Well, my drive for writing Fairy Tail fanfiction had been gone for quite a while. But this has been a project in the works ever since sketchywolf asked me to try doing it. Since I promised I'd try, here we are. It was surprisingly fun the end, I hope you like it.

A teenage girl with blond hair and brown eyes heaved a sigh as she walked down a street. Accompanying her was a boy her age with pink hair and dark green eyes and next to him a small blue cat.

The three were members of the town's sole guild, Fairy Tail. The girl was Lucy, who had only joined the other day when she met her companions, Natsu and Happy the cat.

Lucy had been pleasantly surprised when Natsu and Happy decided to make a team with her and go on a job. That only lasted until she found out their trick, as the job specifically required a blonde girl, which left her rather irked. But since she'd already agreed and the job would offer some pay and experience, she went for it.

They'd had a...unique day to say the least.

''You guys really do take things too far,'' she huffed.

''You really have a long way to go if this kind of thing freaks you out, Lucy.'' Happy stated.

''That's not what I meant, you stupid cat! There was no need to tear down the mansion, we could have been hurt if we hadn't been as fast as we were!''

''Well, tell that to Natsu.''

''Hey, it's not like I meant for that to happen!'' The teen retorted defensively.

''That's what you said about Hargeon too.'' Lucy reminded flatly. Why did she get the feeling that this was just par for the course for those two?

''He says that all the time.'' Happy informed.

''Why am I not surprised?'' The girl sighed.

They were coming up close to the guild hall, which was when they spotted a pair of individuals near the gate. The first caught Lucy by surprise, as it was a cat around Happy's height. But it was clearly female, with soft purple fur and bright hazel eyes. She wore a white and pink shirt along black pants and pink shoes. Lucy thought she was absolutely adorable.

Accompanying her was a young man with light brown hair and dark blue eyes, he wore a blue green shirt with yellow lining, grey pants as well as black boots. They couldn't hear some of the exchange but the cat was talking animatedly to the young man, who was listening with a bemused look.

Natsu grinned ''Hey, guys!''

The duo paused in their surprise and followed the voice to its source, soon noticing the three of them. The cat perked up while her friend smiled upon seeing them as the first spoke up ''Oh hi, we didn't know you were back. So you guys took that weird job after all?''

''What's weird about it?'' Happy blinked.

''Happy, it offers over a hundred thousand for getting rid of a book. How is that not weird?''

''Oh. Good point.''

''Ah, we worked it out.'' Natsu waved a dismissive hand.

Lucy rolled her eyes but it was clear that the two were used to this kind of behavior as they took it in stride. The cat then went on ''So who's that? Mira said something about a newcomer...''

''That'd be Lucy, we made a team with her.'' Happy informed.

Natsu looked at the blonde ''Those are our friends, she's Belle and he's Riku, Riku Starlight.''

She smiled at the two, who did the same in return ''I didn't think I'd see another cat like Happy, you're a lot cuter in every way though.''

''Hey!'' Happy huffed as Belle laughed.

Natsu snickered ''Come on, let's go in.''

Lucy finished telling the duo about their job, in which their client wanted them to destroy a book held by Duke Everlue. Things had really gone out of hand when they tried to stop him and in the end, they hadn't done it as the book had actually been written for their client in the first place so they left it with him.

There was one thing Belle wanted to know at the moment ''...You mean they seriously just roped you into it because they wanted you to be a maid?''

''Yes!'' Lucy found Belle's exasperation on her behalf gratifying. Riku, while he had yet to say anything, merely gave her teammates a look that proved he felt the same way. ''The whole thing was so stupid! Those maids were ridiculously ugly. And we couldn't even get any money in the end.''

''We didn't exactly do the job, you know.'' Happy reminded.

''No, I get it. That's not what I was getting at...'' It had bothered her at the time but Lucy could see that Natsu and Happy were principled and so they could never take the money under those circumstances. And it did feel nice to help Kaby Melon settle things in the end so she supposed that was fine.

She was about to go on but then spotted a chair flying their way, leaving her to yelp as she ducked. Natsu quickly stepped sideways as the chair almost hit him a second later. ''Who threw that?!''

Before they quite knew it, he had rushed to where a number of their guild mates were gathered and things eventually lead to another brawl.

''Here we go again...'' Happy trailed off.

''How'd that even happen so fast?'' Lucy blinked.

''You learn to stop asking after a while.'' Belle informed dryly.

''...You two are really, really used to this chaos, huh?'' She received two nods from the cats in response and it just made her conclude that bizarre as it was for her, this may be normal for Fairy Tail.

''Anyway...'' She looked at Riku. ''...I've been wondering-you don't talk much, huh?''

Riku blinked, seemingly realizing something then before. He touched his throat before looking back at her and shaking his head.

''Wait...'' Did he mean...? ''...you can't?''

He nodded and Happy elaborated ''Riku lost his voice after a battle a few years ago. We've been using sign language to talk.''

''I see...well, it won't be a problem. I studied up on sign language when I didn't have much to do back home. I'm a little rusty but I think I remember most of it well.'' Lucy admitted. Riku gave a small smile at this. ''So what kind of magic do you two use? I'm guessing Belle can fly like Happy, at least...?''

''In a way, he's a lot faster than me.'' The cat in question admitted. ''But I learned to use wind and light magic. Riku and I are learning staff magic from a friend too.''

''That's impressive.''

Belle just shrugged ''Not really, I followed Riku's example.''

Lucy was about to ask what magic the brunet used, only to be surprised when he suddenly stood and raised a hand. A dark purple magic circle manifested, creating a black and purple portal that opened up to swallow a small table that had been sent flying in their direction in the midst of all the chaos from the brawl.

Happy looked relieved ''Thanks, nice reflexes.''

Riku made a few signs with his hand, which the cat knew meant 'Don't worry about it.'

''I've never seen magic like that before...'' Lucy stared.

''That's understandable, Riku's a Darkness Dragon Slayer.'' Belle explained, surprising the girl. Dragon Slayer magic was a Lost magic after all so users were exceedingly rare. To think there were two in the guild...

Something about that rang a bell for Lucy, who began to think. She barely noticed a girl with sable brown hair and violet eyes approaching them and pausing to talk to Riku, having only spoken to her in passing before. This was Cana Alberona.

''I'll say it again, that's one handy spell.'' She remarked, bemused. ''Lucky for us you don't get into those brawls if you can help it. Though I guess Master might actually be glad if you did, you'd kick a whole lot of ass and wrap things up real easy.''

Riku spared her a dry look 'Now you're just pushing it...'

''Hey wait, now I remember...'' The two looked curiously at Lucy.

The girl had wanted to enter Fairy Tail for a long time and she came to learn a bunch about the famous members. Like Salamander and Titania. There was another name that rose to prominence a while back. The reputation of that one matched with Riku a lot.

''...You're Bahamut, I heard about you before.'' She admitted. Bahamut, at first known as Dark Scale, was a powerful mage known for his skill and resourcefulness, using rare darkness magic as well as his other abilities in various effective ways.

'That's what people have taken to calling me.' Riku returned. He never really paid attention to his growing fame so he was surprised that Lucy figured it out.

''Word really spread out about this guy, huh?'' Cana looked amused.

Lucy nodded, now she understood what Belle was getting at before ''I heard he used more than darkness magic before...you must really train hard if Belle's anything to go by.''

'There's not much to it, I just decided to make the most of what I have.' Riku said simply. Yes, he had worked hard to get as far as he had but that was it. There was another reason that started and things had just led to making that decision. It didn't make him anything special.

Soon enough, after having to avoid a few of the barrels, the brawl was forcefully put to a stop when a short old man with white hair and dark eyes, their guild master Makarov Dreyar, soon got fed up and beat most of the fighters up in seconds.

Lucy winced ''That looked like it really hurt...''

Cana snorted ''Please, they'll brush it off in no time as always.''

''Aye Sir, and before you know it, they'll be fighting again.'' Happy deadpanned. The best thing you could say about all this was that their resilience was admirable.

''Gah...'' A boy with black hair and dark grey eyes winced as he walked with a couple another boy nearby. This was Gray Fullbuster. ''...did Gramps have to take it that far?''

''Suck it up, Master's a real Man!'' The muscled, tanned skin white haired boy besides him stated. He was Elfman Strauss.

Gray rolled his eyes but chose not to respond. He paused as Elfman let out a sound of surprise ''Oh, Riku, Belle, I didn't know you were back already.''

Gray blinked and followed his line of sight to see the duo in question looking at them. Riku gave a small wave while Belle half-smiled ''Well, the client was pretty helpful so we got around to dealing with the monsters real easy. It was good that Riku learned to use runes too.''

''I'll bet, you two never seem to run out of tricks.'' Gray remarked.

''That's where all our training comes in handy.''

''Totally, you two are Manly! You could've joined us before.'' Elfman said.

''No, thanks.'' Belle returned while Riku spared him a flat look that proved he agreed with her.

'I'm fine if you want to get back to the usual training but that's that.' Riku stated.

''Figured as much.'' Gray nodded. After all, this wasn't the first time this topic came up. Riku had made it clear over the years that he had absolutely no interest in the guild's fights.

Natsu had idiotically tried forcing him to fight at one point and the attempts had gotten on the brunet's nerves. In the end, he put paid to them by taking advantage of his magic's adaptable nature and Natsu's severe motion sickness to trap him and spin him around until he was too dizzy to do anything. That was also around the time he proved that while he could be pretty patient, Riku could be scary when angered.

Riku and Elfman had been training together for quite a while, which was a big part of the reason why gained the muscular build he had now. While both had awkward beginnings at the guild, they came to be friends after Riku stood up for Elfman when people tried to bully him and things got better from there. Looking at them now, Gray could hardly believe they were the same kids he grew up around. They really had come a long way.

The group of four headed near the counter and got some drinks, sitting near Lucy, Cana, Makarov and Elfman's sister Mirajane, who was busy working there. The beautiful white haired girl greeted them with a smile, her blue eyes bright as usual.

''Oh, so that's why Macao was whining about Natsu burning him before?'' They heard Cana ask.

''Natsu did go over the top but with the way things were, there wasn't much of a choice.'' Lucy explained, referring to the incident where she and her team had to go save Macao at Mount Hakobe.

''He doesn't mean it, he usually just vents a lot when he's drunk.'' Mira remarked.

''Still sounds like whining to me.''

'Are you really complaining? Wasn't that the reason you got him for some blackmail that one time?' Riku recalled. Cana merely smirked at the memory.

Makarov chuckled ''Oh yeah, I remember that. It must have been bad, Macao didn't drink for almost a week after that.''

''...Do I want to know?'' Lucy asked Mira quietly.

''She was getting him back after he screwed up and got her in trouble when they took a job together last time.''

''Oh.'' Well, she supposed that was all right. At least she had a reason...

''So how's the progress with those notes?'' Makarov asked Belle.

''We're doing good! Riku and I had a good handle on the spells he showed us so far.''

The man's face lit up as he smiled at the duo ''That's great news, I'm sure he'd be glad to hear it.''

''Yeah, you two work hard and it really shows.'' Mira beamed.

'Thanks.' Riku returned while Belle smiled brightly. 'We've gotten the basics down but we'd have to wait and see what he wants to do next.'

''I still don't get how you got him of all people to help your training.'' Elfman admitted. ''Actually, I can't even imagine how that training would go, since it's him and all...''

''He's not that bad...'' Belle started.

Riku nodded, noting Lucy's curious look he added 'We're talking about a friend, the one who's teaching us staff magic. He's...really kind of a recluse but over all, he's a good person. He helps with our training too, so Belle got the idea to ask about teaching and he said it was okay.'

''Ah, I see, that was nice of him.''

''Yeah, it took us by surprise too but he turned out to be a pretty nice for all that he kept away from everyone.'' Cana added. ''He's usually off to do this own thing but at least he's gotten a bit better about talking to the rest of us.''

''I remember when he used that sleep magic just to come in and pick up jobs.'' Elfman shook his head. Lucy raised an eye, thinking that seemed extreme. ''But somehow, those two actually got him to relax a little and actually talk to the rest of us. He'd be real Manly if he could just ease up.''

''...Somehow, that sounds rich coming from you.'' Gray deadpanned. ''But I see what you're getting at...''

''Well, baby steps, right?'' Mira smiled. ''Progress is progress, after all.''

''Absolutely.'' Makarov agreed. ''Just give the boy some space, he hasn't even told me everything but I'm sure he has his reasons for what he does.''

Later, Riku and Belle decided to head home. They wound up running into Natsu and Happy when they passed the market, with the latter having gotten a big fish.

''So...good...'' He sighed blissfully, blinking upon noticing them. ''...oh, hi guys! We were looking to get dinner.''

''I thought you'd just eat at the guild.'' Belle said.

''Well, I heard they got a new shipment of fish today so I wanted to give it a shot. Besides, something had to change.'' Happy added, leaving them curious. ''The last two times we ate at the guild, Natsu got my fish all burned up!''

Natsu frowned ''Are you still holding that over my head? I thought they'd be better cooked. Besides, the second time was an accident because that stupid Snowflake pissed me off!''

''It shouldn't have happened in the first place if you'd just control your fire!''

''...He does remember who he's talking to, right?'' Belle said to Riku while the two continued to argue before them. Natsu's lack of restraint was one of his most notorious traits after all.

Riku merely shook his head 'When they get like this, it's just best to leave them be and spare yourself the trouble.'

''True. How about we check if there's anything we need for home?''

And so the two went about picking up a few groceries, when they were done, they found that Natsu and Happy had caught up to them.

''So anyway, I never got around to asking, you two wanna go on a job together soon? It's been a while since the last time.'' Natsu said.

'Sure, why not?' Riku returned.

''Awesome!''

Happy was about to agree but then he happened to notice a few of the things in the bag Belle was holding ''...Fruits again? How do you not get tired of this stuff, especially when fish is so much better?''

The female cat groaned ''...I'm not doing this with you again. Drop it.''

Natsu and Riku exchanged dry looks.

''...How many times does this make now?''

'I lost count.'

Happy was crazy about fish while Belle liked fruits and for some reason, the former was determined to show the latter that she was missing out in his belief. It used to lead to an argument every now and then but now Belle just seemed to deem it better to tune him out, to general relief.

The two groups continued talking along the way until Riku and Belle approached the street leading to their home and bid their guild mates goodbye.

Riku found himself reflecting again, there were times when he'd never thought his life would turn out like this. That he'd be find friends, family and a home again. And while some of Fairy Tail's really did annoy him, the guild was still a place where he felt like he truly belonged. And he wouldn't change that for the world.

To clarify some stuff, Riku lost his voice because of an incident a few years back and it lead to changing a few things in the guild. I'm going to explain just what happened down the line. Also, as mentioned above he and Belle train hard and he knows more than Dragon Slayer magic. That started out because of a different reason but they're now making the most of their abilities. This one's also going to be revealed but it has to do with how Elfman's one of his usual training buddies.

Yup, they're friends with Mystogan. He's...well, I can't say relaxed but he's more open to everyone here thanks to Riku, Belle and Makarov. While they don't mind working with their guild mates in general, Mystogan became one of their usual partners, same goes for Erza.

How was it? Please tell me what you think.