Well, my drive for writing Fairy Tail fanfiction had been gone for quite a while. But this has been a project in the works ever since sketchywolf asked me to try doing it. Since I promised I'd try, here we are. It was surprisingly fun the end, I hope you like it.
The most recent addition to Fairy Tail heaved a great big sigh, likely her third for this hour alone. Okay, she knew getting into Fairy Tail would lead to chaos, her arrival at the guild only reinforcing the sentiment. But this?
''How long are you going to keep sulking, Lucy?''
Brown eyes narrowed at the blue feline walking behind her ''Well, considering you tricked me to take the job all because of that embarrassing maid gig, nearly brought the mansion down on our heads and then left me dealing with a motion sick Natsu, I think I'm entitled to be at least a little upset!''
Well, damn-he had no rebuttal for that. In retrospect, they might have been a little mean to her.
''I know Mira-san said first jobs can be rough but I'm pretty sure none of this would've crossed her mind. Maybe I should've asked one of the others right from the get go, at least they would've been honest with me!''
The cat fidgeted a bit under her gaze, looking up at his partner for help. Perhaps he could defuse the situation...
''Aw, come on, you're being dramatic. It worked out, didn't it?''
...aaaand clearly, that was hoping for too much.
The pink haired teen in question was met with a steely gaze ''So you'd be okay treating any of your other friends like that? You think they'd just accept it?'' No response ''See?''
''Give it a rest...'' The blue feline began to say when a new voice reached their ears.
''Natsu? Happy? What's going on?''
The speaker was an adorable cat around Happy's height, except female. Her soft purple fur and bright hazel eyes lending further contrast. Accompanying her was a brunet young man, his vivid blue eyes observing the three with a curiosity shared by his companion.
''Hey, guys...'' Happy waved a paw. ''...it's...kind of a long story.''
The second cat let out a hum ''...You're that new girl, right? Mira said they went on a job with you...what did you guys this time?''
Natsu and Happy spluttered at the accusation but Lucy thought the reaction only lent credence to her growing suspicion.
''That's just mean!''
''Why do you have to say it like that?''
''Because it's you two we're talking about.''
Lucy noted with interest that even the brunet was giving them a look that clearly spoke of his agreement. Something that seemed to annoy Natsu ''Hey, the jobs we did before turned out fine!''
''That's a very broad definition of fine.'' The cat deadpanned.
Rolling his eyes, the brunet made a few motions with his hands which a surprised Lucy recognized as sign language. Hold on, he mentioned their last job together and...
What was that about sea monsters?
Natsu's entire being seemed to slump at the counter ''Low blow, man, low blow.''
''Give it up, even I know you're never winning that one.'' Happy deadpanned.
Shaking her head, the female cat looked over at Lucy ''Hi! I'm Belle and that's my partner Riku.'' The brunet waved with a smile which she returned.
''Hey there, you guys apparently know about me so it goes without saying but I'm Lucy.''
''You're making waves already.'' Belle nodded ''We heard you guys took some weird job that involves a book for some obscene price. Was that as fishy as it sounds?''
''Pretty much...'' Lucy held back a wince at the reminder.
Riku caught Belle's gaze and gestured in the guild's direction, the latter catching on ''Oh, right. We need to get this stuff over...'' Only then did the blonde spot the bags being lifted in a golden bubble above Belle, realizing she'd been doing that all along ''...so you guys want to come? Mira promised she'd cook something good and she always makes lots.''
''That sounds perfect.''
Upon learning what transpired, Belle had only one comment ''Yeah, no-I'm definitely with Lucy. That was uncalled for.''
''Thank you!''
Lucy had learned quite a bit along the way. Belle was like Happy in that her magic allowed her to fly, both having met their partners by chance but she'd also endeavored to learn different types of magic over the years. It hadn't taken her long to realize that Riku was in fact mute, hence his use of sign language. This did also lead to the confirmation of something she was already coming to suspect.
''So them going off half-cocked and hoping for the best is nothing new, huh?''
''Pretty much.''
Upon spotting the chaos in the guild, Natsu was all too eager to leap right in. Lucy gave her companions a bland look ''...I'm going to have to get used to this pretty quick, aren't I?'' Three nods ''Figures...''
Belle led them to some seats away from the ensuing brawl as Riku headed off to deposit their luggage. Lucy could only stare as a barrel went flying ''You know, looking at it now, I've got to wonder how this building's standing.''
''I think loads of people asked at one point...'' Happy blanched as a couple of spells flew at them, Lucy immediately grabbing him and Belle as she prepared to duck.
But they didn't have much to worry about. A moment later, a purple spell circle formed, creating a spinning black vortex that seemed to absorb the spells before vanishing. Both felines sighed in relief before looking up as Riku approached with a white haired girl whose blue eyes were on the three of them of them ''Ah, there you are. Everything okay?''
''Yeah, it's just the usual stuff...'' Happy gestured towards the brawl and she nodded.
''Well, what do you say to a little food then?''
A few bites of Mira's cooking had Lucy completely sold, no wonder her friends were looking forward to this!
Evidently, her expression spoke for itself as an amused Happy proved ''Totally awesome, right? Mira's cooking is the best!''
''Well, I'm glad you like it.'' Aforementioned girl beamed ''So I hear you had a unique start to guild life, Lucy.''
''You can say that again.'' Her joy at being invited to Natsu and Happy's team lasted until she found out their trick, as the job specifically required a blonde girl, which left her rather irked. But since she'd already agreed and the job would offer some pay and experience, she went for it.
But man, that duke was a creep and a moron with no taste. How could anyone call those maids beautiful?
They hadn't exactly finished the job so her teammates refused the money. It had bothered her at the time (hey, her apartment might be new but she did need to prepare her rent) but Natsu and Happy were principled and so they could never take the money under those circumstances.
No, she simply had one issue with the entire thing ''I'm glad we beat that jerk and let Kaby get his dad's book but that could've been really bad, the mansion was falling apart. We could've gotten hurt.''
Happy wasn't about to argue ''Aye, I guess it's so natural that I don't bother thinking about it anymore.''
''So all those stories about Natsu's destructive adventures are...''
''100% true, yeah.'' He nodded ''Of course, same goes for most of the guild. I hear Master was pretty bad too.''
Mira held back a laugh ''He really was-he can pretend to tell everyone off all he wants but...'' Another portal opened just in time to swallow up an ice blast and a blast of smoke. ''...well, I think the signs speak for themselves.''
Lucy only nodded as Belle raised a shield with one wave of her paw, huffing. Experience told her that telling them to contain their brawling would go nowhere. You either learned to defend yourself or to get out of dodge.
''Although speaking of stories, I've heard a bunch about Riku too.'' The celestial mage had taken to learning more about Fairy Tail over time and she'd come to discover names like Salamander and Titania becoming prominent. Another example was a versatile mage with the epithet of Bahamut whose description was matching up with Riku. ''But I've never been clear on what kind of magic he actually uses...''
''Oh, probably because he uses different types.'' Happy offered. ''Riku's actually a darkness dragon slayer. He's pretty good with earth magic and he knows some runes and telekinesis too. Our friend's been teaching him and Belle his brand of magic.''
Impressed, the girl looked on at the pair, who only smiled. ''That's really cool. Wait, if you're a dragon slayer, is the motion sickness thing...?''
Riku seemed to be expecting the question 'Yeah, it seems to happen to most of us. Basically, we're especially sensitive to transporation because it clashes with how the magic changes us. We found a few ways to help but how it's handled depends on the person.'
Having opted to read up on sign language a while back out of boredom, Lucy was pleasantly surprised to find that she could still understand him with little trouble. It was a little weird for transportation to be such a weakness, actually. But that really did complicate things, she did hear of some magic that can change a person physically so getting around that would be complicated.
''Hey, there's our super newbie!''
A brunette girl approached the group, amused violet eyes focused on Lucy. Belle waved ''Hi, Cana!''
''Hey, Shortstack.'' She patted the feline's head fondly.
Lucy blinked ''Super newbie?''
''Well, aside from the fact that you're really the first person Natsu ever wanted to really team up with-there's all the stuff you got off too lately. That's one hell of a start.''
The blond's shoulders slumped ''Oh, good-so it wasn't just me thinking that? Happy keeps telling me I'm being dramatic.''
''Yeah, well...'' Cana's eyes traveled to the brawl ''...considering his partner, his standards are plenty ridiculous.''
''Hey, I'm right here!''
Belle gave her fellow feline a bland look ''Is she wrong though?''
Shaking his head in amusement, Riku addressed Cana 'We were telling her a bit about everyone. She seems interested in your magic-maybe you can do her fortune?'
Cana perked up, facing their new guildmate with a growing smile...
The brawl was soon put to a stop with the arrival of their guildmaster, Makarov. One punch of his titanic form enough to silence any dissenters.
Belle cringed ''You'd think I'd be used to this by now...''
Happy didn't so much as blink ''Watch them shake it off and act like nothing happened in just a few hours.''
Both wondered once again, just what their friends so enjoyable about the brawls. It wasn't like they ever ended well. The best thing one could say about this was that the resilence was admirable, if nothing else.
''Gah...'' A grey eyed young man ran a hand through his dark looks, walking beside his friends. This was Gray Fullbuster. ''...did Gramps have to take it that far?''
''Suck it up, Master's a real Man!'' The muscled, tanned skin white haired young man clenched. He was Elfman Strauss.
Gray rolled his eyes but chose not to respond, his eyes roaming the hall ''Oh, Riku, Belle, I didn't know you were back already.''
Riku gave a small wave while Belle half-smiled ''Well, the client was pretty helpful so we got around to dealing with the monsters real easy. It was good that Riku learned to use runes too.''
''I'll bet, you two never seem to run out of tricks.'' Gray remarked.
''That's where all our training comes in handy.''
''Totally, you two are Manly! You could've joined us before.''
''No, thanks.'' Belle returned, Riku's flat look expressing his opinion quite well.
'I'm fine if you want to get back to the usual training but that's that.'
''Figured as much.'' Gray nodded. After all, this wasn't the first time this topic came up. Riku had made it clear over the years that he had absolutely no interest in the guild's fights.
Natsu had idiotically tried forcing him to fight at one point and the attempts had gotten on the brunet's nerves. In the end, he put paid to them by taking advantage of his magic's adaptable nature and Natsu's severe motion sickness to trap him and spin him around until he was too dizzy to do anything. That was also around the time he proved that while he could be pretty patient, Riku was scary when angered.
Riku and Elfman had been training together for quite a while, which was a big part of the reason why gained the muscular build he had now. While both had awkward beginnings at the guild, they came to be friends after Riku stood up for Elfman when people tried to bully him and things got better from there. Looking at them now, Gray could hardly believe they were the same kids he grew up around. They really had come a long way.
The group of four headed near the counter and got some drinks, sitting near Lucy, Cana, Makarov and Elfman's sister Mirajane, who was busy working there. The beautiful white haired girl greeted them with a smile, her blue eyes bright as usual.
''Oh, so that's why Macao was whining about Natsu burning him before?'' They heard Cana ask.
''Natsu did go over the top but with the way things were, there wasn't much of a choice.'' Lucy explained, referring to the incident where she and her team had to go save Macao at Mount Hakobe.
''He doesn't mean it, he usually just vents a lot when he's drunk.'' Mira remarked.
''Still sounds like whining to me.''
'Are you really complaining? Wasn't that the reason you got him for some blackmail that one time?' Riku recalled. Cana merely smirked at the memory.
Makarov chuckled ''Oh yeah, I remember that. It must have been one hell of a blackmail. Macao didn't drink for almost a week after that.''
''...Do I want to know?'' Lucy asked Mira quietly.
''She was getting him back after he screwed up and got her in trouble when they took a job together last time.''
''Oh.'' Well, she supposed that was all right. At least she had a reason...
''So how's the progress with those notes?'' Makarov asked Belle.
''We're doing good! Riku and I had a good handle on the spells he showed us so far.''
The man's face lit up ''That's great news, I'm sure he'd be glad to hear it.''
''Yeah, you two work hard and it really shows.'' Mira beamed.
Thanking her, Riku shrugged 'We've gotten the basics down but we'd have to wait and see what he wants to do next.'
''I still don't get how you got him of all people to help your training.'' Elfman admitted. ''Actually, I can't even imagine how that training would go, since it's him and all...''
''He's not that bad...'' Belle started.
The former noted Lucy's curious look "Oh, we're talking about a friend, the one who's teaching us staff magic. He's...really kind of a recluse but over all, he's a good person. He helps with our training too, so I asked him to teach us and he was all for it."
''Ah, I see, that was nice of him.''
''Yeah, it took us by surprise too but he turned out to be a pretty nice for all that he kept away from everyone.'' Cana added. ''He's usually off to do this own thing but at least he's gotten a bit better about talking to the rest of us.''
''I remember when he used that sleep magic just to come in and pick up jobs.'' Elfman shook his head. Lucy raised an eye, thinking that seemed extreme. ''But somehow, those two actually got him to relax a little and actually talk to the rest of us. He'd be real Manly if he could just ease up.''
''...Somehow, that sounds rich coming from you.'' Gray deadpanned. ''But I see what you're getting at...''
''Well, baby steps, right?'' Mira smiled. ''Progress is progress, after all.''
''Absolutely.'' Makarov agreed. ''Just give the boy some space, he hasn't even told me everything but I'm sure he has his reasons for what he does.''
Later, Riku and Belle decided to head home, running into Natsu and Happy when they passed the market...
''So...good...'' He sighed blissfully after another mouthful of fish. ''...oh, hi guys! We were looking to get dinner.''
''I thought you'd just eat at the guild.'' Belle tilted her head.
''Well, I heard they got a new shipment of fish today so I wanted to give it a shot. Besides, something had to change.'' Happy added, leaving them curious. ''The last two times we ate at the guild, Natsu got my fish all burned up!''
Natsu frowned ''Are you still holding that over my head? I thought they'd be better cooked. Besides, the second time was an accident because that stupid Snowflake pissed me off!''
''It shouldn't have happened in the first place if you'd just control your fire!''
''...He does remember who he's talking to, right?'' Belle asked Riku while the two continued to argue before them. Natsu's lack of restraint was one of his most notorious traits after all.
Riku merely shook his head 'When they get like this, it's just best to leave them be and spare yourself the trouble.'
''True. How about we check if there's anything we need for home?''
And so the two went about picking up a few groceries, when they were done, they found that Natsu and Happy had caught up to them.
''So anyway, I never got around to asking, you two wanna go on a job together soon? It's been a while since the last time.'' Natsu mused.
'Sure, why not?' Riku returned.
''Awesome!''
Happy was about to agree but then he happened to notice a few of the things in the bag Belle was holding ''...Fruits again? How do you not get tired of this stuff, especially when fish is so much better?''
The female cat groaned ''...I'm not doing this with you again. Drop it.''
Natsu and Riku exchanged dry looks. ''...I thought we were done with this already...
Riku just sighed, similarly exasperated. Happy was crazy about fish while Belle liked fruits and for some reason, the former was determined to convince her that she was missing out. It used to lead to an argument every now and then but now Belle just seemed to deem it better to tune him out, to general relief.
The two groups continued talking along the way until Riku and Belle approached the street leading to their home and bid their guild mates goodbye.
Riku found himself reflecting again, there were times when he'd never thought his life would turn out like this. That he'd be find friends, family and a home again. And while some of Fairy Tail's really did annoy him, the guild was still a place where he felt like he truly belonged. And he wouldn't change that for the world.
To clarify some stuff, Riku lost his voice because of an incident a few years back and it lead to changing a few things in the guild. I'm going to explain just what happened down the line. Also, as mentioned above he and Belle train hard and he knows more than Dragon Slayer magic. That started out because of a different reason but they're now making the most of their abilities. This one's also going to be revealed but it has to do with how Elfman's one of his usual training buddies.
Yup, they're friends with Mystogan. He's...well, I can't say relaxed but he's more open to everyone here thanks to Riku, Belle and Makarov. While they don't mind working with their guild mates in general, Mystogan became one of their usual partners, same goes for Erza.
How was it? Please tell me what you think.