The next day, I stand up. I'm shaky, and Gray has gotten me a cane, but I can walk around and everything. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a brother who cares for me, and people who I can speak with at this huge guild. But Gray…I have to ask him about what happened to our parents. I half-walk half-hobble over to him.

"Nii-chan?" I say softly.

"Yeah? What's up?" he asks.

"What happened to our parents?"

He looks down, seemingly unable to answer.

"They were killed by Deliora. Their bodies were destroyed," he whispers, a waver in his voice just barely detectable. I look at him wide-eyed, then hide my face behind my bangs.

*Flashback*

"Mamma! Mamma! There's a frog in my room!" a younger version of myself shrieked. She sighed from behind her novel.

"Okay, Ange. Show mamma where it is." I tugged her into the modest corner of the basement that I called my room.

"There, Mamma!" I whisper, thinking that a loud voice would make it move.

"Oh, Angel. It's just a toy. Maybe it was a present from Caleb or one of the help," she said tiredly. I exaggerate wiping sweat off my forehead. She smiled. "Can you play some soft piano for me? I'm getting a headache."

"Okay!" I smile brightly.

*End Flashback*

Ms. Tachibana, as I was meant to call her as soon as I could do simple math and reading, and I definitely had a…rough relationship. However, we had our moments. Moments when we actually might have been family; when she decided to accept that maybe, for once, I could actually be her daughter. Those moments made all the bad ones worth it.

One single tear slips down my face.

I never really knew my father; our father. I met him at a funeral. He said nothing to me, just laid a hand on my head, draped a blanket over my shoulders and a lantern in my hand, set his own lantern free, then walked away with little Gray.

That one act of kindness. That was all it took. I had accepted him as a father, but I had wished that he could've known that I was his daughter.

A sob slips through my teeth as more tears soak my cheeks.

I really have no family. No family except Gray. Gray, who I only knew through another. Does he even know the real me? Do I even know the real him? He is my only family.

My body shudders with a sob.

I must protect him because he is my only family, and I am his only family. I won't let him die like the rest.

I toss my cane away and throw myself into the arms of my living brother. He hugs me as tight as I hug him, and I come to realize something about family. Who cares if I don't know anything about him? I couldn't care less if he had killed someone. He is my living brother. Nothing else matters. No matter what, I'll always be by his side, because I love him.

I don't know how long it is before we break away, but we both go to the guild without a word. It is then when I meet the people whom I hope will be my family.

When we arrive at the guild, I see Erza and the white-haired kids, and Master Makarov, as I am now to call him.

"Hey! Gray! Who's the cutie?" someone shouts. Gray looks in the man's direction.

"My sister," he shouts back. He turns to me. "Listen. The people here are hard to deal with. Are you sure you want to be here?"

I nod. "I have nowhere else to go. Why not be here a while?"

He thinks it over, then nods.

"Okay. Just don't strain yourself. I don't want you hurt again." Again? Was I hurt before; affected by something other than the mind? Could the body even feel pain or get sick without the mind consciously active?

I smile at my brother, releasing him from having to speak with me further. He runs off to be with the second eldest of the three Takeover mages.

I sit at one of the few tables still empty this early in the day. A pink-haired boy sits down with me.

"The stripper said you're his sister. Are you?" he asks loudly. I recoil. Someone is speaking to me?

I look down. "Yes," I say softly.

He inspects me. "Are you okay?" he asks.

Who is this boy? He is strange to me. He speaks without being asked to. He speaks with a voice of sincerity and honesty that I have hardly known before. Could a voice like this possibly exist?

"I'm fine." A phrase I have known to say when the opposite is true.

The boy smiles.

"I'm Natsu. What's your name?" he asks brightly, holding out his hand.

"Tachibana," I reply quietly, taking his sticky hand, and letting go as soon as possible, wiping my hand only when he has left.

Is everyone here like this? This boy, Natsu, spoke to me, like I was not who I am. Why would he bother speaking to me? Maybe he is merely kind. Kindness is something that I, at least, have always craved to feel. Growing up with my mother made my heart cold, I know. I don't know if I could ever let anyone in again, excepting my brother.

After all, you cannot be taught to love.

Names and faces fly over my head. The few I remember are the few who first introduced themselves to me. Several times I have to remind myself that I am no longer heiress to my mother's fortune. It's all gone, and I do not need to address these people stiffly. It is, however, how I was raised. Can I really abandon that?

I think I doze off at one point, but no one said anything. I was ready to go; it was getting dark. Luckily Gray suggested we leave, as I am still not fully recovered. I heard through the guildmates (who were more than willing to tell me the mischief Gray has gotten into and about his quarrels with Natsu) that he usually stayed later. He cares that much?

We walk home. No, we walk house. Home is where the heart is, and I don't know where I am.

"So..." Gray says.

"Where did your clothes go?" I ask before he can demean me.

"Ah shit!" he yells. He sprints back to the guild.

I look back at him, eyes wide. But then I smile. And then laugh. When was the last time I laughed?

Yes, I will be happier now.

Hey guys! Been a while, huh?

Really sorry about this. If you're upset or something, or even if you're not, please refer to my profile thingy.

I feel awful.

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This is a small story right now, and I love everyone who follows, favorites, and reviews.

I will push forward.

Highest regards~

Angelheat