Fiore, year X812

This is a nation on the continent of Ishgar, containing nearly 19 million people. Wizardry is a prominent part of the country's social structure. They even have an annual event for wizardry known as the Grand Magic Games, where various wizard guilds compete to be the number one guild in Fiore.

And, in a certain city known as Magnolia, there lies a famous, or perhaps infamous guild, which can be a little too rowdy at times, but is a hero to the kingdom, having led in the defeat of the black wizard Zeref and the dragon Acnologia twenty years ago. Furthermore, many legends were born from that guild before that, and many legends will continue to be born from it in the future.

The guild's name is Fairy Tail.

But while that is where many adventures will happen, it is not where our story begins.

Our story begins in Vistarion, the capital city of the Alvarez Empire, located on the continent of Alakitasia.


Hisoka looked around in awe.

"Amazing," he said.

"Like it?"

Hisoka looked at Henri and grinned. "You bet I do," he replied. "I don't even recognize the place!"

His cat companion flew up to where he was standing on top of the cathedral. "I see the city's gotten bigger since we were last here," she commented.

"That's certainly an understatement!" Hisoka looked up at the sky. "Where on Earthland did the floating islands come from?"

"Probably an abundance of ethernanos and creation wizards," Henri explained. "Give a human enough resources, and I guarantee they'll build something just because they think it looks cool. I heard that they even built underground."

"Seriously?"

"I'm not certain, but I'm going to bet all of that mining is how they ended up with the stone and lacrima to build the islands."

"Makes sense." Hisoka looked back up at the islands. He could see that one of them was made of solid ice. "What doesn't make sense is how they keep that one from melting."

"Or why."

Hisoka jumped down from the steeple. "Nonetheless," his feet hit the ground, and he crouched and extended one arm to absorb the impact, "the best part is that this city smells better than it did last time. In fact, it smells better than most cities, even though it's the biggest one we've ever been to."

"Probably advanced sanitation." Henri glided down to the ground, and her white feathered wings dematerialized. "I hear they expanded the library, too."

Hisoka whipped his head around towards the location of the library, and his jaw dropped at the sight of one of the largest buildings he had ever seen. "H-How did I not notice that?!"

"You have quite the ability to not notice things. I've heard it's the biggest library in the world."

"It would certainly seem so." Hisoka continued to stand there in awe. "That thing's bigger than the royal castle!"

"And I've heard it now contains several copies of every book ever written."

"It certainly would seem so. If there's any more to read about Fairy Tail, it's in there!"

"I simply do not understand your obsession with that guild."

"It's an amazing guild!"

"Yes. Amazingly stupid."

"It's not stupid," Hisoka complained. "They win the Grand Magic Games nine times out of ten when they participate, and they've got quite a large number of dragonslayers."

"And most of the rewards that they make are used to pay for property damage on the job"

"They also have some exceeds," Hisoka added.

Henri looked at him. "I don't care."

Hisoka raised an eyebrow at his friend's antisocial attitude. "We both know that's not true."

"I'm pretty sure it is," Henri argued.

"Everyone wants to meet another of their own kind." Hisoka's tone changed from excited to gentle. "Not all the time, certainly, but eventually, you start to feel alone."

Henri pouted, then changed the subject. "Anyway, shouldn't we be finding a place to stay before you wander off to explore?"

"Wha – yes!" Hisoka snapped out of his dazed staring at the library. "Definitely. We should. Uh…" His mind wandered for a brief moment. "Let's find a place!" he suddenly declared.

Henri sighed. "Can't your mind wander a little more quietly?"


"We'd like to rent a room."

The manager stared at Hisoka in confusion.

"'We'?"

Hisoka pointed down.

The hotel manager stared over the desk at Henri. "Oh!" she exclaimed, noticing the gray cat. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. Uh," she sat back down and repositioned her cat-eye glasses. "What kind of room would you like?"

"Just something roomy," Henri replied, hopping up on the counter. "With two beds."

"Actually," Hisoka interjected, "I'd just like a floor mattress."

Henri rolled her eyes. "One bed and one floor mattress, then."

"Our normal rooms come with two twin-size beds by default," the manager replied. "But I can add a floor mattress for just a bit extra."

"That'll do," Henri affirmed. "How much will that be?"

The manager pulled out a rectangular lacrima and touched a few buttons on it. Then she looked back up at them. "40 suishou for setting up the mattress, plus 650 suishou per night."

"Uh…" Hisoka pulled out a wallet and fumbled through it, then looked up at the manager. "We only have jewel."

"We've spent the past five years in Fiore," Henri explained. "Therefore, we currently only have Fiorean currency."

"Ah. No problem," the manager reassured them. "This hotel considers seven jewel to equal two suishou."

"That's a bit much," Hisoka commented.

"Just be glad they accept jewel," Henri asserted. "We can't say that for most of the places in this city."

"140 jewel for setup, and 2,225 jewel per night."

"Right," Hisoka responded to the manager's recalculation and pulled some money out of his wallet. He then handed it to the manager. Then he looked back in his wallet. "We'll want to set up shop fairly soon if we want to keep our lodging," Hisoka hinted.

"Agreed," Henri admitted. "Let's go do that after we check out our room."

The manager handed them a room key. "The room number is written on the key. Have a nice stay!"


Hisoka stood in the doorway, taking in the smell.

"Smells interesting?" suggested Henri.

"It does." Hisoka walked into the room, dropped his baggage on the floor, and collapsed on the floor mattress.

"Going to take a rest?"

"We haven't slept in three days," Hisoka reasoned, "and I need more sleep than most people. Just a few hours ago I thought I saw floating islands in the city." He closed his eyes and let himself slip into unconsciousness, vaguely aware of Henri correcting him about something.


"Sorry for sleeping for so long."

Hisoka and Henri were sitting in the stall that Henri had set up on her own.

"Don't apologize to me," Henri advised. "Apologize to the city folk who were looking forward to street performances two days ago."

"I'm a bit groggy at the moment," Hisoka complained. "Can I at least wait a few hours and help you sell fish?"

"You are helping me sell fish," Henri notified, "by performing near the stall. You're the one who decided he wanted to perform. For now, you're stuck with it."

Hisoka sighed, then got up, stretched, and walked out into the street. He set a bucket down on the cobblestone, took a moment to reassert his focus, and then concentrated on the nearby fountain, causing some of the water to rapidly swirl out and circle around him. He started by making it form letters in the air, spelling out: Feel free to play music, and I will perform with it. Then he started the performance, leaping up in the air and allowing the water to swirl around him in spectacular patterns. Then somebody started to play the accordion. Hisoka dropped to the ground, paused, got a feel for the rhythm, and then started performing in time with the fast-paced jig, letting the water trail around him in a rhythm.

Eventually, Hisoka stopped dancing, and the water hovered above his head. He waited as his audience applauded him. Then, as the clapping died down, somebody decided to play a flute. Hisoka got a hang of the slow, soft rhythm, and began to tell a story with moving shapes. It was a story of a farm boy who vowed to find his long lost brother, and went through many hardships to find him. The audience cheered as Hisoka ended the story with a happy reunion and the brothers returning to the farm together. Hisoka then ended the show by swirling the water into a ball, then having it burst into an omnidirectional spray, soaking those who were willing to stand close enough. As the audience left, Hisoka walked over to the bucket that he had set on the ground earlier, and grinned at the amount of money that had been thrown into it. He then walked over to the fish stall where Henri was still selling fish, and set the bucket down next to her.

"Impressive," Henri remarked.

"So, uh…"

"Yes, you can go explore the library."

Hisoka smiled and headed for the massive building at a steady jog.


"Excuse me," Hisoka greeted.

The librarian looked up.

"I'd like to know where your books about the mage guild Fairy Tail are," Hisoka inquired.

"Hold on," the librarian replied. He reached under the desk and pulled out a multilevel map. He handed it to Hisoka. "Our books about foreign wizard guilds are here." He pointed out a spot on the second floor.

"Thanks," Hisoka beamed. He then headed for the location that the librarian had indicated to him.

When he got there, he searched for a book on Fairy Tail that he hadn't read, found one, pulled it out, and began reading it.

"Interesting," he said to himself. "All of the founding masters were taught by Zeref?"

He kept reading.

"When the opportunity arises," Hisoka promised, "I will join this guild."


"Um, excuse me, sir."

Hisoka woke with a start and looked up at the librarian.

"The library's closed now," the librarian informed him. "Please either show me a pass or leave the building."

"A pass?"

"For anyone who wishes to stay after hours," the librarian explained. "Sometimes, people explain how important it is that they continue to research, and we give them a special pass to stay after hours."

"But what if they really can't tell anyone?"

"We keep all secrets here," the librarian continued. "We even undergo anti-interrogation training in case your enemies come along."

"This library is more interesting than I thought," Hisoka commented.

"And for extra protection, we have rune barriers that prevent the use of magic by any entities other than books, as well as making librarians forget the secrets when we leave."

"Interesting."

"So do you have a pass?"

"No."

"Then have a nice evening."

Hisoka walked toward the exit and then headed back to the hotel.


Hisoka left the fish stand and headed onto the street to start his performance. Then he took a casual glance up at the sky.

His eyes widened.

He looked back down at the gathering audience.

"Run!" He shouted. "Everyone clear out!"

The audience looked confused for a second.

"Run!"

The audience exchanged glances with each other, then cleared out of the area.

"You too, Henri. Keep your distance from here!"

Henri nodded, having also seen what was in the sky, and flew up to a safe distance.

Hisoka watched to make sure everyone had reached a safe distance, then dashed out himself. He then watched as the approaching fireball, which had slowed down significantly, but was still moving pretty quickly, crashed into the street, creating a brilliant explosion that prompted Hisoka to shield his eyes. He waited for the debris cloud to die down, then headed to the center of the explosion. His eyes widened.

Lying in the middle of the crater was a young girl of about seventeen – Hisoka's age. Her long, spiky hair was the color of cherry blossoms. He couldn't see her eyes, as they were closed. Her outfit consisted of a white scarf that appeared to consist of – dragon scales? She was also wearing a brown, single-sleeved crop top – Hisoka could barely see the bloodstains from the wound on her exposed abdomen – and a pair of baggy beige capris – similar to the long pants that Hisoka wore – and on her feet were a pair of plain black sandals. Additionally, there was a set of gold and silver keys attached to her hip, and a red guild crest on her right shoulder – the one that wasn't covered by a sleeve. Hisoka recognized that guildmark. He put a hand on the girl's right wrist. Her pulse was weak. She had also lost a lot of blood and was barely breathing. Hisoka sensed that the girl's life was in danger, and placed his hand on the wound. Water from the air condensed around his hand, and the wound began to close. Unfortunately, she still had several broken bones, which Hisoka could only partially repair.

"Oi! Henri!" Hisoka called. Henri glided down to meet him. "Can you help me out here?"


Her eyes opened, and everything came into focus.

There was a boy roughly her age staring down at her. His long, blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and reinforced by a plain, dark green headband. He was wearing a long, deep blue overcoat with silver trim and cuffs. On his legs and feet, he wore baggy beige pants – similar to her capris – and brown leather boots. He smelled familiar, for some reason, but she couldn't put a finger on it. He was sitting cross-legged on the left side of her bed.

"You're awake?" asked the boy.

"Yeah." She tried sitting up, but was met by a sharp pain in her chest. She grunted and laid back down.

"Don't try sitting up," the boy cautioned. "You broke several bones, including some ribs. I was able to close the stab wound, but I can only partially repair bones. Just be glad your life is no longer in danger."

"I see."

"I'm Hisoka, by the way," the boy put in.

"I'm…"

"I know who you are," Hisoka interrupted. "You're Nashi Dragneel of Fairy Tail, yes?"

"Heartfilia," Nashi corrected. "Nashi Heartfilia."

Hisoka looked confused. "But your father is Natsu Dragneel, right?"

"Yes. And my mother is Lucy Heartfilia."

Hisoka continued to look confused.

"The Heartfilia name is passed along the female line," Nashi explained.

Hisoka raised a finger and opened his mouth as if to say, "ah, I see," but no sound came out.

"Anyway, thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome."

There was a moment of silence.

"Where am I?" Nashi suddenly asked.

"You're in our hotel room," Hisoka replied.

"No. what I mean is, what city am I in?"

"Ah. Vistarion."

Nashi thought for a second, then replied with her next question. "Is that the name of a tree or flower?"

"No. Why?"

"I see. I was thrown that far, huh?"

"What do trees and flowers have to do with it?"

"You didn't know?" inquired Nashi.

Hisoka just sat there with a confused expression on his face.

"Every single city in Fiore is named after a tree or flower," Nashi explained. "Before I was thrown into this location, I was doing a job in Dogwood."

Hisoka's eyes widened. "What kind of job was it?!" he exclaimed.

"I was fighting a godslayer who had been terrorizing cities all over the continent. Specifically, a first generation purgatory godslayer."

"And they threw you this far?!"

"How far, exactly?"

"Vistarion is the capital of the Alvarez Empire."

Nashi's eyes widened. "He tossed me into another continent… like it was nothing?"

"It would seem so," Hisoka confirmed.

"I see. I guess I would have died in the landing if I hadn't used those flames to slow myself down."

"Not only that," added Hisoka. "You still would've died if Henri and I hadn't been there."

"Henri?"

"My cat," Hisoka explained. "She's sleeping in the bed to your right."

Nashi turned her head to the right side. She could only partially see the gray, long-furred exceed over the edge of the mattress, due to it being on a bedframe, while her mattress was on the floor.

"I see." She turned her head back to Hisoka. Then she touched a hand to her abdomen. "If you healed my wounds, why am I wearing bandages?"

"They're soaked with enchantments," Hisoka explained. "Your bones should be fully repaired in less than a day if you keep those on."

"I see. Thanks again." She closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

Hisoka smiled and then got into the unoccupied bed.


Nashi woke up and looked around the room.

It was empty.

Then she spotted a fireplace with a note attached to it.

You should replenish your strength before heading out. I left this for you to eat.

There was an arrow pointing down at a crackling fire.

"How did he know?" Nashi wondered aloud. She bent down, stuck her head in the fire, and inhaled, savoring the pleasant warmth running down her throat until she had consumed the flames. She looked down to see that her bandages had been removed. She then left the hotel room, walked down the hallway, and went downstairs. She looked around the dining hall, and then found the exit.

Nashi then wandered around town, seeing the sights. The city extended across a large stretch of land, and even onto some floating islands, one of which was made of solid ice, which Nashi didn't understand.

Then her ears perked up to the distant sound of people cheering.

She ran off in the direction of the sound; if there was cheering, it had to be something interesting, and she wanted to see it. She rounded a corner and then saw it.

Somebody was playing a violin, and Hisoka was dancing to it. Not only this, but trails of water were swirling around him in beautiful patterns. People were tossing money into a bucket, which Nashi assumed Hisoka was using for that very purpose.

Then the music changed. Hisoka stopped dancing, and the water that he seemed to be controlling shaped itself into characters. Nashi watched as he shaped out the story of two dragons who fell in love with each other. Then the humans began trying to exterminate the dragons, and killed one of them. The surviving dragon was sad, and went off to live on its own. Then a less violent human came along – an orphaned child – and the dragon learned to love again, raising the child as if it were its own. The audience cheered at the happy ending. Then, all of the water swirled into a sphere above Hisoka's head, and burst into an omnidirectional spray, soaking Nashi and the others. The audience cheered some more at the finale, and a bunch of money was tossed into the bucket.

Then Hisoka noticed Nashi and trotted over to her.

"Yo," he greeted.

"Amazing performance," Nashi affirmed. "But was that finale necessary?"

"Most of the audience knows I'm going to do that," Hisoka explained. "If they don't want to get wet, they move further away."

"Well, I didn't know that!"

"Geez, I'm sorry." Hisoka extended an arm towards her, and all of the water in Nashi's clothes was sucked out and drawn to Hisoka's hand, engulfing it in a sort of bubble. He then put the hand to his mouth and consumed the water. "There. Better?"

"Thanks," Nashi confirmed. "How did you know?"

"Huh?"

"You left a fire for me. How did you know I eat fire?"

"Oh. Well, first of all, I know who your parents are."

"I see."

"Second of all, I know what dragonslayers smell like. Everyone's magic power has a unique smell, so I could tell that you're a first generation fire dragonslayer as well as a celestial spirit mage."

"Second."

"Huh?"

"I'm a second generation dragonslayer," Nashi corrected. "I inherited the magic from my dad."

"Then why do you smell like first generation?"

"Probably because I am, in effect, first generation. However, because I inherited it, and was not taught by a dragon, I am officially second generation."

"Ah."

"Besides, all of the dragons are gone from Alakitasia and Ishgar," Nashi pointed out.

"From what I read, your father basically is a dragon."

"He's human," Nashi argued. "True, he's very dragon-like, and he did train me, but he's still human."

They stood there for a moment.

"Where's Henri?" Nashi suddenly asked.

Hisoka pointed to the stand where Henri was selling fish.

"I see."

"You should eat," Hisoka urged. "Fire may replenish your magic, but you'll need food for nourishment."

"I don't have any money," Nashi complained. "And if I did, it would probably be Fiorean currency."

"No problem," Hisoka reassured. "I can pay. Besides, I'm also hungry."

Nashi looked at Hisoka and smiled. "Thanks."

"Have fun with your date!"

Hisoka and Nashi whipped around to see Henri grinning at them. "It's not a date!" they simultaneously snapped. Henri just smirked at them.


Hisoka stared in shock.

Nashi had just had five large, filling meals, and was now wolfing down a sixth as if she was still hungry.

"Calm down!" Hisoka cautioned.

"Sorry," Nashi apologized through a mouthful of food. "I haven't eaten in four days, and that's not counting the time I spent unconscious."

Come to think of it, Hisoka realized, she still hadn't eaten the amount that he had eaten after three days of straight walking. He decided not to complain, though it was a bit expensive on his part.

"By the way," Nashi mentioned, changing the subject, "you seem to know a lot about our guild."

"I read books about it," explained Hisoka. "Whenever Henri and I stop in a new town or city, I head to the nearest library to read about it – well, really just to read in general – but largely about Fairy Tail."

"You have a strong interest in the guild, don't you?"

"Indeed," Hisoka confirmed. "I've wanted to join Fairy Tail for the past three years."

Nashi's eyes widened in surprise. "What kept you?"

"Henri, mostly," Hisoka explained. "She said we could join the guild later, when I was older."

"That cat tells you what to do?"

"Yeah," Hisoka replied. "She's raised me since I was ten."

"What about before that?"

"Flumentia," Hisoka continued. "She was my foster mother since I was three. I never knew my real parents."

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know," Hisoka protested. "One day, she just told me I had to leave because it was dangerous for me to stay."

"I see."

"So she dropped me off on Ishgar, where I wandered around and eventually met Henri."

"Hmm." Nashi stood up. "I'm done."

"You can stay at our place until you're ready to be on your way."

"Mm. Thanks." She walked out of the restaurant.


Hisoka woke up to the sound of the shower running.

Okay, he thought. Makes sense. She probably hasn't showered in a while.

A few minutes later, Nashi walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed, her hair drying from the heat that she was radiating. She spotted Hisoka.

"Again," she said, "thanks for saving me." She walked over to the window, pulled it open, and jumped out.

Hisoka dashed over to the window in time to see her dashing into the distance. He rapidly put his clothes on, then jumped out after her.

It took him a while to catch up. Luckily, he was abnormally fast. "Oi! Nashi!" he called.

Nashi turned her head towards him, but didn't break her pace.

"Where are you going?" Hisoka demanded.

"I'm finishing the job," Nashi responded.

"No way!" Hisoka argued. "He threw you into another continent like it was nothing. There's no way you'll defeat him on your own!"

"Well, then," Nashi responded, "it's a good thing you're with me, right?"

Hisoka stopped. Nashi stopped with him.

"You said you wanted to join Fairy Tail, right?"

Hisoka's eyes widened in surprise and joy

"Well, then consider this your first job."

Just then, Henri flew into sight. "I stopped to pay the hotel manager. What was that I just heard?"

"Henri," Hisoka beamed, "we're joining Fairy Tail!"

To be continued…


Yes, I did make the beginning sort of parallel to the original beginning of Fairy Tail. That was on purpose. There will be some chapters that parallel the original Fairy Tail, while others are completely my ideas. I hope you liked it!