It's from this point on where I'm going to be doing a lot of editing, splicing, cutting, pasting(from my own story), and reworking. So expect new contents and events to show up.
Well, yes, I also intend to attempt to stay with Ichigo's MC characteristics this time, though I do keep wanting to develop it pretty dark for some reason.
Enjoy.
Chapter 3: Ichigo vs. Natsu
Ichigo instantly knew that Natsu was either part of this Fairy Tail or heavily affiliated with it. But man, did he have to cause trouble like this in the middle of the street?
Ichigo only raised his eyebrows but kept his eye lids the same. "Like I should give a damn about it!" Ichigo replied to Natsu, and then instantly regretting how he had let the fight go on by responding to him. "Everyone's weak to me anyway." Oh well.
Natsu growled at Ichigo. "You wanna fight?"
Ichigo scoffed. "I don't fight kids."
And that was true. Natsu looked like 13 at max, and Ichigo was a tall man of early 20's.
"Can you perform magic?"
Ichigo looked at Natsu before he shrugged. "Yeah."
"Then why the hell don't you know about Fairy Tail?!" Natusu went off roaring with fires blasting out of his mouth, literally. "We are THE strongest guild!"
"I was up in the mountains fighting and training under the strongest..." 'Of this world,' he added mentally, not counting himself.
"Oh yeah?! Who?!" Natus growled.
Ichigo looked at the fiery mage, at least that's what Ichigo thought Natsu was, and grinned. "Acnologia ... the Black Dragon."
Natsu froze and stared at Ichigo with wide eyes.
"Y-You're a dragon slayer?"
Acnologia, who was standing right next to Ichigo in her human form, brought her fist back and smashed it into Ichigo's jaw, causing his head to snap sideways. "Gack!"
"You're not supposed to tell anyone that, idiot dragon slayer," she hissed on a whisper level.
"Oh, I'm not?" Ichigo then frowned. Then he turned to Natsu with his usual scowl. "Well ... "
"But you learned its magic, no?" he asked with an arch eyebrow.
"Kinda."
"Kinda? What's that supposed to mean? It's either you learn something or you don't," a new voice said as she interjected.
The traveling pair and the fire dragon slayer turned around to look at an armored woman with a sword at her hips.
"Erza!"
'Oh, the stupid mage that I came across ... before I found this guy,' she thought as she glanced at Ichigo once. 'Heh, good times. I sure beat the crap out of her.' She smirked at the memory.
"So?" Erza asked as she leaned on her left leg. Acnologia grinned. So, the girl was still injured from challenging her. "Did you learn from the black dragon Acnologia or not?"
Ichigo glanced at his partner for a second before sighing and shrugging. "Yeah, few magic here and there. Nothing too fancy in my opinion."
A vein popped up on Acnologia's forehead. She twisted around like the whirlwind and struck out like a eagle at Ichigo, jabbing him in the side.
CRACK
Everyone around them flinched.
"My dad's magic is not WHAT?! It's the most destructive and beautiful magic, you dipshit!" she growled as she looked at Ichigo. She seethed at what Ichigo just talked about her magic her father -the first Acnologia- created.
And then she realized what she just said.
She turned to the crowd around her, most of whom were looking at her with shock on their face.
"What?" she growled, anger slowly coming back to her. Telling her to just wipe out the town and be done with it. It was the easiest solution to pleasing that anger. 'Maybe I should... this was a bad idea anyway-'
"Well, we're both dragon slayers, if that's what you call us," Ichigo said as he sat up and scratched his head. Then he glared at Acnologia that promised pain and suffering.
"You're a dragon slayer, too?!" someone in the crowd shouted, and for some reason, it didn't sound accusing to either of the black dragon/slayer. Acnologia's face lost the frown she didn't know she gained as she stared at the crowd.
"Too?" she asked. "There are more in this town?" she asked.
"I'm a dragon slayer!"
The two turned to face Natsu.
"This shrimp is a dragon slayer?" Acnologia frowned.
"Hey!" Natsu growled. "... Fight me!"
"Please excuse Natsu's behavior," Erza sighed as she grabbed Natsu by the back his jacket. "He loves to fight people who are stronger than him."
"You want a fight, kid?" Ichigo asked as he bent down to Natsu's eye level.
"Hell yeah! I'm going to smash in your face!"
Ichigo scoffed. "Like you can," he said. "Alright, I'll take you on. I want to see what another 'dragon slayer' can do..." he said as he stood back up.
Everyone in the crowd began to back away. "Natsu is fighting again!" a random townswoman shouted.
Erza shrugged as she backed into the crowd as well, but not before she tossed Natsu into the middle of the ring. "Don't cause any damage to the nearby townshouse, or you're going to be paying it out of your own pockets!"
Acnologia looked around before doing the same as the insects (read humans).
Ichigo just stood there as Natsu shot up and stood before him. "You kind of remind me of an idiot I beat up some time ago," Ichigo said as he cracked his neck. "I just hope you don't have the same personality as him."
Natsu grinned. "I just fight to make myself stronger so that I can meet Igneel one day!"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Is he a rival?"
"Igneel is the fire dragon, you idiot!" Acnologia shouted from the sidelines. "It must mean that this boy is a fire dragon slayer! Pretty weak guy if you ask me!"
Ichigo shrugged as he brought out Zangetsu on his back. He walked over to the edge of the crowd opposite of Natsu, and slammed the sword into the cobblestone ground. Then he walked back to the center of the giant human ring, and faced Natsu.
"Why aren't you going to use that sword? It looks pretty strong," Natsu asked.
"If I used it in any manner other than defense, there won't be a whole body left to tend to," the taller of the two dragon slayers replied as he put his hands on his waist. "I'll also give you a free shot at me. Come on."
"Fine with me, just don't hold back against me, or it won't be fun for both of us!" Natsu shouted as he lit up Fire Dragon's Roar around his fists. "Fire Dragon's Claw!" he shouted as he launched himself at Ichigo.
Just as he was about to strike Ichigo in the chest, Natsu twisted on himself, causing the fires to twist as well.
BOOOMMMM.
Natsu grinned as he jumped away from Ichigo after successfully landing his strike. The Fire Dragon's Claw, when landed correctly, is strong enough to cause dragons to tumble backward. 'There's no way I can lose once he let me hit him like that-!' he thought triumphantly, but his own thoughts were cut short when he heard an annoyed sigh.
The fire dragon slayer gulped and turned around just as the white smoke caused by his Fire Dragon's Claw began to dissipate.
There stood Ichigo in the middle of the smoke with a pitying look on his face. "Weak."
"W-What?" Natsu stuttered. Then he growled. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he roared and shot a flame bullet at Ichigo.
Despite the obvious danger level that the Fire Dragon's Roar was, Ichigo once more stood in its path with no thought of removing himself from the path of the attack.
But he did raise his left hand, palms out.
The Fire Dragon's Roar struck the palm ... and cancelled out on the spot.
"S-Sugoi," Erza admitted as she watched Ichigo withstand two of Natsu's dragon slayer magic attacks; even she had to perform some kind of active magic or dodge against those attacks. "... I wonder what kind of training he went through."
Ichigo sighed. "I expected more from a fellow student of a dragon," Ichigo said loudly as he let his left arm drop and allowed his right arm to move up, using his index finger to point at Natsu.
Acnologia flinched even before the spell's name left Ichigo's mouth.
"Bakudo #1," Ichigo began, confusing those present with the foreign language. "Push."
Natsu stood there as nothing happened for a second. He grinned and moved forward for another Claw, only for his stomach to receive an impact sending him skidding across the cobble road. He rolled a bit before he shot back up, but -. 'It hurts!' he thought as his left hand cradled the wounded abs. He looked up and glared at -.
"Huh?" the fire dragon slayer uttered very loudly when he realized that Ichigo was no longer where he used to be.
"Now imagine what happens if I can also move at extreme speed."
Natsu whirled around, ignoring the pained complaint of his abdomen, and he began to sweat.
Ichigo was right behind him. The bastard had travelled such a distance in short time.
And he was pointing that finger against his chest.
"Push."
Natsu's eyes widened as he heard that word. Then another impact struck him in the chest and he was sent flying again. Only this time, Ichigo was right next to him all the way. "Push." Natsu was fired up into the sky, and Ichigo was over him again. "Push." Natsu roared as he was now sent down towards the ground.
"Natsu!" Erza shouted as she jumped forward to catch the pink-head, but Acnologia stood in front of her. "Move!"
"Nuh uh uh, human," Acnologia grinned as she lit her arms up with Black Dragon's Roar. "This is their fight, I ain't letting you save your friend when he obviously called for it."
"But your friend is killing Natsu!" Erza objected as she attempted to jumped over the shorter girl, only for the said girl to grab Erza by her ankle with her Roar enforced hands and throw her back into the crowd.
"Killing?" Acnologia sneered. "The bastard is playing with your friend. No more than that. If he really wanted to kill you, your friend wouldn't even notice his death." She then crouched down as Erza attempted to push through again. "So bring it, girl! See if you can save your friend from his own predicament!"
Natsu thought he was going to crash onto the cobble floor, but just before his face struck the said cobble road, his body stopped.
"E-Eh...?" he muttered as he looked towards the sky.
Ichigo stood in front of him again. This time, he was holding Natsu by his ankle.
"You're weak, Fire Dragon Slayer," Ichigo said as he reached down and pulled Natsu by the collar. He then set Natsu on his own two feet. "I was expecting more, but hey, you're still a kid."
"H-How are you so strong...?" Natsu asked as he wobbled on his own feet. He didn't remember a time when he was so beat. Not even the bar fight that Fairy Tail is famous for never made him become sore this much. He could already tell that the entirety of his body was going to end up bruised.
Ichigo chuckled softly. "If you grow on a battlefield, you grow stronger, whether you want too or not," he said as he ruffled with Natsu's hair. "So I'm going to say the same thing I said to Ac -her when I first met her," Ichigo said as he slightly bent down to Natsu's eye level again. "One." Natsu gulped. "Be kind to strangers." He nodded. "Two. Ethics. Don't go around picking fights. Be more civilized. Sure, it could be part of your training to go and pick fights, but what happens when you pick the fight with wrong people? What are you going to do then?"
Ichigo patted Natsu again with a grin on his face. "Just telling you to stop being so rash and stupid."
Natsu nodded dumbly.
Erza and Acnologia also stopped by this time, just staring at the two males who seemed to have come to a stop.
"Now, is there a good restaurant or a bar? I got plenty of money," Ichigo asked as he stretched his arms. He walked over to Zangetsu and plucked the sword out of the cobblestone road.
"Well, Fairy Tail has a bar," Erza said as she backed off from Acnologia. Now, the crowd was dispersing, seeing as no more fight was going on. "We can take you there... And I'd also like to request a sword spar with you, just to see the level of swordmanship you declare to have."
Ichigo stared at her for a while before shrugging. "Alright. Oh, by the way, does this city have a library? And is there a magic or magic tool that allows me to read fast?"
"Why do you ask?" Erza asked as she led the group towards Fairy Tail guild.
Ichigo scratched his head. "Well, this is my first time in this part of the world," he lied partially, leaving out the part that he had travelled through dimensions and space to get her all because of an asshole of a scientist. 'That reminds me. I have to beat the crap out of him.'
"So how old are you guys?" Ichigo asked as he looked to the two of Fairy Tail's mages just as they turned a corner to the main road of Magnolia City.
"I'm 17," Erza said.
"14!"
"Ehh... You guys are pipsqueaks," Acnologia said with a tone of disappointment.
"Ah-san, don't call them pipsqueaks. It hurts their feelings," Ichigo scolded.
Acnologia looked at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow and a annoyed face. "One, pipsqueaks are meant to be called pipsqueaks. Two, did you just shorten my name to Ah?"
"Yeah, I did. It's better than using your full name," he whispered the last sentence.
Acnologia glared at him for a moment before turning away. "Be that way..."
"Here it is..."
The two of them looked forward, and saw a rather big building in the midst of smaller buildings that made up the Magnolia City.
"Huh," Ichigo said as he looked at its features. The structure itself was made in resemblance to the pyramid, though much more blockier, having only three steps and a crown at the top. It had Asian building features as its roof indicated. But rest of the features, like the wall frame, window design, and entrance, was of European nature. It looked pretty good to Ichigo. "Alright, let's go in."
Makarov watched everyone in the guild with a smile on his face.
It was a normal day in Fairy Tail guild.
Almost everyone was happy.
Almost.
It was Natsu that wasn't happy. He wasn't sad or angry either. He just wasn't happy.
Why?
Because he had been so easily defeated by this new dragon slayer. Sure, the guy looked 6 years older than him, but it doesn't remove the fact from the history that he lost. At first, he had been dumbfounded and still shocked that he lost, physically and mentally. Then he was angry. He was fuming, to be exact; Erza would've made a sushi out of him if he complained too much in a single day.
And now, finally, he was contemplative. He usually did contemplate anything; he just went and smashed them with his fists and magic. But once in a while, he did think.
Why did he get beaten so easily?
Was it his lack of power?
Lack of speed?
Lack of tactics?
"It was lack of durability."
Natsu turned around on his seat to stare at Erza. "Durability?" he asked as he saw Ichigo and the black haired woman talk to Levi about a library.
"Like most mages, your body is weak."
"It ... is?"
Erza nodded. "I think Kurosaki there helped you set your next goal, aside from finding Igneel."
"He did?"
The red haired re-equip mage chuckled. "You can surely train your body so that you can take more hits than you did today."
Natsu grew a tick mark. "Those 'Push'es of his hurt like hell," he groaned. "It wasl ike your gorilla fist-"
SMACK
Natsu's face, say hi to the floor. Floor, say hi to Natsu's face.
Natsu's head, say bye to Erza's fist.
Natsu slowly lifted himself off the wooden floor of the guild before seating back down where he was sitting before Erza knocked him off.
"Training my body, huh?" he muttered.
"So there is a library within your guild?" Ichigo asked with his ever present scowl on his face.
Levi nodded. "There's also a town library not too far from here, but our library has more books, both for entertainment and information," she explained as she drew a quick sketch of two stacks of books. The taller of the two stacks represented the rough estimate of how many books were in Fairy Tail's guild library compared to town library, which was about four time smaller.
"Can I just use it then? Or is there something needed from me?"
"Yeah..." she laughed nervously. "You have to be a guild member."
"...Oh," he said.
Acnologia smacked the back of his head. "It's not a simply 'oh', you idiot!" she hissed. "You're going to be part of this fi-"Ichigo quickly grabbed her and covered her mouth, much to her protest, as evident in her arms and legs swings.
"Okay, I'll join. Along with her. She has no issue with this as well, right?" he asked her.
She just stared at him, horrified by what he was forcing her to do. "Hell naw-!" she shouted once she was free of his hand, only for it to cover her mouth again when she spoke.
"You're gonna stick with me anyway, right?" he asked her, not really caring if anyone was listening. She glared at him. "And I'm going to stay in the guild. You might as well just sign up and take advantage of the time we'll be standing here. Besides, I just heard from Erza about the jobs that a guild offers."
Acnologia still glared at him. It clearly meant 'Fuck you.'
"Yeah, yeah," he said as he let go of her and turned his attention back to Levi. "So how do I sign up?"
Levi smiled. "First, welcome to the guild," she said with a blindingly cute smile. "You can go to the headmaster for the emblem of our guild. He's the short old man sitting at the bar."
"Alright," Ichigo replied as he gave her a wave of hand before heading towards the bar. But on the way to the said bar, something flew across the room and struck the side of his head. There was the sound of solid beer mug dropping to the floor and splashing its contents all over the shinigami and the floor.
For a moment, Ichigo simply stood there as did the rest of those within the guild.
He then turned around, rolling his sleeves up. "Alright, who threw that mug?" he growled with his scowl.
"I did."
Ichigo turned his head around to look at a blonde man on the second floor of the guild.
"Who are you?"
The man grinned. "Laxus Dreyar, an S-rank mage of Fairy Tail. The strongest mage of Fairy Tail, also."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Well, I better pay your highness back for this then," Ichigo said as he picked up the mug on the ground and threw it at Laxus as hard as he can without killing the blondie.
It was too fast for most of those in the guild to see. In fact, only three other people in the guild caught glimpse of the speeding mug before it struck Laxus in the chin.
Laxus stood for a second, his head rolled back with his chin facing up. Then he slowly and surely fell backward, landing on the second floor with a thud.
"Serves you right, cocky asshole," the shinigami grumbled. "You can't even withstand that. I'm sure your guild master could many times."
Makarov Dreyar, the guild master of Fairy Tail, on the other hand, was sweating. The mug looked painful to be struck with in the chin.
He absentmindedly rubbed his beard and chin as Ichigo approached him once more.
"Here to join the guild, old man," he said.
Makarov grinned. "Been some time since someone of your caliber decided to join our guild."
"Well, I need help, and your people look like someone I can hang out with. Call it a meeting of chance. I hadn't even planned on joining a guild, really."
Makarov grinned. "Where do you want the insignia of our guild?"
Ichigo thought about it, though he didn't show it on the surface. "On the back," he said as he took off the t-shirt he was wearing, one that he had been wearing when he came through the portal from his world -'Chant: Kill Urahara Kisuke when I go back'. But when he did so, all of the guild saw the scarred and chiseled body of Ichigo.
"Damn," Natsu muttered from where he was on the other side of the guild. "No wonder he beat the shit out me... I want a body like that too."
"Gah... Did the guild crash in again?"
Except for a few of the mages, all of those in Fairy Tail guild lounge turned towards the source of the grouchy voice asking a question.
"Gildarts!"
Ichigo gave the red-haired man a glance before he turned back to Makarov. "So I heard that I could take jobs and visit the library if I joined the guild. Where's the library?"
Makarov pointed towards one corner of the guild, away from the doors of the guild lounge itself and most of the guild's mages.
At this point, Acnologia had stood and followed Ichigo.
Once Acnologia was next to him, Ichigo gave the old man thanks and headed down to the library along with the dragon-in-disguise.
Makarov followed them leave to the library with his narrowed eyes once Ichigo turned his back to him.
'He's strong, as I already told him. But how strong is he to knock out Laxus like that?' the guild master questioned himself. 'Perhaps I should have him spar with Gildarts over there.'
He shook his head. That was a stupid idea. Gildarts would level the town with his two magics, and the new boy didn't seem like a pushover. If they actually managed to prolong the fight with the new boy pushing Gildarts even once, things would get dicey for them.
Sure, Fairy Tail would have to work to fix any and all damages the two would make. That was of no consequence. Important consequence at any rate.
What Makarov worried about was the Council.
They complained too much.