2
2 – Welcome to Fairy Tail!
"Hmm, I'm hungry. What should I do? Eat first or look for a way out of this forest?" Natsu questioned himself as he walked through the forest. The pink-haired dragonslayer took a sniff of the surrounding air. "Ugh, I'm starving!" Several more steps later with another sniff of the air the smell of cooking meat flooded Natsu's nose.
"Food!" Natsu exclaimed happily as he sprinted towards the smell. He came upon a small fire with some meat roasting over it. A backpack lay against a tree a dozen feet from the flames; but Natsu's mouth watered as he slowly inched his way towards the fire.
'I'm sure whoever is cooking this won't mind if I take just one skewer, right?' Natsu thought as he reached for one of the sticks of roasting meat. But right before he touched the stick, Natsu felt a presence directly behind him.
"Might I ask what you're doing, young one?" A man's voice said from behind him.
"Nothing?" Natsu replied as he pulled his hand back while sweating nervously.
"Hmm, I see, it looks like you were about to poach some of my lunch." The person said as they moved around Natsu to get to the fire.
"Sorry, but I'm starving." Natsu responded as he turned towards the man. Standing beside him was a short man with white hair; he had a brown hat on his head and was wearing a blue coat over an orange shirt with matching blue pants. "I think we've started off on the wrong foot," Natsu said as he held out his hand to the old man. "I'm Natsu, Natsu Dragneel!" The old man looked at Natsu closely before he suddenly smiled and reached out to shake Natsu's hand.
"I'm Makarov Dreyar." The old man replied as he released Natsu's hand.
"How'd you sneak up on me? I can usually hear or smell someone coming towards me." Natsu asked curiously.
"Oh, you learn a few things here and there when you get to be my age. Being a mage helps too." Makarov answered with a grin as he held out his hand, a small ball of yellow light appearing above his palm.
"That's so cool!" Natsu exclaimed as he looked at the ball of light. "I'm a mage too." Natsu's held up both hands before one was covered in rock and the other was engulfed in flames. Then both were covered with molten lava.
"Oh ho, what type of magic is this?" Makarov questioned while staring at the, obviously talented, boy which earned a grin from Natsu.
"It's Magma Dragon Slayer magic!" Natsu replied proudly. "I learned it from my Dad! He also showed me how to break it down into the two elements that make it up so I can use Fire Dragon Slayer Magic and Earth Dragon Slayer Magic too!"
"That is impressive," Makarov said as he sat down next to the fire. "Your father must be very talented to learn Lost Magic like that; and you must be very talented to be able to learn three element magics so young." Makarov praised the boy with a smile before asking his next question. "So what are you doing out here in the forest?"
"I'm trying to find my way out of the forest so I can see the world!" Natsu answered as he sat beside Makarov. "I'm ten now and Dad said I'm strong enough to leave the nest and go out and see the world!"
"The nest? What do you mean, boy?" Makarov asked which made Natsu tilt his head in confusion.
"The place I was raised, our cave was our nest." Natsu explained with a fond grin. Makarov couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face at the look of joy on Natsu's face; even though he was still confused.
"But why call it a nest?" Makarov asked Natsu.
"Because my Dad is a dragon. The Magma Dragon King, Igneel!" Natsu said with pride before his stomach growled loudly. Natsu's face turned red in embarrassment. "Hey, do you think I could have some of this meat?" Natsu asked sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. Makarov made a mental note to ask Natsu more about his dragon-parent later before he replied to the pink-haired boy.
"Sure, sure we'll eat together." Makarov said as he handed Natsu a skewer of meat.
"You're awesome, old man!" Natsu yelled as he took a large bite out of the meat on his skewer. Makarov laughed at Natsu's words and started to eat his own skewer. "So," Natsu said after swallowing his mouthful. "What are you doing out here, camping?"
"Just taking a lunch break, I'm on my way back to my guild." Makarov replied happily.
"What's a guild?" Natsu asked in a confused tone. Makarov looked at Natsu's confused face before replying.
"A guild is a place that mages join in order to find work. Many of them are full of mages that are friends and treat each other like family." Makarov explained with a grin.
"Really? That sounds kind of cool." Natsu said with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Would you like to come along with me to my guild? I'm sure you'd like the place, we have several kids around your age there right now." Makarov asked the pink-haired boy.
"Can I?" Natsu questioned with a smile.
"Of course! We'd love to have you, Natsu." Makarov exclaimed with a smile of his own.
"Alright! Let's go old man!" Natsu shouted as he quickly finished his meat skewer. Soon after the two finished their lunch, Makarov showed Natsu that they were only a short walk from the road that led towards Magnolia. Natsu was excited to see Magnolia as he'd never been to a big town. After another few hours of travel, the duo finally made it to Magnolia. Even with Natsu looking at everything he could they eventually found themselves in front of the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"Whoa, this place is huge!" Natsu exclaimed as he stared at the building in wonder. "So this is a mage guild, huh?"
"Yep, it's called Fairy Tail." Makarov said with a smile.
"That's a weird name." Natsu said with a chuckle.
"Heh heh, yes, but you see no one knows whether or not fairies have tails, or if they even exist. So it'll forever be a mystery; unless we try and find out, which could become an amazing adventure. If anyone wanted to find out, it would definitely be our members." Makarov explained the meaning behind the guild's name.
"I don't really get all of that, but it sounds awesome!" Natsu replied with a big smile. Makarov laughed as the two made their way to the large front doors. They both pushed the door open and were instantly met with the loud sounds inside the guild hall. Laughter, conversations, and even fights echoed throughout the guild. But the noise quickly quieted down as soon as the doors opened. Everyone in the guild turned to look at who had just opened the doors.
"I'm back, brats, and I brought a guest so be on your best behavior!" Makarov shouted out as he and Natsu walked into the building and headed for the bar.
"Who is the kid?" a member questioned another.
"No idea." was the response.
"Is his hair pink?" asked someone else.
"You think it's natural?" another member wondered out loud.
Natsu heard all of these comments and was a little annoyed. If these guys started making fun of his hair he'd show them a thing or two! Makarov and Natsu arrived at the bar and the old man quickly jumped up to sit on top of it. Natsu decided to just sit on one of the bar stools and look around the guild. He noticed mostly adults but some kids his age or close to it like Makarov had said. There was a brunette girl in an orange dress that was doing something with cards. There was a red haired girl that was wearing armor and carrying a sword. Then there was also a dark blue haired boy without a shirt on that seemed to be looking for something.
"This place is kinda crazy, old man." Natsu said to Makarov causing the old man to chuckle while taking a mug of beer that a waitress behind the bar handed to him.
"It sure is, but that's part of the fun, right?" Makarov asked Natsu as he took a sip of beer.
"I guess, I think it's pretty cool, especially all the fighting!" Natsu exclaimed with a grin as he watched a group of mages start brawling with one another over something.
"Hey you brats! Don't break anything this time or so help me I'll deal with you myself!" Makarov yelled at the brawling group while shaking his fist at them.
"Hahaha! This place is funny!" Natsu laughed. "Hey, old man, can I check the rest of the place out?"
"Sure, just don't go up to the second floor, only high ranked members of the guild are allowed up there." Makarov stated as he drank from his mug. With a nod Natsu jumped off the barstool and started wandering around the guild hall looking at anything that caught his eye. He checked out the request board, then the bar area where a nice waitress gave him a large, warm bread roll for free; after eating the roll Natsu continued his exploration of the building. Natsu walked past a table only to see the same dark blue haired boy from earlier; only this time he was down to just his boxers and didn't seem to even notice.
"Hey, what's your deal? You got a problem with me or something?" the blue haired boy questioned as he stared Natsu down.
"What if I do?" Natsu challenged with a grin.
"Oh, are they gonna fight?" questioned a dark haired man at a close table.
"No way." replied his friend sporting a pompadour and wearing sunglasses.
"Gray! Your clothes!" called out the brunette girl from earlier. The now named Gray suddenly stood up looking down at his state of undress in shock.
"Oh man!" Gray cried out at his lack of clothing.
"Geez, what a pervert." Natsu teased the other boy.
"Who you calling a pervert, pinky!" Gray growled at Natsu getting in his face.
"You, you loud mouth streaker!" Natsu replied with a smirk getting in Gray's face.
Gray quickly threw a punch at Natsu which Natsu dodged before throwing one of his own at Gray. The blue haired bow took the blow to the chest but threw a kick which caught Natsu in the stomach. The two quickly devolved into a mass of limbs and dust being thrown up from the floor as they continued to wrestle with one another.
"Well, he's a feisty one, eh?" Makarov mused as he finished off his current mug of beer.
"He'll fit right in!" claimed the orange haired man in glasses sitting next to him sketching in a sketch pad.
"Can you two knock it off? You're making a scene." Called out the brunette girl from earlier, both boys stood up but continued to glare at each other with auras of orange and blue surrounding them; each practically daring the other to take another swing. Suddenly a hand appeared in each boy's face before they were shoved away from each other so hard their necks made popping sounds. The red haired girl in armor that Natsu had noticed earlier had broken up the fight between them.
"What? You want some of this too?" Natsu questioned with a growl as he challenged the slightly older girl.
"Don't do it!" Gray tried to warn the foolish pink haired boy. The next thing either boy knew, they'd both been thrown into the nearest wall so hard they left craters in the plaster.
"What total idiots." The red haired girl said with disdain.
"Why me too?" Gray groaned out from the wall.
"You're not to fight. Are we clear?" the redhead asked the two boys.
"Yes ma'am." Gray agreed immediately.
"Woah, she's strong!" Natsu exclaimed with a smile.
"Hey kid, what's your name?" the armored girl asked curiously.
"Natsu! Natsu Dragneel son of Igneel the Magma Dragon King!" Natsu replied proudly.
"Natsu, huh?" the girl tested the name out while becoming curious about the son of a dragon king part. "Let's get one thing straight, everyone in Fairy Tail treats each other like family. So this guild hall is like our home; it's not a place for fighting, do you understand?"
"Yeah." Natsu replied a little put out that he and Gray couldn't finish their fight.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, I'm Erza." The now identified Erza said with a smile.
"She's strong." Natsu mumbled out to himself.
"No kidding." Gray whispered back the two boys sharing a grin before realizing they were agreeing with each other and turning away from one another.
"Hey Erza, wait up!" Natsu called out to the girl that was already a fair distance away. Erza stopped to turn back and look at Natsu running up to her.
"What? Did you need something, Natsu?" Erza questioned the pink haired boy.
"You're strong, how about a fight?" Natsu asked the redhead with his fist raised a gleam of challenge in his eyes.
"I just told you we don't fight in the guild hall." Erza glared back at the boy.
"Then if we go outside can we fight?" Natsu questioned not backing down from Erza's glare.
"Why do you want to fight me anyway?" Erza asked with a sigh.
"Because you're strong! Dragon's love a good fight with a strong opponent!" Natsu replied with a grin.
"Does this have anything to do with what you said about being the son of a dragon king or whatever?" Erza asked perplexed by Natsu's answer.
"Yeah, I was raised by Igneel the Magma Dragon King, as his son I've taken on Dragon-like traits through the magic he taught me." Natsu responded his hands dropping to his sides as he explained.
"Yeah right, you weren't raised by a dragon! No one has seen a dragon for like three or four hundred years, or something. You shouldn't lie, pinky!" Gray laughed at Natsu; this cause a tick mark to form on Natsu's head as he quickly rushed over to Gray and slammed his head against the blue haired boy's head.
"You wanna repeat that, pervert!" Natsu growled practically spitting fire at the other boy who was holding his forehead in pain.
"Ow! What is your head made of?" Gray questioned using a small application of his magic to cool the injured part of his forehead.
"Never tell me that Igneel isn't my father! He's the only parent I've ever had and I won't let you or anyone else disrespect him!" Natsu growled out heat emanating off his body.
"How do we know you're not lying? You're story doesn't make sense based on what anyone else has ever heard of dragons! You have proof you were raised by one?" Gray challenged as he stood back up removing his hand from his forehead.
"Proof? Um…let me think…oh, yeah I've got something!" Natsu replied with a grin before looking around for a clear area. Once he spotted an area off to the side of the nearest tables he ran over and turned back to face everyone in the guild. "Here's your proof, pervert!" With that said Natsu began drawing out his magic, at first there was only a noticeable change in the temperature within a several foot range of Natsu. The next obvious change was literal heat waves emanating off Natsu's body as the range of heat increased to encompass more of the guild hall. Shortly after that lava began to appear around Natsu's body, the heat inside the guild hall started to rise quickly.
"What the heck!" Gray squawked out, seeing Natsu being covered in lava.
"That's a lot of magic." The brunette girl mumbled out causing the two older mages from earlier to nod in agreement.
"How much farther can he go?" Erza questioned herself while watching the pink haired boy.
With a growl Natsu pushed his magic further, lava began dripping off his body and burning the wooden floor as his magic continued to rise. The inside of the guild began to feel sweltering and the air almost seemed to tremble from the force of the magic Natsu was exuding.
"Natsu, that's enough!" Makarov called getting Natsu to blink for a moment before reigning his magic back in. Looking at the burning floor Natsu was quick to yelp before smothering the burning section with dirt blasted from his hands.
"Holy cow." The older dark haired mage muttered.
"You ain't joking." His pompadour and sunglasses wearing friend replied astounded at the amount of magic Natsu possessed.
"Sorry about that old man! I'll try and fix it!" Natsu said to Makarov with a bow of apology.
"Don't worry too much, Natsu. Worse happens often enough around here." Makarov replied from his seat on top of the bar.
"That was impressive, Natsu. I might just take you up on that match." Erza said with a determined look on her face.
"Really? You're awesome Erza!" Natsu exclaimed with excitement at the thought of a match between him and the strong girl.
"Yes really, but not right now. I have things to do for the rest of the day." Erza said with a nod as she turned to head towards the guild hall doors.
"Things to do, like comb your hair and other girly stuff." Gray laughed as Erza stopped and grabbed the nearest chair before hurling it at Gray, slamming into the boy and knocking him out of the chair he was sitting in. Natsu looked back and forth between the fuming Erza and the groaning Gray for a moment before speaking.
"Why wouldn't she take care of her hair? It's pretty." Natsu stated with the confidence of a child stating an innocent fact.
"What?" Erza mumbled in shock before her face turned almost as red as her hair. She quickly turned around and covered her cheeks with her hands trying to keep anyone from seeing her flustered. Most everyone else in the guild hall were either in shock at what Natsu had said or giggling about it like some of the older girls and women in the guild. Erza quickly ran out of the guild doors blushing up a storm leaving behind a confused Natsu.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Natsu questioned everyone as he looked around.
"No, no, Natsu you're fine. Just a little shocked at Erza's reaction is all." Makarov replied covering up his grin with his beer mug.
"Oh ok." Natsu replied before wandering over to the brunette girl in the orange dress. The girl seeing him approach looked on in confusion as he sat down opposite her at the table.
"Did you need something?" she asked the pink haired boy.
"Just wanted to meet you, so what's your name?" Natsu responded with a grin.
"Cana Alberona, nice to meet you." Cana introduced herself to the boy.
"Nice to meet ya, Cana!" Natsu said back as he sniffed a few times. "You're pretty strong aren't ya?"
"Me? No, not really." Cana replied confused at Natsu thinking she was strong when the whole guild had just seen his crazy display of magic power.
"Huh? But I can totally smell it! You've got a ton of magic power! You can't hide your strength from me!" Natsu said while pointing at Cana with a triumphant smile.
"Smell it? What do you mean by that? Are you sniffing me?!" Cana demanded to know as she leaned back away from Natsu slightly.
"Huh? Not really, well maybe, sort of?" Natsu tried to explain without freaking the girl out. "Dragons have a really good sense of smell, they also have a rudimentary ability to smell magic and you've got a lot of magic in your scent, that's all, I'm not trying to be weird or anything."
"Oh, well that's good, I guess?" Cana replied unsurely, still a little confused by the pink haired dragon boy.
"Yep! You'll be really strong once you master your magic! I'll fight you anytime!" Natsu replied with a grin as he punched the air beside him a couple times in excitement. Cana couldn't help but giggle at the pink haired boy's exuberance.
"So, if I'm as strong as you say, do you want me to try and read your past and future with my Card Magic?" Cana asked with a smile as she pulled out her cards.
"Future? You can do that?" Natsu questioned in curiosity as he looked at her cards.
"Yeah, but I'm still learning so sometimes the readings are off by a little bit." Cana replied as she handed the deck of cards to Natsu. "You have to shuffle them to make it work. Then I'll use my magic to set them out and read your past and future from them." She explained to the amazed dragon boy.
"That's super cool, Cana!" Natsu exclaimed as he shuffled the cards once Cana showed him how. Cana couldn't help but smile at Natsu's praise for her growing magic skills.
"Alright let's see what your reading tells us Natsu." Cana said after she had laid out the cards properly. "Hmm, the past is the first card, it is The Emperor, it represents Fatherhood, Authority, Structure; Igneel was a good father to you, right Natsu?"
"Yep! That all sounds like Igneel!" Natsu said excited that the first card represented his past with his father.
"Second card is the present, it is Four of Wands, this card represents Community, Home, and Celebration. Looks like you'll be really happy here at Fairy Tail, Natsu!" Cana said happily while smiling at Natsu. Natsu smiled back happy that he might find friends and a home here at Fairy Tail.
"Third card is the near future, it is Three of Pentacles, this card represents Teamwork, Building, and Collaboration. Maybe it means you'll make a team to go out on jobs with? Close friends that you want to share in your successes with, maybe?" Cana explained trying to get the most accurate reading with her magic.
"So I'll have a team of friends to go out and work with? That would be pretty cool!" Natsu smiled practically bouncing in his seat.
"Fourth card is the further future, it is Reversed Four of Cups, this card represents Sudden Awareness, Acceptance, Choosing Happiness. Hmm, I think it means you'll make a choice about something that will bring you and others in your future happiness? I can't make it any clearer right now." Cana said with an 'I'm sorry' look on her face.
"Huh, well if it makes my friends and me happy then of course I'd choose whatever that option is." Natsu stated with a nod of his head. Cana giggled at his self-assuredness and easy acceptance of such a vague future.
"Last card is the overall future, it is The Lovers, this card represents Partnerships, Duality and Union. Looks like you might find someone that completes you and makes your life fulfilling and full of love, Natsu. It could mean you'll have a long, happy relationship or marriage, I'm not completely sure but it's definitely a positive future to hope for." Cana explained with a smile which Natsu returned. He wasn't sure about relationships or marriage, though thanks to Igneel and Anna and the talk they'd given him, he knew what they were and why they were important. But he wasn't super interested in trying to find a wife or anything yet, he was only ten, he had time to worry about that stuff later!
"That was neat Cana! Can you do that for anyone?" Natsu questioned the card mage excitedly.
"Mostly, but some people you can't read or divine. They're either to closed off or protected from Scrying-Type magics." Cana replied as she gathered her cards back up. The two spent the next hour or so just chatting with Cana answering questions about guild life for Natsu and Natsu answering Cana's questions about living with a dragon and what dragons were like. Eventually Natsu found his way around the guild again meeting other members like Macao and Wakaba, the two older mages that had commented on his power after his argument with Gray, as well as Laxus the grandson of Makarov. Near sunset Natsu was sitting next to Makarov at the bar again chatting with the old man.
"So, how do you like the guild, Natsu?" Makarov asked the young dragonslayer.
"I think it's great! Gray is kind of a jerk, but everybody else is really cool! I learned a lot about guild life talking to Cana and I want to stay and become a member!" Natsu said looking at Makarov hopefully.
"Of course you can join! Welcome to Fairy Tail, Natsu! You're a member of our family now. You'll be like one of my own brats, just as the others are." Makarov said as he accepted Natsu into the guild with a big smile.
"Yeah! This is awesome!" Natsu cheered as he jumped on top of the bar with his fists in the air.
"Listen up you brats! Natsu has decided to join Fairy Tail! Since were getting a new family member, let's party!" Makarov called out to the cheers of the whole guild. "Let's get you the official guild mark, Natsu."
"Sure thing, gramps! How do we do that?" Natsu questioned with a smile.
"Just got to take this stamp here and press it to wherever you want your mark to be located." Makarov explained as he showed Natsu the guild mark stamp.
"Ok, how about my right shoulder?" Natsu asked as he turned his shoulder to face Makarov.
"Alright and what color do you want it to be?" Makarov asked as he prepared the stamp.
"Red! Igneel was mostly red so I want it that color!" Natsu exclaimed as he held his shoulder out towards Makarov.
"Red it is then." Makarov replied with a smile as he pressed the stamp to Natsu's shoulder. When the stamp was pulled away a bright red Fairy Tail Guild Mark was on Natsu's shoulder. "Now you're an official member of Fairy Tail Natsu!"
"Yeah! I'm a Fairy Tail mage!" Natsu announced to the whole guild with his yell.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Natsu!" the entire guild called back with cheers and laughter