"Oh, come on. We all know I'm the strongest," Mirajane sneered.

"Oh? You really think so? We'll just have to see," Erza shot back, her lips curling upwards to form an evil smile.

Lisanna, Mirajane's younger sister, jumped in between them with a worried expression on her face. "U-um, let's not fight, okay?"

Erza and Mirajane glared at her. "Stay out of this!"

Natsu sighed and looked down at the wooden table he was sitting at. Just another usual day at Fairy Tail. He looked around at everyone else. Most were either practicing magic or just drinking and laughing with friends. But Natsu didn't have any friends.

It wasn't that he disliked the people at the guild. In fact, he really liked each and every one of them. But no one understood him.

The only person he really knew here was Erza, but that was only because she had taught him literature. Well, more like hammered it into his brain. After he joined the guild, she had taken it upon herself to teach him to read and write. He never exactly understood why she would want to help someone like him, but he was thankful nonetheless.

Natsu was a fire dragon slayer, and so naturally, he had been raised by a dragon as a kid. His name was Igneel and he had taught Natsu everything he needed to know. But one day, Igneel disappeared without a trace. Natsu had gone searching for him for months, until he finally gave up and joined Fairy Tail so he had somewhere to go.

No one at the guild ever really got his story. His past. So, as a result, he just didn't fit in with everyone else.

Sighing once more, Natsu got up and walked towards the big wooden doors of the guild. Maybe he would find something new to do today. As he clasped onto the doorknob and yanked it open, he noticed that it was pouring rain. The sky was painted a grayish color and it was freezing cold. But Natsu didn't really care. He found the rain to be peaceful.

Natsu's long-sleeved shirt was immediately soaked as he stepped outside. Shivering, he realized that he had forgotten to bring a jacket. As he began to head back to the guild to grab a coat, he heard a groan coming from a few yards away and suddenly stopped.

Natsu looked around, but saw no one. Then the groan came again, but this time a little closer to him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps coming toward him. This was strange, and he was starting to get a little scared now.

A flash of pink could be seen from the bushes. "Who's there?" Natsu called.

Everything was silent for a moment, but then he heard a small gasp and the sound of someone running away.

"Wait! Come back!" Natsu shouted and started to run after them. He ducked under low tree branches, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind at once. Who was this person? And why on earth would they be out in the rain?

A small cry escaped the person's mouth and they collapsed. Natsu ran over to them widened his eyes. It was... a girl. She looked about his age, ten. And, well, she looked awful. Her pink dress was in tatters, she wore no shoes, which caused her feet to be bruised and scratched, and her face and blonde hair were splattered with mud. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes and tried to stand up.

"Um..." Natsu started in barely a whisper. "Who are you?"

She looked at him again with a pleading expression on her face. "Lucy," she choked out. She sounded exhausted, as if she hadn't gotten any sleep that night. And by the looks of her, she probably hadn't.

"I'm Natsu," he said back. "What are you doing out here?"

Lucy now looked as if she was about to cry. "I ran away," she simply said.

This startled Natsu. "What? Why?"

She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand."

Natsu looked at her. She was frowning deeply and her eyes were starting to fill up with tears. He was curious about why she had wanted to run away, but he didn't want to push her. At least not now.

"But..." he whispered, a thought coming to him. "Where will you go?"

Lucy looked down. "I don't know." Her voice was thick with tears.

Natsu just stood there, not knowing what to say. He felt bad for her, but... what could he really do? Suddenly, an idea sprung into his mind. "Hey, why don't you join the guild?"

"Huh? A wizard guild?" she frowned. "But I'm not a wizard."

Natsu smiled. "Well, you don't exactly have to be a wizard to join Fairy Tail. But if you want to, you should learn some sort of magic."

Lucy smiled through her tears. "I've always wanted to learn Celestial Magic. My mom was a Celestial Wizard. But... how can I?"

Natsu shrugged, still grinning. "I'm sure we can figure something out. Now, come on. Let's get out of this rain."