Cries echo throughout a vast clearing. A baby thrashes around in a basket at the top of a hill. All alone.
It's piercing screams of alarm caught the attention of someone. A dragon. Soaring over a hill just North of the obliterated remains of a Fioran village, it noticed the small child.
The wails quieted when the dragon came into sight. The black and blue beast unsheathed sharp talons, preparing to rip the infant apart, but paused upon seeing the child's eyes. It couldn't help but to stare.
Happy green onyx eyes with a gleam of mischief gazed back. A wide grin occupied its face, replacing the expression of anguish from moments ago. This child had no fear for the monster that had killed millions. The monster that was about to kill him.
The dragon wasn't used to seeing happy humans. Whether the youngest of children or the wisest of elders, any soul who happened upon it would do naught but cower in fear. A curse that came with the power it was granted. A smile was an unfamiliar face, unseen for centuries. To see such an expression, it was pleased.
"What is your name?" The dragon hissed at the baby. Content babbles of non-existent words were the only response. It had been years since the creature had spoken to a human, it found the race far too weak for its time. "If you have no knowledge in language, I, Acnologia, have no choice but to teach you." The baby once again only babbled in acknowledgement.
With a huff, the dragon Acnologia altered his form into that of a human and picked up the flimsily woven basket. He adjusted the blanket inside and saw the word "Natsu" sown on.
"Natsu? Is that your name?" The infant had drifted to sleep. "Pathetic." He snarled. He debated waking him up, but voted against it, deciding he'd need all the rest he can get before he begins training.
He would become a Dragon Slayer.
Eighteen years passed in a flash from the day Acnologia adopted Natsu. Rumours spread fast that the Black Dragon had a human child, but no one who came across the secret boy lived to share. Sometime into Natsu's training, the Fire Dragon King, Igneel, had come to kill the rumoured son of Acnologia, but couldn't bring himself to take the innocent life. He ended up fostering Natsu alongside Acnologia and teaching him Fire Dragon Slayer magic.
Acnologia spent the years planting ideas and stories in his son's head about weakness and corruption among humans. He was raising someone to keep his legacy, and Natsu was a fast learner. Mastering three types of dragon slayer magic in his first eight years of life was impressive. Natsu was content with his power and felt he could conquer anything.
That is until they disappeared.
He had woken up one morning, early as usual, ready to start training. To his consternation, his father and Igneel were gone, leaving nothing but a hooded black cloak, a scaly scarf, and an empty cavern. At first, Natsu assumed that his father and Igneel had gone hunting, or to destroy a village. Maybe they'd just forgotten to tell him. But after four days of no return, the unease took over, and Natsu decided to go out and find his daunting foster family.
His search was cut short when a small elderly man forced him to join a wizard's guild. Though he was against it, he wasn't given much of a choice due to the old bastard's threat of reporting him to the city. Needing to stay under the humans' radar, he joined the guild. Despite his efforts to not cause a scene, he quickly gained a reputation. He adopted the title of S-Class shortly after joining and took down almost every member of the guild within his first two years, only losing to Makarov and Gildarts, always calling it a draw with Mystogan.
It was rare that Natsu showed his Chaos or Apocalypse Dragon Slayer magic. Most of his enemies were able to be incapacitated with fire alone. Members of the guild who challenged him could be defeated with flame, but there were always those stubborn wizards that required him to draw out Chaos.
Anyone else who dared to challenge the renowned Chaos Dragon had lost to his physical abilities alone, always waking up or walking away red with embarrassment and loss from a mage without magic.
Over the years, Natsu lost his name. Whether of fear or disdain, Natsu didn't know. He was called Chaos or Salamander, but if you asked any outsider, they'd tell you the two names were separate people. The general public hadn't seen him in action, but knew of his overwhelming strength by the rumours.
Now, in the present day, Natsu is in Hargeon for a job. An easy task with a big reward. It wasn't worthy of the S-Class board. Figuring he was headed through Hargeon on his way back from a dragon sighting anyway- and could use a little extra cash- Natsu took the job. He was after Bora of Prominence, a weak fire mage who sells kidnapped women to old perverts in foreign countries.
Meanwhile, a frustrated blonde storms down the street, upset with a random shop for not giving her a high discount even after her seductive poses. Her anger morphed to curiosity at the sound of starstruck screams from a group of girls crowded around one oddly dressed man. Hoping to find the source of the action, she joined the crowd. Immediately, her heartbeat sped up. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach. Hearts danced across her chocolate eyes. Who was this guy? Why did he make her heart beat so fast? Why did she want to be with him forever? Why was she in love with him? Strange thoughts twirled through her mind like a tornado, flooding her brain with waterfall of questions. She was snapped out of her trance when a black clad figure walked up and punched the guy square in the jaw, sending him flying into a nearby building. He was knocked unconscious on impact.
"Salamander-sama?!" The broken-hearted women rushed over the treat their precious celebrity, mowing down anything in their path.
"Don't go damaging my rep, pathetic creature." The newcomer grumbled, flexing his wrist. The girl watched the man who had snapped her out the trance. He walked over to the unconscious 'Salamander' and snatched a ring off his finger. He lifted it towards the light of the sun and observed the intricate details before pocketing it. He hauled his victim up by the collar of his bright purple cape and dragged him over to a soldier. After an exchange of words, the soldier took hold of the man and the ring.
The blonde tried to decipher the situation as she studied the stranger. He seemed nice enough, despite being barely visible due to his mantle- which appeared three sizes too big. Maybe I should go thank him. The golden-haired teen thought. She was grateful of the stranger's act. It was clear the man he beat up had some sinister motive, the details didn't matter.
After a few minutes of inner contemplation, she opted to approach him. He wouldn't hit an innocent girl, especially after saving her life. Right?
"Hey," She greeted, trotting up to her saviour. "Thanks for saving us back there! I really appreciate it, even if the others didn't notice. Can I ask what he was up to?" The stranger hadn't made any note of the girl who waited for him to show any form of acknowledgement. After standing there in front of her reading a map for a minute, he stepped forward to continue on his way. The girl furrowed her eyebrows. "It's very impolite to ignore someone, you know." She shot.
"Sorry, miss!" A blue winged cat appeared beside her, apologising on behalf of his supposed owner. She wasn't very interested in the fact that the cat was blue, flying, and talking as she had seen much stranger things on her journey to find the infamous Fairy Tail guild. "My name's Happy! Natsu here isn't very talkative. We appreciate your effort to come thank us though! We should get going. We have to get back to our guild."
Lucy perked up at the mention. "Oh, your guild? I happen to be looking to join a guild. I'm Lucy, by the way. Do you mind if I maybe... tag along?"
"Sure! Natsu won't mind!"
Natsu definitely minded. Damn cat. Why does he bother coming with me anyway? Natsu sideeyed the energetic blonde. Her face was familiar, but Natsu had crossed a lot of faces in his life. The glimmer of a gold key sparkled through a brown bag attached to her belt. A celestial gate key, if the magic energy radiating around it was any indicator. How unique.
With a huff of mild annoyance, he started towards the path out of Hargeon. Happy and Lucy followed, engaging in their own conversation while keeping up with him.
The return to Fairy Tail felt far too long for Natsu. Normally it wasn't an issue, but being forced to listen to the loud, obnoxious conversing of the pair behind him did nothing but give him a migraine. Complaints of why they were walking, pointing at every stranded traveller they wanted to help. Natsu was shocked they had the nerve to invite themselves on his journey and tell him what to do.
When the trio arrived in front of the Fairy Tail guildhall, Lucy went ballistic. It was like her enthusiasm dialled up to eleven, if it wasn't there already.
"You never said we were going to Fairy Tail! Oh, if only you knew how long I've been looking for this guild. Let's go in!" She bounced around like a kid in front of a candy shop. Natsu wasn't sure how to feel about her. She had energy, that's for sure. She'd fit in great with the fairies. The main flag: she wasn't intimidated by him. No matter how many times he growled threats or profanities on the way to the guild, she brushed him off and stuck around.
What a weirdo.
Lucy went inside first. Natsu snuck in quietly behind her and made his way upstairs without attracting attention. Lucy hadn't even found out how to join before the sound of shouts and crashes. She turned around to see the entire room fighting.
"What?" Lucy thought aloud. "They're insane!" Lucy pushed her way through the chaos towards the bar after almost being hit by a flying stray chair. "Are they always like this?" Lucy muttered to herself as she took a seat. She let out an annoyed puff of air. A soft laugh sounded from behind the bar beside her.
"For the most part, yes. It can get really rough in here, especially when they get to using magic." Lucy turned her head to see a white-haired woman smiling at her. She immediately perked up.
"Oh my gosh, you're Mirajane! Wow, I'm such a huge fan of yours!" Lucy's eyes almost projected hearts and stars as she staired at the bartender. She clapped her hands together excitedly. Mirajane only grinned.
"Please, call me Mira. You must be new. I'll get you your guild mark and help you get settl-" A large white-haired man was launched into the beauty, cutting her off mid-sentence as they tumbled to the ground. She was knocked unconscious on impact.
"Mirajane!" Lucy shouted, worry lining her voice as she ducked out of the way of another projectile launched by the man that had been thrown into Mira. Suddenly, an immense pressure overtook the entire building. Magic seals started appearing around the hands and feet of mages. Power surged throughout the area. After a few moments of stillness, the mayhem resumed.
"Let's get serious! No one can beat my ice-make magic!"
"My ring powers easily trump all of you!"
"Beast arm!"
Just as the first spell was to be cast, a burst of magic power erupted from above. All heads snapped towards the second floor as the room quieted once again.
Natsu clutched the rail angrily, the force of his grip causing the wooden bars to tense and creak. Lucy realized she hadn't seen the ill-tempered mage with his hood down until now. She studied his features carefully while she had the chance. One trait stood out in particular, Natsu's hair was bright pink. A comical contrast to his dark personality.
"Can I never get some peace and quiet around here?" He snapped, addressing the entire room. "Why must you always be so riotous? You sorry, drunk excuses for magic users act like children. Pathetic. Keep wasting all your potential strength fighting each other for 'fun' and stay weak forever." A dark aura hovered around the irate mage as he scolded the guild. A few seconds of tense silence passed before a giant appeared at the other side of the room. Lucy paled.
"Oh! Welcome back, master!" Mira smiled sweetly.
"Master?!" Lucy began to sweat. If this was Fairy Tail's master, and Natsu was a Fairy Tail wizard, did she even have a chance of joining this guild?
"Don't tell me you children are causing trouble again. You know Chaos can't handle when it gets too rowdy in here, don't make him angrier than he already is." The guild master shrunk down to the size of a dwarf and jumped over to sit near Natsu on the second-floor railing.
"He's tiny!" Lucy thought.
"While on the topic of troublemaking, I have a bone to pick with you bunch," Makarov held up a thick stack of papers. "You lot are far too destructive! They want me to fill out all this paperwork!" He shook his fist in rage before letting out a deep sigh. "However, in this guild, the magic council isn't the boss of us." He lit the paperwork on fire and tossed it to Natsu, who disappeared further into the shadows of the second floor with the burning sheets. Master Makarov went on give an inspirational speech about never giving up and following your path. The guild clapped; Lucy clapped with them. She had to join this guild.
"New girl, Mira will give you your stamp."
No one had noticed the girl who entered with Fairy Tail's resident dragon until Makarov mentioned her. Mira was already prepped with ink and stamped a pink fairy on the back of Lucy's right hand. That was easier than she thought. She was quickly invited to sit with a group of wizards and chatted happily with them as she got to know her new place of work.
Despite new friends and interesting conversations, Lucy couldn't help but wonder where Natsu ran off to. She really wanted to stay near him, maybe help break him out of his shell, or solve the puzzle that was his entire existence. But the guild didn't seem to have the same judgement of him as she did. He seemed amiable enough, even with his withdrawn temperament.
Lucy's inner conflict faded when she heard a shout, a cry, and a slap. Her eyes drifted towards the sound and she saw the guild master rubbing his cheek and a small boy running out of the guild. She didn't notice who else had been watching until he landed behind her.
"Natsu?" Lucy tilted her head. "Where were you?" He looked at her impatiently, dark eyes masking the faintest hint of sadness.
"Upstairs. I'm going to search for a missing guild member. You coming, or no?" He shifted his bag and started towards the door. Happy zoomed past her, following him outside. Lucy's eyes widened. Did he really care? Or was there a reward? Should she go? Maybe it was a chance to learn some more about this guy. He sure was a mystery.
"Natsu! Wait, slow down! I'm coming with you! Natsu!" She chased him out the door and down the street, ignoring the looks and shouts of protest from Fairy Tail. She watched as he ruffled a little boy's hair and continued down the street. With a gleam in her eye and a strong will to help the best she could, she ran after him.