Chapter One: Fairy Tail

In a land, far, far away, lies the kingdom of Fiore.

A small, peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with magic.

Found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace.

For most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life.

For others, however, magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice.

These are the Wizards.

Banded together into magical guilds, they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune.

Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore.

But there is a certain guild, in a certain town, that soars high above the rest.

One from which countless legends have been born.

A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future.

Its name…

Is Fairy Tail.

"I can't believe he only knocked down a 1000 jewel! That stubborn old geezer must be blind! A-Ah!"

When Kou came to, he heard a female voice, and then felt someone trip over him, ending with a hard smack onto the ground - concrete? Maybe stone?

He groaned - his whole body was sore, and not just because some random girl just tripped over him. What happened… Why am I in the open…?

It was then everything came back to him - hadn't he been in the Eclipse, researching something with Asuka, when light suddenly surrounded them?

With a gasp, he shot up, opening his eyes. He looked around, his amber eyes searching his surroundings, briefly resting on a blonde nearby him, standing and rubbing her chin. She was fairly busty, wearing white and blue clothing, with a whip curled at her side. So that's the girl who tripped over me… Is she okay?

He began to stand, brushing off his pants as he did so. He was in his casual wear - a red T-shirt under a tan vest and jeans with sneakers - and looked straight at the blonde.

He had no idea where he was - to be honest, this place felt almost like the Eclipse, but also very different - but he couldn't exactly fight who he was. He'd get his answers later, definitely. That was how these things worked, right?

"You okay?" he questioned the blonde. She looked back at him, glaring slightly.

"No! My Chin… It's going to bruise!" she yelled, "What were you doing, sleeping in the middle of the street?!" She paused, looking at the various scrapes and bruises he had from fighting in the Eclipse, "Ah… Are YOU okay?"

He glanced at the injuries on his arms - they weren't anything he wasn't used to - and shook his head.

"I'm fine. To be honest, I don't quite know why I was passed out on the street. One moment, I'm investigating something with my friend, and then the next I'm here." Kou replied, "Can you tell me where 'here' is?"

"You don't know how...?" the blonde frowned in seeming confusion, "How strange… But, this is the port town of Hargeon."

"Hargeon…?" he placed his hand on his chin, "I've never heard of any town in Japan named that." He shook his head, "I'm sorry about your chin."

He dug into his pocket, producing a Cure Potion I from it and offering it to the blonde. She blinked, staring at the small bottle.

"What's this?" she questioned, taking it from his hand.

"It's a healing potion." he replied, "If you drink it, your chin should heal up."

"A healing potion…? Aren't these extremely rare?" she mumbled, looking the bottle over.

"I guess…? Someone I know makes them and sells them to me at a decent price." Kou replied, placing a hand on his hip.

"Really?!" the blonde seemed interested at the prospect, "Thanks, though…" she gave him a grateful smile and downed the potion, making a face afterwards. Kou took out another small bottle, this one a stronger version of the one he gave to the blonde, and downed it as well. A flavor not unlike that of unsweetened lemon exploded onto his taste buds, but it was a familiar taste. His own injuries began to close and fade just as the slowly-forming bruise on the blonde's chin began to.

"Not the best taste, I know…" Kou sighed, "Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine…" the blonde waved her hands dismissively, "So, what's your name?"

"I'm-" he was cut off by the squeals of girls not far off.

"It's him! The Salamander!"

"Salamander?" Kou blinked.

"He's a Fire Mage that uses magic you can't find in stores!" the blonde exclaimed, "I can't believe he'd be in a town like this!"

With that, she dashed off, ignoring Kou as she did. The teenager sighed, rubbing his neck.

"Guess I should follow…? Sounds interesting at least…" he muttered to himself, following the blonde.

Kou entered the circle of girls, glancing around. The air felt… stranger here… He frowned, looking at the girls, and then at the man in the center.

This was unnatural. That man must be doing… something to these girls.

"Igneel-!" suddenly came a male voice as someone with pink hair pushed his way into the group.

"Who're you?" the pink-haired boy questioned, blinking stupidly.

"If I said Salamander, would that ring any bells?" questioned the man, 'Salamander', though the pink haired boy was already walking away, "A-Ack!"

When the girls noticed, they all began to hit the pink-haired boy, scolding him for being so rude to 'Salamander'. 'Salamander soon spoke up, a sly grin on his face.

"Now, girls… I'm sure it wasn't his intention to insult me." he stated, causing the girls to go wild over his 'kindness'. 'Salamander' then wrote his autograph and offered it to the boy.

"Here's my autograph." he stated, "Now you can brag about it to all your little friends."

"Don't want it." the pink-haired boy bluntly stated as the girls swooned about how they wanted one. At the boy's words, the girls once again attacked him, throwing him into a wall. Kou glanced over to where he landed, his eyes falling to rest on a blue cat, seemingly speaking to the boy. He blinked, and then sighed. He's seen weirder, admittedly. He glanced back to the blonde, who was walking to the boy. He followed her, hands in his pockets, decidedly ignoring 'Salamander'.

"What's that guy's damage?" grumbled the pink-haired boy.

"He really is a piece of work, huh?" the blonde stated, before smiling, "Thanks for what you did!"

"Huh?" the pink-haired boy blinked in confusion.

"Fanks for da foo!" Natsu exclaimed as he ate with an incredible amount of gusto.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"So your names are Natsu and Happy?" Lucy questioned, before sweatdropping and holding up her hands as if to guard herself, "Take it easy on the food! You're getting it all over me!"

How disgusting… Kou seemed to sigh from beside Lucy.

"That Salamander guy was using a type of magic called "Charm"." Lucy then said, "The spell sways people's hearts in the magician's favor… They outlawed it years ago. Anybody who'd use tricks like that can't be trusted… But, when you came barging in, you broke the charm on me."

"Dat maigs zense." Natsu said, still eating.

"I know I don't look it, but I'm a Wizard too." Lucy stated.

"You were distracted for a moment… I imagine it doesn't work as well on fellow wizards." Kou commented, knowing of something similar - the "Erase" spell Asuka uses to erase the memories of civillians who have seen the Eclipse. It didn't work on others like her.

"Yeah, but it isn't like I'm in a guild or anything." Lucy laughed a bit, looking to Kou.

"A guild?" Kou questioned.

"A guild is a building where Wizards gather to get work and information. They say any Wizard who isn't part of a guild isn't a true wizard." she then got somewhat of an excited smile, "There are guilds all over the world, but the most popular guilds…" she sighed, "Are the hardest to get into!" She sighed again, somewhat dreamily, "There's one that I really want to get into, where the most incredibly wizards gather! But they must be really strict on who gets in or not…"

Natsu, Happy, and Kou all gave Lucy stares of confusion.

"Ah! Sorry! You guys don't know anything about the world of wizardry, do you?" Lucy apologized, "But I'll get into that guild no matter what! There are lots of big-paying jobs you can get there!"

"Y-You fink tho?" Natsu questioned.
"She talks a lot." Happy commented. She's just rambling, but it's giving me a lot of information… Kou thought.

"By the way, you two seemed to be looking for someone." Lucy stated.

"Aye. Igneel." Happy stated.

"We heard there was a Salamander in this town, so we came, but it turned out to be somebody else." Natsu sighed.

"We knew he wasn't the real Salamander just by looking." Happy said.

"I was sure it would be Igneel." Natsu stated.

"How could you tell he wasn't the Salamander just by looking?" Lucy questioned, "He was just a guy…"

"Huh? I'm not looking for a guy. Igneel is a real-life fire dragon." Natsu stated.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Lucy exclaimed, "There's no way you'd find a dragon in a human town! They're much too big!"

Natsu and Happy looked shocked, as if they hadn't thought of that before.

"And stop making faces like you've never thought of that before!"

She then sighed, standing and placing some bills onto the table, "I have to go now. Take your time and finish your lunch."

Natsu and Happy stared at her for a moment before breaking down into tears, going to their hands and knees on the floor.

"Thank you so much for the food!"

"Thank you!"

Kou glanced around as people began to chatter about the strange occurrence.

"Ack! Stop that! You're embarrassing me!" Lucy yelped, "I-It's okay, you did save me back there. We'll call it even, okay?" she looked to Kou, "And sorry about tripping over you earlier."

Kou waved his hand dismissively, "I was the one in the street. No biggie, neither one of us got permanently hurt."

"But we didn't do it intending to save anyone." Natsu stated.
"Aye! We're in your debt." Happy said.

"I got it!" Natsu stood and slammed his fist into his palm, as if he suddenly just got a great idea. He pulled out the autograph 'Salamander' had given him and offered it to Lucy, "You can have this!"

Lucy slapped it, though it didn't exit Natsu's hand, "I don't want it!"

She then left, fists clenched at her sides. Natsu and Happy returned to their meal, but after a moment, looked to Kou.

"What's your name again?" Happy questioned.

"Kou." Kou replied, "Tokisaka Kou."

"What did you two mean, that you were in the street and Lucy tripped over you?" Happy questioned.

"I was passed out in the middle of the street, and Lucy randomly tripped over me." Kou replied, "I don't know why I was there. Last thing I remember I was investigating something with my friend, and then suddenly I'm here."

"Teleportation Magic?" Happy tilted his head. Kou shrugged.

"I don't know." he spoke, "But I'd like to find out."

"How about you come back with us to Fairy Tail!" Happy suggested, "I'm sure the Master will have some answers!"

"Fairy Tail?" Kou questioned, "That's a pretty girly name."

"It's the best guild in the whole country!" Happy stated, "Me and Natsu are members of it!"

"So you two really are wizards." Kou blinked in surprise.

"Aren't you one too?" Natsu asked, "You smell like a Fire Wizard, kinda like that fake Salamander guy."

Kou was silent. Guess I could be considered one… Natsu's words then registered in his head, Wait…

"What do you mean smell?" Kou questioned, his voice taking on a tone of curiosity. He wasn't one to freak out, after all.

"Natsu is what's called a fire dragonslayer!" Happy stated, "A dragon's lungs can exhale fire. A dragon's scales dissolve fire. A dragon's claws are enveloped in fire…. A dragon can eat fire… An enchantment that transforms the body and gives it the aspects of a dragon's body… Though created to be a weapon against dragons."

"It also gives me hearing and smell beyond a normal human's!" Natsu grinned, "Igneel taught me everything."

"What about you, Kou? What sorta magic do you really use?" Happy asked, "What type of Fire Magic, I mean."

Kou was once again silent, thinking up the best way to describe the power of his Soul Device. If only I had more of a template…

"I can summon a special weapon to my arm called the Raging Gear, and with it I can use flames." he stated.

"Y-You have Requip?!" Natsu yelped, suddenly becoming afraid. Kou just nodded, going along with it.

"I wonder how much blood you can make pour out of your enemies…" Happy mused. Kou sweatdropped, What a weird cat…

"I can only summon the one, though…" Kou stated.

"Show it to us on the way back!" Natsu exclaimed, now more excited than afraid, "I'd love to be able to taste your flames!"

"But you won't be able to eat them on the train!" Happy reminded causing Natsu to groan.

"Ohhh… Don't even talk about it, Happy…" he stated, flopping onto the table, his appetite gone, "Now I wanna hurl…!"

"He can just show us on the way to the guild, and you can eat his flames then, right?" Happy then said.

"Yeah, good point!" Natsu exclaimed, straightening again. Kou nodded.

"Now, let's finish our meal and head out!" Happy stated.

"Aye!" Natsu exclaimed, "You should eat too, Lou!"

"It's Kou." Kou corrected.

"Whatever!" Natsu laughed.

-It's Night-

"Bwaaaah! I'm stuffed!" Natsu exclaimed as the three men walked on the fenced ledge above the town.

"Aye!" Happy cheered. Happy then looked out, towards the harbor, where a boat had just left the docks, "Come to think of it, that Salamander guy said he was going to hold a party on a 'yacht'. Maybe that's his boat."

Natsu then leaned onto the railing with a groan, "I don't feel so good…"

"Stop getting sick just imagining yourself on the boat!" Happy exclaimed.

"Look! Look! That's Salamander-sama's yacht!" exclaimed a dark-haired girl nearby, "Aww, I wanted to go to the party too!"

"Salamander?" questioned a light-haired girl next to the dark-haired one.

"Don't you know? He's that amazing wizard who just came to town! That famous Fairy Tail one!"

Natsu and Happy both stiffened, and Kou looked back.

"Fairy Tail?" Natsu looked to the boat and had to swallow bile down, almost falling to the ground. He clung to the railing, frowning deeply, "Fairy Tail…"

As if coming to a conclusion, Natsu turned to Happy, who sprouted wings from his back, "Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye!" the blue cat picked Natsu up by the back of his jacket and began to fly off.

"Wait here for us, Kou! We'll be back once we deal with this!" Natsu yelled as they flew off. Kou blinked, and then sighed. He summoned the familiar, strangely shaped gauntlet that he knew as his Raging Gear and aimed at a nearby rooftop. The sword part shot out of the gauntlet with a fiery aura and clung to the roof, soon pulling Kou along. He ran across the roof to reach another, then fired, once again being pulled along to another rooftop. He continued to do this, damaging a few roofs on the way, but not to a very harmful degree.

There was no way he was just going to wait and see. He wasn't that type of person.

As Kou neared the harbor, he soon saw the yacht come back into the harbor, pushed by a large wave, and not long after he saw a head of pink destroy most of the area. Kou sighed, allowing his Raging Gear to pull him towards the ground, continuing the rest on foot. As he ran, he noticed armored and robed armed men heading towards the harbor in a hurry. He moved to get out of their vision, and soon laid his eyes onto Lucy just as Natsu grabbed her hand and moved to run away, coincidentally in the same direction Kou was.

"We've gotta get outta here!" Natsu yelled as Lucy thrashed in the wind, the skirt of her evening gown flying. Kou averted his eyes so he didn't see her panties as he joined the trio.

"Why are you mixing me up in thiiis?!" Lucy screamed. Natsu looked back.

"Hey, you said you wanted to join Fairy Tail, right?" he questioned. Lucy stared at him in surprise.

"Then come along!" he grinned, before looking to Kou, "You coming along too?"

"Obviously, Natsu." Kou grinned back, patting his Raging Gear, allowing it to dissipate.

"Okay!" Lucy smiled and landed on the ground, following Natsu, Happy, and Kou, large smiles on their faces.

It was that day, on July 2nd, where everything began.

To be continued in Chapter 2: The People of Fairy Tail

A lot of the dialogue comes from the Master Edition of Fairy Tail volumes 1-5, but other parts of it is tweaked to suit what I wanted to convey. The beginning comes from the dubbed version of episode 1, but my internet hiccuped in the middle of me writing, so I moved to the manga :P

This fic should have biweekly updates, based on the weeks that Fairy Tail 100 Year Quest isn't updated! Please enjoy, review, favorite, follow, basically whatever :P I might alternate between Spriggan Tale and this fic, so watch out for that too. I'll decide when I get to it :P

This fic will also be on AO3 under the username Darky10 and under the same Title, but updates over there will probably be a little slower as I figure everything out.

Okay, so that's all I wanted to say! Darky, out! Peace!