I own nothing.

"Are you certain you don't know where the current headquarters of Fairy Tail are?"

The old man before Lelouch only shrugged his shoulders, a random street vendor standing before a stall full of fruits who appeared to be surprised at his question, almost as if he had never expected to hear it once again after all this time.

"Sorry, had you asked about their old headquarters then I could have pointed it out to you. But I heard that they had moved about a year ago, and do not know where the new headquarters are located."

He sighed at that, thanking the man with a bow before leaving the street to continue the search which was turning out to be harder than he had thought it would be. Sadly, the answer he had just received seemed to be the standard one almost every random person he encountered had for him. Almost an hour of searching had passed, and he continued to roam around helplessly, unable to find out where he was supposed to go.

Wasn't Fairy Tail supposed to be a decently famous guild? Or had he read the wrong reports? Looking around, Lelouch sighed.

Magnolia was a decently sized town with a population of about sixty thousand, that had been prosperous as a merchant city since the ancient era. Located in the southeastern part of Fiore and sandwiched between Hargeon Town close to the south and Bosco to the east, it was a hub of trade with several important economic veins crucial to the nation travelling through its edges. The town itself was beautifully designed— sprawled almost elegantly over an enormous, rectangular surface that ended on the shores of Lake Sciliora.

Dividing the town both vertically and horizontally into several separate sections were a series of roads and canals designed deliberately to ease both commutation and supply which converged exactly at its centre where Kardia Cathedral was located, one of Fiore's most important and distinctive landmarks.

Moving about without a direction in the centre of one such section in a manner that made his unfamiliarity with the town glaring obvious, Lelouch was sure that he made for an interesting sight to the locals at the very least— a dashing young man in a cream shirt standing in the middle of a bustling street. That he appeared to be radiating with what could only be an aura of majesty and the fact that his clothes appeared to be perfectly maintained despite dust raised by cars and mopeds that threaded every available inch of space in a swarm of activity only made him stand out more.

Something about him just drew attention, an elegant charm that could not be resisted.

Cab drivers languished in their beaten taxis, fanning themselves as hundreds of potential customers stood before street vendors who hawked bananas, bottles of beer, and bundles of knat, the local-made snack favoured by natives. Yet all of them glanced at him, eyes drawn to his inherently alluring temperament.

"Just how can it be to find Fairy Tail?" Lelouch mused out loud, as he stood directionless in the middle of Magnolia's most prominent center of commerce and trade.

A gruff voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, drawing him from his imagination which sometimes seemed hard to keep a track of. "You're looking for that rundown guild? Who the heck are you?"

Lelouch glanced at the speaker. The words came from a man with a rough appearance, one of many in a group of three standing at the opposite end of the street. He had not quite caught the question, attention having been briefly distracted by a particularly loud clack behind him, but the meaning was apparent from the way the surly man was eyeing him.

"Forgive me if I don't feel entirely comfortable with divulging my identity to the present company." Lelouch responded.

A noncommittal grunt was given, clearly unsatisfied with his answer, but any further comment was suppressed. Instead, the man and his friend instead chose to step closer into his personal space, having caught the dismissal in the words.

The man's sudden interest in him was taken without surprise, as the bystanders looked at them with exasperation almost as if they were expecting this uninvited intervention. It seemed that the topic of his previous conversations had piqued the interest of those men.

"Most people do introduce themselves before asking questions though," said the man, obviously the youngest present, bar himself and wearing a cocky grin alongside a pair of thick, dark sunglasses. "You could have just visited our guildhall if you wanted something done instead of prancing about like a deranged lunatic."

The man's underlings, from their position by his sides, shared a sycophantic laugh with their leader. The insult had a basis though. He had indeed been going about asking simple questions with far more enthusiasm than needed, but then again doing so had allowed him to scout Magnolia in a way simple observation could not have. He levelled the man a dry look, violet eyes almost hidden by a single raven bang. He considered a response, but settled for ignoring the man instead.

Seeing his disinterest, the smug smile quickly turned into a scowl though it was an unsurprised one. A callused hand was run through scraggly dyed-blonde hair in frustration and anger. One of the men placed a placating hand on his shoulder, seeing how the passive aggressiveness of their leader had proven to be ineffective.

Lelouch sighed at the literal trio of mooks, cursing fortune for shoving such an overused trope his way before he decided to humour them. He schooled his displeasure and allowed his face to look as innocent as it could appear to be before asking. "Would you happen to know where the current Fairy Tail Headquarters are?"

"Tsk!" The leader abruptly snorted at his question, his mouth curling into a frown as he stared him down or at least attempted to do so. "Brat, do not think you can fool us. Nobody goes to Fairy Tail these days anymore, not unless they are too poor to commission a bigger guild which does not seem to be not the case here. It's obvious that you're here for something more personal."

Lelouch noticed his eyes glancing over his clothes, which admittedly were of a finer origin than those a common man could afford. He frowned, showing his displeasure for the first time. "Even if this were true, I cannot see how this concerns any of you gentlemen?"

"Why, as members of Twilight Ogre, we shall inform you that it would be in your best interests if we discuss all of your options before you make a decision that might prove to be hazardous."

Lelouch noted that all three of them bore the same mark on various appendages. His amethyst eyes narrowed, finally gathering some measure of understanding regarding the unexpected situation.

"And what if I were to answer that I am not interested?"

The leader laughed his gaudy laugh before answering, stepping forward almost menacingly. "Then we'd simply have to convince you otherwise."

So, the options were basically either to listen or the situation might escalate, a warning if he ever saw one. Lelouch relaxed, now understanding what these goons wanted. He had previously been worried because the chances of this entire charade being a trap in disguise were not entirely zero but now that he had assessed the situation himself…

"Isn't this a bit too sad?" Lelouch sighed dramatically, loudly. "To think that Twilight Ogre would resort to picking on young kids."

The faces of the goons changed abruptly, eyes widening in shock and incredulity as practically every person on the street paused and turned toward them. The expressions on the faces of the thugs contorted as they were suddenly the focus of so many stares, and one of them even stepped backward. Obviously, they had not expected him to react in such an overly exaggerated manner, but his theatrics were not aimed at these fools. Lelouch smirked, as loud whispers started emerging all around him. The bystanders who had been watching this drama entire drama unfold were now glancing at the three burly men with sharp accusing eyes.

To think that they would be stupid enough to try this in a crowded place, that too in one of Magnolia's finer markets at the peak of rush hour.

Lelouch continued, making sure to bring his hand to his forehead in a dramatic display of woe, "I never would have imagined that one of the most prestigious guilds of a town as reputed as Magnolia would do this."

The sharp looks turned into glares as soon as Magnolia was mentioned, which was exactly what Lelouch wanted. The residents here were a prideful bunch and he'd phrased his sentence to remind everyone that he was a newcomer here, these goons were tarnishing his impression of this town by their actions.

People sometimes argue that first impressions do not matter, that you can only judge a person after getting to know them properly— but Lelouch disagreed. One only had to look at what was happening right before him to see the truth, the crowd did not hesitate in choosing whom to believe which in hindsight was rather obvious.

Of course, the public would much rather believe the polite young boy who had been asking them general questions about the town just moments ago with a charming smile on his face than the brash goons from a troublesome guild known for its shady dealings. First impressions were generated by experiences and environment, which in turn made it so that it was entirely possible to change somebody's impressions by changing the very experiences that comprise those impressions.

Lelouch was well aware of the importance associated with initial meetings, which was why he made sure to ensure that his first impressions were as accurate as they could be, because getting into people's minds and correcting erroneous viewpoints was so much more troublesome. The fact that his subtle actions worked was evident as the people actually started pointing fingers at the goons while muttering to one another.

One of the thugs nervously glanced at his leader who was almost grinding his teeth in anger. "Master told us not to make any more trouble on the streets."

The man looked as if he wanted to argue with that, but winced when he received a glare from his other friend. A look that clearly said that this entire debacle would be reported back to the superiors in great detail.

"Peh, fine." The leader clicked his tongue, despite his dumb looks he apparently understand that creating any further problems here would be equivalent to creating problems for himself at this point.

It did not take much for them to leave after that even though the crowd too calmed itself soon, unwilling to fight anymore and incapable of persuading him with words alone.

Lelouch watched them leave with his amethyst eyes before he sighed once again, realizing he would have to continue with his search for a longer period of time if he wanted to complete his current objective which was to find Fairy Tail. Perhaps he should have asked those idiots?

But then again, how hard could it be to find a simple guild in a decently sized city?

"So these are Fairy Tail's new headquarters?"

He had soon discovered that it could, in fact, be damn hard to find a simple guild in a decently sized city. He'd been walking for hours, following the vague directions he had received from strangers before he finally discovered the guild, an entirely extraneous affair that he could have dealt with far more quickly had he chosen to use his magic. Lelouch had refrained in the end, finding it somewhat distasteful to use his powers on such a mundane thing even though he knew that the world at large indulged in the use of casual magic for far simpler tasks. Though on a more positive note, with this Lelouch could now at least claim to have seen the entire city properly by himself.

Lelouch stared at what appeared to be a small dingy pub located on the far outskirts of Magnolia, practically detached from the rest of the city and its loud hustle almost purposely.

The Guildhall, at least that was what Lelouch assumed it was, stood on its lonesome as if a forgotten remnant in the midst of the bustling city, its faded facade barely visible behind the layers of what appeared to be doodles and drawings. The windows were cracked and boarded up, the roof sagged under the weight of years of neglect, and the bricks appeared as if they would crumble even at the gentlest touch. Yet, despite what appeared to be years of neglect, there was something about the structure that intrigued him.

Lelouch was not particularly impressed at the first glance, but a few seconds of observation changed his opinion. The way this entire structure glowed with a pleasant warmth, seemingly overflowing with quaint traces of joy was definitely unusual, to say the least. His amethyst eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward to open the gigantic wooden door that blocked his path, large entrances almost seemed to be a trend around these parts because every place of importance he knew of had these.

In truth, he had been trying to keep his expectations low, knowing that his decision would not change regardless of any future discoveries, which was why he ignored the loud noise that graced his years as soon as he entered the main hall that was far more aesthetically pleasant and homely than the exterior.

But despite his obvious entry, none of the members took a visible note of his sudden presence.

He stood inside the entire guild, half hidden in the shadows and half enshrouded by the bustling activity around him, as he watch the guild mates interact with one another, recording and storing everything he saw in memory.

His amethyst eyes roamed over the laughing drunks, before moving to the giggling friends and guildmates, then over the type of food each person was eating, and afterward over every single object or person he could watch.

Finally, he let his eyes wander over to all exits in easy reach in case this guild turned out to not take as kindly to strangers as he was told to expect. After all, every piece of knowledge he had on these people could be turned into a weapon against them later on even though he did not plan on using that weapon simply because he did not wish to.

He observed the guild for an advantage over the members, out of a habit created by years of constant experience he could not even remember.

Observe, memorize, and strategize.

One glance was all it took, his eyes darting back and forth quickly. Never resting for even a second, some people could instinctively sense when they were being watched if the watcher kept on looking at them for too long. He continued observing all the members present, finding what their magic did through conversations and how he could use their personalities against them.

A useful habit if one were to ask him, but it was a habit not made from a particularly happy life that he wished to remember and deny all he might, a very good useful habit it indeed was— a habit he was born with.

Lelouch was a dreamer, and he'd long been dreaming of empires, knights clad in meal armour, and ships that sailed the stars and sky. He dreamed about armies and revolutions, of noble ends through wicked means. He'd seen other things too; learned different truths. Words to stir the hearts of men and women. Showmanship, but also the cold truth of sacrifice and wars waged without steel.

'They are naught but dreams, Lelouch.' His mother had told him once in her disinterested tone but for all the magicks she knew of— reincarnation could not be counted among them.

Lelouch sighed at the thought of his mother, suddenly remembering that he'd neither announced himself nor had he made his presence apparent. In fact, the homely laughter that had graced his ears as soon as he entered the building had almost left him stunned, and then he'd simply let instinct take over.

Deciding to get finish his business first, Lelouch took three steps to the left, back to his original spot before the door, and was almost prepared to step forward.

That was before the door opened behind him, almost pushing him forward as somebody entered the guild without announcing their presence beforehand.

From the scent and the rhythm of footsteps, the person responsible was a man, give or take about five years older than he was. Lelouch could feel the man stop with a sharp intake of breath when he saw him, mostly probably surprised to see someone half visible in the dull outside glow provided by the open door. If he had not turned his head to the left instead of walking straight ahead then perhaps, he might not have seen him.

Lelouch let a sigh escape his mouth, well aware of what was about to happen even as the man behind him reached for his arm. Moving to the side, the hand grasped empty air just as his question rang out into the hall catching everyone's attention as eyes instantly turned towards them. "Who are you?"

The man sounded both suspicious and wary, though he was not as alarmed as Lelouch had thought he'd be. He moved again avoiding his other hand as she tried to catch him when he did not answer his question, an impulsive decision made only to see what he would do about it. Whoever he was, the man apparently saw it as a challenge as he moved forward again. His movements almost made Lelouch sigh again because they were so slow and his clothes wrinkled loudly from his actions, practically telegraphing his intentions.

But just as he was about to dodge once again, a single hand grasped the wrist of the hand heading towards him, even as a shocked gasp escaped the mouth of the now frozen man who had been trying to catch him.

"Enough playing around, Max." The speaker was an older man, who let a hint of authority enter his voice. "I know you were just having fun, but you'll scare the kid away."

Lelouch glanced at the lean man of average height, slicked dark blue hair, and a receding hairline whose dark linear eyes were raised in surprise as he stared at the man called Max. His overly prominent mustache twitched.

The man who had been trying to catch him, apparently Max, seemed chastised and stepped backward with an apologetic look on his face as he turned towards him. "Sorry kid, I got too excited when I suddenly saw you."

Max, the man who had apparently been playing all this time, was a thin man wearing a plain brown vest over his black shirt with average height and beige hair styled into a bowl undercut, enhanced by two straight bangs that partially covered the sides of his face. He peered at Lelouch with his dark curious eyes as thin eyebrows rose ever so significantly.

All too aware of the gazes upon him, Lelouch sighed and nodded, accepting the apology even though he was not particularly bothered by the playful actions of Max. They were, in fact, almost tame compared to what he usually had to deal with.

Nevertheless, keeping necessary formalities in mind— standing before the old man, the currently teenage old boy bowed ever so slightly in greeting.

He watched as the older man, presumably somebody of authority, took in his appearance and noted with approval the way his gaze seemed to analyze him. Lelouch continued softly, serious yet polite at the same time. "Hello. May I speak with the guild master please?"

The man's large moustache almost seemed to twitch in interest "I am the guild master. The name's Macao Conbolt. What can I do for you, boy?"

Lelouch nodded, he had asked simply for the sake of formality and politeness but it was rather obvious that the man was the guild master. It was the way Macao had walked up to them with a sigh before reprimanding Max, even as the other guild members moved aside for him with rolls of their eyes, almost as if used to this.

"Then I ask you, if I may please join the guild. I am sure that I can complete any requirements I may need beforehand to do so."

The music was loud and the drinks were flowing, but the entire group of mages at the corner table nearby suddenly fell silent. They had been laughing and chatting, sharing old jokes, interesting stories, and opinions. But when they heard his words, the people who were previously laughing and nodding along suddenly turned towards him with interest, almost in disbelief.

"Why do you wish to join us?" Even Macao was forced to raise a brow in surprise as he questioned the boy before him, "I don't suppose that it was our stellar reputation that drew you here and I certainly don't think that we enthralled you with that first impression."

"Certainly, first impressions are important, and so far, yours hasn't been particularly impressive," Lelouch answered, not denying his assessment even though he disagreed with some parts of it. "But I would be a fool to pass complete judgment based on what I have seen with a single glance."

Macao glanced at him for a moment, before he shrugged and beaconed him to follow as he turned around and headed towards the bar at the corner.

Entering the building, Lelouch saw several other members hanging around several parts of the room, his future guildmates if everything went well. Though he was surprised to see that despite the homely atmosphere where everyone seemed energetic at the first glance, an aura of sad melancholy hung above the entire guild.

The two men at the bar, one a thin man of average height with orange hair kept jutting backward at the sides of his head and the other a heavy, round man with a face so round that his prominent facial features were barely noticeable, barely even looked up to see who came in and the mood in the air around them outright reeked of depression and misery.

Next to him, Macao continued to walk to the other side of the room before he reached the shabby counter in the corner. Dragging a chair for himself, the old man gave Lelouch a curious look before he sat and gestured for him to do the same.

"All right, let's get this over with. The name's Macao Conbolt, Fourth Guild Master of Fairy Tail."

Lelouch bent his back and bowed, his hand elegantly moving in a practiced flourish as he stared at the older man clan in a white trenchcoat with his large amethyst eyes.

"Lelouch vi Belserion, independent Mage."

"Obviously," Macao snorted. "Quick question, how old are you?"

"I just turned fifteen," Lelouch answered, knowing that he was more than old enough to start working as a functional wizard according to the labour laws of Fiore.

"Huh, so you're older than my son." Macao dryly added in a way that made it seem as if it were a bad thing before he leaned forward seriously. "Moving to more important matters, tell me, why do you wish to join Fairy Tail?"

"Two reasons mostly."

Macao raised a brow in curiosity and gestured for him to elaborate.

Without hesitation, Lelouch gave his reply, "The first is that Fairy Tail was specifically recommended to me. I was planning on joining a guild anyway since joining a guild means I can find paying work though my initial choices were Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus. The recommendation made me reconsider my decision, so I decided to test my luck here first. I have heard from a steadfast source that this guild once used to be a very impressive and strong guild; one that would only grow stronger with time. But even more importantly, I have also heard of the exemplary comradeship between its members that this Guild actively promotes. I hope to experience such a working environment myself."

Macao blinked back at him, almost as if shocked by how well-ordered his reply was before he prompted him to continue. "And the second reason?"

"I have heard rumours that Fairy Tail is perhaps the most experienced guild when it comes to events interwoven with alternate universes." Lelouch paused for a moment before continuing. "Because I am originally from another world, I thought this would be the best place to go considering my search for information regarding such phenomena."

"Hm, I see."

It took him a few seconds to process what Lelouch had just said, but his eyes widened almost comically once he did.

"Wait, you're from another world?!"

"Perhaps" Lelouch nodded, hesitating for a single moment before answering. "I dream sometimes, visions of a place without magic known as Earth and though I am not certain, I have ample reasons to believe that these dreams have a foundation grounded in reality."

"Huh."

The fact that Macao seemed to actually believe what Lelouch had just told him with widened eyes and a single grunt of exclamation as the only sign of surprise said something about Fairy Tail.

Lelouch knew that if he had told anyone else that same story, then he would have most probably been laughed at for being a deranged lunatic, at the very least. It seemed that the reputation of this guild as a place of absurdities was certainly well earned.

"So you're not from Edolas?" Macao continued with a look of detached interest.

"No. Anima has nothing to do with my presence here." Lelouch answered, only vaguely aware of Edolas and its workings. Not that he would explain how exactly he came to this world even if he knew of it in the first place. His presence in this world had eluded every expert he had encountered so far, even his mother who was perhaps the most well-informed woman he knew.

Macao continued to stare at him for a moment or so, before he sighed. "We're getting off track. Your backstory is certainly interesting, but I'm not sure if I'm okay with you joining Fairy Tail. We're not exactly in a position where we can nurture young talents as we used to."

Lelouch closed his eyes, understanding his reluctance even though he did not exactly like it— their guild was not exactly in a position to recruit new members. He was hoping that this could have been done the easy way, but it seemed that he would have to convince the man before him through other methods.

"Ah, I almost forgot." The young boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of sealed envelopes that seemed suspiciously large for his pocket. "This is my resume. I was told to give this to whoever was the next Master."

Macao took the envelope and gave him an incredulous look, it was the first time anyone had handed him a bunch of documents during an interview which was somewhat understandable considering the usual recruitment process.

"What's this?"

"My recommendations and degrees."

The older man's paled face as he saw the seal on some of the envelopes before he quickly tore them open and pulled out the pieces of paper within. Quickly skimming them over with his eyes, he gave Lelouch an incredulous look.

"You have seven doctorates from the International Assembly of Magical Research, and you have a recommendation from one of the Four Emperors of Ishgar?"

"He owed me a favour."

That was not exactly false, but it was not exactly true enough Lelouch had simply tricked the man. He was not the person who was owed a favour, instead it was his mother. Meeting Serena was fun, and he looked forward to meeting the dragon slayer once again even though Lelouch knew that he would be on the receiving end of the Emperor's wrath this time.

Macao gave him a strange look, which seemed almost appeared to be incredulous, before he let out a heavy sigh. "Hah, how the hell am I supposed to reject something like this."

"So would you consider my application?" Lelouch simply asked. Of course, he did not think joining would be so simple, most probably he would have to pass some tests and then prove his worth by starting with small worthless tasks that would months later turn into harder ones before being allowed to join.

Macao frowned, seemingly contemplating his options for a moment but following a few seconds of silence, the guild master sighed in resignation. "Well then, welcome to Fairy tail boy! You just need to fill out a form, and get the guild stamp!"

Lelouch blinked, before his lips curved in a smile.

Yes, Lelouch joined during the early days of the time skip. Currently, he's about fifteen so he should be around the same age as the main cast when they finally return.

Thanks for reading.