The year was X784 and Natsu Dragneel was, as he had been many times before, bored out of his mind. He was sitting leaned up against a tree in a vast forest. He had on his familiar loose white pants, black vest with gold trim that showed off his muscular chest and abs, and the white scaled scarf wrapped around his neck. He muttered glumly, "I can't believe Igneel is taking so long, this is so boring."

He had to wait awhile, but he was rewarded for his patience when he heard the powerful flap of wings and felt the rush of wind that signaled Igneel's return. He jumped up and ran over to where Igneel had landed in a large clearing shouting, "What took so long!"

Small jets of fire spouted from Igneel's nostrils as he snorted, "Boy, it took less time than I said it would! You just haven't learned any patience!"

Natsu grinned, "Patience is boring. I'd rather do some training, or go fight something!"

Igneel shook his large head and said, "I'm sure that you'll have your fill of that in the days to come."

Natsu looked puzzled, "What are you talking about Igneel?"

The large red dragon sighed, almost sending Natsu bowling over, "I must leave Natsu. I have been recalled back to the world of the dragons."

Natsu's mouth gaped open for a moment before shouting, "Alright! That sounds like fun! I bet there are a lot of strong dragons to fight!"

Igneel laughed, "Of course that's where your mind would jump. No Natsu, I cannot take you back with me, the land of the dragons is not for a human to live in."

The pink haired dragon slayer still didn't get it, "What are you saying Igneel?"

Igneel growled at him, "Natsu! Listen for once. I have to leave, and you can't come with me. I probably will not be coming back."

Natsu heard and it took him a second to get it. When he did though, tears sprang into his eyes and he jumped on Igneel, hugging his snout, "Don't leave Igneel! What would I do without you?"

The dragon said gently, well gently for a dragon, "You're 16 Natsu; you have to get out into the human world. I've trained you as well as I could and you have been a son to me. It's time you became your own person. If you were a dragon I'd have kicked you out years ago."

Natsu slid off of his snout and stood standing on the ground in front of the dragon pouting, "But I don't want to live in the human world. I like living in the woods."

The great dragon laughed again, "Bah. You'll like it boy, take my word for it. You'll find a nice girl and make some grandchildren for me."

Natsu only shook his head sadly, still trying to wrap his head around Igneel's departure. He felt Igneel's snout nudge him in the chest, knocking him over, and Igneel said, "Come, climb up on my back and I'll take you to the nearest village before I have to depart."

Natsu grumbled but hoisted himself up onto Igneel's back. The dragon lifted off with a beat of his wings and then soared into the air. Natsu reveled in the feel of the air rushing past his face and blowing his hair every which way. They flew over the forest and over some rolling hills after that. They finally came on a nestled between two hills. Igneel circled it and then landed on one of the hills, perhaps a quarter of a mile away from it.

Natsu hopped down and walked around to face Igneel. He looked sullen and Igneel said, "It's alright Natsu, I'm sure you will find your way in this world without me."

Natsu grumbled, "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

They talked for a while, reminiscing about the past. It was clear that Igneel didn't want to leave and Natsu was desperate for every second he could get with his pseudo-father. After a few minutes they both smelled something and turned to see a girl running up to them. She looked a bit younger than Natsu and had long dark purple hair with bangs cut just above her eyes. She wore a white coat with golden trim, underneath was a smart white collared shirt and a red tie. The outfit was finished with a short white skirt and black tights tucked into knee high boots.

She was panting as she ran up the hill, and held an unsheathed sword in one hand and its sheath in the other. They both eyed her as she ran up and shouted, "Leave your threatening position above this village Dragon! I will smite you down to defend it!"

Igneel and Natsu glanced at each other. Natsu then burst out laughing and rumbles could be heard coming from Igneel's chest that indicated his amusement. The girl looked angry at this and shouted, "What are you laughing about! Just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't defeat you."

Natsu wiped a tear from his eye and said to her, "No, it's not that, we just think it's funny that you think you could beat Igneel and me."

For the first time the girl seemed to notice Natsu. She looked puzzled and asked, "What are you doing with a dragon? How has it not eaten you yet?"

This caused more laughter on the part of the dragon and dragon slayer. Natsu finally said, "Igneel is my dad. There's no way he would eat me. Well, there was one time, but he was asleep."

Igneel looked over the girl standing in front of them and said to Natsu, "See. This is the kind of girl I was talking about. If she's headstrong and bold enough to run out here and face down a dragon, she can deal with your insanity."

Natsu groaned, "Stop with that already Igneel."

The girl looked like she was getting angry, "What the hell is going on here!"

Natsu explained, "Well. Igneel found me about 12 years ago and took me in. He's been my dad for the past 12 years, but now he has to go back to the land of the dragons. So, he's making me go live with humans now. He's just dropping me off in a town before leaving."

She looked stunned, "Oh. So you're not going to attack the town?"

Igneel's laugh sounded like a thunderstorm, "No, I am not. Now Natsu, she seems like a smart young woman. You should stick with her for a while and maybe she'll show you how human society works, because I have no idea."

Natsu nodded, "That sounds like a pretty good idea. Thanks Igneel!"

Igneel nodded and then said, "Goodbye Natsu. I know you'll do well in life. Never back down from a fight. Find yourself a new family, and then give everything you have to defend it."

With those parting words of advice, his wings beat once and he rose up into the air and soared off into the distance. Natsu stood watching him go with tears in his eyes. When Igneel was finally out of sight he turned to see the girl watching him curiously. He said rather brusquely, "What?"

She answered, "I've never met someone raised by a dragon before. Tell me, what is your name?"

This got a smile out of him, "I'm Natsu Dragneel!"

She answered him with a small bow, "I am Kagura Mikazuchi of Mermaid Heel. Please to make your acquaintance."

Natsu was puzzled, "Mermaid Heel?"

Kagura smiled and said, "Yes, it is the mage's guild I belong to."

The pink haired dragon slayer asked, "What is a mages guild?"

She looked mildly bemused, "You really don't know anything about the world do you."

He shrugged and grinned, "Not a thing. I've lived in the forest most of my life."

She sighed, sheathing her sword, and said, "Alright. Come on, it's not like I can just leave you here to fend for yourself. You're like a child."

He grinned and jumped closer to her and surprised her with a hug, "Thanks Kagura! You're the best!"

She wormed her way out of the hug and yelled, "Don't get so familiar with people! That's your first lesson!"

Natsu was confused, "Why not?"

She shook her head at him and said, "Because it's not polite, and some people don't like being hugged."

Natsu scratched his head, "Who doesn't like getting hugged? Hugs are the best. Igneel could give me a hug with one claw."

Kagura grimaced at him, "It's just not polite Natsu."

He shrugged at her, "Whatever." His stomach rumbled then and he asked brightly, "So where can we get some food?"

She turned and started walking back to town and he followed her. She said as they walked, "Do you have any jewels?"

He only looked confused again, "Jewels?"

Kagura grumbled, "Of course not. Fine, I'll buy some food for you just this once."

He was about to leap and hug her again when she stopped him with her sheathed sword and growled, "No more hugs."

The sixteen year old dragon slayer pouted and said, "Fine, have it your way."

He then asked, "So what is a mages guild? You didn't explain it to me."

She smiled as she explained, "A mages guild is a place where mages can come together and find work. You find all sorts in mages guilds but when you join one you all become friends. It's a home."

Natsu smiled back at her, "That sounds pretty nice. Maybe I should find one of those and join."

She was about to answer when there was a rumbling in the distance. Both of them looked off to their right and saw men riding in three magic four wheelers coming at them. Kagura cursed, "Damnit! Those bandits picked the perfect time. They're going to be able to surround me."

She turned to tell Natsu to make a run for it but one look at the vehicles had made him fall on the ground green in the face. She looked at him curiously for a moment and then went back to her task. The four wheelers approached and then skidded to a stop in a triangular formation around Kagura and Natsu. Five large men piled out of each of the vehicle and stood in a loose circle around the two.

One man, dressed a bit more finely than the others stepped forward and said, "What does this town think it's doing, sending two kids to take us out, I don't think they're showing us enough respect."

Since the vehicles had stopped Natsu was able to stand back up, albeit still being slightly wobbly. He mumbled, "Who are these guys?"

Kagura hissed back, "They're bandits, who have been robbing this town and the travelers around it. I was sent to defeat them and put them in jail."

Natsu suddenly seemed to perk up, "So we can fight them?"

Kagura unsheathed her sword and said, "I will fight them. You stay back so you don't get hurt. Their leader is a mage."

The leader grinned, "We'll have fun with this one. Get 'em boys."

The bandits rushed in. Kagura held out one hand, the hand with the sheath in it, and it glowed a soft gold. Suddenly, the five bandits rushing them from that side were smashed into the earth. She didn't have time to use the same trick on the other bandits and had to resort to her sword to strike down the 9 others. It took her a minute to dispatch all of them but by the time she was done she was breathing heavily.

Natsu watched it all from where he had backed up next to one of the vehicles and thought to himself, 'Dang she's pretty good. Although I wish she'd let me in on the fight. Maybe I should ask if we can fight later. Although that might be rude. Gah, this human stuff is hard.'

While he was thinking all this Kagura stood facing the leader of the bandits. The man grinned and said, "You used up too much energy beating my underlings. There is no way you can beat me little girl."

She was still out of breath but said, "I will not lose to someone as dishonorable as a bandit."

The large man grinned and held out his right hand, pointing his fingers at Kagura and shouting, "Flame Detonation!"

Small balls of fire flew out of his fingers and shot towards Kagura who dodged by jumping high in the air. This didn't perturb the enemy mage who only grinned and raised his arm until his fingers were pointing at the girl again. Unnoticed by Kagura, the balls of fire hadn't just flown towards her original position, they had followed her as the man lifted his arms. She was about to use her magic again when they flew up and detonated around her. She was flung back and slammed into the magic vehicle that Natsu was standing next too.

She groaned from her position on the ground, "Run away Natsu, I used to much energy and he's too strong for me to take on right now. I'll hold him off until you get away."

Natsu grinned at her and she looked surprised, "This guy is strong? I could take him in my sleep."

Her eyes bulged in shock as he stepped in front of her and shouted, "Alright Mr. bandit guy. I'm your opponent now."

The man didn't bother to answer as he shouted, "Flame Detonation!" again and the little balls of fire shot towards Natsu. Kagura shouted, "Run!" but Natsu held his ground. The flames detonated around them but Natsu only opened his mouth and sucked the flames in, belching when they had all been funneled into his mouth. Both Kagura and the bandit had looks of complete and utter shock on their faces as he said, "Damn that was nasty. Are you sure that was fire?"

The bandit shouted, "What the hell are you?"

Natsu slammed his fists together and fire coalesced around them, "I'm Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer."

He shot forward shouting, "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" and punching the shocked man in the face, throwing him back into one of the other magic four wheelers. The man impacted and then stood, up visibly shaking and bruised from the one hit. Natsu grinned, "You're still up? Good, it's been a while since I cut loose."

He inhaled deeply and cupped his hands around his mouth shouting, "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" A huge torrent of flames erupted from his mouth and flew towards the man; it was powerful enough to engulf him, the magic four wheeler, and everything 100 feet behind them.

When the flames died away the man was lying back against the four wheeler, charred and unconscious. The four wheeler wasn't in much better shape, much of the metal having been deformed by the heat of the flames. There was also a large gouge out of the hill behind it, with most of the grass having been burnt and blackened.

Natsu grinned and turned back to Kagura, "That was fun."

She leveraged herself off the ground with her sword and asked him, "What the hell was that? Why didn't you tell me you were a mage?"

He shrugged, "I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer, not a mage."

She groaned, although he couldn't tell if it was from her injuries or his comment, "Natsu, you're Fire Dragon Slayer powers are magic. People who use magic are mages."

It took him a second to get it but he said, "Ooooh. So I'm both?"

She nodded, "Yes, you are both. Now, help me tie these guys up."

They found some rope and tied up the bandits, leaving them there. Natsu asked as they walked towards the town which wasn't that far away now, "Are you sure we can just leave them there?"

Kagura nodded, "We'll stop by the Rune Knight's headquarters and tell them where they are, and then I can collect the reward and go home."

He nodded, "So where is home?"

She smiled, "Mermaid Heel is located in Rose Town. It's about 4 hours away from here by train."

Natsu asked, "What is a train?"

She sighed and dropped her face into one hand, "I can't believe I agreed to do this."

He grinned at her, "Hey. I did just beat that guy up for you."

Kagura gave him a small smile, "Yes you did. Thank you for that."

They came into the town as he said, "No problem. It was pretty fun; it's been a while since I really cut loose like that."

Natsu didn't hear her reply because he was distracted by all the new sights and sounds of the village. He gawked as he followed her around. They went to the Rune Knight office in the town and Kagura dealt with them and got her reward. He then followed her to a restaurant where they sat down at a table and had menus brought to them.

He took one look at it and said, "What the hell does all this mean?"

She gaped at him, "You don't know how to read?"

He shrugged, "There's not much to read in the forest."

Kagura growled, "I'd like to have a few words with Igneel about his parenting."

Natsu grinned, "Nah. Igneel was a great parent. He taught me how to fight."

The girl deadpanned, "That's not all there is to life."

Natsu looked surprised, "There's more to life than fighting. Well that makes sense, it's hard to fight against food."

He was confused when Kagura groaned again and then asked him, "What do you like to eat then. I'll order something for you."

He immediately replied with, "Meat, or fire. Either one of those works."

When the waiter came she ordered for both of them and in a few minutes the food came out. Natsu's plate held a steaming pile of beef and rice which he promptly shoveled into his mouth. Kagura's contained more vegetables than anything and she ate with calm measured bites, taking much more time than Natsu.

When she was done she paid for the meal, a process which Natsu watched in wonderment. She shook her head as they walked out of the restaurant, "I can't believe you don't understand the basics of society."

He shrugged, seemingly embarrassed, "Well I've never been to society. So it's not like I'd understand it anyways."

She smiled and said, "It's alright. Come on, were going back to my hotel to sleep."

Natsu perked up, "I bet there are some pretty comfy tree's around here somewhere to sleep in."

He began looking around when Kagura grabbed his ear and started pulling him along. He shouted, "Hey, what's that for?"

Her only reply was, "People don't sleep in tree's they sleep in houses. But since neither you nor I have a house here, we have to stay at a hotel."

Natsu broke away from her and just shrugged, "Well, these places better be more comfortable than tree's, otherwise I'm going to be mad."

He could hear the girl groan as he followed her, "Yes Natsu, hotels are better to sleep in than tree's are.

They went to a large building near the edge of town and when they entered Kagura dragged him up to the front desk. She said, "I need another room for my friend here."

The guy behind the counter looked and then said, "I'm sorry we don't have any rooms left, you got the last one."

She muttered, "Seriously? Fine."

She dragged him down the hall towards her room while he asked, "What the hell is going on?"

She unlocked the door and flung it open, dragging him into a room that held a bed, a small nightstand, and a couch with a bag on it set against one wall. She let go of his wrist and said, "This is where we'll sleep tonight."

Natsu walked over and poked the bed, finding it extremely soft. He sat down and was amazed at how soft it was. He said, "Wow, this is definitely better than a tree."

Kagura let out a laugh and walked over to her bag grabbing some clothes out of it, "I'm going to take a bath, you can have one after me."

He said, "What's a bath?"

The look the girl gave him was unamused, "I can't believe you don't know what bathing is. It's where you use water and soap to clean yourself."

Natus laughed, "Oh I get it. Generally I'd just jump in a river."

Kagura slapped her forehead with her hand again and groaned, "Whatever. I'm going to take a bath. Don't come in."

She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door; he could hear water running from through it. He lay down on the bed and thought, 'She's pretty nice. I think I'll stick with her since she's so nice. She's also pretty powerful, maybe I can convince her to fight me, that might be fun.'

He lay on the bed thinking along much the same vein while she took her bath. She came out in pajamas with a towel around her head, holding her wet hair away from her clothes. She said, "Alright, it's your turn."

He nodded and walked into the bathroom. Natsu looked at the bathtub for a few moments and then yelled, "Umm. How does this work?"

Kagura stalked into the room and pushed him aside, turning a knob on the tub that caused water to shoot out of the showerhead. She said, "There. When you're done just turn in back the other way. There's a towel in the closet. I'll go ask the hotel manager if they have something for you to sleep in."

She walked out of the room and he muttered to himself as he stripped off his clothes, "What does she mean something to sleep in? My regular clothes are just fine."

He showered, sniffing at the little bars of soap before shrugging and using it to clean himself. He got out and used his magic to quickly dry himself off. He put his clothes back on and walked out to find Kagura holding a set of sleep pants and a shirt. She said, "Go put these on and I'll have the hotel clean your clothes."

He said, "My clothes are just fine thank you very much."

She growled, "Now!"

He took them and said, "Sheesh, you're pushy."

He turned to walk back into the bathroom and she whacked him on the back of the head with her sheathed sword. He walked into the bathroom and muttered, "I'm totally fighting her one of these days."

He changed and walked back out. He handed her his pants and vest but kept the scarf. She raised an eyebrow but he didn't back down, instead wrapping it more securely around his neck. She silently acquiesced and left, coming back a few minutes later. Natsu was lying on the bed when she returned, staring up at the ceiling while trying to fall asleep.

She said, "You have to take the couch Natsu, we can't sleep in the same bed."

Natsu propped himself up on an elbow and looked at her, "Why not? The bed's big enough for two, and it's a lot more comfy than the couch."

She sighed, "Women and men cannot sleep in the same bed together unless they're in a relationship."

Natsu asked, "What's a relationship?"

She just gaped at him for a few moments before sighing, "Never mind, you can sleep in the bed with me, just stay on your side!"

Natsu grinned and said, "Alright, I'm all fired up!"

She sighed again climbed into the bed saying, "Just go to sleep Natsu."

When she turned out the light he did, never having slept on something so comfortable before. Kagura lay awake for a long while, making sure that the dragon slayer didn't try anything indecent. She couldn't keep it up forever though, and she too slowly drifted off to sleep.