hands out to the side.
'Flame God Slayer! There's no way a God would teach someone like you magic!' Shouted Natsu in outrage.
'Of course not, I learnt this magic on my own.' Said Zancrow mockingly.
'Then you're a fake! I am the Fire Dragon Slayer, and I learnt my magic from a real dragon, Igneel, the king of all Fire Dragons!' Declared Natsu.
'A dragon? Haha, don't you know the basics kid? God trumps dragon every time.' Said Zancrow gleefully.
'Yeah, but you aren't a real God, so I will beat you.' Declared Natsu.
'Is that what you think? Take this then, Flame God's Explosive Flame!' Said Zancrow, as he gathered a ball of black fire in his right hand, before launching it forward.
Natsu hesitated for a moment. Fire couldn't hurt him. Although was it really worth tanking a hit just because of that? When he walked through the town, the flames felt weird to him, so Natsu decided it would be best for him to dodge the attack, which he barely did, diving off to the right, as the flames suddenly expanded and engulfed the area he had been previously, incinerating everything struck by the attack.
Natsu quickly got up and placed both his hands in front of his mouth.
'Fire Dragon's Roar.' Cried Natsu, launching a stream of orange flames at Zancrow.
The insane man further cemented this idea in Natsu's mind, when he let the attack hit him.
As Natsu let up on his attack, he could hear the man laughing, before the laughter suddenly ceased and a slurping sound was heard. Natsu watched in undisguised shock, as his attack was being consumed, right before his very eyes.
'Nice try kid, but God trumps dragon, too bad for you. I can eat your flames, but you can't eat mine.' Said Zancrow.
'Eat this then, Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!' Shouted Natsu, engulfing his right fist in flames and slamming it into Zancrow's mid-section.
Zancrow was pushed back slightly from the attack, but the flames had no effect on him.
'Nice try kid, but it isn't going to work.' Laughed Zancrow, before grabbing Natsu by his wrist and throwing him away.
Zancrow waved his arms in a circular manner, black fire trailing off them, before bringing them together over the centre of his chest, creating a ball of fire, which quickly shifted into a massive scythe of black flames. Zancrow then swung the scythe at Natsu, who was still airborne. Natsu was struck by the attack and felt it burning him. The attack sliced the tops of the buildings to either side of Natsu as well, but Natsu's mind was currently in turmoil.
"It burns… how can it burn? This doesn't make any sense." Thought Natsu, as his back crashed into the ground.
'I'd say you put up a good fight kid, but you really didn't.' Cackled Zancrow, as he approached Natsu's downed form.
Natsu clenched the ground on either side of him, before flattening his hands against the ground and pushed himself up into a seated position.
Zancrow smirked as Natsu slowly made his way to his left knee first, before pushing off it and standing up.
'I'm not done yet.' Panted Natsu.
'Haha, you're more stupid than I thought kid. I'm stronger than you, can eat your flames, and can't be hurt by your attacks, while you're weaker than me, can't eat my flames, and can be hurt by my attacks. You stand no chance.' Mocked Zancrow.
Natsu ignored him and chanted something softly under his breath before shouting.
'Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!' Announced Natsu, as he slammed his two flaming hands together and created a massive ball of fire above his head.
Natsu reared his arms back as the ball quickly expanded in size, easily dwarfing Natsu, before swinging his hands forward, launching the flaming ball at Zancrow.
Zancrow merely laughed as the attack neared him, letting it engulf him completely. Natsu was breathing heavily, his small body was not yet strong enough to sustain him using three of his most powerful attacks in such quick succession, without a source of fire to replenish himself with. Add to that the damage Natsu had taken from Zancrow's flames and Natsu was quite tired now, barely keeping himself upright. As the familiar sound of slurping reached Natsu's ears, he grimaced, seeing his attack being funnelled away, into the mouth of the God Slayer.
'What's the matter kid, tired? Here, why don't I give you a little snack? Flame God's Supper!' Cried Zancrow, grinning manically, before clasping his hands together, which launched a mouth-shaped attack of black flames at Natsu, trapping him within spherically shaped black flames.
Natsu cried out in pain, feeling the flames burn away at him. Natsu shut his eyes tightly and grit his teeth, trying to hold on against the onslaught.
'In less than a minute, you're going to be ash kid, so say your prayers!' Laughed Zancrow.
"No… this can't be the end…" Thought Natsu weakly.
Natsu saw Igneel's scaly back in his mind.
"Igneel… will I really never find you?" Thought Natsu sadly.
Happy suddenly appeared in Natsu's mind, a fish held in his mouth.
"Happy… are we really never going to go fishing again?" Thought Natsu softly.
Hisui's smiling visage popped into Natsu's mind at that point.
"Hisui… the first person who believed me about Igneel… my first human friend… am I really going to never see you again." Thought Natsu uncertainly.
Natsu's eyes suddenly snapped open, glowing with a red hue.
"I will not lose here!" Thought Natsu fiercely, before opening his mouth wide and swallowing the flames currently burning him.
Zancrow's laughter slowly started to die down, as he noticed his attack was getting smaller and smaller. As the attack continued to shrink, he saw the runt inside, who should have been incinerated by now, consuming his attack.
'What the hell is this rubbish?' Shouted Zancrow in shock, watching his attack reduced to only a small sphere, which barely engulfed the young Dragon Slayer, before being sucked away completely.
'Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame God's Blade! Cried Natsu, swiping his arms in a circular fashion, creating a powerful, and highly destructive, torrent of flames, which rushed Zancrow.
The flames themselves though were not Natsu's normal flames, or at least, the flames from his right hand weren't, as they were black, the same flames that Zancrow had been using. The dual orange and black flames swirled around each other, before they slammed into Zancrow. Zancrow couldn't escape the attack. The flames burned the God Slayer, much to his shock. Natsu kept rotating until finally, Zancrow was launched away.
Natsu stood victoriously for a moment, before slumping to his knees, quickly followed by him landing on all fours, barely able to hold himself up. Natsu pulled whatever dregs of energy he had left and made his way to his feet. Natsu then looked around and noticed there was still fire all around him. Deciding that it was worth the risk, Natsu walked over to a section of black flames and inhaled deeply, sucking the black flames into his gaping maw.
Natsu felt himself rejuvenated slightly and took a quick sniff, before stumbling his way towards the scent of Happy and the mysterious girl, who had somehow survived the Flame God Slayer's attack.
-line break-
Ultear and Kain turned around as they heard a body slam into the ground near them. The two turned around and were deeply surprised to see it was Zancrow.
'Do you mean to tell me a little kid beat you, Zancrow?' Questioned Ultear in disbelief.
'Tch, he didn't beat me, he just got a lucky shot in.' Grumbled Zancrow, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.
'Well, in any case, it seems we won't be successful today. Did you manage to get the name of the boy who beat you?' Asked Ultear calmly.
'Natsu, a Dragon Slayer apparently. Nothing special, compared to me at least.' Said Zancrow uncaringly, as he straightened himself and stopped dusting off his clothes.
'Hmm, how interesting. Well, we might as well head back for now.' Said Ultear calmly, before Kain and Zancrow nodded and the three left the burning town behind them.
-line break-
Natsu could feel himself weakening. His body was exhausted and even with the quick snack he had before leaving the town, he had exhausted his reserves of energy and taken a lot of damage. The scent Natsu had been following had stopped, so Natsu knew he was close now. As he passed a few trees, entering into the forest just outside of the village, Natsu finally spotted the source of the scent.
'Happy.' Said Natsu tiredly, causing the blue creature to turn around and face Natsu.
'Natsu, you did it!' Cheered Happy, flying at Natsu and hugging him around the neck.
Natsu raised his left hand and weakly patted Happy's back. Happy then quickly hopped onto Natsu's left shoulder, letting Natsu see the girl they had saved.
'Hi, I'm Natsu.' Said Natsu tiredly.
'Hello, I'm Meredy… thank you for helping me.' Said Meredy shyly.
'Well, I couldn't just let them hurt you… besides, what they did was wrong, and someone needed to stop them.' Said Natsu softly.
'Thank you.' Repeated Meredy.
'Don't mention it, but we should get going, we don't want to stick around here, in case they come looking for us.' Said Natsu, as Happy hopped off his shoulder.
'Aye sir! Follow me then Natsu, I found a great spot to hide and rest for a bit.' Declared Happy.
'Good… Happy… night.' Muttered Natsu, before falling face first, unconscious.