Chapter 4

One of a Kind

Later that evening…

After Alu and Ash had gone through about six or so sparing rounds, they noticed that the sun had begun to set. This reminded the two of them that they had to return home before their parents came to find them. After saying good-bye, and after Ash gathered up his shirt, the two friends parted ways. Ash returned to the city of Magnolia since his home was in an apartment building in one of the districts, and Alu headed to the outskirts of the city.

Of course, Alu wasn't really in any hurry to get home. She purposely dragged her feet and kept her gaze down the whole time. She knew her parents were probably home by now, and that they were waiting for her to return. No doubt they were still angry with her about her little stunt today, and were going to lecture her about it some more. She really didn't want have to deal with that.

Heck, she didn't want to have to deal with her parents at all!

About an hour later, she was walking past the sign that signified that this was the Dragneel's house. Alu briefly cast her gaze on it. She randomly remembered how the sign outside once said that this was Natsu and Happy house. Of course, that changed shortly before she was born.

After Natsu and Lucy had married, the couple decided that Lucy would move into Natsu and Happy's house after the lease on her apartment was up. For a while, it was just a small, cozy little house. It was right for a newly-wed couple just starting out.

The house had another section added onto it when it was clear that the little family was going to get bigger. That happened after Lucy became pregnant with Alu. During that time, Natsu and some other members of the Fairy Tail guild built on the second section. From what Alu had been told, it was completed just two weeks before she was born.

At the same time, the old sign was replaced with another sign that said the house was the home of the Dragneel Family. Alu didn't know what happened to the old one, but knowing her father, he probably stashed it away somewhere since he most likely felt like it had some significant value to it. Natsu was always one to keep items that he felt had special memories attached to them. There was a whole wall in the house that was plastered with past job requests he had taken with Lucy and Happy in the past, as well as a collection of souvenirs he had gathered from those missions.

Alu walked up the steps that led up to her house. As she reached the final one, a familiar voice said,

"Nice timing, your mom's makin' dinner. Care to tell me where you've been?"

Alu stopped and looked up dryly to see her father sitting cross-legged on a rocky ledge just above her head.

Had he been sitting up there that whole time just waiting for her? Wouldn't surprise Alu if he had.

Natsu looked down at her with the same expression he had given her earlier that day. He wasn't mad at her, but he certainly showed that still he wasn't too pleased with her previous actions.

Alu glared at her father for only a moment before turning away and walking up to the house.

"So now you're giving me the silent treatment?" Natsu asked sarcastically.

"No," Alu replied sharply, not looking back, "I just don't have anything to say. And I don't want to end the day on another lecture. I already got an ear-and-a-half-full from Erza and Mom today."

"Well, you kind of asked for it." Natsu pointed out.

"Hmph."

Before Alu could take another step, Natsu got up, leapt down off the ledge and walked up to her. When she heard him coming, she stopped and turned her head around. At the same time, Natsu reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder. It wasn't in a forceful manner, just enough to get her attention.

"Hey," he said, "let's go for a walk."

That made Alu pause for a moment.

"I thought you said Mom was making dinner?" she said.

"It's one of her complicated recipes." Natsu replied, grinning. "You know how long it takes her to make one of those."

Alu couldn't help but give a small smirk.

"Besides," Natsu's voice changed to a sincerer tone, "we won't go far. I just want to tell you something. And I promise that it won't be another lecture."

Alu narrowed her eyes suspiciously at that remark. If her father didn't want to lecture her on her actions today, then what was it that he wanted to tell her?

"Oh, alright," Alu said with a heavy exhale. "Might as well."

Together, father and daughter walked about half a mile away from the house before coming to a hill. They both stopped and sat down to look out over the landscape that stretched before them. The sun was already setting on the western horizon, tinting everything in rich red, orange, and yellow colors. Its warm rays shone down on Alu's face, and seeped into her skin, giving her a sense of empowerment.

Since the sun was another form of fire, and fire was part of Alu's Magic, it always made her feel strong. Just feeling its light, even on the hottest days, gave Alu courage and a sense of power.

"So," Natsu said, interrupting Alu's thoughts, "I guess you're wondering why I brought you out here."

Alu looked over at her father for a moment before looking away.

"I've got a hunch," she said plainly.

Natsu looked over at his daughter for a moment, and she turned her head away. Clearly, she was trying to avoid eye-contact with him. He closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment. He then looked back to the setting sun.

"I don't know how to say this lightly," he said honestly, "but I overheard what that wizard said to you today when he captured you."

Alu jolted up with shocked eyes when she heard that. At the same time, those hurtful words from before stormed into her mind.

"You're Fairy Tail's Weak Link. It's a shame. You're the daughter of two S-Class wizards of Fairy Tail, yet your strength pales in comparison to theirs. How misfortunate they were to produce such a weak offspring like you."

Alu scowled hard, baring her teeth. Down at her sides, her fists clenched so hard that she tore up handfuls of the grass underneath.

That was a clear sign to Natsu that he had struck a nerve in his daughter. He grimaced when he saw that. He really didn't want to make her angry, but it really couldn't be helped either.

"I know what he said was hurtful," he went on to say, "but it was also a lie."

"That so?!" Alu replied hotly. "I don't see how it was! Me running out of power and you having to save my butt didn't prove that guy wrong, did it?! That was rather "misfortunate", wasn't it?! If that's what you got to tell me then I'm out of here!"

Alu got up indignantly and was about to walk away when Natsu hastily got to his feet and grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to turn around to face him as he did. He then grabbed both of her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. With the sunlight behind him, this effect gave him a very commanding appearance.

"Alu, listen to me." Natsu's voice was low and honest. "Don't think for one moment that your mom and I consider you a misfortune in anyway. That's a flat out lie."

Alu just stood where she was, feeling a strange and unnerving kind of vibe as her father spoke to her. It wasn't like he was angry or yelling at her, but just the way he was presenting his speech made feel like she had a hole in her stomach. It was almost impossible for her to even think of looking away now.

Her eyes staring intensely back into his was enough to tell Natsu that he had gotten her full attention.

"You're our daughter and we love you for who you are," he continued. "You know that, right?"

Alu frowned and cast her gaze down at the space between their feet.

"Mm-hmm," she said softly. Although it was obvious that she wasn't completely convinced.

Natsu then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his daughter, hugging her close to him. Alu tensed for a second, as the gesture was unexpected. However, after feeling the strength and protection of his embrace, she let herself to relax. Part of her wanted to hug her father back, but her arms felt too heavy to perform the action. Instead, she let them hang at her sides.

"That's not all I wanted to tell you." Natsu said, placing a hand behind Alu's head. "I wanted to tell you that you're more special than you think."

Alu's eyelids drooped as her father continued.

"You're the only Dragon Slayer to have been born with that Magic," he said. "Gajeel, Wendy and I were all trained by Dragons; Laxus had a Dragon Lacrima implanted inside of him; and Sting and Rogue from Sabertooth were trained by Dragons as well as having Dragon Lacrimas implanted in them. You're the only one of us who has been born with Dragon Slayer Magic, which makes you one of a kind. That is something you should be proud of."

Alu bit her lip to hold back her rising emotion and closed her eyes. A large part of her wanted to believe the words her father was telling her. She really wanted to believe all of it. But she couldn't help but feel as if something was still missing. She was proud of having been born with Dragon Slayer magic, she really was. She wanted to tell her father that, but the words couldn't seem to get past her thoughts.

It just…it didn't feel like that was enough.

But Natsu meant well and she knew that. So, she kept her mouth closed. Instead, she just cherished the warmth of his fatherly embrace. Even though she couldn't find the will to raise her arms and hug him back, she didn't reject his.

Even if she never admitted it, Alu loved being hugged by her father. It always made her feel safe, like nothing bad could happen to her.

After a moment or two, a little voice called out from above.

"Hey, Natsu! Lucy's got supper ready and on the table!"

Natsu let go of his daughter and looked up to see Happy hovering just above them. Alu did the same when she heard the little Exceed.

"She sent me to get you guys." Happy explained. "We better hurry and get it while it's hot."

"Sure thing, buddy." Natsu nodded. "C'mon, Alu."

"Okay," the girl replied dryly.

As they all walked back to the house, Natsu and Happy trailed behind a little bit while Alu continued on at a steady pace. The reason for this was so that the two friends could talk in private. Since their conversation was about Alu, they didn't want her to overhear it.

"Looks like Alu's calmed down a bit." Happy whispered. "You must've said something right to her."

"Heh," Natsu smirked, "just make sure you don't let it slip that you were the one who told me and Lucy about her little excursion today. You saw how angry she was when she thought it was Ur who told us. But you and Alu live under the same roof. And you know she can be fierce when she's angry."

Happy gave a nervous smile. He certainly knew how scary Alu could be when she was significantly enraged. She was basically a pink-haired Lucy when the Celestial Wizard was younger. The only difference was that Alu had Fire Dragon Slayer Magic at her disposal, which made her all the more terrifying.

"Anyway," Natsu's voice changed to more serious, "let's just drop the subject for tonight. The less we talk about it the better. So don't say a word about it, okay?"

"Aye." Happy replied with a nod.

Later that night…

After a quiet dinner of cooked fish, baked bread, and bowtie pasta – along with one stick of fire from the fireplace for each of the Fire Dragon Slayers as dessert – Alu went to her room and stayed there for the rest of the night.

Sitting on her bed in the dark, with only the radiance of the moon coming in through the window as her only source of light, Alu looked down at her hands with a sad expression. In each of her hands were all of the Celestial Keys she had in her possession. Four of them were the Golden Keys of the Zodiac, and three of them were Silver Keys.

The Gold Keys consisted of Aries, Cancer, Gemini, and Capricorn. The Silver Keys were of Nikora, Pyxis, and Caelum.

Alu didn't have any immediate plans to use them at the moment; she just wanted to stare at them. For some reason, they always gave her a sense of comfort. It was like they were symbols to remind her that she was never alone.

Still, even looking at them wasn't easing her mind very much.

She was harkening back to what her father said to her earlier. Just something he said kept repeating over and over in her mind like a broken record.

"You're the only one of us who has been born with Dragon Slayer Magic, which makes you one of a kind. That is something you should be proud of."

"One of a kind, huh?" she mumbled to herself. "Just because I'm born with Dragon Slayer Magic. Yet…I can't hold a candle to the other Dragon Slayers, let alone Celestial Wizards. What if Dad's wrong about me? What if…I really am just some weak link?"

Just considering that horrible possibility was enough to make tears well up in Alu's eyes. When she felt them threatening to stream down her cheeks, the girl gently placed her precious keys down on the bed and covered her eyes with one hand.

She took several deep breaths as she forced herself not to cry. In her mind, strong people never cried, whether they were alone or not.

Alu then lifted her face out of her hand and sat still for a moment. She then swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got off of it. She walked over to her desk and turned on a small lamp. She sat down in the chair and opened a small drawer that contained a white box. Alu took out the box and opened the lid.

Inside the container was a big collection of beautiful seashells of different sizes. They were shells that Alu had collected whenever she went to the beach with her family or the whole guild. At some point in the trip, Alu would sneak away to shell hunt in secret. She didn't know why, she just loved to collect seashells.

And she liked to do something else with them. Inside the box was also a store of thin black string, clasps, scissors, and a tiny drilling tool.

For the next hour, Alu worked quietly on making some seashell necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. Pretty soon, she had at least six more pieces that she could add to her collection.

For some reason, making jewelry out of seashells calmed Alu down in a very curious way. She might not have been into girly things like jewelry, but she did like making little accessories like out of seashells.

Of course, this was a secret that no one was going to know about, not even her parents. No one needed to know about this hobby anyway.

And if nothing else, it did help soothe her thoughts. At least she didn't feel like crying anymore.

But still, Alu couldn't help but feel just a twinge of misery still lingering in her mind.