Just would Like to say thank you for all the support it means a lot.
Chapter 5: First job, Unexpected Meeting and A Discovery
It's been 2 months since they confessed to each other Natsu started surprising Lucy with gifts every now and again and Lucy returned the gesture they hadn't gone on a date as they were more focused on preparing for the future before Lucy joins the guild; speaking of which they decided that Lucy will join the guild 2 years earlier than the old timeline to help gain experience by taking jobs.
Natsu is currently on his way back to the guild since it would be weird for him to join but never show up besides, he needs to take some jobs since they are running low on money. He walks in and heads to the job request board where one request in particular catches his eye as the reward is an Unknown Celestial Gate Key. He immediately grabs the flyer and hands it to master Makarov for approval after it is accepted, he heads back home to ask Lucy if she wants to join.
When he gets home, he notices she's not inside, so he checks out back and sees she is meditating so he sits down and waits for her to finish. Meanwhile he looks at the job request which is to help a secluded village in the mountains as they're being attacked by some sort of magical apparition.
After he finishes reading about the job Lucy opens her eyes after finishing her meditation and is slightly surprised to see Natsu waiting for her with a job flyer. Natsu notices Lucy's surprised reaction and says "I saw this job at the guild and thought you might want to join me especially considering the reward. I figured even if you aren't a member, yet you can still accompany me on jobs." as he passes the job flyer over to Lucy.
Lucy reads the job Flyer and smiles when she sees the reward, happy that Natsu grabbed this job. However, she is confused by the Unknown Celestial Gate Key part as typically unknown gate keys would be labelled as a silver or golden key if the Job requester doesn't know which one it is, the fact this says unknown has her curious as to what kind of celestial spirit it is.
Lucy looks up at Natsu who was staring intently at her waiting for a response to which Lucy says, "I'd love to go with you on this job, I'm also very curious about what kind of spirit the key is for." Natsu positively beams at this and says, "Let's go pack up for the trip then I'll also use my phoenix slaying magic to put a barrier around the house to keep it hidden while we're gone that way the guild won't find it."
After packing they exit the house and Natsu casts the spell "Phoenix Enchantment: Illusionary Forest" which makes the house look like a part of the surrounding forest. Natsu and Lucy then head off to the village for the job.
Little do they know a mysterious hooded figure is watching them from a distance.
Few Hours Later
Natsu and Lucy just got off the train at the stop nearest to the village which just so happened to be Clover town. From there it is a 2-day journey to reach the village for the job.
They are setting up camp when Natsu picks up a familiar scent and his eyes widen before he turns to look at the source which is coming from the forest he stands protectively in front of Lucy as he doesn't know why they're here or if there'll be a fight but before he can do anything the mysterious figure speaks "Relax I'm not here to fight you, just here to get some answers. Last i checked i used a forbidden spell which caused me to be stuck in time so i shouldn't be able to be here, but it seems i was right to check fairy tail first with a thought projection as i noticed a change in time as one who uses magic to alter time of objects i am somewhat sensitive to these things. Also, your guild always seems to attract trouble and what not, so it makes sense id check there first." she says as she removes her hood to reveal Ultear Milkovich although younger.
Natsu and Lucy are left speechless; they never thought that there would be someone else who knows about the future. Lucy is the first one to pull herself together and say, "Sorry we just never thought someone else would remember the future we are from."
Ultear is slightly surprised by this but then asks, "Were you both sent back in time?" to which Natsu responds "No just me we were told that due to how the celestial spirit world works she remembers the timeline as the Celestial spirit world has more leeway with that kind of thing."
Ultear just shakes her head and says, "That makes sense for the spirits but what about you Lucy you're not a celestial spirit last i checked." This got both of them thinking before Natsu says "Maybe there is something else tied in with the celestial spirit world that makes it so Lucy can remember I don't see any reason the God of Fire would lie about that." Lucy hums in agreement before saying" After the job we should look into it." Ultear just sighs and says, "Well I need to check on Meredy I just came here to confirm my suspicions I'll join the council later and look into any changes that might have happened from the old timeline as the council would have better access to information, I'll let you know if I find anything." Ultear heads off as Natsu and Lucy wave her goodbye. They then decide to have a quick dinner before heading to bed.
The Next Morning
Natsu wakes up to Lucy cuddling up to him which causes him to blush and gently wake her up Lucy yawns while rubbing her eyes and says, "Good morning Natsu." Natsu smiles and responds "Morning Luce."
Natsu makes them breakfast while Lucy packs up their tents and sleeping bags. When they're done, they enjoy a nice breakfast before Natsu puts their stuff in his Requip space and they head out to get to the village.
While they're walking Natsu has an idea and asks, "Hey Luce want to fly there?" Lucy turns to look at him confused and asks, "What do you mean?" In response Natsu grows two demonic looking wings to which Lucy stares for a bit before nodding after that Natsu picks her up bridal style and flies in the direction of the village all the while doing tricks and stunts in the air with both of them surprisingly enjoying it.
Few Hours Later
Thanks to them flying via Natsu they significantly cut down the travel time and landed in the village around midday after landing Natsu retracts his wings and they ask the villagers about the job request to which they direct them to the village chiefs house.
After arriving at the chief's house, they knock on the door. When the door opens to reveal a man who looks to be older than Makarov who seems surprised. Natsu then says, "Hi I'm Natsu and this is Lucy, we're here for the job request." The old man snaps out of it and says "Oh sorry about that, I just never expected to meet a champion of a god and a Starborn here on the same day. My name is Ethan Starbright. Nice to meet you." "A Starborn?"" How did you know?" Lucy and Natsu say respectively, causing Ethan to chuckle and say, "Come on in and I'll answer your questions." Lucy and Natsu Look at each other before following him in.
Ethan makes them some tea and they all sit around a dining table after sipping some tea Lucy asks, "What's a Starborn?"
Ethan sighs before saying "A Starborn is someone born with a strong affinity with the celestial realm so strong in fact they are granted some of the same protection the celestial spirit world has. However, a Starborn can only be born once every few centuries and only to 3 distinct families who made the first Celestial contracts 2 of these families still exist today, those being the Heartfilia's and the Starbright's."
Lucy was silent before asking "What happened to the other family?" to which Ethan responds, "No one knows they just disappeared one day no one has seen or heard from them since."
Natsu then asks, "How did you know I am a God's Champion?" to which Ethan laughs and says "Kid when you live as long as i have you pick up on a few things like being able to read someone's Aura that's how i knew about both you, being a Champion of Fire and her a Starborn. Anyways back to the job at hand I think it would be a good idea to tell you what I know before night falls and the beastly apparition comes back."