Summary:
With the downfall of Jude's company and his downwards spiralling health, Lucy and her father move to the country side to find some peace. Lucy however is a city girl, born and bred, and she is not so sure if she will find her 'peace' in this muddy and hillbilly invested place. That is until she meets the sweet sky princess, the eccentric Fireball, and the fisher's son, a devilishly handsome guy with a knack of showing his wiener to her. [Modern AU – Barakamon insp]

AN: Hello, and welcome to my new story. Thank you so much for reading my fic, it always brings joy to me when people show interest in the thing I create. Now, before you start reading, I would like to first explain a few things about this bundle of joy that I call my fic. The main topic of this story is not aimed at Romance, but self-discovery. 'Just what does it mean to 'be yourself'?', is what I took as inspiration for this story. The beginning will be very friendship centred, Lucy trying to find her place in this foreign jungle of a place. You will find a lot of Natsu/Lucy Brotp, because they I always imagined them as brother and sister, but progressive GrayLu. As it is the self-discovery of Lucy, the story will be told from her 3rd perspective. I might switch once in a while, but it will only be for a small paragraph. I am trying to still keep to canon concerning personalities and characters, but do expect some changes. PLEASE ENJOY!

Prologue
Not every story starts with 'Once upon a time' or with a girl trapped in a tower. But what may seem as a series of unfortunate events, may just be the start of an adventure.

Her dainty long fingers clasped around the handle of her large designer suitcase. Large chocolate brown eyes scanned the grey cement road which was completely deserted, not a single living organism seemed to pass by. The heat of the mid-summer day caused mirage waves to dance over the barren lanes, making the desolated scene seem even sadder. Her eyes cast down towards her phone, the little key shaped chain clicking against the metal. In the top right corner, where normally five white stripes would blink an flash indicating the breathing of her social life, a single red cross mocked her.

"Damn, no signal," she muttered to herself and let out a heavy sigh. "How are we supposed to get to this stupid village then?" she asked herself with a pout and roamed the grassy fields in front of the small airport.

"Don't swear Lucy," a heavy voice said behind her.

Her eyes turned blank for a fraction of a second as she turned around to face her father. "Sorry," she said almost inaudibly, making Jude heave a tired sigh.

The small airport had almost no workers and certainly didn't have a helpdesk they could go to. Nor were there any taxis lined up in front of the entrance awaiting them. There was simply no one around. The only thing Lucy could see was the outstretched road and the large farming fields behind the meadow that faced the road. It almost made a shiver run up her spine, the contrast it held in contrast to Tokyo.

"We should try to walk a little, we might encounter someone," Jude said and strenuously got up from his seat, balancing most of his weight on the cane in his right hand.

With another sigh Lucy offered a hand to help her father. "You shouldn't in your condition, you might hurt yourself," she said easing him back down. "I'll go and find someone, just go back inside and see if anyone has any water for you."

He smiled warmly at her, making her bite her lip, and turned back to the small airport. She kept her eyes glued onto him until he was sitting near the arrival gate and she knew for sure he wasn't uncomfortable. She disliked her father, but she wasn't heartless and she wasn't going to let him tire himself out in his condition. She made sure her mobile phone was tucked safely in the pockets of her denim shorts and positioned her cream handbag on her shoulder so that it didn't cut into the skin of her arm. She would probably have to travel quite a bit if she wanted to get to any village, maybe there would be a farmer passing by that could lend a hand. But in any case it wasn't going to be pretty for her. It was around twelve and the sun was already beating down heavily on her. Summers in Tokyo were hot, but it seemed that on the island she was now going to be living it would be literal hell.

She folded out her sun umbrella so that she would at least have some shadow to protect her from the blazing heat as she walked at the side of the road. At least the road she was walking along was good to look at. The grass of the meadows had to be the most lush, green colour she had ever seen. The bright sky was clear, with a few soft white clouds passing by, and was painted a beautiful light blue. Strangely the air even seemed fresher, thicker in a way. With every breath she took, it felt as if her lungs were being cleansed. She was born and bred in Tokyo, so seeing all this nature was quite an occurrence for her.

After roaming the seemingly endless road for what felt like hours, she finally found a small cobble stone path running through a large field filled with little pink flowers. A small smile etched on her face when she saw a small farmers house at the end of the flower field. She started to run towards it, but immediately faltered at the pain in her feet. Expensive and designer her sandals may be, but they definitely weren't made for walking long distances. She rushed over the path, tripping a few times, and hurried to the front door. Trying to calm her irregular breathing and restore her frazzled appearance, she knocked on the wooden door. Immediately she could faintly hear someone shuffling around, knock something over, and scamper towards the door. The door slid open slowly and Lucy immediately bowed out of respect and habit.

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you. But I was wondering if there is anyone who could help me," she said a little too fast and straightened her back again at the last two words.

"Wha-?"

Lucy's eyes widened considerably when she was standing at her full height again. The moment she had opened her eyes, still in her bent over position, she came eye to eye with an old man who was awfully close to the floor. And when she stood up completely, she noticed that the old man wasn't crouching down, or lying on the floor, or doing anything to make himself seem shorter. He was quite literally a midget, only reaching her thigh with his pointy hat on.

She quickly closed her surprised mouth and tried to muster her sweetest smile. "Am I intruding at an inconvenient moment?" she asked tentively.

The old man laughed, his eyes crinkling and his moustache turning up with his smile. "No my child, what seem' to be the problem?" His raspy voice was laced with a strong farmer's accent, or as her father would call it; a peasant's accent.

A small blush formed on her cheeks out of embarrassment and she nervously scratched the back of her neck. "Well, I came from the airport here and there seemed to be a mix up with the pick-up service. My father is not in a well condition and therefor cannot walk all the way to the village, I was wondering if you knew anyone that could help," she asked politely.

The man smiled and nodded his head. "Of course! I could drive ya to the airport and drop you off at yer place. I was go'n go to the village anyway," he said and carefully pushed past her.

She blinked in confusion as the old man scurried off and hurried to catch up with his surprisingly fast steps. "Are you sure? Weren't you busy with something? I could wait for a taxi, I wouldn't mind," she said, looking down so that she could look at him.

He let out jolly laugh and shook his head. "There ain't many taxis here, so I doubt they'd wanna come all the way here." He seemed to snigger at her question.

She frowned, "What place doesn't have taxis? What if you get stranded… like I did," she asked curiously.

"Aroun' here folks help each other out, so if you ever need help you just need to ask," he explained and turned to the side of the house. "Here's our ride," he said proudly and presented his 'transportation'.

Her eyes widened yet again at what she saw. What she had been expecting to be a car, was more of a scooter with a hay dispenser on the back. She knew it was commonly used by farmers to take their products to markets in town. She had seen them alongside the pavements in Tokyo where the farmers would sell their fruits and vegetables. But she hadn't expected to ride on one just to get to be able to pick up her father and get to her new home.

"Hop in," he called from the scooter seat cheerily.

She politely tried to hide her grimace at the rather filthy cart as she awkwardly clambered in. Once she was seated the old man started the spluttering engine and they took off. The motor was unusually loud to her ears, ruining the serenity of the pastures that spread before her eyes. All she had ever ridden in were expensive cars with chauffeurs and shaded windows, so sitting on a shaky loud scooter was getting annoying quite fast. But despite the unusually loud noises, she strangely found herself enjoying the way the wind tussled her hair and rushed passed her bare arms.

"What's a city gall like yerself doin' all the way in our small little village," the old man suddenly shouted over the racket.

She narrowed her eyes and strained her ears to hear his last words. "Wha-? Oh! To find peace and good health. At least that's what my father says!" she shouted, her face turning sour. "It looks more like a way of punishing me by boring me to death," she said with her chin resting on her hand.

She could hear his jolly laugh over the engine. "Well, we might be a small island with none of yer city modernity, but we are definitely fun! Everyone loves it here and I think you will too after a little while of settlin'," he shouted and laughed again.

She didn't answer back, though in the back of her mind she disagreed. She didn't voice her opinion however, because something else caught her eye. She jumped up from her sitting position, wobbling a little to find her balance, and her eyes widened at the beautiful sight. Along the road a gorgeous sea stretched out in front of her, glistening in the high sun, which made everything it touched sparkle in soft rays. It looked like a perfect picture out of a magazine with japping seagulls and crashing waves. The scene made her lips part in awe, the pure beauty pulling at her heart, and a feeling so peaceful and serene washed over her, forgetting her situation momentarily.

"Pretty ain't it," the old man broke through and chuckled.

She wordlessly nodded her head as a huge smile spread over her face. "Hey," she breathed after sitting back down. "I never asked your name."

"Oh, my name is Makarov but the youngsters here like to call me gramps," he said, tipping his straw hat. She looked at his kind aging face and a serene smile lit her face, making him blush slightly. "Looks like we're here," he quickly and gestured towards the airport.

Lucy jumped out of the cart as soon as Makarov stopped in front of the airport. To her relief her father was still sitting on the chair where she had last left him. She fast stepped towards him, quickly checking if her suitcase was still there, and slowly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey dad, I found help," she said softly.

He looked up with glazed eyes and furrowed his brows in confusion. "What? Oh, right. Where did you find a taxi?" he asked as he got up with her help.

She let out a nervous chuckle and led him to the truck with their suitcases in hand, "Well, I didn't exactly find a taxi."

Jude's brow rose as he peered behind his daughter to look at the transportation she brought them. He looked back at her with a quizzical look, which she sheepishly returned. "What on earth is that?" he asked perplex.

She didn't answer him, instead quickly led him towards the kart and used the racket it produced as an excuse to spare herself the explaining.

The house that Makarov had stopped in front was in one word, simple. A two story traditional Japanese home with the first floor raised from the ground combined with wooden windows and a slide door in the back. The colours consisted mostly of dark brown and white, with the walls being alabaster and the wooden and bamboo windows and doors being ebony. A tall white brick wall surrounded the house, concealing the back yard from curious eyes. In the back yard a small patch of bright sunflowers, surrounded by lush green grass, coloured the otherwise dull lot.

"We made sure to clean yer house before ye came," Makarov said as he lead the two towards the front door. "Yer stuff should have already been delivered. I must say you have taste, you picked one of our nicest houses," he ended with a chuckle.

Lucy eyed her new home as her hand clamped down on her suitcase handle. It was nothing compared to her old house, but it had an odd warm feeling to it, unlike the huge mansion she used to life in. In the narrow hallway there had already been set up a rack for her shoes and a hanger for her coat. Cramped between two walls on the right hand side a thin staircase led to the second floor. Lucy followed Makarov to the end of the hall where he opened the door to the compact kitchen, which was directly connected to the living and dining room by a simple arch. Makarov started to explain a few things to Jude about the gas furnace as Lucy walked in the living room.

Her eyes landed on the slide door that lead to the backyard and slowly turned her gaze over the rest of the room. They had kept some of the furniture from her old home and had brought here, but it felt weird. The fancy white velvet couch did not mix with the creaky wooden floor boards, with most of those covered by a tatami mat. The cushioned Victorian dining chairs did not match with the cheap table they were pushed against. And as she brushed her hand over the soft couch, a feeling of discouragement washed over her. A sudden drop in her stomach and knock of realization made her quick step towards the hallway. Seeing her old life mixed with her unpreventable new one, made her sad.

The beautiful scenery was soon forgotten as she slammed the door to her new room close. She could faintly hear her father calling after her, but she chose to ignore him. She didn't know why, but reality suddenly started to dawn on her. The beautiful sceneries had blinded her and when she finally came to realize what her new life would be like, she just couldn't handle it. Everything she had ever known was thrown one hundred and eighty degrees around and shaken to make extra sure she would become so disorientated that nothing would make sense anymore. It was strange that it had only dawned on her until now, but the feeling was indescribably horrifying. She just didn't know what to make of it.

Her downcast eyes slowly looked up and she felt it again. Her room was wrong, it just didn't work. She had insisted on bringing her bed, since it was the only bed she didn't get nightmares in, but the scene made her cringe. The large canopy bed filled up most of the small room, leaving only place for a desk on the left hand side and a small chair. On the right side of the door there was another slide door, which was a small closet, meant for her clothes. Her heart ached as she desperately tried to search the boxes for her mother's perfume. A realization dawned, never being able to rest her head on the cushions in her mother's bedroom, the sweet smell of her lingering till the day.

A single tear trickled down her cheek which she tried to furiously wipe away. She wouldn't show weakness, she had promised her mother. But as she found not a single trace of the perfume in the box she was sure she had packed it in, the waterworks came extremely close.

I miss you so much mama

Thank you again so much for reading, a review with your opinion/thoughts/constructive criticism/ideas are very much appreciated! I do not want to sound thirsty for reviews, but the continuation of this story will really depend on the appeal to the readers. I have many more stories, so I will continue those who are favoured. I will try to keep a consistent uploading schedule of one chapter per week (more if mentioned in the the A/N!). The following chapters will almost all be much longer.

Song Inspirations: Summertime Sadness, Lana Del Rey – Hey Brother, Avicci – Serein AMV – I'm coming home – Only place I call home, Every Avenue

Please PM me or ask in a review if you have any questions!