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Chapter 1: The Fated Meeting!

Normal POV

Location: Fairy Tail Guild

It was another beautiful day in the city of Magnolia, the citizens all went about their day with smiles on their faces. Meanwhile, located at the far edge of town, the Fairy Tail guild, once revered as the strongest guild of all time, were currently celebrating their victory over the Legion as well as the New Oracion Seis.

Some of the members were currently engage in another drinking session, while there were some who were busy chatting amongst themselves.

It was yet another peaceful day in the guild…

Though, it wouldn't be Fairy Tail if the term peaceful were used to describe them…

"Do you want to repeat that to my face, flame-brain?!" a ravenette growled as he shot a heated glare at a laughing pinkette. Strangely enough, the ravenette wasn't wearing any clothing asides from his boxers.

"I just said that you should consider changing your occupation from mage to stripper! I've never seen anyone get naked as quick as you." a pink-haired man smirked, causing the half-naked man to growl at him.

"Shut your mouth Natsu!"

"Gray, your clothes!" a blonde hair mage shouted at him as she covered her eyes in embarrassment.

"Ahh! Where did my clothes go?!" Gray screamed out as Natsu continued his laughter.

"Guess you just proved my point. You literally stripped in the fastest time ever!" Natsu wheezed out as Gray then blushed in embarrassment and anger.

"Why you!" Gray then charged at Natsu who dodged to the right rather easily. He smirked victoriously at this, but that quickly changed the moment he felt someone grab the collar of his vest.

"Natsu! Gray! Stop acting like little kids!" a scarlet haired knight said before she slammed both Natsu and Gray's head together, causing the two to cry out in pain while holding their head as they were dropped to the ground.

"A man will never stop fighting!" a man with white spiky haired screamed out loud from out of nowhere before getting hit at the back of his head by a paper fan.

"Not everyone is a man, you big nincompoop!" a brunette said as she kept whacking him in the back of his head.

"I guess what they say is true, that the more things change, the more things stay the same?" the blonde hair mage sighed as she stared at the chaos happening around the guild, ruining whatever hope she had for a peaceful day. Meanwhile, a young blue haired girl who was sitting next to her drinking a strawberry milkshake turned to face her.

"But without all of this, the guild would be boring, right Lucy-san?" the blue haired girl said as Lucy just smiled at her.

"You're right Wendy. You know every day you spend in the guild; you just grow more and more mature." Lucy commented as Wendy just blushed at the blonde's compliment.

"It's because I don't want to be viewed as the weak girl, everyone thinks that I am." Wendy commented softly while nibbling her two fingers together.

"Haha, don't worry Wendy, I'm certain that you're going to be an incredible mage in the future!" Lucy said causing Wendy to smile brightly before the two jolted up in shock when Natsu crashed into a nearby chair.

"Damn these assholes." Natsu growled as he slowly got up before he looked at the clock and realised something.

"Happy, it's time to go!" Natsu said as Happy, who was happily eating fish on the counter turned to face him.

"Where are we going Natsu?" Happy asked as he was chomping down on a fish.

"Well, I heard that there was a 'rumour' about a dragon at Sea Breeze Town." Natsu said ending with a small smirk on his face so that no one but Happy could see it.

The Exceed immediately understood what the pinkette was talking about and his eyes shined brightly as he tossed the remnants of his fish to the side.

"Alright let's go!" Happy cheered as he flew towards Natsu's shoulder, who smiled in return and prepared to walk out.

"Hey Natsu, do you need some company? Cause I can tag along with you if you want." Lucy asked with glint of hope shining in her eyes.

However, Natsu, not wanting anyone to know his secret along with Happy did something everyone would do when being asked to tag along when their trying to keep a secret.

Lie and then run away as fast as they can.

"Sorry Lucy, but it's only for the two of us, so bye!" and with that Natsu and Happy took off as if their life depended on it.

And in hindsight, it sort of did.

"Wait Natsu!" Lucy called out but seeing as the Dragon Slayer was too far away for her to reach, so she sighed and rested her head on the counter.

"What's wrong Lucy?" the white-haired barmaid, Mirajane asked, as she faced the blonde-haired mage who had a despondent look on her face.

"It's nothing, Mira…" Lucy responded in a glum tone but Mirajane was having none of that. Especially not when it concerned one of her friends.

"Come on Lucy, you can tell me. Is it about a guy problem?" Mirajane asked and despite her initial reluctance, Lucy slowly lifted her head and nodded.

This immediately catches Mirajane's interest as stars began shining in her eyes in excitement.

"Well, who is it then?" Mirajane asked as she leaned in towards the Celestial Mage, who knew full well that the barmaid wasn't going to leave her alone until she gave her an answer.

Sighing, she leaned in towards the silver-haired girl and whispered into her ears, "I like Natsu."

"It's NATS-Muffh!" Lucy then quickly covered the barmaid's mouth before she just revealed her biggest secret to the whole guild. Everyone turned to the two but just shrugged it off and returned to what they were doing before.

"It's Natsu?!" Mirajane whispered in shock as Lucy just nodded her head, a small blush on her cheeks.

The Demon of Fairy Tail had thought that the girl would harbour feelings for the Celestial Being of Lion, Leo, otherwise known around the guild as Loke. Though, it would appear that it wasn't the case.

'Who would have thought that she would have fell for him too.' Mirajane thought as she gave her friend a smile filled with pity.

"But Lucy, you should know that you have a lot of love rivals and I mean a lot of love rivals for his heart." Mirajane said as Lucy sighed at that.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sure there's plenty of girls from the guild and even from other guilds who are interested in him." She slumped back down onto the counter as she said that.

"That is true, but that's only a problem once you actually get your feelings through to him." Mirajane giggled while Lucy merely groaned in response, agreeing that her love rivals were the least of her problems in comparison to the denseness of her crush.

With Natsu and Happy

After making their way out of Magnolia, the Dragon Slayer and his Exceed were currently soaring through the skies, courtesy of Happy, as they progressed forward.

"So, what sort of 'rumour' did you hear this time? Or was it because you were tired of acting like an idiot all the time?" Happy teased, causing the pinkette to glare at his partner.

"You make it seem as if you're any better since all you do is just eat fish all the time!" He retorted before sighing as he stared at the palm of his hand.

"Besides, after the battle against the Midnight and the others, it really infuriated me at how much that I need to hold back my true strength." He shook his head.

Regardless of what the others might think of him, there were many things that the guild did not know about their Salamander. First and foremost, his trips to search for Igneel, weren't accurate whatsoever. Rather, it was so that he and Happy would be able to continue training behind everyone's noses.

And the reason for this was rather simple. It was because Natsu Dragneel was the Dragon Prince.

Flashback

"Natsu come over here." a red dragon called out to the young pink haired boy.

The dragon was covered with dark, red scales. He has scars on his belly and neck, with the largest one, which is an X-shaped, located on the centre of his body. His back has numerous black spikes, reaching down all the way from his back to the end of his tail. The dragon has a triangular head with horns, a pair of large, round eyes with yellow sclera and a sharp horn pointing upwards just above his nose. The dragon also sports very sharp canine teeth, and has claws with long, sharp, red nails. The dragon's bony wings resemble that of a bat.

This was Igneel the current Fire Dragon King.

"What is it dad?" A younger Natsu asked as he walked up to the dragon, his body covered with bruises and scars that he got from training.

"Did you now that tomorrow will be the seventh day of the seventh month?" Igneel asked as Natsu widened his eyes in shock before lowering his head in sadness.

"Yeah, I just didn't think it was so soon." Natsu said softly as tears started forming in his eyes. While Igneel just placed his giant hand over his head.

"Do not cry my son. Just know that I will always be watching over you." Igneel smiled as Natsu smiled as well.

"Alright! I won't disappoint you, dad!" Natsu said and Igneel looked down at his surrogate son.

He was certain that his wife would have loved to be here with them, but due to her duties, she was unable to partake. Though at the thought of his wife, the Fire Dragon King recalled something.

"Before I forget, Natsu before you enter the human world and get into fights, you should not use your full power whatsoever." Igneel stated which cause Natsu to fall on his face.

"But why not? I had to train hard in order to get all of these powers and you're telling me that I can't use it in fights? Then what's the points of me learning it?!" Natsu yelled incredulously, pointing at Igneel in outrage.

"I never said you will never be able to use it. I said you should not use it! There's a massive difference." Igneel said with annoyance in his voice as he flicked at the pinkette's forehead causing him to drop to the ground, as he rubbed his forehead in pain.

"I guess that's fine, but why?" Natsu asked with a clueless expression on his face.

"As you know, the strength that you possess is much stronger to those other Dragon Slayers, much less wizards. So, in order to not hurt them severely, you'll need to tone down your power to a minimum." Igneel explained and the pinkette nodded his head, understanding what his father was saying to him.

"So, what you're saying is that if I caused too much destruction in the land, I might get targeted by the humans from the higher-ups?" Natsu asked and Igneel nodded, with a proud smile on his face.

"Yes, I'm glad that you're finally learning." Igneel teased and Natsu growled in return.

"Yeah whatever… Anyways, shouldn't you be telling me the real reason why you called me from my training?" Natsu raised an eyebrow as Igneel smiled again.

"You are smart, my son. You are right, I am not calling you out to merely tell you about me leaving but, because the dragon association has granted you the title of-"

Flashback End

"The title of the Dragon Prince. The highest title among all Dragon Slayers and even Dragons. And second only to the Dragon King." Natsu uttered, recalling the words his father had said to him then.

While he had been ecstatic at the time, that excitement slowly died down as the years went on. Though, it was only because he had never been allowed to unleash his full strength before. There were plenty of situations where he would have loved to go all out in battle. The battle against Gildarts and Acnologia appearing in his mind.

Though, at the mere thought of Acnologia, Natsu couldn't help but narrow feel genuine anger towards the dragon. Not only had it terrorised the world for years, but it had endangered his friends' lives while they were at Tenroujima Island. While it was a situation that would have required him to fight at full strength, he had somehow managed to sense the awakening of Master Mavis, which caused him to hold back his strength.

However, the pinkette knew that there will be a day where he would need to face Acnologia in a battle to the death.

Though his train of thought was interrupted the moment he felt Happy touching his face, "Hey Natsu, do you mind if I speed up? I really want to master my ability!" Happy exclaimed while the Dragon Prince could only chuckle. The excitement that the Exceed was showing was similar, albeit a bit more than the first time he had taught Happy to use that ability.

"Yeah, we should head on over there then. Wouldn't want to waste precious time." With that, the blue Exceed went at max speed as he carried the pinkette to their destination.

With ?

Location: Unknown

Light shone in brightly through a single window, causing the figure lying on the bed to groan slightly as they tilted to the side in order to block it. Based on the figure's raven long hair and luscious figure, the person could be easily distinguished to be a female.

The female was about to return back into the land of unconsciousness, but unfortunately for her, fate would not permit that to happen.

"Kei! Are you awake?!" The door was immediately slammed open as someone entered the room. Though the figure of the 'person' wasn't at all predictable considering the fact that the figure was rather small, smaller than what a human child should look like. Rather, the shape of the figure was similar to that of a cat, and not to mention that this particular figure was indeed flying.

The woman lying on the bed, now revealed as Kei, internally sighed to herself, but knew that she wouldn't get any further sleep now that her partner was here.

"Yes, I'm awake now Sachi." She responded as she slowly got up from the bed, she turned her vision to the door where her beloved Exceed was at as a small smile adorned her face.

She recalled how she found a comically large egg suddenly appeared in her house, and despite her sister's insistence to cook the egg, Kei protected it due to her curiosity and it was safe to say, she didn't regret her decision one bit considering how much of a support Sachi was in her life.

"Great! Now that you're up, what are we going to do today?" Sachi asked excitedly as she flew over towards Kei before landing on the bed.

The ravenette chuckled slightly as she placed a soft hand on the Exceed's head, "We'll just be relaxing at home today. I'm sure you're in no mood to head to town anyways."

Sachi's face immediately shined brightly as she flew around Kei in joy and the woman couldn't help but smile at her friend's childish reaction. Though, she couldn't help but agree with her sentiment as she would much rather spend time together at home rather than be in the city.

There was only so much she could handle when it came to the gazes from the men in the town. Especially knowing that she would do nothing against them, unless provoked.

Shaking her head of such thoughts, Kei slowly got out of bed as she stretched her body, "Well, let me go and get ready first, then we can head out and collect some berries in the forest." Sachi nodded her head as she flew out of the room in order to give her friend some privacy.

With that, the girl entered the shower, and it only took her a few minutes before she exited the bathroom, donned in a brand-new outfit.

Currently, she is now wearing a black leather jacket, a blue undershirt and some cut-off jeans which reveals her smooth and luscious legs to the world. While her outfit did not reveal much, a sane man would still be able to tell that she had a very attractive figure.

After collecting the necessary items, Kei and Sachi then ventured out of their homes, completely unaware that this decision might end up changing their lives forever.

With Natsu

Upon arriving at Sea Breeze Town, Natsu and Happy decided to have a quick pitstop at a place where they could have some lunch, and after filling up their stomachs, the two then headed off towards a nearby forest.

"Come on Natsu! I can just fly us to the centre and we'd be there in no time!" Happy urged his partner, tugging at his shirt, though the pinkette merely chuckled.

"I can understand that you're excited to test out your skills again, but there's no point in rushing it." Happy pouted at his response but understood what he meant.

"I know… I just want to master my skills so that everyone would stop thinking that I'm just a regular cat that can speak and fly." Natsu smiled as he patted his partner's head, he knew exactly what how the Exceed felt. After all, it was a similar case with him, as the entire guild, and probably everyone else in Fiore, knew him as an idiotic, reckless fool who can only cause destruction.

"Looks like we're both suffering the same type of problem, huh" The Dragon Prince smiled getting a nod from the Exceed.

The two eventually arrived in a clearing in the middle of the forest, dense trees surrounded them, and it was a distance away from all life. This meant that no one would be able to see them or hear them.

"Well then, let's get this show on the road." Natsu smiled as Happy flew towards the front before he was engulfed by a dark light.

After a short while, the light died down and the small creature that Happy once was, was now replaced by something entirely different… something more menacing.

In Happy's place was a blue coloured werewolf-anubis hybrid. Its body was filled with black stripes all over and its eyes glowed an intimidating red. Asides from that, on its back were small wings while its tail had sharp spikes surrounding it.

'Happy' then released a loud roar which not only caused the entire ground to vibrate, but for every animal resting in its home to run away in fear. Yet Natsu remained in place, completely unfazed by what he was seeing, as he sighed.

"Looks like you're still struggling to control that power, huh? Let's hope that changes today." Natsu said as he closed his eyes.

He could still remember the day when he had taught Happy this ancient magical power.

Flashback

Location: Fairy Tail Guild (Library)

"Natsu, how is being cooped up in a library going to help me become stronger?" Happy asked as he flew around Natsu before landing on his head.

Natsu smiled at this as he looked up from the book that he was reading to face his partner, "Well, we know that you're an Exceed after reading some of these books, and they said that alongside your Aera magic, you're capable of learning different types of magic." The Exceed's eyes brightened up at the thought.

"So I can learn even stronger magic and be on par with you?" Natsu nodded his head as Happy cheered and began flying around in happiness.

"That's awesome!" he cheered, but that was when his wings died out due to his lack of magic and crashed into a shelf, causing the books on it to crash down onto him.

Natsu quickly scavenged for the downed Exceed, but that was when he knocked into a book that dropped to the ground.

'Got to teach Happy on self-control next time.' The Dragon Prince thought to himself before picking up the book and after scanning through its context, his eyes widened before a smirk grew on his face.

Happy, managed to wake up to see his 'father' smirking to himself, causing him to be confused,

"Natsu? What's wrong?" the pinkette then turned the book over to Happy with a smile as the Exceed stared at the giant black figure on the page.

"I've found out a way to get you stronger."

Flashback End

Of course, it hadn't been as easy as he would have liked as the Exceed initially had trouble even manifesting the ability which led to certain problems and all, but with enough hard work, Happy was finally able to fully utilise its ability. Though, it was a shame as he still had difficulty in controlling its ability, a problem both of them hope would be resolved today.

"Well then, I shouldn't waste any more time as well." With that said, the Dragon Prince snapped his fingers which then caused a torrent of flames to engulf him, and the moment the flames dissipated, his appearance was completely different to the pinkette everyone knew.

His trademark pink hair was now black in colour, while his black eyes were a menacing red. His entire body also had scales on them, as if he were in Dragon Force. Though the most notable traits that people would point out, would be the dark red wings which sprouted on his back as well as the long red tail coming from behind him.

This was the true form of the Dragon Prince.

"Man, it's been such a long time since I returned to my true form!" Natsu said happily as he stretched out.

"You know, I'm really jealous of you, Natsu. You look so cool in your real form." Happy said in a rough voice.

"I miss being in my real form too, unfortunately we have to hide it from everyone. We can't risk being found out by them." Natsu said disappointedly but he knew the consequences of his actions.

Despite what people think of him, Natsu was actually responsible of his actions and knows what is right from wrong. After all, as the Dragon Prince, he had LOTS of responsibility. In fact, he could choose NOT to destroy buildings during missions if he wanted to. However, every now and again, he wanted to release some of the energy that he kept during all of it, and it just so happened to cause some damage during missions.

It wasn't because he was having fun from doing it… most certainly not.

"Anyways…" Happy started off with a smirk.

"Let the battle begin!" Natsu and Happy said at the same time before charging at each other.

Natsu lunged at his partner as his flames, which used to be a bright orange-red, was now a complete black, engulfed his arm.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu then punched Happy in the gut, and the force of the attack was strong enough to push the Exceed a distance back.

"That hurts quite a bit, but what can I expect from a Dragon Prince? Darkness Roar!" Happy then shot out a beam of negative energy straight at Natsu.

"I'm definitely not going to stand around and see what that'll do." Natsu said as he quickly dodged the attack by taking off into the air, as his wings flapped to keep him afloat.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu then fired a torrent of black flames from his mouth whilst in the air. Though, similar to him, Happy easily avoided his attack by merely jumping over to the side.

"Hyper Slash!" Happy's claws then glowed red before he jumped into the air and then started flying towards Natsu.

Happy then started slashing continuously in an attempt to strike the Dragon Prince. Though, unfortunately for Happy, Natsu managed to avoid every single attack with ease.

Happy slashed downwards at Natsu once more, but this time the Dragon Prince managed to grab it, and he immediately flinched the moment he felt his hand burning just from touching it.

"Fire Dragon's Claw!" Utilising the fact that his opponent was unable to move, Natsu immediately swung his leg down towards Happy, who was unable to block the attack as he was sent downwards.

Though before he could even touch the ground, Natsu quickly reappeared right in front of Happy before sending a direct punch at the Exceed, this time sending him crashing into a tree.

"Come on Happy! I expected more of a show from you!" Natsu taunted as Happy got back up and growled at the pinkette.

"Then face this! Hyper Slash!" Happy then charged at Natsu before he kept on the offensive by slashing at Natsu who, once again, managed to avoid them all with ease.

Though, with what happened before, Happy already knew that he wouldn't be able to land a hit on Natsu without any sort plan, so this time, he decided to use his tail to trip the Dragon Prince, causing him to stumble for a brief moment. Though, that was the very chance Happy required as he managed to land a direct slash across Natsu's chest, causing the pinkette to grit his teeth as pain surged through his body.

Just as Happy was about to capitalise on this opportunity to attack Natsu again, the pinkette decided to utilise his own tail by wrapping it around one of Happy's hind leg and pulled on it, causing him to stumble. This allowed Natsu to land a direct kick at the Exceed's midsection, causing him to cough out some saliva, as Natsu quickly created some distance between the two of them.

"That was pretty good Happy, you actually got me that time." The pinkette praised.

"Yeah, well don't be too surprised, as I'm about to defeat you this time!" Happy fired off another beam of darkness at Natsu who managed to repel it with his flames, though by doing this, he managed to lost track of his partner.

Though he didn't have to wait long as Happy lunged at his back, landing several attacks on Natsu's back. Though this also gave the Dragon Prince and opportunity to grab his opponent's arm, and by engulfing his other hand with flames, he landed another direct punch at Happy, sending him crashing into another nearby tree.

"Did you really expect me to fall for such a trick, Happy? Surely you can do better than that!" Natsu taunted as Happy emerged from the tree again, but this time, his eyes were no longer a bright red, rather it was clouded over with darkness as Happy immediately released a loud roar once more.

'It looks like Happy lost control of that power again.' Natsu thought with a sigh as he watched Happy firing out beams after beams from his mouth at his surroundings, completely destroying everything in his path.

"Well then, it looks like training's over! Sorry about this Happy, but this is going to hurt!" Natsu said as he charged at Happy while managing to dodge all of his attacks. Happy, finally noticing the Dragon Prince, lunged towards the Dragon Prince with a loud cry.

Though, that ended up as a mistake, as Natsu was able to avoid the attack before grabbing Happy's face. In response to this, the beast attempted to free itself by struggling, but the Dragon Prince had a strong grasp on his partner's face.

Natsu began channelling his flames as black flames began dancing around his entire body.

"Holy Flame Dragon's Mode!"

Though the moment he activated this mode, white flames began swirling around his body alongside the black flames.

"This is it! Holy Flame Dragon's Dragon Sword!" Natsu engulfed his free hand with his black-white flames before he slowly placed a fist at Happy's abdomen. The result after that was instantaneous, as a massive blast immediately sent Happy flying through the sky into the forest, as his body crashed into several trees.

Natsu sighed to himself as he returned to his regular form before quickly rushing into the forest in order to chase after Happy.

After a while of searching, the Dragon Prince finally found the unconscious form of Happy who was lying on the ground. Though, this time, back in his original form. Yet the battle damage could still be seen throughout his body as burn marks and bruises could be seen scattered across the Exceed's body.

Natsu sighed in relief, upon seeing his partner, before walking up to him, white flames engulfing his hand as he placed it atop of Happy's head.

"Heal." as soon as that word escaped Natsu's mouth, a bright light then covered Happy and all of the wounds that the Exceed sustained during the battle immediately recovered, almost as if he had never been in a battle a while ago.

Seeing that his partner would be unconscious for a while longer, the pinkette decided to rest against a tree and gently placed his friend on his lap, as he looked up at the sky with a smile.

He definitely appreciated these peaceful moments of time that was given to him. Though, he couldn't deny that there was indeed something missing in his life.

Something that everyone, including his parents, would normally tell him about. A partner, or a mate in dragon terms.

The thought of finding one, definitely has crossed his mind before, but he had never actually tried going for it before. Of course, he wasn't totally unaware of the feelings of some of his guildmates such as Lucy or Lisanna, but he just couldn't see himself with either one of them. While he did spend a lot of his childhood with Lisanna, including the time when they raised Happy, he had never been able to be himself around her… or anyone else for that matter.

It was less of him trusting them, but more of his fear of being shunned once again. His early days in the Fairy Tail guild had been anything but fantastic, and while he was happy to finally find a home within the guild, he had never once dared to ruin whatever he currently had.

Perhaps there would be a day when he'd be able to find that special someone…

After a couple of hours, the Exceed finally woke up from his slumber.

"Natsu? What happened?" Happy asked groggily as he looked up to stare at his 'father'.

"That power managed to take control over you again, and I had to knock you out before you caused anymore destruction." He explained and it took a while for the words to go through the Exceed's head, as a disappointed look formed on his face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Natsu asked in concern upon seeing such a look on his partner's face.

"The same thing happened again… I lost control of my power and I nearly rampaged out again…Will I ever be able to master this ability?" Happy asked despondently and Natsu frowned when he heard such a tone, but he smiled and placed a hand on his partner's head causing the Exceed to look up at his 'father'.

"Hey, don't worry about it too much. You've already improved so much from the last time you first learned about this ability, so I know it's only a matter of time before you successfully control it." The pinkette reassured and the disappointed look that was etched on Happy's face, slowly turned to one that was filled with life.

"Yeah… you're right! I'm sure I'll be able to master this ability!"

"Now that's the spirit! Anyways, we should probably head out now and get some food, I'm starving!" He chuckled as he got up and stretched his body while Happy nodded his head with a smile.

"Aye sir!" The Exceed grinned.

"Alright let's get going then!" Natsu said as they started walking ahead.

Though it was safe to say that after everything, the two were still in the forest, lost and unsure as to where they were headed.

"Natsu we've probably been walking around in circles by now! Do you even know where we're going at all?" Happy asked, annoyance laced in his tone.

"I do! We were supposed to see the exit a few minutes ago!" Natsu protested.

"Does that look like the exit to you?" Happy asked as he pointed his finger in front of him. And to prove his point, the road in front of him were full of trees, no signs of an exit through it whatsoever.

Natsu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Well, we wouldn't be lost in the forest if SOMEONE could just stop being lazy and fly us out of here!"

"Have you forgotten that I've used up all my energy after the fight? Your flames can heal injuries not restore stamina!" Happy retorted.

"That's bullshit! You were sleeping for a few hours, what do you mean you're still exhausted?!"

"Well, YOU could fly us out of the forest if you're so determined about leaving!" Happy growled.

"Yeah, and if I did that, everyone would see my true form!" Natsu retorted.

While the two were busy arguing with one another. Neither one of them paid attention to both Kei and Sachi, who were watching their argument from behind the bushes, both of them gazing at the two.

Now, let's see how they managed to get into this situation.

Flashback

After exiting their house a while back, Kei and Sachi were currently scouring the forest for some berries. However, unfortunately for them, they were only able to find a couple of them.

"Ugh where are those stupid berries?" Sachi whined while Kei giggled at the Exceed's childishness.

"We will find it Sachi please be patient." Kei said in a soft voice as Sachi then flew over Kei's head and rested on it.

As the two were still looking for the berries. No sound was made between the two of them, and after a short while, Sachi decided to break it.

"Kei do you think that you will find someone that you love?" Sachi asked out of the blue which caused Kei to blush as she stared at the Exceed mortifyingly.

"W-what kind of question is that?" Kei shouted in embarrassment as Sachi got off her head and flew right in front of the ravenette.

"Well, I was just a bit curious since we've been living by ourselves most of our lives, and for the life of me, I don't recall you showing any interest for any guy before, so…" Sachi stated as Kei sighed in response.

"I can't deny that, but perhaps I might fall in love if I ever find a person that's actually interested in trying to know me, rather than looking down at my chest every five seconds." Kei responded angrily, remembering all those time when the men of the town would stare at her with lustful eyes.

Heck, the only reason no one would try and approach her, was for two main reasons. The first was her sister. Her sister was well-known throughout the world as being one of the strongest mage in the entire Fiore region, perhaps even further than that. The second was that, despite her appearance, Kei was reasonably strong, at least in compared to regular people. Though that might also be thanks to Kei's older sister who had made it a must to train her little sister in the ways of self-defence so that she would be able to defend herself whenever necessary.

Those poor men who had approached her strongly before would never be able to walk up to her again without covering their private parts ever again.

Though, to say that she never once dreamed about being in a relationship would be a lie. Kei couldn't help but blush upon remembering all those times when she would talk about finding a prince of her own when she grew older to marry and all (She was certain her sister and mother still remembers this and she made it a point to prevent her future partner to hear about this). In all seriousness, there were still times when she would dream about it.

Finding someone whom she could love, and who loves her back just as much. She wasn't interested in finding someone who was completely attractive like the other townspeople, all she was after was someone that could understand her.

She just wished that there would be a day when she could find someone like that.

"Yeah, but you should really try-" Though Sachi couldn't finish her sentence the moment Kei placed a finger on her lips. The two quickly sneaked over to the side of a bush where they heard some shouting.

It wasn't often when there would be people in the forest, as most people would make sure to stay by the main road at all times. Heck, it was one of the reason Kei was staying in such a place, considering her older sister practically demanded she stay in a place that was obscure and free of people.

The two peeked over the bushes they were hiding behind and saw a pink-haired male shouting at a blue Exceed.

"Well, we wouldn't be lost in the forest if SOMEONE could just stop being lazy and fly us out of here!"

"Have you forgotten that I've used up all my energy after the fight? Your flames can heal injuries not restore stamina!"

"That's bullshit! You were sleeping for a few hours, what do you mean you're still exhausted?!"

"Well,YOUcould fly us out of the forest if you're so determined about leaving!"

"Yeah, and if I did that, everyone would see my true form!"

As the two were quarrelling, both Kei and Sachi were hiding behind some bushes.

"Who are they? Also, is it just me, or is that other Exceed really cute?" Sachi asked curiously, her white skin painted with a red blush across her cheeks.

Though, it was safe to say that Kei did not hear what her friend had said as she maintained her focus on that pink-haired man. Just the mere sight of him was causing her heart to beat rapidly, faster than ever before, and she had no idea what the reason was.

'What is this feeling?' Kei thought to herself as she placed a hand on her beating heart.

Flashback End

"Stop spouting your nonsense! I know you can still fly." Natsu growled.

"Don't you think if I could do so, I would have done it by now?! I don't want to be in this forest just as much as you do!" Happy retorted.

While the two were quarrelling Kei and Sachi decided that it was time for them to leave so they walked back slightly.

However, before they could even take a step back.

"Find then, let's get those people behind the bushes to find our way out of here." Natsu said, pointing his thumb at the girls' direction.

Both Kei and Sachi were shocked, wondering how the pinkette managed to notice them seeing as they hadn't made any loud sounds which alerted them.

"So then, why don't the two of you get out of there?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow. Didn't they know that if they wanted to stay hidden, they shouldn't be talking?

The two slowly got up, with Kei putting her hands up in the air as if she were a criminal that got caught by the police. And to be fair, it almost seemed that way as well.

Her eyes suddenly caught sight of the pinkette's eyes as the two gazed at one another before he eventually broke eye contact.

"So… who are you two?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

"My name is Kei, and this is my friend, Sachi. The two of us actually live nearby and we were searching for some berries when we heard you two shouting and were curious." Kei responded and Natsu stared at her, trying to detect if she were lying and upon seeing the calm look on the girl's face, he nodded his head.

"I see, well if that's the case, do you know the way out of here? My partner and I are lost and we've been here for quite some time now."

Kei was about to respond when,

"Yo boss, I managed to find someone here!" a booming voice resonated in the forest, forcing Natsu to shield his ears. Seconds later, a large group of people began appearing in the clearing they were all standing in. The one standing in front of them all, and most probably the leader of the lot, was a brunette, wearing stereotypical thugs clothing.

"My, my, what do we have here? A rather attractive lady, I must say." The brunette said, looking at Kei with a lustful look on his face as the ravenette felt a shiver run down her spine as she glared at the man.

"Hey brat, you better not be thinking of doing anything stupid. If you don't wanna die, leave the woman here and scram. Don't worry, we'll return her back after we're done with her."

"Though they'll probably be broken by then." The men all laughed and Kei was horrified at what she was hearing but before she could even respond back, the pinkette stepped forward.

Kei was about to stop him, but the Dragon Prince turned to face her with a smile.

"Don't worry about it, let me handle them." Natsu reassured, walking forward to face the dark guild member who seems to be examining the pinkette before his eyes widened in shock.

"B-boss, i-isn't that the infamous Salamander from Fairy Tail?!" Everyone's eyes widened in shock and upon closer inspection, they all realised he truly was the famed Salamander of Fairy Tail.

No one else had pink hair and a trademark scaly scarf wrapped around their neck.

Nervousness began welling up in their hearts…in all but one.

"Hah? Fairy Tail? Don't you boys remember that the Fairy Tail guild are filled with nothing but losers?" This comment caused two different type of reactions from the people within the area.

The first would be acknowledgement and glee from the people who were with the brunette, the second was annoyance from both Natsu and Happy, who didn't take that comment too lightly.

"Besides, who cares if he's the Salamander or not? If we can defeat him right here, we'll be able to make a name for ourselves!" The brunette smirked as he instantly began charging in at the pinkette who could only stare at him.

Just when he was an inch away from the Dragon Prince, the dark guild leader instantly faked a punch to the left before sending a right hook at the pinkette.

Upon feeling his punch connecting, he smirked maliciously. However…

"Ah! My hand!" he yelled out in pain as Natsu gripped onto the aforementioned limb tightly. This caused the brunette to drop to the ground as his free arm gripped his hand in pain.

"So, what about you guys? You coming too?" Natsu asked in a bored tone, and this angered each and every one of them as they grabbed their respective weapons before charging at the lone Fairy Tail member.

Though Natsu had no trouble in dispatching them whatsoever as he defeated them all with ease, not even bothering to use his magic against them.

Also, sometime during the scuffle, one of the dark guild members decided to try to sneak up behind Kei, in order to use her as a hostage, but before he could even lay a hand on her, she managed to avoid him before sending a direct kick to his face, which managed to knock him out unconscious.

A few minutes later,

Natsu then wiped the dirt of off his vest and began walking towards Happy and the two females, all around him were the unconscious bodies of the opponents he had faced.

"Is this seriously the best a dark guild can do?" Natsu sighed, feeling a little bit disappointed, as Happy walked towards Natsu.

"You're already stronger than most dark guild. Why do you bother in going full strength?" Happy asked curiously.

"I wasn't even fighting in full strength. All of them were just ridiculously weak." Natsu scoffed as Happy shrugged before he climbed up Natsu's shoulder.

"Anyways…" Natsu then turned to Kei and Sachi.

"Sorry about all that trouble. My name is Natsu Dragneel and this is my partner, Happy, and as they said it just now, we're from the Fairy Tail guild." Natsu introduced themselves with a bow seeing as the girls had introduced themselves prior to all of the fighting.

"Wait a minute, your name is Happy?" Sachi asked as she flew towards the blue Exceed.

"Yup, it is!"

"Then that means both our names mean happy!" Sachi exclaimed happily.

"That's right!" Happy said as he attempted to take flight but due to his exhaustion from his battle earlier on, he was unable to control himself, and would have fell to the ground had it not been for the quick thinking of the pinkette who caught him.

"Come on, let's go and play over there!" Sachi said as she pulled Happy's hand and flew off.

"Well, it looks like Happy managed to get a new friend for himself." Natsu chuckled, smiling as he watched the scene unfolding before him.

"Yup, and it looks like the same thing could be said for Sachi." Kei smiled, as she stood beside the pinkette.

All of a sudden, a growling sound could be heard within the forest, and the girl looked around frantically, wondering where the source of the sound was, only for Natsu to rub the back of his head sheepishly as he pointed towards his stomach.

"Sorry about that, I guess I'm feeling a bit hungry." Natsu said as Kei couldn't help but release a giggle, "Well, I have cabin just right over there if you want some food, it's the least I could do for saving me from that dark guild." Kei said as she pointed at the general direction of her house.

"Great, let's go!" Natsu said as he grabbed Kei's hand which shocked her as he ran at a fast pace.

While Kei was trying to match her pace with the pinkette, she managed to look up to see his grinning face, which managed to cause a small blush to form on her face as she allowed herself to get dragged.

Despite the fact that she was almost attacked by members from a dark guild, and the fact she knew nothing about the pinkette in front of her, somehow, she felt comfortable with him. It was almost as of his presence soothed her concerns and fear.

Meanwhile, Natsu continued running through the forest with his brand-new friend, overjoyed that he was able to befriend another person.

However, unknown to the both of them, perhaps this friendship was the start… of something more?

End Chapter

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