Chapter 1
"Igneel?! Igneel, where are you?!"
Natsu stumbled over a tree root, falling straight into a pile of leaves. He quickly sat back up, shaking the leaves from his hair and sniffled softly. Where was he?
"Igneel…where did you go?"
He pushed himself back up to his feet. They were aching, throbbing from running for so long, but he refused to give up. He knew that he would find Igneel soon—although it had never taken him this long before. His father had to be around here somewhere. Perhaps he had left to find them some breakfast?
Natsu's stomach growled, and he sniffled again. He resumed his trek through the forest, albeit slower now. Then again, hadn't Igneel said that they would train before eating today? Why would he be gone for so long?
"Igneel!" he called out again, only to receive no response. His shoulders slumped, and he came to a stop beside a large boulder. He slumped down, leaning back against it and buried his face in his hands. He had never been left alone for so long before. Igneel had promised to always tell him before he left, so why didn't he this time? Why did he lie?
There was a shuffling to his right, and Natsu shot back up to his feet, small embers beginning to fall from his palms. He met the gaze of an older man—one much older than himself—and paused. The man had thick, bushy gray eyebrows and a small mustache. Atop his head, was a large, spiked hat, which Natsu found odd looking. It had been so long since he had seen another human. Thinking back on it, he couldn't remember the last time, although he did get a sense that there had been someone in the past.
"Well, looks like I found the source of all that yelling."
Natsu held his hands up, his hands bursting into flames. The older man's eyes widened, although he made no other movement. "Who are you?!"
"My name is Yajima," the older man—Yajima said. Yajima stood his ground, his eyes never leaving Natsu as he held out a hand, which Natsu glanced at warily. "Why don't you tell me your name?"
He hesitated, lowering his hands slightly. Igneel had warned him to be wary of people he didn't know, but then again, Igneel wasn't here. Perhaps this…Yajima would be able to help him find his father. He glanced between Yajima's hand and eyes for another moment before finally replying. "Natsu."
"Natsu. What an interesting name."
The fire dissipated around his hands. It was clear that Yajima wasn't trying to hurt him; not that he really seemed that threatening in the first place. Natsu shuffled in his spot slightly, unsure of what to say. The man was still staring at him, with a strange glint in his eyes. It was almost like the older man was analyzing him.
Finally, Yajima sighed, lowering his own hand. "Tell me, young man. Why are you out here alone?"
"I was looking for my father, Igneel."
"Your father?" Yajima asked. Natsu nodded his head, and Yajima began to stroke his mustache. "What does he look like?"
"He's huge!" Natsu spread his arms out as wide as possible. "Taller than all the trees in this forest, and red, and scaly, and can breathe fire!"
"Breathe fire, you say?" Yajima was now giving him a perplexed look, and Natsu suddenly felt unsure of what he just shared. Had he said something wrong? "Scaly too, huh? Well, I certainly haven't seen any humans taller than the trees or covered in red scales before."
Natsu shook his head. "That's because he's not human! Igneel's a dragon!"
That evoked a reaction out of Yajima, as his eyes widened, and his hand froze atop his mustache. There was silence between them, and Natsu just shuffled a bit, finding it hard to remain still under Yajima's gaze. Eventually, Natsu couldn't remain quiet any longer, and continued. "Have you seen him? He never goes far."
His question seemed to knock Yajima out of whatever thoughts he had been thinking. Yajima smiled softly at the boy. "I don't think I have, but I think I know a group of people who might be able to help."
"Really?!" Natsu blurted out, startling the older man. He quickly settled back down with burning cheeks, before continuing in a quieter tone. "Although, Igneel always said that I shouldn't trust strangers."
"Nonsense." Yajima waved a hand in dismissal. For a moment, the older man reminded Natsu of Igneel. Just like his father, Yajima seemed like someone who knew everything, and despite only meeting just moments ago, Natsu felt like he could trust the man. "It's clear that you're a mage, correct?"
Natsu just nodded, and Yajima continued. "I will take you to a group of mages. I was once a part of the guild, you know."
Yajima suddenly had a faraway look in his eyes, but when Natsu waved a hand in front of his face, he regathered himself and continued. "Fairy Tail will be able to help you search for your father. Trust me, young man. I can think of no better guild in all of Fiore."
Natsu took a step back, wrapping his arms around himself. Igneel's lessons reverberated within his mind, and he would never forget just how much he had been warned to stay away from other humans. His father had never really explained why, only that he shouldn't ever approach them, and he was already feeling on edge just by talking to Yajima. As far as he knew, he had never met any other humans before, although his mind still felt a bit fuzzy when he thought about it.
Yajima picked up on his hesitation. "What's wrong?"
"Igneel told me to stay away from other humans. 'Said that a lot of them weren't good."
"Really, now?" Yajima replied, scratching his head. "Why did he say that?"
"I don't know."
Yajima hummed softly to himself for a moment. "Are you sure?"
Natsu nodded. "I don't want to join a guild."
"Are you sure?" Yajima repeated. "I can sense that you have a powerful magic. The mages within Fairy Tail would be able to help you get much stronger."
Natsu always wanted to be stronger, that's for sure, so he would be lying if he said that the thought didn't stick with him for a moment. He loved to train with Igneel, setting things on fire or attempting to burn as much as possible. It was much better than the times where he would be forced into learning hard things such as math or writing. But still, he still felt hesitant to ignore Igneel's command so easily.
"I see that you won't be swayed so easily," Yajima said before Natsu could reply. Yajima eventually sighed, shrugging. "I suppose that I can't force you, but I can't really think of any other alternative…"
They fell silent again. Natsu stood still, unsure of what to say. He wasn't really expecting anything from Yajima, and he just wanted to continue his search for Igneel. However, he felt compelled to stay, if not for the friendly nature radiating from the man before him, then the fact that he had no food or supplies to survive on his own. Igneel had always been the one to bring him whatever he needed.
"I guess there's really only one other option."
Natsu perked up at the man's words. "What?"
Yajima placed a hand on his shoulder, silent for a moment before continuing. "You can come with me. I have a seat on the Magic Council, so I know at least we can provide you with food and shelter. There are also plenty of strong mages available to help you with your search."
He couldn't remember Igneel saying anything about a council, but at least he would be able to stay with Yajima in this case. The option seemed like a much better choice to him. Plus, getting to meet stronger mages was always exciting, so Natsu quickly nodded. "I will go with you!"
Yajima smiled, and gently began to pull Natsu through the forest. "Good. Let's get moving, then. There's quite a walk until the next train station, and I want to make it there before dark."
"A train station?"
"You've never seen a train before, young man?" Natsu shook his head, falling in step with the older man. Due to the man's shorter frame, he didn't have to walk very fast, which was a relief on his feet. "Well, then I'm sure you're in for a surprise."
Natsu smiled, the thought of a new adventure exciting him, even if it was going to be without Igneel. "Where is the council anyway?"
"A faraway town," Yajima replied, huffing slightly as they stepped over a large branch. "We call it Era."
LINE BREAK
Natsu stumbled off the train, clutching his stomach with both hands. He hadn't known what to expect when Yajima had mentioned the train, but now that he had gotten to ride on one, he despised even the thought of it. At first, it had reminded him of flying on Igneel—being able to move at speeds much faster than he could run, but within moments of it beginning to move, he was barely able to stand.
Yajima had explained to him that he had something called motion sickness, but he wasn't sure if he really believed that. If that was true, then how could he have ridden on Igneel all those times without getting sick? The train was just a lousy chunk of metal, anyway, and riding on Igneel was a much better way of getting around.
And so, he and Yajima strode out of the train station, although for once, he was a bit slower than the older man. When he finally regained his breath, and settled his churning stomach, he was able to look around at the mysterious new city. He surely hadn't seen many towns before, but he was positive that Era had to be one of the biggest ones out there.
It was a large, sprawling area, with more buildings than he could count. Other people flooded the streets, roaming about and doing all kinds of things. Yajima had to reign him back in multiple times when he got distracted. He just couldn't help it! Igneel had never shown him so many different, exciting things before.
He watched as one mage swirled his hands in the air, putting on a performance with figures that looked like tiny people. In another building, he could only look on with a rumbling stomach as a mage used his fire magic to cook a large chunk of meat. It took Yajima an especially long time to get him away from that one.
Eventually, they arrived at the base of a mountain located directly in the center of the city. There was a humongous castle-type building sitting on top, and when Natsu had questioned Yajima about it, the only answer that he had received was that it was the Magic Council.
According to the older man, there were different Magic Council branches located all throughout Earth Land. This one here was the branch for their country of Fiore. He couldn't remember Igneel ever refer to them living in a country, or a place called Fiore, but he didn't question it. He was more interested in the prospect of food that the older man had mentioned.
The journey up the mountain was long, and by the end, Natsu's legs were burning. Yajima looked fine beside him, offering a small smile. "You'll get used to it," was all he said.
They made their way inside the large castle-like structure. Natsu had thought that the building looked amazing from down below, but up close, he was completely enraptured. The weird people dressed in white—or Rune Knights, as Yajima referred to them—always gave him a weird look. Natsu didn't really know the reasoning for it, but they were beginning to get on his nerves. When one got a little too close and tried to jab him with the end of their staff, he had flung himself at the mage.
That had quickly earned him a scolding from Yajima, and so now they were currently standing in the middle of a room with a small bed tucked into the corner. There was a table and chair placed off to one side, along with a tall dresser and mirror beside it. It had taken a while for Yajima to explain everything, but Natsu thought that he finally understood what each of them did.
"You must stay here, Natsu. Just for the time being."
Natsu huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and sat on the floor. The old wood creaked beneath him, but he paid it no mind. "I don't want to stay here. I want to go look around."
Yajima sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Not until I have official permission to house you here from the council. It's forbidden to have guests stay within the council building long-term. I shall need to present a case for you to stay."
Natsu said nothing, just staring at the floor in defiance. Yajima only sighed again. "I'll have someone bring you food. It should only take but a few hours."
Part of him still wanted to refute the man's request, but he finally gave in and nodded his head reluctantly. Yajima just patted him on the head lightly, reminding him to sit tight, before leaving and gently closing the door. Through the walls, he could hear the old man shuffle away, and then further request that a mage bring him some food.
He was thankful for the older man's care, but none of this really made any sense to him. He had lived his entire life in the forest with Igneel. That was all he had known, but now he was being dragged around cities and being trapped inside this Magic Council. There was that lingering sense of danger in the back of his mind, but he tried to fight it. Yajima had shown him nothing but kindness since Igneel had gone missing. He would make sure that his father rewarded the older man when he finally found him.
Natsu stood up, shuffling over to the window. He could see the people moving around the city below, but when he turned up to look at the sky, the sense of longing returned with more force than ever. He remembered the times where Igneel would take him flying after a hard day of training. He missed his father more than ever.
He just hoped that he would be able to find him soon.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks for reading! This is a brand new story, so I hope you stick around for the ride! I have plenty of plans for the future!
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