My SI Stash #8 - Living The Dream by Nerva Claudius (Fairy Tail)

-Recently published SI Fairy tail fic~ I got a feeling this one will get lengthy in no time, SI as Rustyrose!

Sypnosis: When I died, I didn't expect to be reborn in a world of magic. Well technically, I didn't expect anything to happen after I died, so you can imagine my surprise when I find myself reincarnated as a familiar somebody who's been stuck in his chunnibyou phase all his life. SI reincarnated as Rustyrose, rated M just in case.

Rated: M

Words: 10K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13477887/1/Living-the-Dream (Nerva Claudius)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

There comes a point in life where everything you are, everything you ever have been or will be, becomes a moot point. It doesn't matter how much of a kind person you were, or how much potential you held within yourself. At some point, all of that will disappear and be forgotten.

I came to this realisation when I found myself in the body of a baby, wrapped up in a bundle of blankets and held by a pair of giant hands. See what I mean? All those years of hard work, of working extra shifts, of studying more hours. All of it was gone in an instant.

Not long ago, I was walking home from college after a long day when something-I don't know what, probably a brick-hit me on the head. Really hard. I blacked out almost instantly and after what felt like a couple of weeks, I found myself surrounded by giants.

The first thing I did was check for my sex and as soon as I confirmed that I was a healthy male, I began to cry for a whole other reason. There's nothing wrong with being a girl but I would just prefer if I kept my original gender.

Translation: I don't want periods.

It didn't take long for me to realise that this was the standard reincarnation trope that I've read about before. It took a bit longer for me to realise that I had been reincarnated into the world of Fairy Tail.

The first sign was when I overheard the date on which I was born: X763. First time I heard it, I felt like I was missing something. It was on the tip of my tongue and I knew that if I was given a little bit more information, I could make some sense of where I had found myself.

I was able to reach a suitable conclusion when I was given the name Rusty Rose, prompting me to just go crazy where I was. I cried, I screamed and I let the whole world know that I was pretty pissed off.

I have somehow found myself in the world of Fairy Tail, reincarnated as the pompadour asshole with the most broken magic in the series. Or at least, he would have been a pompadour asshole with the most broken magic in the series, if I hadn't taken his place.

Anyways, it's been a year since I was born, making me the one-year-old son of Elias and Seraphina Rose. We live in a nice place known as Tarrin village, in the Fiore Kingdom, so that's nice I guess. It's pretty big for a village and is known for its steelworks and large amount of blacksmiths.

Elias Rose is a middle-aged man who resembles a bear thanks to the gruff aura he always exudes, coupled with his super buffed body figure which is at the peak of manliness; a level that I hope to achieve in the future. His hair is a natural silver and cut pretty short, and his eyes are a steel-like grey. He got his large figure from years of physical labour and exercise when he was younger. Contrary to his intimidating appearance, he's actually a softie.

My Mum, Seraphina Rose, is the complete opposite of my Dad. She's a damn lovely lady who made everyone feel happy just by existing; it was hard to be angry at anything when you were near her, she just has that effect on people. She has chocolate-brown hair that falls down her back and pale-green eyes. I think that the nicest way to describe her is as a light airhead, though that wasn't so bad; it just made her that much more likeable.

Then you have me: Rusty Rose. I was the child who always has far too much energy for anyone to handle. According to my Mum, having inherited my Dads hair and eye colour, I looked like a mini Elias running around the house in my diapers. Speaking of appearances, I am one adorable baby. Like seriously, I almost cooed from my own reflection. I have the same silver hair and grey eyes as my Dad but the features of my Mum. When combined, my face is like the amalgamation of all things cute and fluffy.

Call me a narcissist but only after you've actually met me face to face.

Moving on, I have no idea where exactly in Fiore Tarrin village is located but it's not far from one of the larger towns of Fiore: Calister town is the name. It also has a mage guild residing in said town so we shouldn't be in any danger when it comes to bandit attacks.

Speaking of magic, there's a big difference between seeing it on a screen and seeing it in real life. Since we're nearby Calister town, we get a lot of mages coming through here from time to time. Tarrin village also has a lot of magic tools that are mainly used for daily life thanks to said mages.

Hopefully, I'll get the opportunity to learn magic, but that's in the future. For now, I would rather just enjoy myself for a couple of years before starting my shounen training montage.

I love my current life. Really, I do, but if I had one problem, it was that my Dad and I were always competing for Mum's attention. I was a baby and felt the need to be near her at all times, so I was covered, but my Dad? That man has no excuses, he's a grown ass adult for gods sake.

Yes, I know that I'm technically an adult as well but I can't help it. I crave the attention, revel in it even. I was an orphan in my previous life so all of this attention is a first for me. I'm willing to wrestle both Acnologia and Zeref luchador style if it means that I can spend a little more time being pampered by my Mum.

In fact, I was watching as he slept on the couch after coming home from work. He had a long day today and just wanted to rest. Mum was tending to his every needs, trying to make him feel as comfortable as possible.

Look at that goofy smile on his face, so relaxed and happy that I could see the sunshine and rainbows surrounding him.

I watched from my side of the living room, surrounded by all sorts of toys that other children could only dream of. However, my attention wasn't focused on any of those. I narrowed my eyes at soon as Mum left the room.

That should have been me.

Unforgivable.

With practised ease, I crawled up the couch and onto the arm rest, watching his peaceful smile as he continued to sleep without a care. No words needed to be said as I bent my knees, willed all the strength I could muster into my legs and leapt, flying through the air with a war cry.

"Haa!" I cried out as I tucked my body into a ball, landing directly onto his stomach.

"Oof!" I cackled as his body lurched forward, the air having been forcefully exhaled from his lungs. I giggled and clapped my hands and did anything I could while moving about in a way to make him feel more uncomfortable, throwing out a couples of "Dada's" every now and again.

"Why? Why do you always do this, Rusty?" he cried as he lifted me from his stomach, greedily sucking in the oxygen that I robbed from him, "I just got home from work, can't you just give me this one time?" he pleaded. I answered his question with a snort before proceeding to give him a smack to the forehead, eliciting another groan from the tired man.

What's that you say? I'm acting like a child? Go back a couple of paragraphs and you'll see that, technically, I am a child.

He looked down at me, his face scrunching up in mild annoyance. "Are you doing this on purpose? I feel like you're doing this on purpose." he groused as he lifted me off his body, sitting me down on his side.

"Dah." I replied with another smack on his face.

Mum chose to walk in at that moment and watched the scene that played out in front of her with a smile, laughing when Dad began to poke me with one hand and ruffle my hair with the other as I fought his arms off.

It was just another normal day in the Rose household.

[X766: Tarrin village - Rose Household]

It's been three years since I was reincarnated and I have come to the final conclusion that being a child is the most horrible thing in the world and I want to die again.

What's that you say? I'm overreacting? It can't be that bad? You poor confused baby chickens, let me tell you something about us children. We kids are creatures that stand at the pinnacle of adorableness, along with puppies, kittens and baby weasels. That means that when blessed with our most esteemed presence, nobody can control themselves.

Do you know what exactly that entails to?

"Aww~! He looks so adorable~!"

"Come on Rusty, you can do it! Smile for mommy!"

It means that we're forced to play dress up.

I stayed as quiet as I could, barely able to restrain myself as Mum and her housewife friends were all squealing over me. Mum was holding another one of those accursed outfits in her hands, one of the many that I'm being forced to wear.

Just because I'm a cute little baby does not mean that I want to be dressed up like a little doll! I am a boy! I am not a doll, I am not a girl and I am most certainly not a 'pretty princess!'

Seeing as how there's no way for me to escape this hell, all I can do now is pray to Ankhseram and steel my nerves. If I was able to watch the entire Conjuring series without flinching once, then I can definitely get through this!

~Five minutes later~

Just kill me... Someone kill me right now...

"You look so adorable! I knew pink frills were the right choice after all!" Mum squealed as she glomped me for what felt like the hundredth time, the rest of the women nodding in agreement. None of them seemed to notice how dead my eyes were at the moment.

I cried mentally as my Mum continued to gush, taking pictures of me from multiple angles. My hands were tensed as I gripped the hem of my dress, barely able to hold back the vile curses that I wanted to spew at the world.

I have never felt so much shame in my entire life before, I just want to crawl under a rock and never come out again. Please, I don't care about living my second life anymore. Rather, just kill me now and free me from this nightmare.

This had better not become a habit in the future; I was clearly reborn in this world with a purpose in mind from a higher being, and not to awaken my hidden trap.

Oi. You had better stop laughing, you piece of shit dad. You're the reason I'm in this mess in the first place. You think this is a joke? You wanna see a better joke because I can show you a better joke.

"Fuck you!" I practically screamed, pointing at Dad who might I add, was currently coughing out his tea.

As soon as the word left my mouth, there was absolute silence. Every single mother who was treating me as their barbie doll just straight up shut their mouths. The boys who were laughing at me closed their mouths instantly. Even Dad looked at me with surprise. Not a single peep was coming from any one of them; hell, I think I might have even heard the animals in the forest pause in their tracks.

"Fuck you!" I repeated for a stronger effect.

I turned to face Mum whose face was stone-cold. Her green eyes regarded me for a second before, amazingly, narrowing even further.

"Rusty. Who taught you that word?" she asked-no, commanded.

My eyes darted to Dad, who seemed to notice the stare coming his way. Realisation slowly began to dawn onto him as his eyes suddenly widened, a barely hidden fear found in there. He knows what I'm about to do. He knows that there's nothing he can do to save himself.

It was with great pleasure that I raised my hand and pointed at the man in question. The dark gleam in my eyes were professionally hidden by the innocent smile on my face, the greatest weapon a child could own.

"Dad!"

Get rekt, m8.

[X767: Tarrin village - Outskirts]

Most people consider childhood to be the best part of your life. I am not one of those people.

I mean yeah, it's nice having parents and being pampered but everyone likes that, adult or not. As your average, everyday reincarnator, it isn't easy getting along with other children. Especially when all they want to do is play tag or something.

"Come on slowpoke!"

It's definitely because I can't catch this snot-nosed brat. No sir, not at all.

"Hey look! It's a rainbow!" I cried out, pointing towards the empty sky. Just as I predicted, my target turned around almost instantly with a crazed look in her eyes.

You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! Without wasting anymore time, I leapt forward and smacked my hand against her hand, slightly pushing her forward in the process. She seemed to realise what was happening as soon as I tagged her. Such a shame she reacted a second too late.

"Ah! That's not fair! You tricked me!" she accused with her finger pointed at me.

"There are no rules in Tag which means that anything's fair." I deigned her accusation with a snort. If she want's to use her child logic against me, then I'll just retaliate with child logic as well.

"Yes there are! You're not allowed to cheat!" Emily denied my statement as she shook her head from side to side, swinging her black hair around in the air. "You... You're a cheater!"

Emily Cross, or Emi for short, is one of the older children from Tarrin village and my elder by one year. She's also the only one that can somehow put up with my attitude.

I wasn't really the one for running around and playing like the other town children. It might be strange for the villagers but they don't know that I'm a literal man-child. Rather than force myself into a role I find uncomfortable, I much prefer just laying around and doing nothing, or reading books. It's all I can do since there's nothing else for me to do.

But Emily, it seems, doesn't share that sentiment and takes every opportunity to drag me out my home to run around and play and all that normal child stuff.

It would be easy to refuse her, like I've done to every other child in the town, but the problem is that if I didn't, she starts tearing up and the guilt I felt just forces me to go along with whatever she wants.

Like right now. She's starting to tear up. Again.

"Alright, I'm sorry." I apologised as I made my way forward. "You were right. I was cheating, which means that I'm a cheater. I won't do it again so can you please stop-guh!"

The air was knocked out of my lungs when she tackled me as soon as I was in her range. Before I could even blink, she wraps her arms around my midsection and brings me in with a tight hug.

I look up at her with a tired glare as she gets comfortable on my chest. She looks down at me with a mischievous smile, her amber eyes shining with a barely concealed mirth.

"Ehehe, got you!" She giggles as she rubs her head on my chest.

"You were faking it, weren't you Emi?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Mhmmm!" She admits easily, looking down at me with that annoying grin on her face, "And you fell for it again!"

I let out a sigh as my head fell back on the ground with a soft thud. I tried moving about but found that she held my body with a vice grip, refusing to allow me to run away again. She managed to trick me, an adult. I have no excuses that will make me feel better about myself.

After what felt like five minutes, I raised my head once more. Since I couldn't use my arms at the moment, I opted to get her attention by prodding at her head with my chin.

"So," I began, "can you let go of me now?"

"Nope!"

Another sigh.

"Ehehehe…" Emily carries on giggling and leans down to rub her cheek against my chest, her legs kicking the air behind her. Oi, what do you think I am? I'm Rusty Rose, not your glorified body pillow. I should teach her a lesson to respect other people's boundaries and-

"Besides, I enjoy cuddling with Rusty.", Emily smiled as she said this, "Rusty is really warm, and always nice to me, so I like it when I'm with you."

...

Well fuck. I can't do anything about it now, can I?

In the end, I resigned myself to the fate of being her glorified body warmer.

"Rusty! Come over here, I have a surprise for you!"

"Mum, I can see the dress behind you."

"..."

"..."

I ran before she could grab me.

"Emi. Tell me who is was that hurt you."

"I-it...it was t-that one..."

"That fat kid with the big nose?"

"Y-yeah."

"Hold my orange juice, I'll be right back."

"Hey Dad, do you think I can eat all this chocolate before feeling sick?"

"Rusty, no."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"Rusty, I said no."

[X768: Tarrin village]

"Rusty! Could you bring your lunch to your father?"

"On it!"

I quickly put on my shoes and coat before picking up Dad's lunch. Mum saw me off as I left the house before going back in, not wanting to let the cold air inside. She trusted me with this job and Dad's workplace wasn't that far away, so she didn't need to worry about me.

It's been five years since I was born in this world. Five whole years of pure bliss that flew by faster than I could say potato. Why potato? It was the first thing that came to mind for some reason.

I've honestly enjoyed the time I've spent as a child, mainly because I got to go through a proper childhood, rather than that trash orphanage I lived in before I was reincarnated. I have a loving mother and father, an adorable older-sister figure and live in a nice town.

And the magic. Can't forget about all the sweet as fuck magic.

"Good morning, Rusty! Off to see your father?" an old man called out as I ran past him.

"Yeah! He forgot his lunch again!", I replied, "And don't forget to take your medication, Mr Brown!" I added.

It didn't take long for me to reach Dad's workplace; he works at one of the town's many forges as a blacksmith. Rather than weapons, he basically forges anything related to iron and steel, so I found myself surrounded by all sorts of items. I walked past a range of different utensils and passed a stack of iron swords as I made my way towards the counter, meeting up with the familiar face of the cashier.

Marcus Bastion is a part-timer at my Dad's store who was hired last year. He's only working on the side as he continues his studies, hoping to get into the University of Crocus, one of the biggest universities to get into. He's a pretty cool guy once you get to know him, though I know better than to ask why he knows how to create a magic-fuel bomb using a napkin, some glue, a broken Lacrima shard and a mitten.

"Ah, Rusty. You here to see your father?" he asked, looking down at me from where he was stood. It's times like these that I really hate this child body of mine.

"He forgot his lunch. Again." to illustrate my point, I lifted the packed lunch Mum made for Dad. It was wrapped nicely in a green cloth, kind of heavy as well. How much food did Mum make, I wonder?

Marcus released a sigh as he opened the latch on the small gate, letting me through, "He's in the back. Be careful you don't hurt yourself, we got a pretty big order of swords from a noble." he warned as I passed him.

"Got it." I replied as I entered the forge. Dad was sitting on a small bench, hunched over as he hammered a sword in the making. On his side was a small pile of swords, numbering five longswords.

"Dad!" I called out, getting his attention, "You left your lunch at home again. How many times does this make it now?" I chastised as I placed his lunch nearby. At least he had the decency to look a little embarrassed at his mistake.

"Sorry about that, but I have a proper excuse this time! I promise." I raised an eyebrow, drawing a sigh from the man as he began hammering the disfigured steel on the anvil, "I managed to get my hands on a magic tome today, though the only problem is that I can't read it."

"Can't read it? Dad, you're not illiterate." I shook my head before pausing and looking back at him. "Are you?"

"Of course I'm not.", Dad snorted as he grabbed the newly-forged sword with a pair of tongs and shoved it into a bucket of water, "The problem is that the tome is faulty. You can't learn the magic in that book, making it practically worthless."

"So... You got scammed?"

"I got scammed." he admitted shamelessly. He turned towards me, a little bit of fear on his face, "Uh... You're not going to tell your mother about this... are you?"

I could already feel the grin on my face.

"Hmm... I don't know..." I mused, a hand on my chin as I thought to myself, "I mean, I want to help you but I also don't want to lie to Mum... Decisions, decisions..."

"N-now, let's not get hasty son.", Dad stammered, "You don't want to see your old man get hurt, do you?"

"On one condition." I shot back. He raised an eyebrow but prompted for me to continue, "I want to see that magic book you were scammed into buying." He looked a little surprised at the condition he was given.

"That's it?", he asked incredulously before shaking his head, "No, no, if that's what you want then who am I to say no? It's on the shelves behind the counter, just ask Marcus to bring it down for you."

"Thanks Dad!" I called out one last time before running back towards the main section of the store. Marcus was in the middle of trying to sell one of the wares to a hesitant customer. They were close to the end of their conversation so I just decided to wait at the register.

I didn't have to wait that long, seeing as how Marcus is really good at what he does. He managed to get the customer to buy a set of cutlery, some kitchen knives, an entire bathtub and, somehow, a battle-axe.

"Oh, Rusty. I didn't see you there." Marcus said as he made his way back behind the counter. "Is there something you need?"

"Yeah", I pointed up at the shelf holding the tome, "Can you bring that tome down for me? I can't reach it."

Marcus stretched his arms, standing on his toes as he managed to reach the tome. He was slowly pulling it back with the tip of his fingers, complaining during the entire process, when he pulled too hard and the tome fell off the shelf. It landed upright on the floor and opened due to the impact, displaying the contents for the whole world to see.

"Isn't that a magic tome?" Marcus asked, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to make what he could from the book, "I can't read this at all. It just looks like a kid scribbled all over the pages. Did your father get scammed again or something?" he asked.

I wasn't listening. I was too busy staring at the book in open surprise.

The text... Isn't it just normal English?

I began flipping the pages only to find that the entire book is written in English. Dad wasn't able to read it but I can make out the text clearly. Even the mage who sold it couldn't read it, so why can I?

Argh! So many questions, so little time! I have to get back home or Mum will be worried!

"Sorry Marcus, but I'm taking this home with me." I got up, magic tome in my arms as I prepared to leave. I saw the worried look on his face but eased his worries, "Don't worry. I'll hide it from Mum so Dad won't get in trouble."

He looked considerably calmer after that. I can understand why; if Dad is killed by Mum, he won't get paid anymore.

I closed the door behind me and began to run back home; if I was late, Mum would begin to get worried. I managed to get home faster than I got to the store, mainly due to the adrenaline I felt rushing through my body at the prospect of learning magic.

If it goes well, maybe I could join a guild? It sounds like it would be fun, and the pay is amazing depending on what job I take. I could use the money to make sure that Mum and Dad can just relax for the rest of their lives.

Yeah, that sounds nice.

As soon as I arrived home, I let Mum know that I was back before rushing to my room. I closed the door behind me and jumped on my bed, magic tome in hand. It was old and worn out, and the corners of the tome were starting to break apart. I give this tome a couple of more years before it becomes unusable.

Placing my hand on the cover of the book, I began to wipe the dirt that was masking the title from me. Just a little bit more and...

And...

...

Oh. Oh my.

"Arc of Embodiment - The Power of Dreams"

Fuck. Me. Sideways.

A/N:

This story is something that I've had on my mind for a while now but never got around to it. The main reason for writing this fanfiction is simple: Rusty was a wasted character. The man literally has the power of imagination but he used it to create a weird tentacle-sword, a golden shield, winged boots, a couple of weird monsters and ghosts that force themselves all over you. The Tower of Dingir was the only spell I could call useful, and he only used it like, what, three times in the entire series?

So yeah, that's why I'm writing this story. Hopefully, we'll be seeing a completely different Rusty in this story. Of course, I'll be placing several limitations and restrictions on his magic because he would be way to overpowered if he could just imagine anything into existence. I'm pretty sure that Canon!Rusty has already confirmed that his magic has several limitations placed on it.

While it was stated that Hades taught every member of the 7 Kin of Purgatory magic, it was never stated that they had already knew how to use magic before they met Hades. Thus, Rusty managed to get his hands on the AoE tome. Of course, he'll be having problems without Hades helping him so don't expect an overpowered Rusty next chapter.

Anyways, I'm not entirely confident in my ability to update regularly. I'm in the middle of studying and my timetable is pretty strict on me, so updates will most likely be slow. Sorry about that.

With that said, don't hesitate to leave your thoughts in the review section and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.