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CHAPTER 1
WELCOME TO FAIRY TAIL

"Should I try punching him?"

"Maybe try pouring some alcohol in his mouth?"

"No way! That's mine!"

All was black. I felt extremely tired and there was pain everywhere in my body. I tried opening my eyes. Slowly.

"C'mon, just a little bit?"

"I'm voting for a punch to the face!"

"How's that going to wake him up, stupid?"

Both my eyes slightly opened, my sight was still adjusting to the light and all I saw was a huge blur. I tried to say something, but instead I ended up coughing.

"Oh, he finally woke up!"

"Are you okay, man? You don't look so great."

"Give him a little space, guys!"

I found myself lying on a wooden floor. My sight had finally recovered and I could see clearly. I turned my head to look around me. There were a bunch of people standing around me, looking at me. The room I was in seemed large, with a lot of tables and chairs. There was also a bar in one side of the room.

I coughed. "Wh–Where am I?" My voice sounded much weaker than I thought it would.

"Fairy Tail!" The man in front of me yelled with pride in his voice and a smile on his face. He had spiky, bright white hair; he looked pretty rough.

"I'm not sure what that is." I said, confused about the answer I got to my question. I was trying to raise myself, but my body still felt weak and painful, and I ended up sitting on the floor instead.

A few of the people around me were gasping, struck by surprise. "How do you not know of Fairy Tail!? We are the greatest wizard's guild in this region!" One guy said with raised voice. He was followed by a loud "Yeah!" from various other people backing him up.

"Can we even trust this guy? For all we know he's an enemy trying to infiltrate into our guild!" One guy stepped forward and glared at me with angry eyes. "Calm down, please." A young woman said as she stepped in front of the guy, then turned around to face me. "Let's give him a break and let him tell his story." She sat down on the floor in front of me. She had a friendly face. White hair, just like the man who answered me earlier. "Tell me, what is your name?" She asked me.

My mind went blank as I tried to answer her question. Really, did I know nothing about myself? Who was I? Where was I from? Why could I not remember anything? I tried to come up with a name on the spot, to break the awkward silence filling the room.

"Roth." I said with a soft voice. "… That is my name. I don't know where I'm from, nor do I know how I ended up in here." I looked down, feeling a little embarrassed for being able to provide such little information about myself.

"My brother, Elfman, found you lying outside, nearby our guild. You seemed to be unconscious, so he dragged you here inside. Why don't you stay and rest for a while?"

I tried to stand up again, but to no avail. My legs felt extremely weak and I fell to the ground. It looked as if I had little choice but to stay for the time being.

Elfman had carried me to a small room behind the bar where I was currently alone, lying on a soft bed. I could hear people in the main room talking, not sure what it was about. I tried to move my limbs, but I still felt powerless. Unable to do much, I closed my eyes and started to think what exactly had happened to me. The people here seemed friendly enough, at least most of them. I felt like I could trust them. It's not like I had much of a choice, though. My thoughts started to drift off and before I knew it I was sleeping.

I don't know how long I had slept for, but when I woke up it was still light outside. Or could it already be morning? I felt well rested and, to my surprise, I was finally able to move myself without hurting too much. "Good morning!" The young, white haired woman greeted me with a smile on her face. It appears she had just walked into my room when I had woken up, and brought me a glass of water. "Here, something to drink for you."

I sat up and took the glass. "Thanks." Before I could say more she had already left the room, seemingly in a hurry. She forgot to close the door to my room. I could hear a voice trying to argue with her. "But I wanna have a look!" The voice said, begging the woman.

"Not yet, Natsu. He is still tired and weak." She would not give in to him. Another voice spoke. "Hey, give it a rest, Natsu, and help us pick our next job!" – "Fine…"

The woman returned to my room and sat down on a chair next to my bed. "I'm sorry. Some of our members can be a little… energetic." She apologised, then after a brief pause, she continued "Have I introduced myself yet? I'm Mirajane. I prefer to stay at the guild, taking care of our members."

Not sure on what to say, I just looked at her. Mirajane wore a fine red dress. She had long white hair and one short, upward ponytail at the front, giving her a distinct look. She looked back at me, with her large blue eyes. "How are you feeling, Roth?"

"Fine. I think. Lots better than yesterday at least." I held out my arm and formed my hand into a fist. "I'm sorry for causing all this commotion in your guild... For making you take care of me."

"Don't worry about it. Helping out those who need it is my… no, Fairy Tail's job." She had a serious look on her face as she said that. She wasn't just trying to be nice, she really meant it.

"That's right." The voice of an old man could be heard. I looked around, but didn't see another person. Then I looked closer to the ground and saw a small man standing there. Like, really small, and old. But despite his age he had a powerful aura surrounding him.

"Master!" Mirajane said in surprise.

"Can I have a moment with this young man, Mirajane?" The old man asked her.

"Sure." She said as she stood up and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her.

The old man had to jump to get on the chair. Surprisingly for someone his age, he did so without problem. This man was certainly stronger than he looked. Mirajane had called him master, does that mean he's the leader of the guild, I wondered.

"Roth. How much do you know… about yourself?" He confronted me directly, looking me into the eyes. He was trying to read me, I felt slightly uncomfortable by his gaze.

"I… I'm not sure. I know about magic. I can use it myself. But I do not know who taught me." The old man's eyes lit up for a moment when I mentioned magic. He then closed his eyes, looking like he was thinking about something.

"Can you help me?" I'm not sure why I asked him, as I had no idea if he actually could, but for some reason I felt like he might know something that could help me.

"I do not know, Roth. It seems you are suffering from amnesia, assuming you are telling us the truth. It might be caused by a powerful magic spell, or it might have happened naturally. Either way, I can not help to get your memories back, even if I wanted to. That is something you will have to work on yourself."

"I understand. Thank you for your answer." I felt empty inside, still not even one step closer to knowing what was going on with me. "What should I do now?"

"If you are indeed capable of wielding magic, you are welcome to join Fairy Tail, Roth. We are a guild of wizards who aid those who request our help." The old man paused for a short while, then spoke up again. "Most importantly, we are all friends. Fairy Tail is one big family. By joining us you will become part of that."

A group of friends, huh. One big family… At this moment, I was all alone. I knew not of any friends I had in the past, nor of any family. Would joining Fairy Tail be a wise choice? It didn't sound so bad, but at the same time I was not sure what exactly it would require from me. I still did not know about the people in this guild. Would I be able to get along with them? Still, without my memories in tact, I had nowhere else to go.

"… All right."

"I-I'll join Fairy Tail."

"Then, welcome to the family, Roth!" The old man stood on the chair, holding his hand out to me. I hesitated for a second, then shook his hand. "Now, come out when you're ready. Then we'll prepare you a welcome party!"

Wait, what? Welcome party? I never asked for this. The old man had already left my room before I could speak to him about it. I sighed and tried clearing my head of thoughts. But the feeling of anxiety would not leave me alone; I was about to be the centre of attention. How was I going to survive this? After some minutes had passed, I sighed again, more loudly than before. Very well. I agreed to join their guild, I shouldn't keep them waiting any longer. I mean, really, what's the worst that could happen to me? That's what I tried telling myself in an attempt to fight the feeling of anxiety. Then I stepped out of bed and opened the door to the guild hall.

"Welcome Roth to… Fairy Tail…!?" The old man who I thought to be the leader of the guild stood on top of a stool, announcing my welcome to everyone present in the hall with booming voice. For some reason the second half of his sentence lacked the same enthusiasm.

A huge silence, accompanied by everyone staring at me followed. What was wrong? A short moment later some people burst out in laughter. I looked down in embarrassment, only then I noticed I wasn't wearing anything besides my underwear. I felt my face turning completely red; this was the worst moment in my life – With all my memories of the past gone, that did not hold much value, though. I had completely forgotten to get myself dressed in my attempt to fight my anxiety before leaving my room!

To my surprise, the laughing didn't last too long, and soon everyone started drinking and eating. But mostly drinking. Probably alcohol. No one was really paying attention to me any longer. It felt strange, were these guys used to people walking around in nothing but their underwear? Not long after the drinking had started, I could hear people arguing, and they started to look and point at me again.

"Hey, do you think he could beat Gray in a fight?"

"Gray? Hahahah, not a chance!"

"A thousand Jewel the newcomer could wipe the floor with Gray!"

The arguing quickly turned into a fight. What started at one table spread out to the tables next to it. First punching and kicking, then the throwing of mugs and chairs. It only took a few minutes before the entire guild hall had turned into one huge cloud of dust in which the guild members were all casting magic spells on each other. I quietly stood there with my back to the door leading to my room, unsure of what to do. Mirajane stood next to me, but she only quietly smiled at me when I looked at her. Smiling during a time like this, what's wrong with this guild and its members? I was seriously questioning whether my decision to join Fairy Tail was correct.