May 9, 2014 - Friday

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, Viz Media, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and Studio Pierrot. Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima, TV Tokyo, A-1 Pictures, Satelight, Bridge, and Funimation.

Author's Note: Not much action this chapter, but I still hope you guys enjoy. Special thanks to SpiritMaster28 for Beta reading this.

Part 2: Getting to Work

"Hard to believe this world's books have the same language as mine."

Levy looked out from behind the bundle of books in her arms, to see Ichigo looking down at an open book. He casually ran his finger down each row of words on the page. Once he was down with one, he'd flip the page and repeat again.

Resting the pile another pile of books next to him, Levy pulled up a chair next to Ichigo and sat down. It had only been about fifteen minutes since Levy had brought Ichigo to the study room, but in that short time, she'd learned more that she thought she would've from the boy. He had given his age when she asked and also answered a few questions she had asked about his home world, Earth.

The world he described to her was different in so many ways from her own. Most of the people on Earth didn't even believe magic existed? In the absence of magic, advanced technology was used in it's place. Magic was such a big part of everyday life in Earthland it was almost impossible to think any world could function without it.

"So there's really no such thing as magic on Earth?"

"Oh there is magic in my world." Ichigo closed the book so that he could give her his full attention. "The Soul Reapers have their Kido spells and the churches have their secret groups of magicians."

"Soul Reapers?" Levy questioned. The very name sounded ominous to her. "Who are they?"

"Soul Reapers are...well they're the guardians of the afterlife I guess you could say."

"Guardians of the afterlife?"

"Yeah, their job is to guide the souls of the deceased to the Soul Society. The Soul Society is where the Soul Reapers and the souls of the dead live." He paused and chuckled to himself. "Sorry, got off subject. Like I said before Kido spells are a form of magic used by the Soul Reapers. They're listed by number from lowest to highest and the power of the spell depends on of course the rank of the spell but by the user's ability and strength too.

"That sounds completely different from any magic I've ever hear of. But if Soul Reapers are the guardians of the dead, how do you know so much about them?" Levy tilted her head up as Ichigo pushed his chair back and stood up.

"How? Well...I just do."

Levy raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You're world does sound strange."

"I could say the same thing about Earthland's magic." he stated. "Magic, guilds, and wizards. Sounds like something straight out of a story book. I feel like Fate's personal hobby is screwing with my life." That earned a giggle out of Levy while Ichigo just closed his eyes. "So any luck on finding something that'll get me a ticket back home?"

Levy face faltered for a minute before a sad smile worked its way on her lips. "Nothing so far. There's still a lot of reading material I haven't gone over yet, so there's still a very good chance I'll come across something. I promise I'll find you a way home Ichigo."

It's ok." he assured. "I do believe you will." He wasn't use to trying to give people confidence, but his reassuring smile seemed to give the young bluenette some comfort.

"Thanks." It looked like she wanted to say something else, but a sudden crash from downstairs, accompanied by yelling and more loud noises, caught the attention of both.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Ichigo asked with a frown.

Levy sighed and shook her head with an amused look. "Oh just a brawl in the guild hall."

"You say that like it's a common occurrence."

"It is." Ichigo gave her a questioning look and she replied with a shrug. "They just usually break out every now and then. Thankfully they don't usually last very long. Maybe you should go down there and check it out. Meet the other Fairy Tail members you know?"

"You sure this is best time to meet them?"

"Probably not most of them, but I bet Mirajane is still behind the bar watching the whole thing. You could have a talk with her." Since Mira was without a doubt the nicest person in Fairy Tail, it made sense that she should be the one that talked to Ichigo. To a newcomer, Mirajane would give the best impression of the guild.

There wasn't anything better for him to do. Sure he'd read several of Levy's books for research, but it looked like she alone could handle all of it. Besides, he had to admit he was mildy curious about the other members. With the exception of Makarov and Levy, Mira was the first peroson Ichigo had seen when he woke up in Earthland and they had only spoken for a couple of minutes. The racket down stairs made it seem like the other guild wizards were a rowdy bunch, but that only served to add to Ichigo's curiosity.

"Sure, why not?" He slid his hands into his pockets and walked over to the wooden door before looking over his shoulder. "The guild hall is just down stairs right?"

Levy nodded. "Mirajane should be behind the counter serving drinks. Can't miss it." Ichigo thanked her and made it halfway through the door before Levy called him. "Oh one more thing, please watch out for Natsu while you're down there. He may suddenly attack you and demand to have a fight."

Ichigo sweatdropped. "Uhh why? Did I do something to him while I was out?"

"No, Natsu is just a bit a hot head that likes to fight strong opponents. He and another wizard named Gray were the ones that helped me get you back to the guild. Natsu said he felt that you were a strong person and he wanted to fight you as soon as you woke up. With his bright pink hair, you'll be able to spot him easy. The bluenette sighed and shook her head. "He's going to be disappointed when he finds out you aren't a wizard."

"Yeah." Ichigo smirked a little. "I'm not a wizard that's for sure." He lingered in the doorway for a moment before starting out again. "I'll keep what you said in mind so don't worry, but I'm far from defenseless. Catch you later Levy." With that he disappeared out the doorway, leaving Levy alone.

She closed her book and sat back into her chair while her fingers absently tapped the table. "I'm far from defenseless." As soon as he said it, Levy got a strange feeling the orange-haired teen was hiding something...

Hargeon Town - Several Hours Earlier

A gloomy look of disappointment filled the face of a certain blonde wizard as she walked down the street with a red-haired girl. The red-haired girl was none other than Erza Scarlet of the Fairy Tail guild. Behind her was a mountain of luggage that would make one wonder why one person would need all of it.

The blonde girl with the gloomy expression was Lucy Heartfilia, a Celestial Wizard of Fairy Tail. She'd just spent the last couple of days doing a job request with Erza and one look at her face told anyone how well the job had went.

"Come on Lucy, wipe that gloomy look off your face." Erza said, finally noticing her friend's sour mood. "It wasn't that bad was it?"

It seemed like a stupid question, but Lucy just groaned and replied. "It was about the same as doing a job with Gray and Natsu. We get tired of trying to capture a gang of bandits or defeat a monster and wind up wrecking a town. And after all is said and done, we don't end up getting paid."

"I only recall damaging two houses." Erza said soberly.

"The request said capture wanted bandit leader, not destroy the houses you think he's in!" Lucy exclaimed with wide eyes and waving arms. She gradually calmed down and recollected her thoughts. "In the end he got away along with the four hundred thousand Jewel that would've helped pay for rent. Though I guess we should be grateful that Natsu and Gray weren't here. If we had brought them the town would've lost a dozen city blocks." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. A failed mission didn't get her the money needed to pay rent on her apartment and Lucy's landlady wasn't exactly the kind of person you'd want to be late paying.

"I think I know a way to cheer you up." Lucy looked at Erza, who had a twinkle in her eye. "I believe we passed a cafe while we were passing through Hargeon last time. How about I play for lunch. You can order anything off the menu you want." It was one way to apologize to the blonde. Erza knew Lucy was a fan of cute things like cafes and not to mention the fact that Erza was in the mood for some strawberry cheese cake. A win win for sure.

"I could go for lunch right now."

Erza smiled at the change of mood and the duo turned a corner and headed towards the cafe. The small outdoor cafe was about halfway down the block, making it impossible to miss. With it being lunch time, there were many tables already occupied with people eating, drinking, and talking. The wizards took a 3 person table at the edge of the cafe and Erza called for a waiter. When he arrived, his attention was glued to mountain of luggage resting behind the S-class wizard, with a look of disbelief and awe. But a few sharp orders from Erza snapped him back to reality and he quickly wrote down the girl's orders before leaving.

"Why people always stare is a mystery to me." Erza sighed. Lucy sweat dropped and she raised her eyebrow at the red head.

"Seriously?" She debated with herself on whether or not to explain it to her, but in the end she just let it go. "After lunch we're going to catch a train back to Magnolia right? The sooner I get another job, the sooner I'll have some rent money."

Erza smiled. "Sometimes I think money is the only reason you go on job requests Lucy."

"What?! No! Sure the money is important and all...and I seriously need it most of the time, but it's not the only reason take mission with you and the guys. They're fun most of the time and traveling to different places in Fiore keeps my life from getting boring."

"Well that's good to hear. I know Natsu and Gray's childish behavior can get on your nerves sometimes."

"Oh not any more really. I guess you could say those two's habits have grown on me. I mean it does make me want to pull my hair out sometimes when those two start locking horns." The two laughed when the mental image of Natsu and Gray at each others throats, slipped into their heads. Mirajane had once said that Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Lucy made up Fairy Tail's strongest team. While that was debatable, no one could deny that they were an effective team during a crisis. They had worked together to take down unbelievably strong dark wizards and foes. They didn't always get along, but that was just the kind of friendship they had.

"Hey look at this." Lucy reached down and picked up a newspaper off the third chair's seat. The date on the paper showed it was from earlier that morning. Someone must have left it behind. It was folded smoothly without any sign of wrinkles. The Celestial wizard rested it on the table and read the daily headline.

Dark Guild "Dusk Hunter" Activity Rises On Fiore Border.

"This isn't good." Lucy pushed the paper across the table to Erza. "A new dark guild I haven't heard of. They must have been formed in the last seven years while we were gone."

Erza ran her eyes down the front page till they rested on the fuzzy image under the headline. The black and white photo showed a group of cloaked figures with their hoods pulled up. Behind them, the large outline of a guild mark was burning across crop field, the burning lines creating the image of a wolf head with a star centered on its forehead.

"This was taken by a security lacrima." Erza sat the newspaper down and rested her head in her hands. "I thought after the defeat of the Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart, the dark guilds would've been weakened. It seems I was wrong."

"Dusk Hunter..." Lucy mumbled. It was only a picture, but the image of the dark cloaked figures branded itself in her mind. The same feeling that she had felt when she faced the Oracion Seis, Grimoire Heart, and even the dragons welled up inside her.

The waiter arrived with the order several moments later, which was welcomed way for Lucy to get her mind cleared. After he left, the two ate in silence, except for the noises of the town.

"I'll need to report this to the Master as soon as we get back." Erza stated, breaking the awkward silence. "No doubt he'll want to hear about if he hasn't already."

Picking around her chocolate cake, Lucy managed a small smile. At least Erza had a plan to follow. Just sitting around and being idle wasn't how the Fairy Tail guild rolled. But there was something else.

Lucy noticed Erza staring blankly at the dessert in front of her with a distant look. "You look worried. I guess this new dark guild would have anyone worried right?"

"It's not just the dark guilds." Erza replied. "I just got the feeling something is waiting at the guild. I had this same feeling on my way back from a job before. When I arrived at the guild, you had just joined Fairy Tail, Lucy."

" Whoa"

Ichigo's eye twitched at the scene that laid before him. Table broken down into splinters, wine and booze spilled out in puddles over the hall's floor, and the mass of human bodies either unconscious or locked up in a brawl with another.

"She wasn't kidding, this is damn brutal."

"Who wasn't kidding?"

Ichigo turned his head to the side and saw Mirajane walking towards him, balancing a tray of drinks in one hand while her other hand rested on her hip.

"Oh Mirajane-san." Ichigo said politely. What why was he so polite all of a sudden? Usually he never really took note of the appearances of the people around him. Many of them had distinct or downright weird looks, so he had grown use to them. But even he took immediate note that girl in front of him was just gorgeous.

Her wavy platinum blonde hair flowed passed her shoulders, except for her bangs that were tied into a pony tail. The red dress she wore seemed to only enhance her amazing figure and beauty. Her light-sapphire blue eyes and angel like face were also mesmerizing.

"Oh don't have to be so formal with me." She said giggling. "Mira or Mirajane is just fine."

"Ok Mira it is then." Levy said I should come down here and check things out a bit. I could hear the fight all the way up stairs." He glanced out the corner of his eye at a guy with long green hair get stuck in a headlock by an unnaturally ripped white-haired man. The green-haired guy's face went blue, causing the white-haired man to let go of him, obviously having lost interest in him, and was shouting something about being a "real man". Ichigo's sweat dropped. "So this is a regular thing huh?"

"It's nothing to worry over, just a way they pass time and have fun. We have so many different personalities in the guild, so it's only natural that a disagreement would lead this."

"You don't say?" Ichigo lowered his head just in time to dodge an empty mug that sailed by and shattered against the wall. To his surprise, Mira seemed completely unaffected by it. 'Must be the norm in the guild I guess.'

"Would you like to take a seat by the counter?" She asked pointing over to a line of cushioned seats next to the bar.

"If it gets me out of the line of fire, sure." He moved his head from side to side as stray chairs, mugs, and even a wizard or two sailed past him. This was getting out of hand real quick.

"No place is really safe during a Fairy Tail brawl, but you're less likely to get hit at the bar."

Ichigo shrugged before following Mirajane over to the counter. He rested his elbows on the polished counter once he sat down, while Mira walked behind the bar before pulling out a glass and resting it in front of Ichigo.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"I'm underage." The S-class wizard gave him a confused look.

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are?"

He smirked. "Not if you don't mind me asking the same."

"I'm nineteen." She stated placing her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "And you?"

"I just turned seventeen a couple months ago."

"You're not too young to drink, sixteen is the legal drinking age in Fiore. What's the legal age on Earth?"

"It varies from country to country, but in Japan, you have to be at least twenty."

"Well you're not in Japan now are you?" She gave him a wink. "So what would you like?"

Not having an answer, he just shrugged. "You can decide. I really don't know what kinds of drinks you have."

With a snap of her fingers, Mira reached down below the counter and pulled out several bottles. She poured a little liquid out of each one into the empty glass and stirred before presenting the now light orange drink to Ichigo. "There you go, this is a special drink of mine called a Merry Mess."

Ichigo eyed the drink before picking up the glass and taking a small sip. Finding it pleasantly, smooth tasting, he took a big sip much to Mirajane's enjoyment that her drink was a hit.

"So Ichigo." The teen brought his brown eyes to her face and somewhere deep inside she felt something stir. For a moment the young women was at a loss for words.

'There it is again, that fuzzy feeling. Why do I keep feeling like this?' she thought

"Uh Mira?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she apologized. "Sorry, got lost in my thoughts for a second."

"It's ok, but it looked like you wanted to ask me a question."

"That's right I did." Mira laughed to herself. "The funny thing is that my question was if you had any questions about the guild. I wouldn't mind answering any if you did." Mirajane was an easy person to talk to. Compared to the rest of the guild, she was probably one of the softest spoken members. You could tell her your thoughts, without ever having to worry about her making fun of you or spilling your secrets. If an outsider wanted to get to know Fairy Tail, then she'd be one of the best providers of information.

"Any questions I have...well I guess the first thing I want to know is what does Fairy Tail do?"

"Oh that's an easy one. Like all the guilds in Fiore, Fairy Tail takes in requests from people who need the assistance of a wizard or wizards for any specific jobs. It can vary from finding an owner's lost item, to monster hunting. One of the best parts about being in a guild is the interesting job requests we receive." She pointed over at a board nailed to the wall. On it was dozens of fliers with different requests or jobs and rewards posted on them.

Ichigo nodded. "Sounds like a good gig. Get to travel around and earn money." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ok next question, is everyone here," he pointed his finger at the rioting guild hall, "a wizard?"

"Almost everyone. There are several employees that work as maids or house cleaners. You don't have to be wizard to be in Fairy Tail."

"So anyone-." Ichigo sentence was cut short when a loud roar echoed through the guild hall.

"Gray you b***! Say that again, I dare you!"

The fighting mass of wizards scattered when a pillar of fire shot up out the mob. Even from across the room, Ichigo could feel the great heat waves from the blazing fire. With the mob cleared, Ichigo was able to see the person responsible for the blaze. A pinked-haired boy around his age was standing in the middle of the guild, his body completely engulfed in red flames. He stared daggers at a black-haired boy standing across from him, who looked nearly as pissed off as he did.

"What? You can't hear to good or something." the black-haired boy taunted. "Or maybe that hollow head of yours has reached a new level of stupidity."

"Shut your trap!" The fire died down till only the pinked-haired boy's hands were to only thing ablaze. "You won't be talking crap after I beat the hell out of ya."

The other boy smirked before slamming his fist into his hand. "You want to dance pyro?"

"Oh no, Gray and Natsu are at it again." Ichigo turned back from the glaring teens to see Mirajane shaking her head. "If only Erza was here, she'd scare them straight."

"That's Natsu and Gray?" he asked.

"You already know them?"

"No, but Levy mentioned they were the ones that carried me to the guild. She especially warned me to watch out for Natsu." After stealing a glance back at the pair of wizards, he sweatdropped again. "Now I see what she meant. He sure sounds and looks like a hothead."

As if on cue, Natsu charged towards Gray with a flame engulfed fist. "Fire Dragons Iron Fist!"

"Ice Make: Shield."

A solid sheet of ice rose up in front of Gray just in time to block Natsu's Iron Fist. Waves of energy swept across the hall, blowing the wizards that were unlucky enough to be to close away. Large cracks spread across the ice shield from the blow, but it remained in one piece.

"Ha! You call that a punch!?" Gray taunted.

"Oh I just getting warmed up."

Natsu jumped back, putting a good size gap between them, before rearing his head back and puffing out his cheeks. "Fire Dragon Roar!"

"Ah damn it." Gray drove to the side just as the mass of fire shot out of the Dragon Slayer's mouth, destroying the remains of the Ice Make: Shield and scorching a clear line in the floor.

"What the hell is that kid?!" Ichigo asked eyes wide. Sure this wasn't the first time the Strawberry had seen someone manipulate fire, but this guy was using doing it in a way he'd never seen before. The other guy, Gray, also had the powers of an element that was different from the ice manipulators Ichigo knew. His power with ice was completely different from either Rukia's or Toshiro's. So this was Earthland Magic.

"Those two just get so worked up whenever there around each other ." Mira smiled despite the fact that everyone else in the guild hall was trembling.

"I think that's more than just "worked up." Ichigo shouted over the ruckus, pointing an accusing finger at the two wizards while they attacked each other with their respective spells. Fire and ice attacks shook the walls and roof and panicking wizards did their best to put some distance between them and the two. "The guild hall is going to be rubble if this keeps up."

"Wouldn't be the first time~." Mira stated while Ichigo paled. He thought about pointing out how crazy this was, but then he remembered his own streak of destruction. It seemed like every time he went to the Soul Society, his battles ended up destroying a lot of the Seireitei.

'Natsu! Gray! Stop this at once!"

A large thundering form, seemingly coming out of nowhere, landed with a boom on the hall's floor. The impact made the walls shake and Ichigo had to grab the counter's edge to keep from falling over. When he finally managed to focus his attention, he saw the towering giant was none other than Makarov...only several times bigger.

"Stop fighting right now before you destroy the guild hall!" he roared at the two. "It was just fixed and I'd prefer if we did reduce it to rubble anytime soon."

"Come on Gramps you can't be serious." Natsu said, pointing a flame engulfed fist at Gray. "We haven't caused that much damag-."

Without even waiting for him to finish, Makarov hammered a fist down on top of both the fire and ice wizard. His fists fattened the two, causing everyone in the guild and Ichigo included to stare with wide eyes and slack jaws.

"I said stop." the old man repeated before slowly reducing back to his original size. "Consider this a favor. Erza messaged me that she and Lucy would be returning earlier than expected."

The flattened wizards moaned. "Erza?!"

"That was a good call master." Mirajane walked out from behind the counter to the old man's side. "Better you handle these two than Erza."

The old man stroked his mustache and grunted. "Yes. Mirajane, would you please attend to these knuckleheads? Erza and Lucy should be arriving from the train station any minute now and I'd prefer things being more up to their expectations." He snorted. "Though I believe that'd be hard for this guild."

"Of course." Mira knelt down and gently rubbed Gray and Natsu's shoulders. "Come on now. Master didn't hit you that hard." When they groaned in protest, she leaned down and whispered into their ears. "Now you don't wan't Erza coming down on top of you for sleeping on the floor do you?"

That worked. The once dead duo were up in a second acting as if nothing had happened.

"Well that was fun, but I'm beat." Gray stated, stretching his arms over his head.

"Yeah, and I'm really hungry for some reason."

"You're always hungry. Eating and yelling is the only thing that mouth of yours is good for." Gray snapped.

"Why you.." The two butted heads once again. "You working for another a** kicking?"

"Settle down boys." Mirajane pointed at the bar. "I'll make something for you to eat Natsu, just don't start up again." Once food was brought into the picture, Natsu rushed over to the counter, completely forgetting about his rival, and pulled out a knife and fork from out of nowhere.

"Whatever you say Mira." he grinned. "Hate to start eating without you Happy, but it's first come first served." A fresh bit of droll hung from his mouth. "I'm starving."

"Oh I almost forgot, just where is Happy?" Mira asked. "You two are rarely separated."

"He left his morning mumbling something about fish or fleas." He waved it off casually. "One or the other." At that moment, a familiar scent caught Natsu's attention. He took took a couple good sniff before down the counter and locking his eyes on a certain orange-haired boy sitting a few stools down.

Ichigo gave the pink-haired boy a small wave with his usual scowl present. "Hey."

"You!" Natsu jumped straight up and landed on the counter and pointed a finger at Ichigo, who sweatdropped.

"Uh..yeah."

"You're that sleeping guy Levy found, that me and Gray had to carry back to the guild."

"Sleeping guy?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow at his nickname before shrugging. "Well yeah, and your Natsu, right?"

The pinked-haired wizard grinned and raised a fist. "That's right, Natsu Dragneel. Fire Dragon Slayer and Fairy Tail's strongest wizard!"

"That's a load of bull." Gray yelled as he walked over and joined the two. "You're not even close to being the strongest. You ain't even S-class yet."

"You ain't S-class either." the Dragon Slayer snapped back. "If the trials hadn't been cancelled, I'd be S-class now."

The Ice Make wizard snorted. "Sure. Maybe in the next one." He turned to Ichigo and offered his hand. "Name's Gary Fullbuster. I helped Natsu bring you upstairs. You were banged up pretty bad. Good to see those wounds have healed."

Ichigo accepted the handshake. "Thanks, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki. Thanks for bringing me to the guild."

"Don't sweat it man. Levy is the real one you should be thanking. Natsu and me just did the lifting."

"Ichigo here will be joining the guild." Makarov commented as he walked up and patted the Strawberry on the shoulder.

"Seriously!?" Natsu yelled before pumping his fist in the air. "That means I'll get a chance to fight you. I'm already fired up."

"Yes," Makarov coughed to clear his throat. "Ichigo is in a very unique situation and until it is resolved he'll be a full fledged member of Fairy Tail."

Ichigo looked stunned. "That's kinda sudden isn't it?"

"Not unless you have somewhere else you can stay before finding a way home?"

He had him there. When he thought about, he realized he hadn't even been outside Fairy Tail's building. The Substitute wouldn't even know where to go if he stuck alone. Makarov had offered him a place to stay for the time being and who was he to say no.

"You got me there." Ichigo raised his hands up in a surrender gesture. "Guess I'm part of Fairy Tail, even though I'm not a wizard."

"Not a wizard?!" Natsu jumped down from the counter and grabbed Ichigo shoulders. "You can't use magic?"

"Easy." He pushed him away before straightening his clothes. "No I'm not a wizard, so I can't use magic. No big deal."

"No big deal?! I was so planing on fighting you, but that's gone out the window now!" He slumped down against the bar with tears running down his face. "Just when I thought I'd found a strong opponent. Now I'm just stuck with just Gray and Erza."

"What about me?"

Gasped echoed through the guild hall and all eyes during the door way. Bright sunlight shined in from the outside, outlining the silhouettes of a pair of young women. Once the sunlight seemed to die down, it was easy to make out the features of the pair.

Once was a teenage girl, sixteen or seventeen, with blond hair put up in pigtails. Standing ahead of her was a scarlet haired girl wearing a metal chest plate and blue skirt. From the way the red-head was standing and the aura she emitted, it was obvious she'd been the one who Natsu had spoke of.
Her eyes scanned the room before coming to rest on Master Makarov and the rest gathered at the bar. She walked over to the bar and greeted the old man.

"We've returned Master. Took a couple more minutes than expected."

"No worries Erza. We're just glad to have you back. You to Lucy." He rested his staff on his shoulder and smiled. "So how fared the mission?"

Lucy slumped her head in shame. "We totally blew it. The bandits got away and the client didn't pay us. Not mention a few buildings got destroyed in the process."

"Lucy this is no time to mope over the past." Erza said, causing the Lucy's jaw to go slack and a look of disbelief cover her face. "Remember I had a very urgent matter to discuss with the Master."

"Now I remember you mentioning that in the message." Makarov replied. "So what would you like to share?"

Erza leaned in closer. "I'd like to discuss it in private."

The old man nodded. "Very well, come with me to my office..."

"Well that was weird." Gray mumbled as he watched the Master and Erza walked up the stairwell to his office. "She didn't even give us so much as a hello."

"She just has a lot on her mind." Lucy sat down at the bar before resting her head in her hands and sighing. "I can say hi if it'll make you feel better."

"Nah. If you need to say hi to anyone," he pointed down the bar at Ichigo, "say hi to the newest member of the guild."

Ichigo gave the Celestiel Mage a small wave. "Hey."

"Uh... hello." She returned the wave awkwardly, not having a clue who the orange-haired guy was. "You're a new member?"

The Substitute shrugged. "I'm kinda new to the idea too and to be honest I'm not exactly sure." He scratched the side of his head and debated with himself for a moment, till he let out a sigh. "None of you really know anything about me, and since I'll be joining the guild I don't see any point in leaving you in the dark, so where should I begin?"

"So it's exactly as I feared."

The scarlet-haired wizard could only nod in response. Erza had spent the whole walk back to the guild trying to find a way to explain the news to the Master. She needed to explain how big a threat she thought this new dark guild was and from the sober expression the old man wore, it seemed to have worked. No doubt he'd back her up on this idea.

"The Dusk Hunter guild is without a doubt a threat to Fiore. The Magic Council even went out of its way to inform all the guild masters of the dark guild's latest activities on the border."

Erza was caught off guard by the news. "The Magic Council already informed you?" Makarov nodded. "So this proves my point. If the Council believes they're a big enough threat to warn the guild masters, than we have to act fast."

"I'm afraid it not that simple. While I do agree with you completely Erza, I have my hands tied." he informed her, doing his best to keep a stone face when Erza's went slack.

"What do you mean? Dusk Hunter is the latest addition to the Balam Alliance, so there a threat we can't just ignore. What if they start making attacking deeper in Fiore?" The old man raised his hand quickly, silencing the swordswomen.

"I understand your feelings Erza, but the situation is more complicated than that. The Council banned any legal guilds from getting involved in the Dusk Hunter problem." He told her in a cold tone. "If I were to guess, I'd say the Council is trying to handle the matter themselves because they want to appear in control. A foolish and arrogant decision, but still one I must follow."

"But...but.." A simple but stern stare from the old man made forming words hard for her. "Do they really just expect us to stand around and not do anything, while innocent people are at the dark guild's mercy?" When the Master didn't reply, Erza gritted her teeth and turned to storm out of the room, but was stopped when Makarov called her. She stopped in her track and looked over her shoulder at him.

"There is something you can do in your spare time, Erza." Makarov said, idly rocking his staff back and forth. Once he had her complete attention he continued. "Earlier today Levy brought a stranger to our guild. He was unconscious and injured, but thanks to Wendy's healing magic, he's awake and well. Now you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. He's an interesting young man in a very peculiar bind. I'll fill you in with all the details later, but right now I just want you to bring him along on your next job request."

"Take a new member with me on a job?" Erza questioned. "Just who exactly is this boy and why do you want me to take him on a job?"

"Well...let's just say his background is different to say the least. His name is Ichigo Kurosaki and I want you to take him on a mission for experience. One of Lucy's first jobs was with you if I'm not mistaken. Just take him along and show how Fairy Tail handles missions.

It was an odd request from the Master. Erza could only remember a hand full of times he'd made a request of her. Taking a newcomer on a mission and showing them the ropes wasn't much of a problem for Erza, but taking a complete stranger was. "Do I at least get to meet this boy?" She asked.

Makarvo smiled. "He's down by the bar as we speak. I'm surprised you didn't notice him off the bat. That orange hair and broody look of his is hard to miss."

"What about his background history? Considering our mixed up backgrounds, how weird could his possibly be?"

Raising his hand up, Makarov levitated a wooden chair from the corner and sat it down in front of his desk. He pointed at the chair. "Take a seat Erza, I have limited information of Ichigo and the little I do know would be hard for most people to believe. You said we come from mixed up backgrounds? Well I think Ichigo's might just top them all."

Erza raised an eyebrow and hesitated, before walking back and taking a seat at the desk. She rested her chin on her folded hands and leaned forward, waiting for the guild master to begin...

A few days passed by since Ichigo had arrived in Earthland. At first he was still recovering from the transporting ordeal and spent the first days shut up in the guild. The faces of his friends and family stayed stuck in his mind and the feeling of homesickness nagged at him. He wondered how Chad and Uryu had fared after the explosion, hoping that they'd managed to escape and get that b*** Mayuri the punish he deserved. But those thoughts lessened thanks to the various distractions the Fairy Tail wizards served. And there were a lot of distractions.

After being read the requirements of a Fairy Tail wizard, Ichigo took the oath and became a full fledged member of Fairy Tail. After getting advice from Natsu, he decided to have the Guild Mark stamped on his left shoulder. When asked by Mira which color he wanted, he had chosen gray.

Ichigo had become quick friends with most of the guild members, the diverse abilities of each member, along with their diverse personalities gained his interest. His odd ball gangs of friends in the Soul Society were nothing compared them.

First there was Gray Fullbuster. Ichigo had made a quick friend of the ice wizard, probably because they had closely similar personalities. However it took only to Ichigo a couple of minutes to learn about Gray's disturbing habit; stripping. One minute he was fully dressed, the next he's down to his boxers without realizing it. As soon as Ichigo awkwardly pointed it out, Gray had yelled in surprise and run off to get, hopefully, redressed.

Next came Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer. If Ichigo had to describe the pink-haired boy, the first words to come to mind would be hot headed, energetic, a little slow on the uptake, and loud. At first he'd insisted on fighting the Strawberry and until learned he was unable to use magic. That had dampened Natsu's spirits, but he quickly bounced back and returned to his old self. Despite his loud personality, Ichigo found him a likable guy and the two became friends, even though Natsu's occasional outburst slightly irritated him.

A close friend of the previous two, and the third female wizard Ichigo had met was Lucy Heartfilia. The blonde girl's looks would've led many to believe she was your average stereotypical blonde teen, but she was the exact opposite in fact. Though they shared few interests and the personality gap between them was wide, it didn't take long for the two to become friends after introducing themselves. Lucy was much more polite than Gray or Natsu and out of all the guild members, she seemed to be the most normal, personality wise.

Those three had been some of the first Fairy Tail wizards he'd made friends with. Besides them, the only ones he felt closer to where Mirajane and Levy. Levy had been researching from day 1 on a way back home for Ichigo, a fact that the Substitute felt guilty about. He would pop into the study several times a day to check on her, only to find her nose in a book and her magical reading glass deciphering the book in minutes. Several times he had asked her to take a break, worrying that she was pushing herself too hard, but the bluenette would simply smile and say she was fine. Not wanting to pushing things, he stopped bringing it up.

Mirajane, in Ichigo's opinion, had been the most helpful person in the guild. Sure the others had been helpful to him in their own way, but Mira was just an easy person to talk to and get along with. He easily started conversations with her and didn't find she had any weird habits like the others. There was times when she paused while they talked, where Mira would seem to be daydreaming before snapping back to reality, sometimes blushing, and brush it off as nothing. It didn't happen often, but it was strange when it did.

Ichigo was at first very weary and put off by some of the odd behavior of most of the wizards, but in end he was on good standards with every member of the guild. Since only Levy, Mirajane, and Makarov knew about him beginning from another world, everyone else treated like regular person. His absence of magical powers didn't seem to affect them in the least. Like Makarov had said, Fairy Tail was a family were every member was treated with respect. But there was one mage who always seemed to be keeping a close eye on Ichigo, almost as if she expected him to do something. Her name was Erza.

Erza Scarlet was the only person in the guild that could silence the guild hall the moment she walked it. She was a red-haired girl maybe one or two years older than the Strawberry and she served as a sort of peace keeper for the guild. Even when Natsu and Gray started fighting, she could break it up in seconds and have the two pacified. She wasn't mean of anything, just strict and seemed to want to uphold a respectable image of Fairy Tail. She had her worked cut out for her really, especially since he heard she sometimes participated in the fights.

Three days after Ichigo's joining of Fairy Tail, Erza had approached him. It was odd since she'd said few words to him since he'd arrived and now here she was standing in front of him, hands on her hips and a neutral expression on her face. "Ichigo, do you have a minute?"

Ichigo looked up from the book he was reading, a habit he'd picked up from studying with Levy, and stared at the red head. She'd barely spoken to him since he'd introduced himself which given him the idea that she didn't like him. Why the sudden change in attitude? "I've got nothing to do at the moment." He snapped the book shut. "You need something?"

His eyes drifted to a piece of paper she lifted up to his face. The words "Artifact Wanted" were written in big bold letters and a reward of three hundred thousand Jewels was set under it. Erza and pointed to the fine print summarizing the request and Ichigo saw her smile for the first time. "Would you be interested in going on a job with me?"

Author's Note:

To be honest, I'm not real happy with how this chapter turned out. Getting introductions out of the way has always be hard for me in a story, so please forgive me for the lack of action, OCCness, and sloppy writing in this chapter. This part is a bump in the road for me, but next chapter things will really get started. I promise. This was just a long chapter to finish setting the stage and introducing the Fairy Tail characters.

Did you guys caught my reference to my other Bleach crossover ealier in this chapter?

Did I get Gray and Natsu in character. I know I didn't keep Erza exactly in line, but how about those?

Pairs are still being decided so nothing new there. I'm almost done on creating new characters, so I'll be introducing them in part 3.

Will Ichigo take Erza up on her offer? Wait til next time to see.

Don't forget to leave a review and follow/favorite if you like the story so far. Later.