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 some, however, magic is an art, and they have devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds they apply 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.
One day, one of the wizards from that very guild was out in the Forests of Magnolia, near the Fairy Tail guildhall. He was a young boy, with pink, spiky hair, who wore a red shirt, tan coloured shorts, and most notably, a long, white scarf, with patterns that resembled dragon scales.
This is Natsu Dragneel: Fairy Tail’s resident dragon slayer.
Natsu had an irritated look on his face, as he continuously punched the tree in front of him, which had two photos strapped to the trunk. One was of a young girl with long, scarlet hair, and the other was of a young boy, with black spiky hair, similar to his own.
“Stupid Erza! And Gray! You stink!” Natsu yelled, as he continued to punch the effigies. He then reared back his fist and delivered his most powerful punch yet, which rattled the leaves at the top of the tree, sending the birds nesting in it flying away.
He almost immediately regretted it, however, as he clutched at his fist, which was now throbbing from the extra hard impact. “That didn’t hurt at all,” he said to himself, trying to hold back the pain.
His pained expression vanished quickly, however, and was replaced with one of confusion when he suddenly felt something land on his head. Whatever it was, it was small – probably less than half his size – to be able to fit on his head, it seemed to be moving, and it felt fluffy. The most logical explanation was that it was some sort of creature that had been resting in the tree, and his last punch had knocked it down.
Wanting to know what it was, Natsu reached up, grabbed whatever it was, and pulled it down in front of his face so that he could get a good look at it. It was a small creature like he had guessed, of an equine shape, with four hooves. It had a light goldish grey coat, a red mane that wrapped around its head, and most strangely, a curved horn on its forehead with ridges along the curve. It also had a rounded snout and long eyelashes, indicating that it was most likely female. She simply stared back at Natsu with a blank expression on her face.
Natsu was confused as to what exactly this creature was, and tilted his head slightly to the right, which this creature mirrored. He then tilted his head to the left, which she again mirrored. The adorable sight made Natsu smile, which in turn made this creature break its previously stoic expression and giggle adorably.
Natsu then placed this creature down on the grass in front of him and sat with her. “Sorry about knocking you out of the tree like that. Gray and Erza just made me so mad and I needed to hit something, but I didn’t want to do it in front of the guild.” He said to her, clenching his fist in anger. Calming down again, Natsu suddenly wondered something and looked up at the tree above them. “What were you doing up there, anyway?” He asked, since this creature didn’t look like something that lived in trees. “Were you looking for your parents?”
In response, the creature simply tilted her head in confusion.
“Parents,” Natsu repeated. “You know, like a mom and dad.”
She then realigned her head. “Dad?” She asked.
“Yeah, a dad,” Natsu replied, apparently not confused that she was able to talk. “Like, my dad’s name is Igneel. He’s a dragon, and he’s super strong.” Suddenly, Natsu became sombre and looked down. “I’m actually looking for him. He disappeared a few years ago and I have no idea where he is.” He said, sounding sad. He then looked back up. “You haven’t seen him, have you?”
Again, she simply tilted her head in confusion.
Natsu just let out a laugh. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
When Natsu was finished talking, the creature simply looked down. “Dad?” She spoke, as if she were trying to understand the word.
Noticing this, Natsu then started thinking himself, to try to explain it better. “Well, let’s see. A dad is… somebody who looks after you, who protects you when you’re scared, and teaches you everything you need to know.” He said, thinking back to all of the time he spent with Igneel, and it brought a smile to his face. “Someone who’s always there for you.”
Looking back up at Natsu after he had told her what a dad is, the creature smiled again. “Dad,” she said.
“Yeah, that’s it. Dad.”
She then picked herself up on her two front hooves and leaned into Natsu. “Dad.”
It took Natsu a moment to realise what she was actually saying to him. “Whoa, wait a minute,” he said, gently putting his hands on her, pushing her back into her sitting position. The strange equine simply gave Natsu another confused look for this, but this one had more emotion in it.
Taking in a deep breath, he started to speak again. “You see…”
*Boom*
Suddenly, Natsu was cut off by a loud crash from directly behind him. Turning around, he was greeted by the sight of two large creatures standing behind him. They were large, ape-like creatures, with green fur and a purple exposed underbelly, and elongated arms.
Vulcans.
Without thinking, Natsu instinctively stood up and faced them, standing in a protective stance between them and the filly.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing here, runt?” The first Vulcan asked. “This here is our turf.”
“Says who?” Natsu replied, biting down.
“Simple,” the Vulcan replied, taking a step forward in an intimidating manner. “We’re the biggest things around here and we say it’s our turf, so that makes it our turf! Now scram, runt!”
“You don’t scare me,” Natsu barked back, bearing down. “You should know, I’m not just any wizard, I’m a dragon slayer.”
“Oooohhh, a dragon slayer,” the Vulcan said in a faux-scared tone. “You here that, Butch?” He asked, turning towards his friend.
“Ha, big deal,” Butch scoffed, with his arms folded. “Everyone knows dragons don’t exist.”
Upon hearing that, Natsu curled his fists tighter and bit down even harder. “Take that back,” he said, in an eerily quiet tone.
“Huh? What was that?” The first Vulcan asked in an exaggerated tone.
“I said take it back!” Natsu screamed out, as he leapt towards the Vulcan. “Fire Dragon Iron Fist!” As he exclaimed this, his right hand became enveloped in flame, and he slammed a punch right into the Vulcan’s chest. Unfortunately, this attack didn’t seem to do any damage at all, as the Vulcan wasn’t even fazed. Sneering at Natsu’s failed attack, the Vulcan then reared back his fist and delivered his own punch right into Natsu’s chest, slamming the young wizard into a tree about ten feet back.
“Ha, see, runt? That’s why this is our turf,” the Vulcan exclaimed. Looking down, he suddenly noticed the small equine creature, which was looking over at where Natsu had been knocked back, with a shocked expression on her face, before turning back towards the Vulcan, now wearing an expression of rage and growling at it. “Oooohhh, and what do we have here? Our next meal, maybe?” He asked, leaning in close to her.
Struggling to pick himself back up, Natsu could only look on at the sight of the two large Vulcan’s looming over the small equine. “No, run away.” He called out to her.
“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!” The filly screamed out in rage. Suddenly, she was engulfed in a bright flame, and when it faded, her previously light gold coat turned as black as the darkest void, offset only by her eyes which had become completely white, and her mane, tail and the tips of her hooves became pure flame of blue and red.
The sudden transformation caused both of the Vulcans to stumble back a step, in shock. Natsu, meanwhile, stared at her in awe.
She then opened her mouth and released a high pitched, slightly distorted screech, followed immediately by powerful burst of fire, which completely engulfed the Vulcan in front of her, and sent him flying backwards into a tree, in the opposite direction to which he had sent Natsu, and the force of the blast, combined with the Vulcan’s mass, caused the trunk of the tree to snap, burying the Vulcan beneath it. A single, slightly twitching leg stuck out from the pile of debris, indicating that he was still alive.
“Biff! No!” The second Vulcan called out. Turning back towards the small flaming equine, who was now growling at him, he took another step back, sweat dropping at the thought that now he was the target of her rage.
However, a moment later, her eyes began to droop, like she was tired from lack of energy, and with another quick flash of flame from up and down her body, she returned to her original form.
After she had transformed back, the remaining Vulcan slowly lowered his arms from around his head. “All out of fire, huh?” He asked, inquisitively. When the little filly simply looked up at him with tired eyes, he then grinned, his earlier smug expression returning. “Lucky me!” He announced, rearing back with his foot and kicking her hard, sending her flying backwards.
“Nooooo!” Natsu screamed out in worry. With adrenaline flooding his system, he quickly pushed himself up off the ground and charged at the Vulcan. “Fire Dragon…”
“I told you, that won’t wor…”
“Roar!” Natsu finished, unleashing a stream of fire breath focused entirely on the Vulcan’s left foot.
“Ow! Ow! Hot foot! Hot foot!” The Vulcan repeated, as he cradled his now burnt foot, while hopping on the other.
“Here, have another!” Natsu exclaimed, followed up with another Fire Dragon Roar, this one focused on the Vulcan’s right foot.
This caused the Vulcan to quickly hop on to his left foot, to cradle his now burnt right foot, but the still present pain from the earlier burn caused him to quickly switch feet again. He then began hopping away in retreat, alternating feet every other second.
With the Vulcan gone, Natsu quickly turned back towards where the filly had landed and ran over towards her. “Are you alright?” Natsu asked worriedly, kneeling down to inspect her more closely. She seemed to be in bad shape from the Vulcan’s kick. “Don’t worry; I’ll get you some help.”
Scooping her up into his arms, he ran off in the direction of the Fairy Tail guildhall.
---
The Fairy Tail guildhall was always a lively place, and today was no exception. Fairy Tail was home to a large, diverse group of wizards, who were gathered in the main hall. Veteran members, Macao and Wakaba were sitting and drinking and comparing how well they did on their last mission. Nab stood by the jobs board as always, looking over new jobs to take but never actually taking one.
Many of the guild members were young children and teenagers, as well. Cana sat at a table, reading her magic cards. Erza sat next to her, eating a strawberry cake, which was her reward to herself for completing another successful mission. Gray sat across from the two of them, lounging around in nothing but his underwear, as usual, to the annoyance of the rest of the guild.
The guild master, Makarov, sat on top of the counter, nursing an ale, while occasionally slapping the underaged Mirajane’s hand away when she tried to sneak a drink from his barrel.
Suddenly, the lively atmosphere was interrupted when Natsu ran into the building, carrying the little filly in his arms, with a worried expression on his face. “Hey, I need help. This little filly is hurt real bad.”
The other members in the hall immediately stopped what they were doing and all turned to face him, noticing his distressed tone.
Cana was the first one to speak up. “What is it, Natsu?” Cana was a young girl, about the same age as Natsu. She wore a plaid, strapped dress, and wore her long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail.
“We were attacked by Vulcans in the forest and she’s pretty banged up,” Natsu answered.
The mention of Vulcans caught everyone’s attention, with many in the guild knowing how dangerous the creatures were, and were now looking at Natsu and the filly more worriedly.
All except for one.
“Didn’t take you for the type that goes out his way to save animals, Natsu,” a voice from the crowd of guild mates spoke up, dripping with sarcasm. It was a young girl in her early teens, who looked to be about the same age as Erza; a bit older than Natsu, himself. She had long, white hair tied back in a ponytail by a large, purple ribbon. She wore a black tank top and short shorts, with knee-high stockings, giving her a gothic look. She had a snide expression on her face as she spoke.
“Shut up, Mira!” Natsu barked back. “It’s not like that. She’s not just some animal; she actually talked to me.”
“Yeah, right,” Mira scoffed. “Animals don’t talk, Natsu.”
“She did so talk,” Natsu replied immediately. “Back in the forest she even called me…” He suddenly cut himself off, realising what he was saying.
The sudden cut off peaked Mira’s attention. “Yeah, she called you what?”
Natsu now looked embarrassed. “Uhhmm… she called me…” He looked down at the ground. “Dad.”
The entire guildhall was completely silent for a moment, which to Natsu seemed to last forever, before suddenly erupting in laughter a moment later.
“Oh, man. Natsu as a Dad: can you imagine it?” Gray laughed.
“Gray, your clothes!” Cana suddenly exclaimed, noticing that he had taken off his boxers and was now completely naked.
Gray, being so casual about his nudity, was just as surprised.
As everyone continued to laugh at the notion of Natsu, a small child and… well, Natsu being a dad, Natsu’s cheeks burned red with embarrassment, but he didn’t verbally respond to anyone.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Master Makarov spoke up as he got up off the counter and walked over towards Natsu and the filly. Makarov was a short, balding old man, who barely stood taller than the children in the guild. He had white hair and a moustache, and wore a brown cloak over his clothes. His expression remained completely neutral throughout everything. Despite his size, as Guildmaster, he was far more powerful than anyone else in the guild, and commanded respect from all of the other members, like the father of the Fairy Tail family, so when he spoke up, everyone else immediately complied and ceased laughing.
Stepping close to Natsu, Makarov took a closer look, to examine the small creature in his arms more closely, and after a moment, his eyes widened when he seemed to notice something about her. “Natsu, where did you find this creature?” He asked, looking up to look the young Dragon Slayer in the eyes.
“Out in the forest,” Natsu answered casually. “She just sort fell out of a tree and I found her.”
Makarov listened to Natsu’s simple answer and spoke up again. “You may not realise exactly what it is you have found. From what I can tell, I believe that this creature is a Kirin.”
“A… Kirin?” Natsu repeated. “I’ve never even heard of that.”
“I’m not surprised. Kirin are rare and mythical creatures spoken of in legends, with many people not knowing for sure if they even exist at all. These legends also say that they’re part Dragon.”
That last part seemed to catch Natsu’s attention. “Part Dragon? You mean she could be Igneel’s kid?” He wondered aloud, looking down at the small Kirin in his arms once again.
“I’m not sure,” Makarov replied. “Like I said, very little is actually known about Kirin. They’re as rare and mysterious as fairies.”
“Can you help her, Master?” Erza was the first guild member to speak up from her seat.
“Yes, I believe so,” Makarov responded, which relieved the guild, but most of all Natsu. “From what I observed, she doesn’t seem to have any serious physical injuries; she’s just magically drained. She seems to have simply used up all of her magic and collapsed from exhaustion.”
“Oh, yeah, she did use this really big attack to knock out one of the Vulcans,” Natsu said, looking up as he did so. The rest of the guild seemed impressed, if a bit sceptical that a creature so small could defeat a creature so big. “So, can you heal her, Master?”
Makarov smiled warmly to reassure him. “Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem.” He then held his hands out towards the unconscious Kirin, as they became enveloped in a bright light as he lay hands on her, transferring some of his own magic to her to replenish her strength. After a few seconds of this, the filly’s eyes starting twitching, and Makarov ceased his healing spell, seeing that it had worked.
As the filly began to stir, Natsu knelt down and placed her on the ground in front of him as she began to wake up. As she opened her eyes, the rest of the guild started to gather around her and Natsu to get a closer look at this strange, mythical creature now that she was awake. Opening her eyes and seeing a large group of strange, unfamiliar creatures around her, remembering what happened with the previous creatures she met, she reflexively backed away in fear.
A moment later, however, she then switched from looking scared to growling at them, trying her best to look intimidating. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright flame and she transformed once again into her flame form.
The rest of the guild, seeing this transformation for the first time, immediately backed off in shock.
“Whoa, hey, it’s alright,” Natsu called out, trying to calm her down as he reached out and grabbed her around her midsection.
“Doesn’t that hurt, Natsu?” Cana asked in concern, seeing him being burned by the fire.
“Nah, I’m a Dragon Slayer; the heat never bothered me anyway,” Natsu replied casually.
After being picked up, the Kirin looked back towards Natsu, who she seemed to recognise, and after seeming to calm down, there was another quick flash of flame and she was back to her normal form. She then turned around and buried herself in his chest for protection, the way a small child would hide behind their parents when they were scared.
“Wow, she really does see Natsu as a Dad,” Gray – who had put his underwear back on again – spoke up, seeing the way she acted towards Natsu and no one else.
The thought of Natsu as a Dad again got a round of quiet laughter from the guild, now that the worry for the Kirin’s safety was gone.
“Alright, back off, everyone! Can’t you see that she’s terrified?” A new voice spoke up from amongst the crowd and stepped forward. It was a young girl, who looked to be the same age as Natsu. She had short, white hair, the same shade as Mirajane’s, and wore a long, pink dress.
Natsu looked up from the filly as she spoke. “Oh, hey, Lisanna.” He spoke very casually to her.
Lisanna immediately smiled and blushed a bit when Natsu spoke to her. She then knelt down a bit, so that she was at eye level with the Kirin. “It’s okay,” she spoke quietly, approaching her slowly so as not to alarm her.
The small Kirin, hearing someone approach, peeked out from Natsu’s chest, but not being familiar with her, immediately retreated from her again.
Seeing the Kirin filly retreat from her in fear, Lisanna started thinking about a way she could get this creature to trust her the way she did Natsu. A moment later, she stood up and smiled when she thought of one.
“Animal Soul!” She announced as she became enveloped in a bright light. When the light faded a moment later, with a puff of magic, Lisanna had used her transformation magic to turn into a similar-looking Kirin, slightly larger than the one in Natsu’s arms, with pink fur and a pure white mane. “Look at me, I’m Kirin-Lisanna; aren’t I adorable?”
Erza, seeing Kirin-Lisanna in front couldn’t help but blush at how adorable she looked. When she noticed Mirajane next to her giving her a sly smirk, the red-headed wizard hastily looked away again.
Hearing some commotion going on, the Kirin peaked out from Natsu’s arms and saw a similar-looking creature to herself smiling warmly at her. The familiar sight made the Kirin feel more relaxed, and she stepped out from Natsu’s grasp, moving slowly over to Kirin-Lisanna, who likewise took things slowly, trying not to scare her, and gave her a comforting hug.
The rest of the guild all looked relieved when they saw the Kirin start to calm down and open up a bit more; although, when she looked around at the rest of the guild, she still shied away a little from them, cuddling up to Lisanna this time.
Noticing that the filly was still uncomfortable around the rest of the guild, Lisanna scooped her up into her now-hooves and turned towards Natsu. “Hey, why don’t we go take care of her outside?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Natsu replied, as he and Lisanna took the Kirin and made their way outside.