Welcome To The Guild...!

Chapter 1 - Welcome To The Guild...!

"Hey, dude, if you wanna stay out of trouble I suggest you run for it!" Natsu shouted as he continued to run.

The blonde began to say something to the pink-haired teen, but Ichigo couldn't quite make it out over the sound of marching soldiers. He figured that he could have fought them off, but given that he didn't really know where the hell he was, doing so would be a mistake. Thus, he threw his body over his shoulder and began to sprint after the two people who seemed nice enough to follow.

'Maybe they can even tell me where the hell I am.' Ichigo thought.

"Don't let them get away men!" A soldier exclaimed as they continued to give chase.

--- Line Break ---

{Fiore: Plains Leading to Magnolia, The Next Morning…}

"Okay… I think we lost them." Natsu stated tiredly, looking back at the forests he and the others had just exited and seeing no one in pursuit of them.

"You think or know?!" Lucy asked in a panic. After all, she viewed herself as far too pretty to be sent to jail.

"I can't sense their presence running after us anymore, so they are either really far behind us or he's right." Ichigo said, looking back at the forests as he spoke.

"See, listen to…" Natsu began, only to stop upon realizing something.

The pink-haired mage brought his hand up to his chin a moment later to illustrate an expression of deep thought. Ichigo seemed somewhat confused by this, as did Lucy, but the blue Exceed just seemed to mimic the dragon slayer's actions.

"I just realized we never introduced ourselves." Natsu said.

"Well we did just have to outrun the army…" Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Anyway, name's Natsu, a wizard from the Fairy Tail Guild. I liked the way you stood up to that faker, by the way." Natsu said cheerfully, causing the orange-haired teen to chuckle slightly.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I'm just a girl trying to join a guild at the moment. I guess I should thank you for fighting that guy given what he did." Lucy stated.

"Aye!" Happy piped in.

"Does that cat have a name?" Ichigo questioned nonchalantly, causing the blonde's eyebrow to twitch.

"I still don't understand how a talking cat doesn't weird you out." Lucy thought aloud.

At this, the substitute released an inward chuckle given that he happened to have many encounters with a certain talking cat.

'I just hope he's just a talking cat. I definitely don't need to have another encounter like my first one with Yoruichi…' Ichigo thought.

"Why is a talking cat weird? If something like whatever magic is exists why would this be all that strange?" Ichigo countered.

"Fair point…" Lucy trailed off.

"Anyway, this little guy is Happy, and he's my best friend." Natsu stated happily, flashing a toothy smile towards the blue feline.

"Yup, that's me!" Happy said.

"Nice to meet you all. My name's Ichigo Kurosaki." He replied.

"And what's the name of the unconscious guy that looks just like you?" Natsu asked, pointing a finger at the human body of the orange-haired man. He, however, didn't know that was the case.

"Oh, actually that reminds me. Can one of you hold this up for a second?" Ichigo asked in a hopeful voice, likely because he knew it was an odd request.

"Sure." Natsu answered nonchalantly, causing the blonde to sweatdrop.

The pink-haired dragon slayer did so a moment later upon Ichigo handing the body off to him, after which said teen turned his back and prepared to enter his human form once again.

Both Lucy and Natsu watched with widened eyes as Ichigo's body essentially fell into the body of the man they presumed to be his twin at best. What was even more surprising was that after the body had evidently absorbed Ichigo it began to move until it eventually got up and walked in front of them, shaking off Natsu's grasp.

'What the hell?' Lucy and Natsu wondered similarly.

"Thanks for that." Ichigo said, breaking the two out of their respective dazes.

"What did you just do?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"I think a better question would be what kind of magic do you use and where are you from. You came out of nowhere back in Hargeon, you use a sword, and it looks like you've got two bodies somehow. I've never really seen anything like it!" Natsu exclaimed, though he sounded somewhat excited.

"About that… from what you've told me and from what I can gather I'm definitely not even from this dimension." Ichigo stated seriously.

Natsu, Lucy, as well as Happy looked at him with a clear sense of surprise immediately after this, the complete opposite of what the substitute had expected. He began to speculate that perhaps they believe him, but what occurred next shook off that expectation almost instantly.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu laughed out, rolling on the ground and clenching his sides alongside his best friend.

Lucy herself was laughing so hard she was crying, however she had the decency to at least stand in place. The orange-haired teen watched with a deadpanned expression for a good five minutes before they stopped their humor-induced outburst, but then again he expected that kind of reaction. Better they laugh then think he was outright crazy.

"Oh wow… that was… funny…" Lucy said, wiping the remnants of her tears away with her hand before finally collecting herself.

'Yeah, I figured you'd think that…' Ichigo thought.

"But seriously, where are you from?" Lucy asked in a friendly manner, giving a small smile as she completely thought the teen's previous statement was a joke.

"I was trying to be serious, but I completely understand if you think I'm crazy. Hell, if I was in your position I'd probably think the same thing." Ichigo stated, somewhat confusing those who kept his company.

"Seriously, where are you from… it has to be somewhere in Fiore, right?" Lucy asked, though her tone was clearly unsure.

"Again, I'm probably not from this world, as weird as that sounds. As for how I got here, it beats the hell out of me. Even if I tried to explain everything I still don't think you'd believe me." Ichigo said honestly.

Lucy stared at the orange-haired teen with wide eyes and an expression of disbelief, but for more reasons than one. Firstly, it was very clear that he, at least, believed what he said was the truth, which meant that he wasn't lying as he saw it. Secondly, if that was true, then he was either completely insane or telling the absolute truth.

'It doesn't seem like he's lying…' Natsu thought, giving a good hard look at the teen's face. He could tell that Ichigo was calm, collected, and had no malicious intent behind his words. That would normally confuse him given the extremely outlandish information he was just given, but then again he figured he owed him the benefit of the doubt. On top of that, he had a scent about him that definitely wasn't anything he'd smelled before.

"Let's say you were telling the truth so far… how did you end up all the way here?" Natsu questioned, drawing a surprised glance from the blonde-haired girl.

"Well… from where I come from there are two separate dimensions that are connected by something called the Dangai, a precipice world or a world between worlds. It acts as sort of a bridge if you can imagine something like that. The lining of it is covered in something called a restrictive current, and, long story short, something happened that forced me to fall into it. The next thing I knew I landed straight into your fight." Ichigo replied.

"Restrictive current?" Lucy asked in a confused manner, obviously wanting some kind of description.

"The best I can describe it is a nasty-looking sludge or ooze." Ichigo replied, involuntarily shivering at the memory of being pushed and subsequently absorbed into it.

"Ewww." Happy said out of disgust.

Natsu didn't really seem to be effected, but Lucy grabbed her arms and shivered in a manner similar to that of Ichigo. Perfectly understandable given that it wasn't exactly something anyone would want to be thrown into, even just in an imaginary sense.

"Wait… so you're telling me that you're really from a different world?" Natsu questioned with a raised brow, though he sounded a bit skeptical.

"Yes, I am." Ichigo answered sternly, his voice full of truth.

Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer stared at the orange-haired substitute in a serious manner for several moments, neither saying a word, just simply looking into each other's eyes. Lucy looked back and forth between the two nervously, mostly because she just couldn't read the situation properly. She just hoped it wouldn't end in a fight. However, what actually occurred was something that was extremely far off from what she had thought would occur.

"SO COOL!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly.

"AYE SIR!" Happy chirped.

"W-what…" Lucy stuttered out, seeing the cheerful reactions.

"That's awesome, you're gonna have to tell me what it was like." Natsu stated, giving a smile towards the man from another world, as it were.

'That was… easier than I expected.' Ichigo thought. He, however, was not going to complain, especially since, for some reason or other, the truth seemed to make the dragon slayer excited.

"He's either really gullible or has a screw loose." Lucy thought aloud, breaking the substitute out of his thoughts.

"Then I take it that means you don't really believe me?" Ichigo questioned.

The blonde-haired mage turned to face the substitute with a surprised look, almost as if she didn't think her last comment was heard. Shortly thereafter she looked away in a bashful manner, not entirely sure what she thought at the moment.

"I mean… I guess given the type of magic that I use it isn't entirely unbelievable. Plus, the way you came here was a method I've never seen or heard of before." Lucy admitted, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself more than reply to the question.

"What kind of magic do you use that makes you believe what I said?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to be bothered by my explanation." Lucy said in a bashful manner.

"You've got that right, Looney." Happy stated matter-of-factly.

"It's Lucy!" She shouted angrily, glaring at the blue feline.

"Actually I'd like to hear about it, if it's all the same to you." Ichigo stated, somewhat to the blonde's surprise.

"I am a Celestial Spirit Mage, so my magic actually relies on beings from another dimension. I make contracts with creatures from the Celestial Spirit World and summon them by using gate keys. I just call on them whenever the contract allows me to and that lets me use them in various situations." Lucy explained.

"Gate keys?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Oh, silly me. The keys look like this…" Lucy began, bringing out the series of keys she had collected thus far.

Ichigo took note of the different colors and forms of the keys, guessing that this had something to do with which spirit it would summon. The concept seemed to be very simple to him, and he supposed it would make her more open-minded to accepting what he had said.

"The silver keys are ones you can purchase at magic shops across Fiore, but the golden keys are the rarest. They open the twelve gates of the zodiac and the spirits that they summon are the strongest." Lucy continued.

"I see. That seems pretty straightforward to me." Ichigo replied.

"So what about you? I'm assuming that since you aren't completely blown away by what's happened to you and what this place is like that magic must exist in your world too, or am I wrong?" Lucy questioned, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Well, I guess no… but it's really more complicated than that." Ichigo replied, confusing the blonde slightly with his answer.

"By the way, since you really don't have a clue where you are, maybe if you want, I could tell you a little bit about Fiore?" Natsu asked, supposing that even he could give the orange-haired teen the basic knowledge of his surroundings.

"Actually that'd be really helpful. Could you?" Ichigo replied, sounding grateful given the current circumstances.

"No fair Natsu, I wanted to tell him all the cool stuff!" Happy whined, tanking on the dragon slayer's pant leg.

"Alright buddy, why don't you field this one?" Natsu offered, happily giving the floor to his friend. It really didn't matter as long as the information was right, and Happy always did like to talk a lot more than he did.

"Fiore is a kingdom ruled by the Fiore family. As you can guess, Fiore has a pretty large population and some of the most talented mages in the entire world. Magic is commonplace in almost every town and those that have strong enough magic energy and develop good combat skills join guilds." Happy began.

"I remember you saying something about the Fairy Tail guild that you happen to be a part of. I think I can guess, but just to be sure exactly what is a guild?" Ichigo inquired.

"A guild is…" Natsu began.

"A guild is a place where wizards from all across the world can go in order to find work and take job requests. Also they join together with others in order to improve their skills and in some cases they gain a family." Happy answered, cutting his friend off.

"Hey!" Natsu exclaimed, having wanted to answer the substitute's question.

"Sorry Natsu, you snooze you lose." Happy replied, crossing his arms in a triumphant fashion.

"Why you little…" Natsu trailed off threateningly.

Happy began to run from his presumed best friend a moment later, doing so in circles as it didn't seem that either of them was particularly adept at catching the other or running from the other. That didn't really make any sense since the cat could fly, but Ichigo supposed that he had seen stranger things.

"Would you mind telling me what kind of money people use here?" Ichigo questioned, directing said inquiry to the blonde that had also been observing the friendly confrontation.

"Oh, Fiore's currency is Jewels… but I assume you don't have any." Lucy said, ending on a somewhat sympathetic note.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out." Ichigo assured.

"Yeah… by the way, you're taking all of this really, really well. I mean, if I was in your position, I'd probably be so lost and confused." Lucy stated, sounding slightly impressed.

"Ironically, this doesn't even count as even one of the top five things I've found hard to believe." Ichigo replied.

'What kind of world are you from?!' Lucy wondered, not entirely sure if she really wanted the answer to her would-be question.

"To be honest I half expected both of you to think I was insane. I mean I claimed to be from a different dimension, I came in out of nowhere, wear clothes that probably aren't normal if I know my luck, and I even walked around with my own body over my shoulder for a majority of the time I've known you." Ichigo listed off, actually questioning the decision of his two new acquaintances to trust him.

It didn't seem all that bad if you spaced it out, but putting it all together made it seem extremely hard to believe, even if it was the truth.

"Oh yeah… speaking of which, what's up with that?" Natsu asked confusedly, ceasing his pursuit of Happy for the time being.

"It's a bit of a long explanation…" Ichigo trailed off, unsure of whether or not the dragon slayer actually wanted to hear it.

"I'm all ears." Natsu replied.

"Same." Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Alright then… but it won't make any sense unless I explain a few things beforehand. Firstly, magic energy doesn't really exist in my world. There are two… well, technically three, realms of existence from where I'm from. There is the world of the living, the Soul Society, and a place called Hueco Mundo." Ichigo began, the others listening intently to his words.

"The world of the living is a place you can think of as similar to this world except no one really has the ability to use magic. They are pretty much all powerless save for a very select few." He continued.

"You mean like you?" Lucy asked, getting a nod as a response.

"Yes, like me. Then there's the Soul Society, which is linked to the world of the living by something called the Dangai, which I explained to you earlier. The Soul Society is a place where souls go to rest after their earthly bodies pass away. Basically you can think of it as the afterlife. Souls possess spiritual energy, and that is why normal humans can't see them. Souls also have the power to use their spiritual energy in different ways, which I guess makes it similar to magic energy." Ichigo stated.

'So that's why I can feel some kind of energy from him…' Natsu thought.

"Those who have enough spiritual energy become Soul Reapers, who are essentially people that police the souls, if that makes any sense. The reason is because some souls don't instantly depart for the Soul Society and that's where the concept of a Soul Reaper comes in. They enter the world of the living and guide the souls to the Soul Society. This is necessary because a soul is beyond the realm of existence of a normal human, so even though they can touch physical objects they themselves can't be seen, which means that they could potentially cause trouble." Ichigo continued.

"I guess that makes sense, but what about that other place… umm, Huceo Mando?" Natsu asked.

"It's Hueco Mundo, and I was getting to it… you see, there is another reason souls have to be guided to the Soul Society, and that's because if they don't then the soul becomes what is called a hollow. Basically hollows consume other souls both to gain more spiritual energy and to survive." Ichigo began.

"Ewww." Happy exclaimed.

"For once I agree…" Lucy said, wincing slightly at the thought of anything actually consuming her physical body.

"Ditto. By the way, thanks for finding something that can spoil my appetite… I really didn't think anything in existence could do that." Natsu commented, clenching his stomach slightly.

"Sorry about that… anyway, where was I? Oh, right, hollows are… wait, do demons or something like that exist here?" Ichigo asked, guessing that if magic existed than maybe something that goes along with that concept did as well.

"Yeah, they do actually." Lucy replied, however she had never actually seen one herself.

'Figures…' Ichigo thought with a deadpanned expression.

"Well think of them like that. Hueco Mundo is where they live, and Soul Reapers also protect the world of the living from them. Most Soul Reapers, however, are actually souls, whereas I am still a living human being who is able to use powers by accessing my soul form. Because of that fact I am a Substitute Soul Reaper, so I have the duties of a Soul Reaper but I am still a living human." Ichigo explained.

"That's really cool." Natsu said cheerfully.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"Wait, so how exactly does that work?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, that's actually pretty simple. I just touch this badge and I can exit my body at will. I can show you if one of you can catch me before I hit the ground." Ichigo replied.

Both Lucy and Natsu nodded in understanding, after which the orange-haired teen turned his back to them and prepared to exit his body. Within a moment later, his hand firmly grabbed the wooden skull bade that was attached to his side, shortly after which his body shot backwards and his 'soul form' was left standing, sword and all.

He turned to see his body had been caught by Lucy and Natsu in unison, but their eyes were firmly fixed on what his soul form looked like, as were those of Happy. Ichigo had assumed this would be the case, especially since prior they didn't really know the significance of what he looked like.

'Still, I am glad that the pass still works properly, otherwise I'd be in some trouble. Moreover, if the pass still works then maybe the Soul Society can still track me, and if that's the case maybe they can come get me out of this dimension.' Ichigo thought.

It wasn't entirely ludicrous to think that if the Dangai had thrust him into this world that his and theirs was somehow connected, which meant that the combat pass was likely still traceable. In addition, the concept of magic was remotely similar to that of spiritual energy and they could even see him in his soul form. This took quite a bit of pressure off of him given that know he knew for a fact that it wasn't entirely on him to find his own way back, a situation that was very much so less than preferable.

"Then when I'm like this all I have to do is enter my body again and I'm fine." Ichigo stated.

He did just that a moment later, after which he freed himself of both Natsu and Lucy's respective grips and picked himself off, turning to face them shortly thereafter.

"That was really interesting. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before." Lucy said as if deep in thought.

"I want to do it, let me try!" Natsu exclaimed, after which he grabbed the combat pass.

When nothing happened the pink-haired mage began to look around, inwardly wondering if it had actually worked. Upon seeing that his body wasn't lying on the ground nearby, he just poked the wooden badge once more, after which he began to scratch his head in a confused manner.

"It kind of only works for me…" Ichigo clarified.

"Figures…" Natsu grumbled.

"To be honest I was surprised that you two could see me when I first got here. Like I said earlier, living humans usually cant." Ichigo stated.

"Going back to what you said, I think it has something to do with the magical properties of this world. If what you said about spiritual energy and magic energy being similar is true then it doesn't seem too far out there." Lucy mused.

"I still don't know what this spirit energy stuff feels like." Natsu stated.

"I don't know how well this will work, but I can try to raise it." Ichigo stated.

The orange-haired teen shut his eyes a moment alter, trying to focus as best as he could to let his spiritual pressure flow outwardly. He knew very well that doing so in his human body wasn't particularly easy, but still he could try.

For a short period of time, a massive spike of raw energy tore through the air around them, so much so that all those save form Ichigo widened their eyes at the abruptness and intensity. It died down very quickly, but still its presence was undeniable.

"So, how was that?" Ichigo asked, wanting to know if they had been able to feel his rising spiritual energy.

'That was… really weird… but it was also really powerful.' Lucy thought. From what she could tell the feel of spiritual energy was outlandish and strange compared to magic energy, but still it seemed just as potent, if not more so.

"Not bad… it's definitely not magic energy but it's really powerful. I think it's got me itchin' for a fight." Natsu said with a grin.

"Maybe later." Ichigo said evenly, though he truly wasn't in the mood for a confrontation at the moment.

"Killjoy." Natsu grumbled.

The substitute then glanced at the blonde-hired celestial mage, taking note that she still seemed awestruck by the feel of spiritual energy. She should have been somewhat surprised, that was understandable, but not on this level.

"After everything that I've said, you really shouldn't be so surprised." Ichigo stated jokingly, effectively breaking the female teen out of her daze.

"That's true… even if I do believe you though, it is hard to buy that you're from a different dimension." Lucy replied.

"I don't think it's all that hard to believe. Ichigo seems honest, and I like that." Natsu stated.

"That's really the reason you believed me so easily?" Ichigo asked with a raised brow.

The dragon slayer adopted an expression of thought for a moment, after which he appeared to return to his cheerful demeanor and made to speak once again.

"Well I am kinda used to people not believing me when I tell them how I grew up and where I come from. My father was Igneel, king of the fire dragons, and since dragons have been thought dead for ages most people don't believe me, at least not until I show them dragon slayer magic." Natsu replied.

"How does that work by the way, you being raised by a dragon, I mean." Ichigo said, just assuming that the teenage wizard was not actually the offspring of a dragon.

Ichigo figured that if Natsu was kind enough to give him the benefit of the doubt he would do the same. On top of that, he was familiar with the concept of Soul Reapers and hollows so magic and dragons didn't really take a big leap forwards to believe. In some ways it was a step back.

"Igneel raised me when I was little and taught me how to use dragon slayer magic. One day he just left, though, and ever since I've been looking for him. At some point I joined Fairy Tail, but whenever I hear a rumor I head out and start searchin'." Natsu explained.

"I see… sorry to hear that." Ichigo said, not entirely sure how to respond given he didn't know the pink-haired mage's feelings on the mater.

"I was actually in Hargeon looking for Igneel. Someone told me that the Salamander had been spotted and I thought it had to be him. Turned out to be that poser that you fought for a little bit… man that guy really pissed me off." Natsu stated, gritting his teeth together at the end of his speech.

"But… I've been on a few of these types of runs and they've never made me give up before. Actually I should thank you for helping me out a bit back there, so if you ever need a favor feel free to ask." Natsu continued, giving a thumbs up to the orange-haired substitute.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"Thanks… actually, there is something you could help me with. Do you know anyone that could help me out with my situation?" Ichigo asked with clear hope in his voice.

The dragon slayer hummed in thought for a moment, after which he snapped his fingers as if in realization. Ichigo hoped to god that this meant he knew something that could help him or, perhaps, someone.

"I've got it! Maybe my guild's master can help you out. We're already half-way to Magnolia, and when we're there I can take you to Fairy Tail so you can ask him anything you want!" Natsu exclaimed, rather happy that he had thought of this solution.

"What about you, Lucy? I don't want to hold you up, so if…" Ichigo began, only to be cut off.

"Don't worry about Larry. She is coming with us because she wants to join Fairy Tail too!" Happy assured.

"My name is Lucy you stupid cat!" Lucy shouted.

"I am not stupid, you're stupid!" Happy shouted back, prompting the blonde to chase after the winged feline in a fit of rage.

"Anyway… you ready to get goin', Ichigo?" Natsu asked, flashing a grin towards the substitute.

For a moment Ichigo stood in place as if deep in thought. Given his current options were to either wander around in search of someone who might be able to help him or travel with Natsu for the same purpose, he supposed it was far more efficient to do so with someone who had a clue as to where they were going.

'This is by far my best option to take… but I just hope the Fairy Tail guild master can help me out.' Ichigo thought.

"Um… are you ready?" Natsu asked in an unsure tone, confused as to why the orange-haired teen had spaced out on him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, lead the way." Ichigo answered.

Natsu flashed a toothy grin before he turned heel and began to run off towards what Ichigo could only assume to be Magnolia and subsequently Fairy Tail. As the two ran, Happy and Lucy followed close behind, though the blonde was still chasing said cat, who once again seemed to forget he could fly.

{Magnolia: Outside the Fairy Tail Guild, Some Time Later…}

The four stood in the front of a large building that seemed rather quant and peaceful if anyone were to walk by it. Ichigo looked at it with a small sense of hope, Lucy with a sense of awe and wonder as this was the first time she had seen a guildhall before, but Natsu and Happy looked at it with nostalgia in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

If any place on the face of this world could be classified as their home, it would be this guildhall, and with this in mind they began to walk forwards, Ichigo and Lucy following shortly thereafter.

When they reached the doors of the building, Natsu flashed a toothy grin, not even bothering to look back at his new acquaintances. He prepared to open the door in an excited fashion, just knowing somewhere in his heart that both Ichigo and Lucy would love it.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail…" Natsu said before making to open the door.