Chapter 1: Black Sheep

*Before anyone starts reading this story, let me explain a few things. This is a story where the characters from Fairy Tail take the place of the characters in the Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei universe. If anyone hasn't heard of that series then I recommend checking it out. The two plots will be merged, with much of the Fairy Tail plot happening a bit in Natsu's early life and much more once high school starts.

The first chapter will be dictated by age and will depict the background and events that shaped Natsu into what he is, the rest of the story will occur normally.

Much more will be explained later on, in both the story and author's note's.

This story was inspired by fujin of shadows's story: "Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style" and I had gotten his permission about a month ago to write this story. The two stories may sound similar for the first few chapters, but that is because a large portion of the beginning contains a lot of the descriptions and explanations of modern magic, therefore it is based upon the light novel.

For those who do not know CAD= Cast Assisting Device, and they will be mentioned quite a bit throughout the story. Actually, any term you don't recognize, I would recommend looking up to understand the story better. Though I will try to explain mort of them in story.

This story will not be updated as quickly as my other one, it is only something that I was inspired by after reading fujin of shadows's story and re-reading the light novels.

I own neither Fairy Tail nor Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

Modern Age: Black Sheep

What purpose does my existence hold?

Was it good that I was born?

Would anybody shed a single tear if I were die at this moment?

These were the questions that had plagued my mind for the majority of my early life.

I had always considered my existence worthless.

I had always thought I was born into the wrong era...or perhaps maybe just the wrong clan...the wrong family.

I had always wanted a normal, peaceful life. I had always enjoyed the simple things in life, delicious food, a good laugh, a beautiful sunset, that sort of thing.

However, I was born into an era where peace was no longer a feasible option. The world had been militarized long ago, just after the end of the second world war. This was all made possible with the technological advancement of magic.

I was never one for conflict. My family thrived in the business of war, but they had never managed to instill those ideals in me. I had always been a peace seeker, a pacifist, I avoided fights, training, and conflict whenever I could. They considered me the failure in the clan. The black sheep.

This was all before I met her. That was before I had something to protect. That was before I understood that this world is built upon war and bloodshed. That was before I became one of the most dangerous magicians in the world.

This is my story. The story of a magician once known as Natsu Dragneel.

Age 6

In the current era of magic, age was considered relatively unimportant. It was not uncommon to see child soldiers wandering the battlefield and fighting in wars. That wasn't the current case for the Dragneel clan.

The only exception to this declaration was Ikaruga Dragneel.

Ikaruga Dragneel is a very unique being. She is the most talented magician of her era and the strongest magician that the Dragneel clan had produced since the clan head, Igneel Dragneel. She is currently fifteen-years old and is quite well known throughout the magical community. Some refer to her as a prodigy that hadn't been seen in generations. She was capable of casting multiple B-rank spells at the age of six. Others know her as one of the powerful child soldiers to every emerge from the battlefield.

She had first stepped foot into the war-zone at the tender age of six, and soon after rose to fame because of her beauty, power, and efficiency in combat. Much of Japan praises her for her efforts, but no matter what anyone says, a child is not meant for war. It doesn't matter how skilled they are.

After being exposed to war at such an early age, Ikaruga became a very stern, strict, and cold person. She rarely smiles anymore, but that is to be expected. Even after years of fighting on so many different battlefields, it will take a long time for a person to accept who they are and what they've done.

Natsu had always been quite close with Ikaruga. The entire clan sees her as an award, a trophy for their years of training her and a sign to their enemies and other clans of just how strong the Dragneel clan is. Their father could not care less about any of his children. He was civil with them most of the time, nothing more. Natsu's other twin sister see her as a rival and someone that she is constantly compared to. Their cousin is rather emotionless and does not exactly have an opinion of Ikaruga.

Natsu may be the only one in the clan who treats Ikaruga as a human being, and she adores him for that. He loved having Ikaruga as a sister, not because of her power or beauty, but because she was his sister and that was enough for him. He believed hat because they were siblings that they were guaranteed unconditional love, he couldn't have been more wrong.

Ikaruga may have been the eldest of the sisters, but that didn't mean that she was the only one.

Meredy was the Natsu's twin sister. They were always together, those two were the best of friends. Though, Meredy always had problems interacting with others, even those just outside of her immediate family she had trouble dealing with. She was a bit socially awkward and didn't quite know how to deal with people, but that mainly came from the clan sheltering and being overprotective of them for most of their short lives. Outside of the compound walls, neither of them had many friends.

She had a bit of an inferiority complex too. Many believed that it had come from always being compared to Ikaruga and being told that she wasn't good enough or not living up to her full potential. It didn't help that they looked quite similar. Though, Meredy was nowhere near the level that Ikaruga was at their age, and that is what led her to always feeling inferior.

Natsu is the youngest and the only boy of the Dragneel siblings. Because he is the only boy in most cases he would be on the fast track to becoming the next clan heir, however Natsu is far from being the ideal member of the Dragneel clan.

He was the black sheep of the family. He did not fight, he never liked to fight.

It wasn't that he couldn't fight, he could be as dangerous as any member of the clan if he wanted to. Natsu had discovered a portion of the magic he could use early on, he was something of a born specialist.

However, even in this day and age of magic, his magic was something that was unheard of. He made the decision not to tell the clan because he knew that they weren't above performing experiments on him just to get their hands on it.

Natsu had always been a kind child, that is why he didn't fight. Of course nobody knew it, but he was a prodigy in his own right maybe even surpassing the limits of his sisters. He was observant from a very early age and could already think like an emperor, knowing every in and out of how their clan operated, that's why he could say he hated them. He knew of the clan elder's dealings under the table and what kind of man his father truly was, he knew all of the Dragneel's dirty little secrets. This is why he couldn't stand the idea of clans.

Because of his refusal to fight, the clan elders tried to disown and remove him from the clan at a very early age. They were only prevented by his grandfather Igneel, because he hated how the clan was and desperately wanted for them to treat each other like a real family would.

It was a fool's dream. The Dragneel clan was a clan made up of soldiers and magicians who had gained power and influence during the third world war. They could never possibly accept someone who didn't want to fight. There was no purpose for those who couldn't fight. Love and family meant nothing to them. All they valued was power. They would do everything and anything to benefit the clan. All is for the clan, that is their mantra. Even his family's.

Natsu could never stand their way of thinking. He would never blindly follow the ideals of a corrupt clan who would sooner throw him to the wolves than treat him like family. Natsu could always see the big picture. They were nothing more than puppets at the clan's disposal, to use and throw away whenever it was convenient for them.

It was because of this that Natsu had always tried his hardest to distance himself from the clan. But sometimes he still wondered if it would ever be possible for him and his sisters to act like the family that he had always wanted.

The rest of his family was a bit more complicated.

The clan was one of the greatest military assets that Japan ever had at their disposal, only to be matched by a handful of the other prominent clans within the country. The Dragneel clan was led by Igneel Dragneel. He was one of the strongest magicians that Japan had ever seen, in fact, had he not been associated with a clan then he would have been offered a position as one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Even in his advanced age.

Natsu's cousin may not have been immediate family but with how things have been progressing within the clan, he found comfort in her presence. Virgo Dragneel may not have been the same kind of prodigy that her cousin was, but she was a competent mage in her own right. Natsu found her to be a bit of comedic relief compared to the rest of the pretentious clan. She always was asking to be punished whether or not what she did was unacceptable or not, he found her to be a bit of a masochist. She was usually stoic and stiff, but Natsu enjoyed her presence.

The less said about Loke Dragneel, the better. Loke Dragneel is the son of Igneel Dragneel and the father of Ikaruga, Meredy, and Natsu. His wife died during the birth of the twins due to the physical weakening of her body that had been accumulating over the years. He was a businessman and a politician. He was a powerful magician, but nowhere near the caliber of the other's in the Dragneel clan. What he lacked in strength, he made up for with his ability to manipulate anyone through words alone.

Natsu never liked his father, in fact he outright hated the man. As stated before, Natsu knew all of the Dragneel clan's darkest secrets. And his father had many. What he hated the most about his father was the fact that Loke had constantly cheated on their mother. Natsu didn't care that he had never met her before, he loved her just for giving birth to him and his sisters. Natsu had found countless records of his father's adultery. He even found records that stated that the man had an illegitimate child, though it didn't state any specific names.

What bothered Natsu the most was the fact that his father knew he had another child, but didn't take responsibility for his actions. While Natsu did know that it would have repercussions for the clan, those who didn't care for their family were nothing more than trash in his eyes. Loke Dragneel was a man who cared more about his own status than his own family, that much was certain.

Natsu began to wonder how long it would be before he was forced to bare his fangs. He knew that once he drew upon his magic, there would be no going back. He feared what he could become if he mastered his magic, the possibilities were endless.

Age 7

Natsu was no fool. He knew that the day would come when he would have embrace what he was capable of. He had just never thought that it would come so soon. Today was the day that his life would really begin.

What had forced him to show his hand was a girl.

A young blonde girl by the name of Mavis.

Natsu had easily evaded the bodyguards that his grandfather always sent to follow him when he left the clan compound. He had easily eluded his personal guard before even leaving Tokyo. Natsu never liked the city of Tokyo, it was far too crowded and busy for his tastes. He preferred the calm and relaxing atmosphere of Hargeon Town, just south of Tokyo.

He loved visiting the marina and taking in the ocean breeze and the beautiful sunset.

As he felt the ocean breeze on his face he began to think back to the events that had occurred throughout the last year. He cringed slightly as how bad his relationship with his clan was getting. Natsu honestly couldn't possibly understand how they were related. Nobody would ever even consider Natsu being a Dragneel until they saw his proficiency with magic, even though they could easily spot the trademark pink hair.

Over the course of the past year, Natsu had begun training in a temple in Tokyo. It was in this temple that he was being trained in ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu, fuinjutsu, and many other ancient magics and arts that didn't require a high proficiency in magic to preform. The man in charge of the temple was none other than Mystogan, the foremost authority on ancient magic in Japan and a self-proclaimed shinobi.

Natsu had chosen to take this path on his own. His family had no idea that he had started any kind of training, he had refused the clan's offer years ago after all. That was another thing, his family didn't really care or even notice that he was gone for the day or even weeks at a time. All resources had been focused on Meredy to shape her into the magician that she was meant to be. Natsu had all been but forgotten over the course of the past year, and that fact really hurt him.

Ikaruga constantly had her military duties to attend to, Meredy was both so wrapped up in her training that they didn't have time to spend with him, and Virgo was also forced into increasing the amount of time training. Natsu was beginning to realize how lonely the path that he chose truly was.

He always found comfort in the sunset in Hargeon, it reminded him that no matter how bad things were right now, tomorrow was always another day with new opportunities ahead.

However, Natsu wasn't currently able to peacefully watch the sunset as the cries of a terrified child filled his ears. He looked over to the dock and noticed a beautiful young girl being dragged to a large ship by two men. She was slightly bleeding and her dress was torn in several places, obvious signs of a struggle.

Natsu frowned at this and decided to intervene. He was quite upset that the only place that he could find comfort was defiled by the presence of slave traders and needed to take it out on something, or rather someone in this case. There's also the fact that he had to save this girl.

Natsu quickly analyzed his surroundings by listening to the electrical sound waves that transversed the air to give him radar like abilities. He immediately concluded that there were only those two slave traders on the docks and the little girl trying to struggle out of their grasp. There was nobody on board the ship, which made Naruto realize that they were targeting this girl specifically.

He recognized one of the two men on the dock, Bora of Prominence, a well known magician who specializes in fire magic. With the end of World War Three, there were many criminals to be captured therefore any person familiar with the magic community will be well versed with the magicians who have rather large bounties on their heads. Bora of Prominence was one of the most well know slave traders throughout Asia. Natsu would be sure to deal with this man appropriately.

With all of Natsu's training in ninjutsu and taijutsu, speed was no longer an issue for him. He was very fast, even without magic. He quickly blurred out of sight and reappeared right before the two slave traders, surprising them in the process.

Before they could even react to his presence, Natsu reached both his arms back and activated his magic. "[All-Killing Ash Lance]" Natsu whispered as he gathered crimson flames within the palms of his hands and hurled them at the two men, after taking the forms of two long lances. The men couldn't even move a muscle before a lance made of fire impaled them each through the chest.

They screamed in utter agony as the lances began to deteriorate their bodies on a molecular level, rotting them and turning them into nothing more than a pile of ash. The screams soon ceased and the ashes that remained of them were blown away by the wind.

There was a reason that Natsu's practical magic ability was so low, he specialized in a single type of magic. He wasn't like the rest of the born specialists either, he was a superpower. A magician who didn't need any additional activation steps beyond thoughts and willing the magic itself. It was because of this that his already low ability with generic magic was deteriorating even more, he supposed it was a fair trade. He really was the black sheep.

Natsu looked down at the girl, who had her eyes tightly closed shut from fear from what was going to happen. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She looked only a few months younger than him, but she had a petite build, long wavy pale blonde hair, and pupil-less green eyes. At least from what he had seen of her so far.

"You can open your eyes now little girl." Natsu told the girl rather emotionlessly. From years of feeling unwanted and unloved, Natsu had slowly been stripped of his emotions. He had always desired love, whether it was familial or romantic didn't matter, but he had lost the ability to love a long time ago. It was ironic really. He chose the path of peace and love, and yet he is stripped of the only things that he desired in this world.

She let out a cute "eep" at his sudden voice, but she opened her eyes a moment later and was greeted with the sight before her. The two men who were dragging her were gone and a boy not much older than her was standing before her with an outstretched hand. He had mesmerizing rose-colored hair and piercing onyx eyes. She gladly took his hand as he helped her up.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. He noted that she was quite short, even for a seven year-old.

The young girl in front of him could only nod. "My name is Mavis...who are you?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"Mavis huh?...My name is Natsu Dragneel." The girl's eyes widened as if she had heard that name before. She immediately clung onto him for a reason that Natsu couldn't figure out, not matter how hard he thought about it.

"Thank you...thank you for saving me Natsu-san!" A soft melodic voice sounded wearily into Natsu's chest.

For some unknown reason, the girl refused to let go of the embrace, let alone leave his side.

Natsu could only sigh after realizing what he got himself into.

He was taken out of his musings a moment later when he heard a giggle behind him. When the rose-haired boy turned around, what he saw surprised him. Standing there in the moonlight was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and familiar pupil-less green eyes. Natsu had figured that Mavis was an orphan because of the way she was dressed and how nobody else was chasing after those men.

What Natsu took notice of was that she looked a bit sickly. She was doing her best to hide it, but it was obvious to a person like Natsu that she shouldn't even be out of bed or the hospital.

"What an adorable scene I've walked in on." The woman cooed teasingly. She tried to come off as a strong motherly tone, but if one paid enough attention then they would hear her words faltering with every phrase.

"Okaa-sama!" Mavis yelled as she leaped out of Natsu's arms and into the woman's, almost knocking her over.

Natsu watched the scene before him with a small smile on his face. This is what a family was supposed to look like. He wished that he could have something like that.

What he found strange though was that their auras almost mirrored each other, but yet, Mavis' aura felt so familiar to him. So much like his own.

Before he could analyze the girl before him any further, Mavis' mother spoke up.

"Thank you for helping my daughter..." The woman spoke to Natsu as she held her sleeping daughter in her arms. "...son of Loke."

Natsu's eyes widened slightly at her words as he turned around to ask what she meant, only to find her gone.

Could that girl have been...?

After that first encounter with Mavis and her mother, encountering them in Hargeon Town became something of a common occurrence for Natsu. After their first few chance meetings, they became quite close and now Natsu even came to Hargeon every other day to come and visit her. And she would be waiting for him.

Natsu was quite happy with their arrangement. It was odd, he hadn't felt happy in a long time. In fact he had thought that he was no longer capable of emotion, or perhaps that was just love. Whatever the case, Natsu could feel a piece of his broken heart being put back into place every time he came to see Mavis.

He preferred spending time with her as opposed to his sisters. They would always just brush him off or treat him as if his feelings didn't matter to them. Natsu began to ponder the relationships that he had with his siblings as a result.

Ikaruga and Natsu didn't have the same relationship that they once had. She was hardly ever around the compound anymore because of her duties with the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion and due to that, her and Natsu had barely spent any time together as a result. Another problem that Natsu had with her was that he knew that she was completely loyal to the clan.

Her faith in them would never waver and whatever they said was absolute. She wouldn't dare to disobey a single order or speak out a single time against them. Those old bags of flesh that were the clan elders were who she had given her entire life for and would continue to do so. It sickened Natsu and his respect for her had dropped considerably after seeing how she interacted with the elders.

What did hurt him was his relationship with his elder twin sister. Their relationship was slowly deteriorating with the amount of time she put into her studies and training. They had maybe spoken a handful of times together during the past year, the Dragneel clan took the training of young prodigies quite seriously. What was worse was that she was slowly but surely buying into the clan ideals, she had even begun to see him as pathetic and weak for not accepting his heritage and his birthright of magic.

All this was too much for Natsu to handle at home, so he began to spend more and more time with Mavis. He could honestly say that he adored this girl. She was only a few months younger than him yet she was so cheerful and childish. He had never interacted with a person like her before, at the clan compound everyone was so serious all the time, so it was a breath of fresh air for Natsu.

Though with all of the time that he spent with his new best friend, his suspicions were confirmed. The girl that he had grown so fond of was his little sister, the very sister that his father had refused to take responsibility for and abandoned.

Natsu didn't know what to think of this development. It didn't really change anything about his relationship with Mavis, she was his sister, but after so many years of neglect and abandonment by his own family, he didn't know how a real family interacted. Though he did hate his father even more now. Mavis was so pure and innocent, she was the perfect child and yet Loke had just thrown her away as if she was nothing more than trash.

He also made another discovery. The woman that his father had an affair with was none other than Layla Heartfilia, the wife of Jude Heartfilia and the head of the Heartfilia Konzern which was the biggest weapons manufacturing company in all of Japan. She was divorced and removed from the family due to the affair, the ladt time that she was ever seen was when she left the estate of the Heartfilia family while still pregnant.

Natsu wouldn't say anything about his relation to the two of them, at least not until they brought it up first. He was sure that Layla knew of their connection to one another, but he was still unsure about Mavis.

He would ponder the thought another time, for now he would just enjoy their company.

Age 8

"So you new all along Natsu-kun?...I suspected as much..." Layla said softly as she lay in her hospital bed, with Mavis clinging onto her tightly.

Her time was up. It had been a year since they had first met...and this would be the last time. Layla laid there on the hospital bed as she began the last conversation she would ever have in her life.

She had been diagnosed with the disease just over a year ago, only months before they had met in fact. Even with the advanced medical equipment and technology that every hospital is equipped with, not a single doctor she had seen had been able to come up with a cure. They couldn't even figure out what exactly was going on with her body. She was suffering from a syndrome that kills a magician from the inside by slowly causing their magic to collapse inwardly. For such a thing to happen was a one in a trillion possibility. Layla had some damn bad luck.

Layla was told that she would die today and should say her goodbyes to her family. She wasn't even supposed to last a week after being diagnosed, but had lasted over a year with pure willpower alone. She was quite a woman.

After complex research being done on her body over such a long period of time they had managed to create an anti-body for the disease using Layla's DNA, but since it was using her as a base it wouldn't be able to cure her. Only the next person who contracts it.

"I've had my suspicions since the first time we met and came to that very same conclusion not long after...you know...you were like the mother I never had." Natsu whispered solemnly. Over the course of the year, Natsu and Layla had grown quite close. She had given him the love that he had always desired even when his own family wouldn't. She was his family. Her and Mavis were his everything, his world.

Many would consider the entire situation the result of a single sin. Layla's affair with Loke was the beginning. Layla's pregnancy and Mavis' birth would be the next sin. And now her suffering was her punishment.

Natsu refused to think this way. The act may have been a sin, but their lives would never be.

Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes and flow freely down her face. "I-I.., never thought I would hear... those words coming from you...I thought that you would hate me and... never want anything to do with me once you found out...if that really happened it would've broken my heart."

It was true that Natsu hated his father with a passion, but he could never even think of hurting Layla. He loved his real mother dearly, but this was the woman who was always there for him when nobody else was. She was one of the few people to show that his life had meant something. To him, she was irreplaceable.

"I could never hurt my Kaa-chan...or my precious imouto..." Now both Layla and Mavis were freely sobbing. This had been the first time that he had called Layla his mother and Mavis his sister. For someone who had been closed of to love his whole life, him saying these words so tenderly was more than they could currently handle.

"Okaa-sama! Please don't leave us!" Mavis cried hysterically, her eyes pleading towards her mother. "We can finally be a real family...Onii-san can stay with us and we can have the family that we never had with the Heartfilias!"

Layla stroked her daughters hair affectionately, weakly but affectionately nonetheless. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably, she was getting weaker by the minute. She would be leaving this world soon, there was no way around that.

"Don't cry for me sweetheart...I've lived a good happy life... You were the best thing that ever happened to me, dear. You and Natsu-kun both...you two were the children I had always wanted...you gave me the one desire I always wanted...a family..." Layla told her daughter weakly.

Natsu clenched his hands into a fist, trying to draw blood but the wounds were instantly regenerated by blue flames. He was doing whatever he could to hold back his tears. He couldn't let Layla or Mavis see him crying, he needed to be strong for them. Especially now.

Layla held onto her daughter as tightly as she could at the moment before looking up at Natsu. "Natsu-kun...can I trust you to take care of her?...she doesn't have anyone else to turn to..."

"Of course...she's my imouto after all...my clan and your family may abandon their family the first chance they get, but I don't...I will protect Mavis until the day I die and even after then...I will never abandon my family." Natsu stated firmly. He would not turn out like his father or the rest of his clan. Family was one of the only things he still valued in life...and Mavis was now the only family he had left. And He was the only family that she would have soon enough.

The Heartfilia family would never acknowledge Mavis as a part of their family. It would mean acknowledging another heir to their company and their fortune. The Heartfilia family already had a single heiress and that was Lucy Heartfilia, the daughter of Jude Heartfilia and his first wife.

The man had a previous wife before he was married with Layla. Sadly, she died of disease several years after she gave birth to Lucy. Jude had been deeply in love with her and never really got over her death, he only remarried for political reasons. Natsu hated politicians. Because of the circumstances of their marriage Layla never received any love or attention from her husband, which drove her to find love elsewhere resulting in her affair with Loke Dragneel.

The Heartfilia family would never want anything to do with Mavis, therefore they were out of the question.

The Dragneel clan was one of the most prestigious clans in all of Japan. Admitting that the son of the clan head had an affair with a woman from another family would bring great shame and dishonor to the clan, and the clan elders would not accept that. All of their lives were devoted to the clan after all.

Not that Natsu would ever let Mavis near that clan. Hell, Natsu was a member and he didn't even want to be near that clan. He would not have Mavis turn into one of their puppets like Ikaruga or any of his other siblings. He would not force her into a clan in which her own father would never accept responsibility for her. To Natsu, the Dragneel clan was the scum of the earth.

That left him. He would be the one to have to take responsibility for the sins of his father, not that he would ever see Mavis as a sin. The act that made her may have been a sin to some, but her life was a gift from an angel. She was his little sister, and he would treat her as such. She was the one who brought back his emotions...his ability to love. For that he was forever grateful.

"Okaa-sama!" Mavis cried even harder, sensing that her mother's time was almost up.

"Please listen to me Mavis...my time is almost up." Layla spoke softly. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was never the perfect mother...I tried my hardest but I know that you deserve better than me, perhaps Natsu-kun will be able to give that to you...I'm sorry that I couldn't give you the life that you deserve. You're an angel, my darling, and you deserve to be treated like one. But most of all, I'm sorry for never telling you the truth about your relationship to Natsu-kun...I hope that you'll be able to forgive me."

Mavis clung onto her mother tighter, as if to never let her leave her small arms.

"Mavis...Natsu..." She called out one last time. "I once had a dream. In that dream we were all a family...a real family, blood-related and all...we were all so happy...if I sleep right now, do you think I would have the same dream?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

Natsu did his best to hold back his tears, but it wasn't enough. "Rest Kaa-chan...you've fought so hard this past year...you have suffered enough, now it is time for you to sleep." Natsu answered between tears.

Layla smiled at his words before her eyelids became heavy and she closed them for the final time.

It was time for her long deserved rest.

"These are some pretty deep issues you got yourself involved in. Trouble always did have its way of finding you Natsu." A man with azure hair and a red tattoo over his right eye in his late twenties commented to his student.

After the events that had transpired the previous day, Natsu needed to bring Mavis to a place where he knew nobody would ever find her. The temple where he learned ancient magic at would do well enough for the time being.

"Will you be able to hide her here for the time being?" Natsu asked his sensei. "I will only need you to care for her until I make arrangements for a permanent home. It should take me two months at the most.

"How exactly will you provide for her?" Mystogan asked seriously. "You may be a member of the Dragneel clan, but you won't be able to use their funds without them noticing."

Natsu pulled a thick book from the inside of his coat and placed it on the table between them.

"The advantage of having a family who doesn't give a damn about your existence. I could disappear for over a month and they still wouldn't realize I'm missing." Natsu said with a sad smile on his face.

Mystogan glanced at the book on the table and let out a small sigh. "You do know what you're doing right? By taking care of this child you'll be going against your clan and the Heartfilia family if they find out. They will do whatever they can to get rid of her for good."

"She's my little sister. She's all that I have left in this world, I'm not letting her die just yet...besides, I'm all that she has left."

"Are you willing to abandon everything that you believe in to care for your sister?" Mystogan asked, curious as to whether or not his student would be able to follow through with his promises.

"My magic is one that was always meant to kill...I was only putting off the inevitable. And I will always hold onto the one belief that I've had throughout my life... I don't abandon family...and she's the only family that I have left."

Age 9

Why is it that all of the bounties that he had to hunt for were weak businessmen or politicians. Natsu hadn't had a good fight in ages, something he had been craving for a long time now. In his year-long career as a bounty hunter, there have only been a handful of mages who had really given him a challenge. This was a sad fact because Natsu was nowhere near close to mastering his magic.

Ha had still yet to understand why he possessed his particular magic. He had come to an assumption of what its potential could be, but he had yet to understand the depths of his magic and why some kind of primal instincts were brought brought out in the heat of those intense battles.

He had grown far more skilled in using his fire. It puzzled Natsu as to why he had been born with the exact magic that he had. Most magic is inherited by genetics, and not a single member of the Dragneel clan uses fire based magic besides his grandfather, Igneel.

Not even Igneel had the ability to use the same magic as him or anything remotely close to it though. Many of the members of his clan had an innate form of magic that they specialized in, such as Meredy's [Maguilty Sense] or Ikaruga's [Senbonzakura]. Natsu was the only magician in the long history of the Dragneel clan to possess a superpower. Not even a born specialist had ever been born into the clan before.

Natsu had finally been able to experiment with the capabilities with his superpower as well, and when he did the maps had to be redrawn. His abilities were far more than just being able to produce and control fire. Needless to say, he had to train that magic a lot so he wouldn't wind up collapsing an entire mountain again. Natsu named the magic [Calamity] as with it he was essentially able to control and generate natural occurring elements and create natural disasters.

He would ponder that thought later as it appeared that his bounty had stopped running from him.

His opponents were two former soldiers and a politician wanted for his crimes during World War Three. The two soldiers had become know as the Vanish Brothers for their skill in teamwork, though there magic abilities were next to none. The both had bounties of 50,000 yen and the man that they were protecting had a bounty of 100,000 yen.

Because of World War Three, international relations had fallen apart. Each country was lucky to have a handful of allies now. The international monetary system had been abolished and a new one took its place. There was no worldwide agreement anymore, instead the relatively new system was a continental agreement.

The largest currency in Asia was the Japanese yen. All of Asia had adopted the Japanese monetary system because of how powerful the country's military is and how well developed their economy is.

The bounties that Natsu was currently hunting were considered fairly large sums of money in today's day and age.

The two men charged at Natsu, thinking that because of their superior physical strength and experience they would easily overwhelm him. They couldn't have been more wrong.

"[Piercing Lance]" Natsu whispered before bringing his arms out to his sides and gathering crimson flames in the palms of his hands. His magic invocation speed was near instantaneous. The flames took the shape of two long lances as he hurled them at his targets, piercing their hearts and burning their insides in the process. The two men were dead before they his the ground.

This spell was a variation of Natsu's [All-Killing Ash Lance]. He had realized early on in his days as a bounty hunter that he couldn't turn his targets in for a bounty if they were nothing more than a pile of ash. That experience resulted in the development of this spell. It was very much the same spell, however it only pierced its targets and burned the innards surrounding the lance. It wouldn't completely deteriorate their bodies.

That was two down, now for the third.

Natsu slowly stalked past the lifeless bodies of the two brothers before coming face to face with the terrified form of politician who had fallen on his ass and was now crawling towards an abandoned building.

"[Chidori: Eisō]" Lightning sparked to life around Natsu's hand. As he thrust his hand forward, the magic shaped into a long blade and pierced his target in between the eyes, pinning him to the building wall.

Natsu released his technique and created a net out of lightning to ensnare his now deceased targets and drag them to the nearest government office to receive his pay.

To support Mavis and his plans for the future, Natsu had become a bounty hunter just after Layla's death. That memory still brought a pain to his chest, but he pushed it aside knowing that she was in a better place now.

He had made enough money over the past year to support the two of them for a long time, but that wasn't enough. At least not yet. If the Dragneel and Heartfilia clans found about about Mavis before the were both old enough to take on whatever the clans sent their way, then they would need several contingency plans.

Natsu needed to prepare for what he knew would happen eventually. Not to mention that he rather enjoyed bounty hunting. Natsu had travelled all over the world to pursuit his targets and he had been through much during this past year. He had seen much of what the world was truly like and he now cursed his former ideal of wanting peace and normality.

In a world like their such a thing was impossible.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about losing his source of income. Asia had been at war with each other for almost twenty years now. The aftermath of World War Three wasn't what anyone had desired. After one war ended, another one started. It wasn't strange to find child soldiers wandering the battlefields or hunting for bounties.

Actually as far as child soldiers were concerned, Natsu was actually pretty old. Ikaruga had first stepped foot on the battlefield when she was six, Natsu was now nine. She had him beat by over two years. It appears that he would always be in the shadow of his sister, even on the battlefield.

One factor that Natsu was relieved about was that nobody from the Dragneel clan knew he was out there doing this. His father had never cared about any of his children so why start now, Ikaruga was still sent out to war with the 101st Independent Magic Equipped Battalion, and Meredy had gotten quite close to the children of the Strauss clan. They had been allies of the Dragneel clan since the end of World War Two.

The only one who concerned him was his grandfather. Igneel had always showed that he was displeased with how the clan elders treated the other members of the clan. He was also one of the only people who had paid any attention to Natsu, still he wouldn't put it past the old man to try something against Mavis.

Natsu noticed his grandfather looking at him suspiciously recently, he always pretended not to notice but he took note of it. He knew that Igneel wouldn't confront him about it. He would wait for Natsu to make his move.

He wanted to get home to Mavis.

She had been depressed for a few weeks after her mother's death, but she slowly began to return to her usual self after seeing how hard Natsu was working to make her happy. She had unrivaled talents in magic that not even Ikaruga could come close to. If she devoted herself to her training and studies then she could become one of the strongest mages in the country. With the people who would be after her, she would need to be.

One problem though is her control. She has so much magical power and psions constantly emitted from her that it is hard to control her magic. Until she gains enough control and experience, she won't be able to use her magic effectively. That would come in time though.

Natsu had been away from home for just over a month now. Fortunately the clan still expected nothing from him because of his low magic skills, therefore they concentrated all of their resources on Cosmos. Natsu couldn't help but chuckle at that. She was currently at the level that Ikaruga was at when she was four. But the clan was still hopeful that she would turn into a superior magician one day.

Because of this, Natsu could freely move around the continent without having to worry about someone realizing he was missing. If they hadn't been able to figure out that he spends about two days a week at the compound so far, then they wouldn't even know if he left the country. As a result, Natsu became a successful and infamous bounty hunter all throughout Asia over the course of a single year.

Even bounty hunters received bounties, it was kind of ironic. The last time Natsu checked, he had 400,000 yen on his head. A sign of how many bounties he's captured over the last year.

Due to his fame as one of the strongest child soldiers to ever emerge on the battlefield, Natsu was commonly called Havoc by those he ran into to the point where it became something of a codename for him. He supposed that it was because his [Calamity] spells caused such widespread destruction. He could get used to that name.

His attire consisted of a black, bullet-proof overcoat that reached down to his knees. Underneath was a skin-tight black short-sleeved shirt, black pants, and black combat boots. Along with his outfit, he wore a white porcelain mask with a purple lightning bolt painted over the eye and a red mouth.

The mask itself is a cad that casts a small illusion over the user. Engraving magic was used to create it and therefore magic can be stored in it, the same way that Mystogan stored magic in his staves, so that even a person with low magic ability could activate it.

The mask merely turned Natsu's hair black and distorted his voice when he wore it. On his hips were the holsters for two knives. The knives that he carried on him were dual bladed with a space in between the blades for combat against swords, and had an odd shaped hilt. One couldn't always rely on magic, he found that out the hard way.

He had always preferred hand to hand combat along with bladed combat as opposed to relying solely on magic. He found that most magicians were easily overwhelmed in close quarters fights because they had neglected their physical training in favor of magic training.

It was rare to find criminals with large bounties inside Japan, so he usually did his hunting abroad. He did most of his hunts in Asia, and there was only one issue with that, Asia is a war-zone right now and it has been ever since World War Three ended. Natsu had gotten drawn into their war on more than one occasion, he still had the scars to prove it.

Right now he was in Edolas, just north of Bangkok and one of the largest cities in the world.

Edolas, the most lawless city in all of Asia, and that was saying something. It was basically the home of most of the bounty heads, military deserters, slave traffickers, and whatever other criminals there were out there. The place was a worse warzone than the actual battlefields in Asia. Natsu had been here so many times that it felt like his second home.

Natsu had always been a patriot, so after seeing how corrupt the world really was, even Japan, he took it upon himself to eliminate several of the corrupt politicians that he didn't particularly like. They were involved in things like prostitution rings, slavery, the possession of sorcery boosters, and so on. But he mainly killed them because he didn't like them, he was doing Japan a favor after all. Because of this, he's known as a notorious criminal in his own home country.

They even sent some of their best magicians after him to prove a point, namely Ikaruga and the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. At least they were spending more time together now, though she had no idea of course. It says something about a family when you have to become an international criminal to have some quality family time.

"I must be cursed..." Natsu said to himself as he stood face to face with Ikaruga and several other members of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion in downtown Edolas. He had just gotten out of the government office and received the bounty from his most recent hunt and out of every single person in the world, he came face to face, well face to mask, with his older sister.

Apparently their entire battalion were temporarily in Edolas for resupply before heading back to the battlefield. God knows they could be doing better things than chasing after him. Natsu stared at her for a few moments before he booked it, with her right on his tail, sword drawn.

One unique thing about Ikaruga was that her sword, Mugetsu-Ryu, acted as her CAD. She normally wielded her innate magic [Senbonzakura] with her [Sword Magic] as support. Though she knew many varieties of magic, these two were her favorite and he knew just how to combat them.

"I will be the one to judge you for your crimes against Japan! You may have been on the run for as long as you have liked, but you will face your sins here and now!" Ikaruga shouted as she sent several arcs of razor sharp cherry blossoms at Natsu just by swinging her sword.

The streets had long since cleared with all of the killing intent that had flooded the area. Natsu swiftly dodged each wave of cherry blossoms as he quickly maneuvered his way through the narrow streets and alleys out of the city.

"I did all of that over a year ago and you're still after me for it?" Natsu yelled as they were now in a wide open area. "Don't you have something better to do than chase a lone bounty hunter, like I don't know, maybe fight a war?" Natsu suggested as he jumped high into the air to avoid a tsunami of cherry blossoms.

That was a mistake as Ikaruga activated her [Sword Magic] and sent a large crescent wave of magic at him. Natsu took this as his opportunity to get the hell out of the area by turning his body into lightning and seemingly teleporting away in a flash of lightning.

That was one of the perks about [Calamity]. With his control over lightning, it had actually become one of his two preferred elements, he could instantly turn his body into the element and transverse vast distances by moving at high speeds. When he uses this particular application, it appears as if he used a spell to instantly teleport himself away.

Ikaruga cursed to herself after witnessing the boy she had been pursuing for over a year now escape. One day she would catch him and see who was under that mask.

Age 10

Natsu couldn't help but see the irony in the situation. He was chained to a wall alongside his twin sister Meredy, Lisanna Strauss, and Elfman Strauss. Natsu had been a bounty hunter for over two years, killed thousands of people, entered a war-zone of his own free will several times per week, and so much more. And yet, he is 'kidnapped' on one of the few days he is in his own country.

"You know this really isn't so bad...much better than going to that boring elementary school...I really did expect worse to happen from being kidnapped." Natsu stated. They had been kidnapped while they were on their way to school. One of the few days of the week that Natsu actually went to school and the first time he had ever walked with his sister and the Strauss siblings.

He didn't really like the Strauss children very much. The eldest daughter, Mirajane, he got along well enough with and the youngest daughter, Yukino, was good company. But Natsu found the middle two a bit...overbearing. Lisanna was kind of snobby and just annoying in general, she was your typical princess character. And Elfman had this weird obsession about being a man.

This would be a long day. Natsu could get them all out of there right now, but that would mean having to show his prowess with magic to them and that would cause more trouble than it was worth.

"This isn't a joke Natsu." Meredy snapped as she tried to loosen her shackles."

"Will you two stop arguing for just a few minutes." Lisanna asked them sternly. "They can't do anything to us anyway, our clans would make sure they wouldn't harm us in any way. They need us unharmed is they want a ransom anyway."

Natsu could only roll his eyes at her usual attitude. She didn't quite understand that they didn't really have any rights at the moment and kidnappers generally didn't follow the law.

"Everyone relax. I'm a man and therefore I will get us out of here! What we need to do..." Elfman tried to say before he was cut off.

"What you need to do is shut up..." Natsu was tired of these idiots and their holier than thou attitudes. "Just sit there and wait there to be rescued like a good prisoner would."

"Stop insulting Onii-chan..." Lisanna snapped at Natsu, she continued to scold him for the next few minutes but he wasn't listening. He was listening to the electrical sound waves in the air.

Using his radar-like magical ability, he analyzed his surroundings and found the bioelectrical signals of about forty people. Most notable though was a signature that he recognized quite well.

Jose Porla, a man who he was formerly a member of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion and quite well acquainted with Ikaruga. It seemed that he had finally turned against the government and was proving his strength by waging war with the Dragneel and Strauss clans. He had always been a fool and his current actions didn't surprise Natsu, but he was always too arrogant for his own good. Natsu may not have liked either of the two clans, but they were stronger than the man could handle.

Natsu should have ended this man long ago, the only reason that he was still alive because he was a member of Japan's military. He always had a dark aura around him, Natsu believed that he had been secretly using sorcery boosters, a means to boost your own magic by using induction stones made from the neurons of living creatures. Such a thing was banned all throughout Japan because of the ethical issues that come with their use. Without the sorcery boosters, Jose was no better than an average mage.

He had heard rumors that a member of Japan's elite forces had turned against the country and formed the organization know as Phantom Lord, but Natsu hadn't paid any attention to it until now.

Natsu broke himself from his thoughts, only to hear that Lisanna was still yelling at him.

"Hey princess, why don't you take a breather for a while and pay attention to the current situation." Lisanna stopped her rant to give him a glare. "Good...now do any of you have your CADs on you?" He received a negative shake of the head from all of them. "Then we don't have a choice but to wait."

"Stop acting like a coward Natsu! Act like a man!" Kami, this muscle-bound idiot was really starting to try his patience.

"Why don't you take a look at the situation. All four of us are chained to a wall, none of you have your CADs, there are about forty people in this compound who are waiting for our clans to contact them. We don't really have a choice but to wait."

"Why do you seem to think that the clan is searching for us right now? We're supposed to be at school!" Meredy all but yelled at Natsu.

He could only sigh. You would think that a clan heiress would know these things.

"If none of you know this, it is clan law to place transmitters into the CADs of prominent clan children...I know for a fact that the Dragneel clan has them in your CAD, Meredy. If the transmitter is taken out of a one-hundred yard radius of you or is off your person for over an hour than said clan is notified immediately." Natsu stated to the three obviously unaware mages. "It has been over an hour, so they should track us down pretty soon."

Though it seemed as if luck wasn't on their side today. The door to the room was slowly opened and four men walked in. Natsu watched them free Meredy, Lisanna, and Elfman from there shackles and lead them out of the room. The one holding the handgun that Natsu usually keep on him stayed behind.

Natsu looked up as he saw the man pointing the gun right at his head.

"Any last words?" The man asked mockingly.

Natsu smirked a little. "Yeah a few. Enjoy your last few moments alive because I'll be killing everyone in this compound."

After those words were spoken the man fired a bullet that was meant to pierce Natsu's skull, but before they could even reach his skin, incredible powerful vibrations were sent through the air, shattering the bullets completely. The man didn't even have time to react as Natsu quickly expelled vibrations from every part of his body, shattering his chains immediately.

Faster than the man could follow, Natsu dropped to the ground and sliced off his head with a mere swipe of his hand by creating a highly pressurized blade of wind. Natsu cracked his neck and rubbed his wrists where the skin had become raw, the position he was chained in was rather uncomfortable.

He picked up his handgun and activated the engraving magic that it was made with, aligning it to his magic. The gun was given to him by Mystogan-sensei and was meant to fire highly compressed bullets made of his flames. It was quite a useful sidearm for purposes such as this when it would be beneficial not to reveal his magic.

Natsu walked out of the room and began firing upon each and every person he saw. He was simultaneously listening to the electrical sound waves to find out where his next victims would come from and where they had taken his companions. He finally found them as he fired another super-heated bullet right between a man's eyes. This beat a day at school by a long shot.

In all his time as a bounty hunter he had grown accustomed to killing. The fist time that he had ever killed a person is when he had saved Mavis from being kidnapped. He much preferred finishing them off permanently as compared to granting them mercy. When they were gone for good, you didn't have to worry about them coming after you for vengeance. He learned that the hard way. Natsu could only laugh at his previous pacifistic ways as he looked behind him to see the trail of bodies he had left in the hallway.

The fallout of that incident had been nowhere near pretty. When the Dragneel and Strauss clan foot soldiers arrived on the scene, it wasn't what they had expected. The entire compound was filled with bullet holes, not even the concrete bunkers were spared from that fate. All in all, the place looked like a war-zone.

Natsu had been upset that Ikaruga got to Jose before he could, but he was content with the little entertainment he received.

Ikaruga had been tasked with hunting down Jose since the government knew that he was still in Japan. She managed to track him down to the compound, but realized that she had had accidentally come across the kidnapping incident when she walked into a hallway with a pile of dead bodies and Natsu standing on top of it.

After that particular incident, Naruto's relationship with his sister and the Strauss family changed almost instantly.

Mirajane and Yukino had been eternally grateful to him for saving Lisanna and Elfman, their clan heads as well. But as for the two, whose lives he saved...they were less than enthusiastic about being in his presence. All prior feelings of superiority were gone, they looked at him with nothing other than fear in their eyes.

Natsu enjoyed that slightly. He was used to having soldiers and criminals running from him as Havoc, but for them to be treating Natsu this way was something he was unfamiliar with. It didn't really bother him that they refused to talk to him or even be near him a school anymore, he never liked the two of them much anyway.

What bothered him was his relationship with Meredy. She still avoided him, no change there. But what he did notice was that she was doing it by choice now instead of convenience. He had a small expectation that she would attend all those therapy sessions that he was forced into with him or that she would at least thank him for saving her life.

He supposed he should have expected this. Natsu could see the fear that she tried to hide in her eyes. He was a bounty hunter with a million yen bounty on his head, you didn't get that good without being able to read people.

She was acting the same way that Lisanna and Elfman were, and that disappointed him.

Meredy had been trained by the Dragneel clan for years now, he had at least expected her to be open to the idea of death and killing, but it seemed as if she still held onto childish and naïve ideals.

This was a clan meant for war. She would have to realize that sooner or later.

What Natsu found strange was that his heart would hurt every time she had the chance to even be near him, she would go out of her way to avoid him completely. He thought that Mavis was his only family now? Why did he still care for what his sisters thought of him?

Age 12

It had been almost two years. Natsu was twelve now. Its been almost two year since Meredy had even spoken a word to him. He had thought that being siblings granted you unconditional love...he was wrong. That kidnapping incident a year ago made Natsu realize how much he really meant to his siblings. Through this year they had shown just how much family meant to the Dragneel clan.

Meredy hated him for the fact that she thought he was a cold-blooded killer. She wasn't wrong, but she was still ignorant of the harsh realities of the world. Ikaruga didn't even try to console him after she witnessed him kill for what she probably thought for the first time, she was becoming more and more emotionless as the years went on. Walking onto the battlefield as a child warped her view on the world and now she died a little on the inside every time she did, it was becoming hard to watch. Igneel could tell that Natsu was getting fed up with the clan, but he didn't say anything. He would wait until Natsu made his move.

It hurt Natsu to know that family had meant so little to these people. He hid his pain, but Mavis could always see it.

She was his comfort. Natsu would always visit the apartment that he rented for her when he was feeling lonely or depressed. Sometimes he curse her and Layla or bringing back his emotions.

He loved her, he truly did. She was his only little sister, his only family left.

Natsu spend most of his time now with Mavis. Whether it was home-schooling her, helping her with her magic studies and practical applications, going out to eat, or even spending the night in each other's arms. Natsu and her were always together now.

She loved the fact that he was always with her now. That those foolish women were off his mind and he could finally focus on her.

She knew it was a selfish thought, but he was always gone for his job and then he needed to make appearances at the clan compound. Now he would come straight home to her arms and she would comfort him.

"Mavis..." He said to get her attention from within his arms.

"Hm? What is it Onii-sama?"

"I have a feeling that I won't have to put up with this charade of being a member of the Dragneel clan much longer." Natsu stated as he stroked her long blonde hair.

This statement shocked Mavis. She looked up at him with hope in her eyes. She had always wanted to move away from this city, at least for now. She couldn't fully train her magic abilities in the small apartment that her brother had gotten from her. She also wanted to get away from all this clan business and just be with her Onii-sama.

"Does that mean..." He knew what she was implying.

He chuckled slightly at her actions. She was acting so shy when usually she was so energetic and childish.

"Yes, away from the clan. Away from this city. And away from everything. I've saved enough money to move anywhere in the country and live comfortably for the rest of our lives, but I feel as if that would be boring. We'll move away until high school. You'll need to go to a magic high school if you want to take an occupation in the magic world. I don't want you to ever have to do what I do."

Mavis nodded at his words. Her Onii-sama was always right. She clenched onto his tank top even tighter, revealing many of his scars, scars that he received for her sake. He put his life on the line so many times just to give her a better life. He really was the best.

"Where will we go?" She asked, snuggling into his chest even more.

Natsu pondered his thoughts for a moment, "I was thinking Magnolia Town. Its a long way from here, there's plenty of space to practice your magic, and its quite beautiful. I think it would be a perfect place for us to start our new life."

"When will we move there?"

Natsu sighed, "The clan elders have proposed a marriage contract between the heir of the Groh clan and Ikaruga, a man by the name of Bacchus. He's pretty much typical nobility, nothing more than scum. I've run into him a bit during my days as a bounty hunter and he would sooner sacrifice his own comrades to guarantee his own safety than fight along side them. I know this, Ikaruga knows this, and I'm sure the clan elders no this. However, the clan is quite wealthy and prominent in both modern and ancient magic. Her answer to their proposal will decide when we will leave. I won't sit by and watch as she lives out her life as a puppet for the clan."

Only time will tell what will come in the upcoming months.

It was January of 2091 and Natsu received his answer

"We would like to present to you all, Bacchus Groh of the Groh clan, and now an adopted child of the Dragneel clan. He is also the fiancé of the first daughter of the Dragneel clan, Ikaruga Dragneel!"

There was a loud applause from members of both of the clans as the official announcement was made. A man in his late twenties stood up and gave a bow to the audience. Natsu barely recognized this man, he usually only saw his back as he threw his subordinates in the line of fire to quickly make his escape. He couldn't count how many times he abandoned his post to save himself. And it was always Natsu who was left to save the lives of those men. The man before Natsu was pathetic beyond belief.

It seemed that Ikaruga couldn't even keep one promise.

She had promised Natsu not even a full month ago that she wouldn't give into the pressure that the clan was putting on her to accept the marriage proposal. She promised that she would never let the clan marry her off to some random man just because he comes from a prominent clan.

Natsu had wanted to believe these words, he really did, but he knew better than to trust a woman who valued the clan over herself. That's why the official answer he just received didn't surprise him in the slightest.

Even though clan laws stated that the clan cannot accept an arranged marriage unless the two people involved agree with the arrangement, she would marry anybody that the clan chose for her. To her, the clan was absolute and her life was theirs to do whatever they pleased with it.

These kind of views on life sickened Natsu.

What was the hardest thing for Natsu to deal with was that Ikaruga had allowed herself to be used like this. She was one of the most powerful mages of this generation, the most talented magic technician in the Dragneel clan, the strongest child soldier to step foot on the battlefield before him. And here she was not even trying to stand out against what she knew what would be the biggest mistake in her life.

She would never do that, because everything is for the clan. It was at this very moment that Natsu lost all respect that he had for Ikaruga. Powerful mage or not, these were the actions of someone who had thrown her life away.

This was the final straw. he clan's last chance for redemption. The final chance that he would give his family. But it seemed as if it was all for naught, they would continue to be nothing more than pawns for a clan that would throw them away when they were no longer useful.

Natsu has had enough of being a part of their puppet show.

Natsu closed his eyes and slowly left the main hall, not even looking back to see her following him.

He had an appointment with the clan elders, this would be a perfect time to arrange something with them since his grandfather was dealing with the official announcement and the party that followed. It was a miracle that they had even agreed to see him.

"I had assumed that you would have been supportive of the decision that I made." Natsu stopped mid-step, not even bothering to turn around or open his eyes. He could hear and see everything he needed to with his magic. He knew it was Ikaruga and he knew that she had been following him. They had made it quite a ways away from the main hall and were now in the courtyard.

"Supportive or not...I already got the answers I was looking for." Natsu spoke calmly. He should have felt angry or betrayed right now, but strangely enough, he felt nothing. Perhaps it was because he had no expectations from the woman behind him. The only one who could really understand him was Mavis and she was waiting for him.

Ikaruga let out a sigh. "You need to understand Natsu, this is for the clan..."

"...Yes of course it is." Natsu couldn't help but chuckle.

"We should go back. It wouldn't be good for the clan's image if either of us were to miss the party." Ikaruga suggested emotionlessly. She had just signed her life away to the clan and to a man who would never respect her as a woman and she was perfectly calm about it.

Natsu brought his right arm up and waved to her over his right shoulder, "Sorry, but I already have prior engagements. I just came here looking for an answer as to what I should do..."

"What answer? I know you didn't want me to get married to that man, but I am doing this for the clan, no more no less. I am marrying him because our clan will benefit from our union." Ikaruga stated firmly.

"...Whatever...What you think you are doing this for makes no difference to me...Goodbye Ikagura" Natsu continued to walk away from her and to his desired location, leaving his confused sister in the courtyard.

This would be the day that marked his end as a Dragneel.

Natsu had just finished his final conversation with Ikaruga and was ready to get his arrangements with the elders taken care of, he couldn't wait to never see their wrinkled faces again in his life. He wanted them to want to kick him out so he might as well go all out this one time.

Natsu barged in without knocking into the council chambers where the elders were always found. Before him sat two old men and one old woman behind a large wooden desk, similar to the ones that could still be found in courtrooms.

He eyed each of them carefully, he wanted to make a show of this but he didn't want to have to deal with any assassins that they sent after him. He would need to walk a very fine line in these next few minutes.

"Has the clan taught you nothing at all? You should at least know proper manners at this point, even for a failure such as yourself!" The woman yelled at Natsu as he stepped before them.

Natsu didn't really seem to care what she thought as continued to pick at his ear. "Jeez could you keep it down, I think you ruptured my eardrum with that last screech." Natsu stated mockingly.

"Enough of your insolence! You are even lucky that we considered letting you make an appointment with us! Normally we would have refused since it is most likely of no importance, but we chose to humor you just this once." One of the men stated, trying to inform Natsu that he would never get another opportunity like this one.

Natsu smirked at the old man, "Straight to the point I see...well what I wanted to discuss was an arrangement that would make both you and me much happier."

"What could you possibly say that would make it worth our time?" The final elder asked.

These were the elders that manipulated the entire Dragneel clan. These were the people that Ikaruga was so loyal to? How pathetic, they are nothing more than politicians and mages who were long since past their prime. What made the clan so loyal to them? Natsu just couldn't understand why most of his family treated these withered, old bags of flesh like they were God.

"I was getting to that...I would like to denounce myself from the Dragneel clan."

All three elders looked at him with shock, and a bit of relief. They had tried to kick him out of the clan several times when he was a child, but those attempts were all thwarted by Igneel.

"It is no secret that you do not like me and that I do not like any of you...you elders have even tried to remove me from the clan several times before. Why don't we just skip all this political bullshit for once!" Natsu declared as he looked the elders straight in the eyes. "I am not like the rest of the clan, that much is obvious. My magical abilities are low, amazingly so...I would not be able to benefit the clan in any way whether it is as a mage, a soldier, a politician, or for a marriage. So why don't we stop doing this little dance and remove me from the clan?"

The three elders really wanted to go along with his plan. Natsu Dragneel was an embarrassment to the Dragneel clan. He had no skill with magic whatsoever, his tendency to use crude language and be so disrespectful proved he could never make it as a politician, magic is largely determined by genetics so no respectable clan would want him to be married to an heiress. He would never be successful in the Dragneel clan and they knew it. But there was still one thing that bothered them.

What was his aim? After all these years, why choose to do this now? Why had he not just let them kick him out when he was younger if he felt this way?

"What is your goal in all of this Natsu?" One of the men growled. "Why choose to do all of this now?"

He spoke for all of the elders with those questions. As much as they disliked the boy, they were curious as to what his motives were.

"I suppose I don't really have a goal...If anything, the recent engagement of Ikaruga-nee and Bacchus-san was what solidified my decision. It made me realize that if a prominent member of our clan has to be married off eventually just for the clan's sake, then what will the future hold for me?" Natsu pondered out loud. "I'd prefer not to have to live my life for a clan that I hate and a clan that hates me."

This line of thinking was understandable. Natsu had never been a person who was completely loyal to the clan. Try as they might, the elders were unsuccessful in forcing him to become one of their foot soldiers by Igneel, who wanted to let the boy find his own path in life.

One of the elder's eyes widened at what she thought he was plotting, "You plan to leave with you're inheritance don't you!" She yelled. "You are a member of the main family and thus, even though you are not the heir, have a large sum of money in their account. Money that is meant to always support the Dragneel clan!"

Natsu could only roll his eyes at what the woman had come up with. If she was at all familiar with the clan law, then she would have known that such a thing was impossible.

Natsu shook his head. "I have no desire for any of the money. In fact once you strip me as an official member of the clan, all of the money is transferred right back into the Dragneel clan's account as a whole...I have no alternate agenda, all I want is my freedom." Natsu stated firmly.

The elders thought about his declaration for a moment before looking at each other and nodding their heads. The elderly man sitting on the middle of the three spoke up to voice their final decision.

"Very well Natsu Dragneel. By accordance to your request and the unanimous decision of the Dragneel clan's three elders, you are hereby relieved of the Dragneel name. Because of your status of a member of the main family, the only records of you ever existing are within these walls and will be disposed of by the end of the day. It is up to you what identity you will hold once you leave the compound walls, but you must never associate yourself with the clan from this day onward."

They had believed that Natsu didn't hold any sensitive information of the clan, so they weren't going to bother with terminating him. If they had done so, Igneel would surely kill them once he found out as opposed to what he would do once he found out his grandson had been banished.

Natsu could only smirk. The plan that he had been working on for years was finally being put into action. He would no longer have to worry about keeping up appearances for the clan, nor would he have to be particularly worried about them finding out about Mavis. He had been playing a dangerous game these last four years.

"I have one final request...it would be best for the both of us if my grandfather didn't know about this decision until after I have left the city completely. I should be none of your concern by the week's end. It would do no good for either of us if he sends his subordinates to drag me back here."

The man who had just spoken made his decision known once again, "Very well, we shall comply with this final wish as it would benefit us as well."

Natsu gave a slight bow to them before taking his leave. Merely being in the presence of those three made them sick. Though he would leave them with a parting gift. Natsu had gathered several files of all their under the table dealings and their rather unethical ways of doing business, he would make sure to leave those in his grandfather's office before leaving the compound for good.

They were finally free.

Natsu breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the apartment that he had been renting out for Mavis. It had been a long day, but currently there was no time to rest. Preparations and contingency plans had to be made.

He stepped out from the doorway and saw Mavis waiting for him there excitedly. She looked just like a puppy waiting for their master to come home at the moment, Natsu swore that if she had a tail it would be wagging right now.

With those current thoughts in mind, Natsu lifted his hand up and began petting her behind the ear. He could hear her purring as she leaned further into his touch. Mavis could be quite adorable at times.

Natsu withdrew his hand from her head, earning a moan of disappointment from said girl.

"Mavis...why don't we get things prepared for our journey to our new home?" Natsu suggested, knowing this would pique her interest.

As expected, Mavis perked up at what her brother had said. "Onii-sama! Does this mean we're finally moving? That we can finally act like a real family?" Mavis questioned, hope easily detectable in her eyes.

Natsu offered his little sister a small smile and led her into her room. They didn't have much to pack once he thought about it. He had always wanted to shower his precious little sister with gifts, but she had adamantly stated that she only needed the essentials. Food, clothes, CADs, there wasn't much else other than the basics.

Normally for two children, there would be toys, coloring books, manga, games, and such scattered all over the house, but these two weren't normal by any means of the word. Mavis had always lived on the bare essentials, her mother and her had lived for so long just living off what they could manage and she had grown accustomed to that life style. Natsu was a bounty hunter, he knew all too well that everything could go wrong in the blink of an eye and they would need to get out of there fast. Living that kind of lifestyle made him only keep what was necessary in the apartment, anything else they could just buy on the run.

"Yes." Natsu answered his little sister as he gently stroked her hair. "I've already made the necessary arrangements for our travels and our new home, all we need to do is pack up what we need and get out of the city...With my magic, we could make it there in about an hour...two hours at the most."

They could easily gather everything that they needed by the end of the day. He had told the elders that he would be out of the city at the end of the week, but that was only to throw them off in case Igneel had found out earlier than expected.

Mavis escaped his grip and gave a wide smile while flashing a peace sign at him. "I had expected this did to come sooner than expected, so I've been packed since our conversation about this a few months ago!" Mavis exclaimed cheerfully.

Mavis was always so cheerful and carefree, it made Natsu smile that he was going to finally be able to give her the life that she deserved. She was his angel, the only light in the raging storm that was his heart. She had deserved better than him, better than what he had been able to give her. Now was the time to right all the wrongs he had made in the past and give her the life that she never have, he one that she didn't even know she wanted.

"If that's the case, then let me just grab my gear for bounty hunting and we'll be on our way. The rest can be replaced once we arrive in Magnolia." Natsu told the girl before making his way to his room.

Things were looking up for these two siblings.

Igneel was not pleased. He had never liked how the clan elders ran the clan. He may have been the clan head, but that didn't mean he was completely in charge, no he only held a small amount of power compared to the clan elders. They had fought in World War Three and shaped the clan into what it was today.

This was what made Igneel both proud and disappointed. He was proud that the Dragneel clan had come so far in terms of military might and political power, compared to where they started when he was only a boy. But the clan had changed drastically to obtain that power.

The Dragneel clan was first founded on the beliefs that family should always come first and that you should always fight to protect your home and your comrades. This mantra was overruled when the former clan heads came into power.

They were now the former clan heads because they were now dead.

It had been two days since the announcement of Ikaruga's engagement had taken place. Because of the documents that he had found on his desk, a clan meeting requiring the presence of every clan member was called. There he had announced what information the files had contained and their accusations against the clan elders.

Of course Igneel had verified each and every single piece of information in those files. He was astounded that he had never come across any of it before. He never trusted the clan elders with the way that they manipulated the clan to their liking, so he made sure to keep an eye on their actions and their bank accounts especially.

Those three old fools had been involved in everything from embezzlement to extortion to treason. Needless to say, after these revelations were made to the entire clan they were swiftly executed in front of the whole clan to see. It wasn't a clan meeting, it was an execution. Igneel had used them as an example to show that anyone who dared commit such heinous crimes in the name of the clan would be dealt with accordingly.

What really bothered him was that his own family had been absolutely devoted to their ideals. Ikaruga especially, he was very disappointed in his eldest granddaughter. The woman had undying loyalty to the clan's ideals and believed that what they said was absolute. She had been nothing more than a puppet for them for years, and the revelations that they were criminals shattered all her beliefs.

Igneel had also called off her engagement to Bacchus. He had never approved of that marriage, so he was glad that it was now void since it was set up by the now deceased clan elders. After digging into the man's military records, he was disgusted with what he had found. Even if the engagement hadn't been set up by the elders, it would have been called off after seeing what kind of man he was.

He would need to rebuild the clan from the ground up. There would be no more clan elders, no more political marriages, and it would have to be restored to the values that it was first built upon.

However, those thoughts were for another time. Right now there were more pressing issues. In his office stood Loke, Ikaruga, and Meredy, he had called him here because of his suspicions.

There was only one person who could have gotten their hands on that information, and that was Natsu. He knew the boy was more skilled then he let on and was far smarter and resourceful than anyone believed him to be.

Since the boy was eight he had been covered in a thick coat of bloodlust. He hid it well, too well. In fact, the only person who would be able to sense it in the Dragneel clan was Igneel, the clan's most powerful and experienced mage. He was suspicious , though he pushed it to the side.

It was only after the kidnapping incident when he was ten was he able to confirm his suspicions. Igneel had forced him to go to therapy sessions after he had killed all those men during his escape. He played the part of the traumatized child for the therapist, he had almost fooled Igneel too. Only because of the man's countless years of warfare was he able to see through Natsu's act. The boy was good.

Natsu hadn't been seen since he left Ikaruga's engagement party. He wasn't even at the clan meeting when all members were required to go. These developments troubled Igneel. He had expected the boy to wage war against the clan if anything, he could have used those documents as his proof. So why didn't he. Was this the move he had been planning for all these years?

Igneel was sure that he would get his answers from the four people in front of him, whether he liked the answer or not. He was certain that it would be the latter.

Well, he would most likely receive his answers from three of them. Ikaruga had seen better days, her skin was pale, her hair was a mess, there were bags under her eyes, and her eyes themselves were empty. What had happened the past few days had really broken her. Her beliefs in the clan were all that had mattered to her, now it was revealed that she was living her whole life based upon a lie. It would take some time for her to recover, if she ever did at all.

"Do any of you have any idea of why I have called you here today?" Igneel asked the four of them sternly.

"I believe that it would have something to do with the events that had transpired over the last few days." Meredy answered in her usual bland tone.

The girl shifted under her grandfather's gaze, "That would be partially correct...you are here to inform me about the whereabouts of Natsu Dragneel."

All three of them were confused by his statement. What did Natsu have to do with any of this?

"What does the boy have anything to do with this Tou-san?" Loke asked absentmindedly.

Igneel glared at his son. He was a huge disappointment, he would never condone such actions from his son. Igneel had known about the numerous affairs that Loke had over the years when he was still married and it sickened him. He was sure that he had taught his son better than that. Worst of all, he was a terrible father. Igneel had not once seen the man spend time with his children, he was always off trying to pick up women or spending time at a brothel.

"That boy is your son...you always have been a disappointment Loke, your attitude is why you were removed from consideration for the next clan head." Loke flinched at his father's tone. He never used that tone, he was always the kind old man now, that was the tone of voice he used back when he was one of the most dangerous mages in the country.

"To answer your question...Natsu is where the documents regarding the clan elders' crimes most likely originated from." Igneel spoke as he raised his hand in the air to stop Cosmos from speaking. "And before you ask, yes, I did check all the information in those files and they were all the truth. What I am concerned about now is his whereabouts."

All three of them were stunned into silence for a minute. Natsu had always been the outcast, the one without potential. They never really had any hopes for him, and yet he was able to uncover all of this...Just what was going on?

"I haven't seen him since he left the compound two days ago. He left in the middle of the engagement party and never came back. He said he already had prior engagements when I confronted him and then I saw him walking towards the council chambers...he did say something strange though..." Ikaruga spoke in a hollow tone.

"Go on."

Ikaruga sighed, "He said that he had already gotten the answers that he was looking for...I don't know what he meant by that, but it sounded like he had given up hope or that talking to me just wasn't worth it anymore." Ikaruga answered sadly. She had begun to see why Natsu and the clan heads had never seen eye to eye, and now she wished that she had listened to her little brother for all these years.

Igneel sighed as well. With those kind of words Natsu could have only meant one thing, he would need to check the archive of clan records to confirm his theory.

"All of you get out of my sight, I have much to think on."

With those words said, all three members left the room slightly confused as to what was going on.

Igneel had always known that Natsu was waiting for his family to prove him wrong, to show that they really did care about him. Ikaruga agreeing to an arranged marriage just because it was her duty for the clan to do so may have been the final push he needed.

Natsu Dragneel was no more.

"How are you liking Magnolia so far Mavis?" Natsu asked from his spot on the balcony.

It had taken them just under two hours to travel from Tokyo to Magnolia. That may not seem like much of a distance, but moving at Natsu's lightning speed for the entire two hours to get there really spoke for how much of a distance they had to cover.

Magnolia was located quite aways north of Sapporo in Hokkaido. It was a beautiful port town with canals for water flowing all throughout it, it was right on the ocean as well. It was beautiful, there were no skyscrapers anywhere in sight, there were mountains and forests surrounding the town, and the ocean view was beautiful.

It was so different from the areas where Natsu and Mavis had always lived, it was one of the reasons that Natsu chose to move here.

Natsu had bought quite a large estate right at the point where the forest and the ocean met. The house itself was rather modest, much to Mavis' delight. She had though that her brother would have bought a mansion just for the two of them, but knowing what kind of lifestyles they prefer he had bought a two story house along with plenty of the surrounding area.

The entire first floor of the house had four rooms in total. A luxurious kitchen, Natsu had always loved to cook, but rarely got the chance to. The living room. A bathroom. And a large library that was stocked wall to wall with books and scrolls that Natsu had found during his travels. He had always preferred real copies of books instead of reading off a terminal. Terminals could be tracked, if they needed to use such a thing, then there were plenty of the in town. The books and scrolls ranged from normal subjects such as math and history for her home-schooling, but there was also plenty of information on magic.

The types of magic ranged from ancient magic to ninjustu to modern magic and even further on. There were even tomes about mages who used magic efficiently before modern magic had been discovered. Even without the use of chants, staves, or talismans, there were magicians that were highly skilled, perhaps even more skilled than many of today's modern magicians.

Natsu had been studying these tomes extensively.

The second floor was entirely a bedroom, it was absolutely marvelous. There was a bathroom with a shower and there was a walk-in closet as well, but those were inside the room so it didn't count. There was only one bedroom in the entire house, Natsu had hired a team of contractors to remodel the house to his specifications. The two of them had always shared a single bed and always would. There was nothing wrong with that.

"It's perfect Onii-sama!" Mavis cheered from her spot on the bed. "I've never seen anything like it before! All of the major cities in Japan are so modernized and technologically advanced, but this town just has a serene and calm feel to it. I think that it's perfect for the two of us!"

Natsu gave her a small smile. He also chose this place because he knew she would love it. She was never one for the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The streets were far too crowded and it always felt too busy, here they would be able to live peacefully for the time being and really begin on Mavis' training. Of course, he still had his duties as a bounty hunter.

He may have had enough money to live comfortably, but he couldn't afford to take it easy and get rusty. The country was still at war and needed to be able to give Mavis the life that she deserved, everything cost money in this world.

There was also the issue about their identities. Bounty hunters needed a wide range of skills if they wanted to survive, so Natsu had plenty of hacking and computer skills. Creating new identities fro the both of them shouldn't be too much of a problem, they never existed to the world in the first place anyway. He would set things up over the course of the next week.

Natsu offered her his usual smile, "I'm glad you like it because we'll be spending a lot of time here over the next few years...remember you need to go to a magic high school if you want to prove your worth to the world as a magician. To prove that everyone was wrong for denying you. The only other options are to become a soldier or do jobs that I do... I don't want you to have to become like me Mavis."

"Onii-sama! Don't belittle yourself like that! I know Onii-sama only became a bounty hunter for my sake when he didn't have to...it's my fault that you had to get so much blood on your hands..." Mavis was very thankful to her Onii-sama for going so far to give her a better life. She just wished that one day she would be able to return the favor.

Natsu made his way over to the bed from where he had been standing on the balcony. He began stroking her hair affectionately in an attempt to calme her down. He always did love it when she got so worked up for his sake, it made him feel wanted. He had always strived to feel some kind of affection in his life, mainly from his family, but it was only Mavis who gave him what he had always wanted. She gave him all that he would ever need.

"Ne, why don't we get to sleep? It's getting rather late and tomorrow we'll start your more intense training regimen now that we've been able to settle in and get used to the town. You'll need you rest." Natsu whispered in her ear as he lay her down under the covers and cuddled up next to her.

They may be living on their own now, but they were still twelve year olds.

"Mm...Good night Onii-sama." Mavis grumbled tiredly. It had been quite obvious to him that she had been exhausted from the day's events.

"Good night my imouto." Natsu whispered as he pulled her in closer to him as the drifted off to sleep.

It was the beginning of their new life.

Age 13

It was the year 2092. Natsu and Mavis had been living in Magnolia for just over a year now. Her training was coming along quite well, they had just recently discovered that she had she had an incredibly powerful affinity for [Light Magic]. Magic was determined largely by genetics, so it is not very surprising. Layla had been a powerful [Celestial Magic] user, and Loke used a light-based magic known as [Regulus]. They had been enjoying their new, peaceful life as opposed to the one they previously had in Tokyo.

Natsu really wished he was there right now, but his bad luck never ceased to amaze him. As of now, he was standing amongst thousands of dead soldiers of the Great Asian Alliance. Natsu had gotten himself caught up in what would be later known as the Defense Battle in Okinawa.

This had to be the one time that he was hunting a criminal within Japan's borders. He had just killed his target and gotten his reward where he had transferred the money into his bank account when all hell broke loose.

The entire coast of Okinawa looked like a war-zone. Japan's military forces that had been stationed there were completely unprepared for a military invasion of one of their beaches and were completely slaughtered at the hands of the Great Asian Alliance's magicians.

Large tsunamis were trying to make their way onto the beach, but Natsu pushed each wave back by generating massive vibrations through the air. A tsunami would have been quite an issue right now with all the immobile soldiers and civilians being dragged off by medics, they would have most certainly drowned. The only reason he was preventing that from happening was because he was the cause of these tsunamis.

He had dealt with the majority of the foreign soldiers with high voltage lightning bolts, both electrocuting them to death or overloading the bioelectrical signals throughout their nervous systems which caused their brains to be fried from the inside out. Whatever the case, smoldering corpses covered the streets of Okinawa, but that hadn't been what caused Natsu to become so annoyed at the situation.

Natsu had been forced to use his most powerful spell, [Calamity: Advent of Thunder] to destroy the offshore fleet of Great Asian Alliance soldiers and magicians, thus revealing that he was a strategic-class magician.

The spell itself starts by heating up the atmosphere, producing large thunder clouds and heavy rain. Then Natsu gathers all of the natural lightning in those thunder clouds and converges it into a massive spherical cloud of pure lightning energy. He thing brings the sphere down onto his target at high speeds, completely obliterating anything in its path. The spell has power equivalent to that of the most powerful nuclear warheads that the world has at its disposal.

The Defense Battle of Okinawa.

Future historians would look back on the battle and refer to it as such.

However anyone who had witnessed the magic itself or any magician would look back on the event would refer to it differently.

The Crying Heavens Incident. It was an appropriate title for the events that had taken place that day.

It was a turning point in the war, just as it was a turning point in military history.

This was the day that magic was proven to have surpassed mechanical, nuclear, and biological weapons.

Laid before the world was the undeniable truth that magic alone determined the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death.

This marked the true dawn of history for the race known as magicians.

This was the day that the child soldier and bounty hunter known as Havoc, became known world-wide as an unstoppable fore of nature. And he was. [Calamity] was the power to control natural disasters themselves. Whether it be tornadoes, lightning, tsunamis, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions, Natsu could produce all of them at a level that made him comparable in power to that of the Ten Wizard Saints, the ten strongest magicians in Japan that have been recognized by the Magic Council and the emperor for their prowess.

Natsu could only sigh. Life for him as Havoc would become much more complicated because of this little incident.

Natsu chose to make his exit as he saw a large wave of razor-sharp cherry blossoms heading his way. After all this time it seemed that Ikaruga was still after his head. Where was the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion when the city was in danger of being invaded or when their soldiers were being slaughtered on the beaches?

Didn't she have anything better to do at the moment? Perhaps help their soldiers who were still clinging to life in the sand, or perhaps tracking down any foreign soldiers who may have escaped into the city. Natsu was really starting to get tired of their obsession with him.

Natsu quickly disappeared in a flash of lightning as the cherry blossoms surrounded where he was standing only a moment ago. Sometimes he was quite thankful that he was born as a magician with superpowers, generic magicians would never be able to accomplish feats such as moving at the speed of lightning.

"The war is over, Hisui-hime, there is no point in continuing to chase after me. You do have orders to return to Japan do you not?" Natsu said to the young woman as he dodged another volley of compressed air bullets. Natsu drew one oh his knives and parried a slash from her rapier. Her rapier was a special type of CAD that allowed her to both activate her magic and be used as a regular sword. Hisui was a master swords-woman.

"I am well aware of the current situation." She declared before sending several rapid thrusts forward, intent on piercing him through his vital points. However, her attempts were in vain as Natsu easily evaded before catching her rapier between the blades of his knife. "That is why we must settle this here and now. This may be the last time that we ever cross blades and I want to know who is better you or I."

Hisui E. Fiore was a beautiful young woman. She was quite slim and petite, which inly accentuated her shapely figure. She has wavy light green hair that reaches down to the middle of her back with two strands framing her face, as well as bangs that obscure the majority of her forehead. Her pale skin contrasted her hair color quite nicely. She also has large, dark green eyes and long eyelashes. Most men would have been distracted by her figure in the middle of combat, but Natsu wasn't like most men.

She was also the only daughter of the emperor and the next in line for the throne. Same may wonder about that rationality of sending the next leader of the nation to war, but the current emperor was one of the main reasons that Japan survived during World War Three. Therefore, he would never let his daughter be anything other than strong. The nation's leader must lead by example after all. If the emperor themselves were strong, then it would deter other countries from taking action against Japan.

However it didn't seem to be enough as Natsu had already defeated her in every one of their previous encounters.

She was one of the members of the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. They had been chasing after Natsu for over five years now and he had defeated more than his fair share of them. Normally he would have killed his enemies, but he was still a patriot and killing some of the most prominent magicians in the country wouldn't do well for the war effort.

Hisui managed to free her rapier from Natsu's hold and jumped back several yards as she sent a crescent wave of compressed psions at Natsu, which he shattered immediately. Natsu had become one of the most prominent counter mages in the country. By creating large vibrations in the air, similar to how he would cause an earthquake, he could 'shatter' any activation sequence or magic that was thrown at him. It was quite an useful application in a world dominated by magic.

It had been six months since the Crying Heavens Incident, the event which had turned the tide of the war. On that day six months ago, the Great Asian Alliance had been planning a full invasion of Japan that started with Okinawa. Though they hadn't expected a strategic class mage to be present for the assault.

Due to Natsu's use of his strategic class magic, the Great Asian Alliance had lost close to a fifth of their military. This proved to make enough of a difference for them to slowly pushed back into a corner before they surrendered.

"Why does it matter who is better? Why you continue to fight me when there is no longer any point? Were you not only after me because of my crimes as a bounty hunter?" Natsu asked as he erected several small tornadoes which threw her into the forest before she used [Gram Dispersion] to disperse the tornadoes into a mist of psion particles.

"Because you are the only person to have ever beat me. I can hold my own against the other members of my battalion well enough, in fact I am one of the strongest. Yet you have beaten me and I can tell that you haven't ever gone all out in our confrontations. I want to see how strong you truly are." Hisui stated as she came back into the clearing from where she had been thrown.

Hisui was also a counter mage. In fact, it was one of the areas that she specialized in. Unlike Natsu, she used true counter magic that required an excessive psion count. This spoke volumes about her talent as a magician.

Natsu parried another strong strike from her used her momentum to sidestep her and bring his leg out to kick her across the clearing. Just because he was a force of nature didn't mean that Natsu neglected his physical abilities. He actually used hand to hand combat more often because of how destructive his magic is.

"If we don't stop this fight now, I may have no choice but to destroy this forest. That would be quite a shame since I do rather enjoy the wilderness." Natsu stated as he watched Hisui stand back up. If one thing, the girl was persistent.

"I would prefer not to have to destroy this forest either, it is quite beautiful. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice just this once."

Natsu dodged another strike from Hisui, but this time he saw his opportunity. He grabbed her sword with his left hand and placed his right palm on her abdomen, activating his spell [Calamity: Thunder Binding].

As soon as the magic circle appeared on her abdomen, lightning coursed through her body and she crumpled to the ground, unable to move. The spell that Natsu used was meant to disrupt the electrical signals that neurotransmitters send to the brain, preventing any part of the victim's body from moving. The only problem with it is that there is a time limit for how long it can remain active, thirty minutes, or until the user was out of range.

"You should have known better than to fight me in close quarters combat. Had you not been from Japan I would have killed you by now, despite my actions I am a patriot...struggling is futile, so don't bother." Natsu spoke as he sat down on a tree stump across from the downed girl.

"You really are the best Havoc-kun...I didn't even manage to force you to use your stronger spells." Hisui smiled as she accepted defeat.

"I apologize for not giving you the fight that you wanted...with my type of magic it's hard to test your strength without destroying the surrounding area or killing your opponent...it'd be a shame for you to die here."

The green-haired woman sighed knowing this may be the last time the two of them would ever meet. "After I return to Japan I won't ever be setting foot on the battlefield again...I'll need to begin learning my duties as the next empress for when the time comes...what will you do?" Hisui asked curiously.

Natsu thought for a minute before answering. "I will continue to do what I've always done. I've accumulated quite a bit of wealth over my years as a bounty hunter, more than enough to live a luxurious lifestyle for myself and my little sister...but that doesn't mean my fight is over... I never did this just for the money, I did it to benefit the country as well. Why else do you think I began my career with eliminating all those corrupt politicians years ago? I did it because those within the government couldn't."

Though he really couldn't do anything within the government if he wanted to because of the bounty still out on his head. It had been raised to just over six million following the events six months ago. It might have actually been nice to live a life off the battlefield.

"What if I offer you a chance to be a member of the Garou Knights? Would you accept?" Hisui offered, surprising Natsu though it was impossible to see because of his mask.

The Garou Knights were an independent unit of the emperor's personal magicians that executed any criminals who enter the palace, guarded the royal palace, eliminated anything perceived to be a threat to the royal family, and usually acted as bodyguards for any main members of the royal family. Most of the current Wizard Saints were former members of the Garou Knights, that speaks of how skilled one must be to be offered the position.

"Thanks for the offer Hime-chan, but I'm a pretty well known criminal and wanted in a dozen countries, including Japan... I'm wanted for terrorism, murder, attempted murder, public disorder, mass property damage, kidnapping, extortion, bribery, and so much more. There's no way you could just offer me such a prestigious position, the emperor would never accept it." Natsu dismissed after regaining his composure.

"I could clear your name! I can at least do that much after all the help you've provided during the war! Even if you decide not to take my offer, I will still remove the bounty and warrant that Japan has out on you." Hisui declared passionately.

Her determination surprised Natsu, he had no idea she wanted him to accept her offer so badly. Sure he had defeated most of the members of her battalion, the most powerful magic battalion in Japan, but why did she want him as one of her personal body guards? Why did she think she could trust him?

"Why do you even want me to be one of the Garou Knights? I'm generally hated by most of the prominent figures of the Japanese military." Natsu questioned.

"That's one of the reasons why. You're not loyal to any clan or any military superior, which makes you one of the top candidates. Not to mention you're strong enough to be a Wizard Saint." He supposed those were good enough reasons for him to give her a chance. Trust wasn't something that was given out easily these days, especially for someone who has seen war.

"Any you're what thirteen? Fourteen? You're only a few years younger than me and yet you've beaten more times than I can count. You're not someone who would be influenced by money or bribery. We've clashed blades more times than I can count, we've always been on opposing sides and yet I can feel like I can trust you."

Natsu looked the princess of Japan in the eyes. He took note of the pleading look that she was trying to hide, she wasn't known for being the most trusting women ever since Jose Porla's betrayal. The fact that she had worked beside him for so long and never realized what he was planning really hit her hard.

Natsu sighed behind his mask. He slowly got up from his seat on the tree stump and began walking away.

"If you manage to clear my name once you get to Japan, then I'll come to you...until then this is goodbye." Natsu waved to her over his shoulder before disappearing in a flash of lightning, releasing her from his binding spell simultaneously.

She looked on at where he was standing only moments ago with a small smile on her face. She really hoped she would be able to convince her father to drop the charges. Feelings can be expressed more through a blade than through words alone. This was the reason she trusted Havoc more than her own comrades. They all had their own agendas. Whether it was to bring pride to their clan, to be promoted to a higher rank in the military, for fame and glory. She was able to sense them all.

But when she clashed blades with Havoc, all she felt were his pure emotions. She felt his intentions, his magic, his aura. All of it was so pure and uncorrupted. He could have killed her dozens of times by now if her wanted to, but he never did. Even though he had been her enemy for over five years, she trusted him more than anyone else in the world.

"Wow...I really didn't expect her to broadcast it all over news..." Natsu managed to get out. He was in quite a bit of shock as he stared on at the broadcast on the terminal hanging from the wall. He really didn't expect the princess to go so far.

"I knew you said she was determined...but don't you think this is going a little too far?" Mavis replied blandly. She wasn't faring much better as she stared on with the flattest expression she could muster.

"Well...she always did know how to get her point across..." Natsu replied.

Hisui had set up the news channel on a broadcast so it was on a twenty four hour loop. On the left side of the screen was a picture of Natsu as Havoc, decked out in his mask and usual hunter gear, with the emperor speaking on the right side of the screen.

The leader of Japan was expressing his deepest apologies to Havoc for sending the Japanese a military battalion after him and not realizing that he was doing everything he could to help Japanese troops, including his daughter. The emperor also stated that Havoc had been framed for the deaths of those politicians and that the real perpetrator had been a foreign spy and was dealt with appropriately. All charges against him had been dropped.

Hisui had really gone all out for this, Natsu really shouldn't have expected any less. But really, he was the most skilled child soldier in the history of Japan. He would be able to figure out if she was successful of not without an entire news channel dedicated to him.

"Are you going to go through with it Onii-sama?" Mavis asked as she shyly grabbed onto Natsu's arm and clung to it.

Mavis didn't particularly like the idea of her Onii-sama spending so much time with a woman as beautiful as Hisui. She knew it was selfish. Natsu had walked through battlefields, slaughtering everybody in sight just for her. He became a demon for her sake and hers alone.

She gipped onto his arm tighter. Mavis knew that this was a great opportunity for Natsu, one that most magicians could only dream of achieving. And for someone who was deemed a failure in magic by his own family, this was the greatest testament to his skill. For someone who was once called a failure to be offered a position as one of the emperor's elite magicians, Mavis couldn't be prouder of her Onii-sama.

But she was jealous. Jealous that the next empress would steal her Onii-sama away from her. Mavis had been there when Natsu was at his highest and his lowest. Whether he was the failure of the Dragneel clan or Japan's strongest child soldier, she was always right there by his side. She knew that it was a foolish thought, Natsu had even chosen her over his own family. But the thought still troubled her.

Natsu had done so much for her over the years. He had took her in when nobody else would. He practically raised her as if she were his own daughter. He risked his life for her day in and day out. He had given up who he had been for her.

He had done so much for her, there would be no way for Mavis to ever be able to repay Natsu. She would always be eternally grateful, but that wasn't enough. The only thing she could do was give him her unconditional and undying love. The love that he had always wanted, and the love that he had no idea he wanted.

"Yeah...I promised her that if she was able to clear my name...then I'd accept her offer." Natsu answered before noticing Mavis's downcast expression. He pulled his little sister in tighter and wrapped an arm around her waist, earning a squeak from the girl. "Don't worry Mavis, I will never leave you...it may seem like I'll be gone more, but this job is within Japan's borders. This means that I won't have to be gone so much anymore. I can make it from here to the royal palace in less than an hour now...if anything, we'll be together even more." Natsu whispered into Mavis' ear.

Natsu wasn't just going to be leaving his little sister at home now either. She was thirteen years old now as well, which meant that she should begin attending a middle school. The educational system had changed drastically since the dawn of the 21st century. Only the wealthy, or those from noble clans, really went to elementary schools. These schools are where their magic education would start, along with other standard subjects.

As a former Dragneel clan member, Natsu had attended elementary school for several years and he could honestly say that it was a pointless waste of time. At least for him it was. By that time he had already been a bounty hunter and knew all he needed to about magic and the world. He preferred to be out on hunts as opposed to attending class. The classes were also separate from public education. Most clan children of the main families have their identities a secret from the public, so only surnames were used. This is why they became so popular amongst clans.

More children attended middle school because they were mainly public institutions and did not provide more than basic magic lessons. Every school was required to have a magic course and magic extracurricular club to interest children in magic. This was mainly because Japan had a shortage of magicians. They had always focused more on quality that quantity. Once students turned thirteen or fourteen they were usually entered into a middle school.

High school was no longer a requirement for education. By this point in time, students know whether or not they want to enter a career in the world of magic. That is what these schools are for, they focus primarily on magic studies. There are a total if nine magic high schools in Japan, Natsu wanted to enter Mavis into first high school when the time came. It was the most prestigious and he would accept nothing less than the best for his princess. Students usually entered high school at the age of sixteen, though prodigies and those advanced in magic could attend before then. Age also played a large factor in magic development, that's why the entrance average was changed from fourteen to sixteen.

Using magic recklessly when you were younger could affect your body negatively later in life. This was mainly the case for modern magicians though. Those with superpowers or who focused on ancient magic didn't suffer these kind of drawbacks.

Natsu didn't bother sending Mavis to elementary school because he could teach her everything she needed. Though middle school was a different story. It would help her growth in basic knowledge and magic studies as well. Most importantly though, she needed to learn how to interact with people. She had only ever spent time with Natsu, and she would need to learn how to deal with people eventually. This was the perfect opportunity.

They had already discussed this and she agreed to attend as long as it didn't get in the way of her personal studies. Natsu had loved that she always strove to surpass his expectations. Whether it was learning politics, her physical training regimen, or mastering every spell he threw at her, Mavis always did everything she could to prove to him that she was worth his love.

She really didn't have to, he would always love her. She had been the only one who was always there for him, even when his own family abandoned him, she didn't. That was more than he could ever ask for.

"Do you promise Onii-sama?" Mavis asked hopefully as she engulfed him in a tight embrace, nuzzling her face into his chest.

"I told you before that I would give you the life that you deserve...you wouldn't be able to live that life without your Onii-sama now would you?" Natsu teased as he returned her loving embrace. "I'll deal with all of this starting tomorrow, so why don't we spend the whole day together? "

Mavis beamed at his offer. "That sounds perfect Onii-sama!" She cheered happily. He loved seeing her like this.

"I hear that a new cake store opened up in town and I've been dying to try it out. Their strawberry cheesecake is supposed to be divine. How about we start there?" Natsu asked.

He didn't receive any verbal answer as Mavis was already excitedly dragging him towards the door. He could only chuckle at his little sister's antics. After all of these years she hadn't changed very much.

"Have you decided to take my offer Havoc-kun?" Hisui asked as she sat on a throne next to her father in the main hall of the royal palace. The princess look really did suit her much better than the usual uniforms of the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.

Speaking of them, he had heard that many of their members had left the military after the Asian War. Many of them were fighting for superficial reasons, and after achieving them had either retired or been promoted. The two he was most familiar with were Hisui and Ikaruga. Hisui was now being groomed to be the next leader of Japan, while Ikaruga had retired and pledged never to step foot in a war-zone again. Her main duties now consisted of work for the Dragneel clan.

Another piece of information that made him chuckle was the current state of the Dragneel clan. The clan elders that he had hated so much had been executed by Igneel and now the clan was under a complete reformation. They were trying to rebuild the clan based on the beliefs that they held during World War Three. Apparently his sisters had been hit pretty hard with his disappearance. How strange.

Though he had already sworn never to be a member of that clan again, reformed or not.

Natsu was currently in his hunter attire. He would never come before the princess or step foot on a battlefield without it. It would bring far too much attention to him. Not to mention the fact that he had grown accustomed to it over the past five years.

He eyed the Emperor as the man looked tired and defeated, Hisui must have really put him through the ringer about that news broadcast and his public apology. The man was had fought in World War Three and helped shape this country into what it today, yet he can't handle his daughter's stubborn streak. It is quite amusing to think about.

Toma E. Fiore was a man of short stature, with gray hair that was parted in the middle and a thing gray mustache. At one time he was considered the strongest mage in all of Japan, alongside a few of the older clan heads. However, he was getting up there in the years, hence why he decided to start grooming Hisui for her spot as Empress.

Natsu brought his mind off of the occupants in the room to look Hisui in the eyes. He was standing there in the middle of the hall. Standing, not kneeling nor bowing. Natsu had made a name for himself as Havoc by doing whatever he pleased, whether it was bounty hunting or wiping entire cities off the map. He was not a man who would willingly preform such a submissive act. Especially not to a woman he defeated not even forty eight hours ago.

"I wouldn't have come all this way just to refuse. The offer you have given me is too good to pass up, much better than bounty hunting in fact." Natsu stated with his distorted voice.

The princess's smile widened after hearing that statement. She had honestly expecting him to turn down her offer, Havoc didn't seem like one who would like to be associated with politics or royalty. Though, all her fears vanished after hearing his words.

"I'm glad to hear that. I had actually been expecting you to refuse, so this quite the turn of events." Hisui said, trying to hide the excitement in her eyes. "Are you prepared to take on this duty? The Garou Knights have a two year minimum enlistment term. This means that once you agree, you will work exclusively for the royal family for the next two years. In reality, it isn't much different from military service."

The Garou Knights acted as the last line of defense and the personal body guards of the royal family. They were assigned all kinds of duties, whether it be executions, interrogations, infiltration, espionage, assassination, escorts, or anything else. They weren't solely body guards, they were more like high class black ops agents. Though they mostly did their duties at the palace.

Every single member of the Garou Knights is exceptionally skilled. After they move on from their duties, most of them end up becoming Wizard Saints or members of the Magic Council.

There was a minimum service of two years and a maximum service of six years, they had these time restrictions put in place because during World War Three it was found out that one of these members had been a spy for over ten years and had been leaking information to the nation's enemies. These restrictions were to prevent an incident like that from ever happening again.

"I'm well aware of what my duties will entail and I am more than prepared for them." Natsu stated firmly.

"Then let me be the first to welcome you to the Garou Knights." Hisui's soft yet stern voice spoke as she got up from her seat on the throne and walked up to where Natsu was standing. "Do you have a name or would you prefer to use your old codename?"

Natsu smirked behind his mask. Havoc and Natsu were two very different people. Natsu was the kind and thoughtful older brother. A genius in his own right, but one lacking in magical talent. Havoc was a emotionless assassin, a cold-blooded killer. He was an unstoppable force of nature. Even if they were standing side by side it would be impossible to make the comparison.

Behind the mask, he would always be Havoc.

"I've been going by Havoc for over five years now, my personal life and professional one are two different things. I will always be Havoc when performing my duties." Natsu stated as he reminisced about how he first received his name.

"I expected as much." Hisui sighed as she walked past Natsu. "Now come. Let's introduce you to the rest of the Garou Knights, and now your comrades. I have a feeling you'll get along just fine."

Natsu sighed as he took note of Hisui's tone. She was amused. In every encounter that he had ever had with the woman, she had never once been amused. These Garou Knights had to have been quite hard to deal with if the mere thought of Natsu meeting them amused her.

This would be a long few years.

Would he regret making this choice later on in life?

Doubtful. Natsu did not believe in regrets. There was nothing to regret since every one of his decisions and actions was his choice in the end.

One thing was for certain, things would get a whole lot more interesting from here on.

Chapter End

As some of you may have noticed, there will be some crossover elements from other series, mainly techniques and uses of powers.

When bounty hunting or doing work involving magic, Natsu wears the same outfit as Hei from Darker Than Black.

[Calamity] is Tempesta's curse from Fairy Tail, but I've amped it up so it is what it should have been. I have mixed the curse with Enel's, and Whitebeard's, devil fruit powers from one piece, so that he can control all types of natural disasters. At least that is the information I will be revealing on it for now.

Many will say he is far too overpowered, but in the Mahouka storyline there are approximately 50 magicians with magic comparable to a strategic nuclear warheads. They are invaluable military resources for their nation and if Tatsuya can be one with [Decomposition] then Natsu can be one with [Calamity].

And yes, I did choose Mavis as the little sister character. I had considered so many for this position, especially Wendy and Chelia but I just kept coming back to Mavis. She is just so adorable and seems like the perfect little sister. I couldn't help but picture Angelina Shields when writing Mavis's character if that helps you see how she would look in the high school uniforms.

All character will have their season two appearances starting in high school. Animation is much better and the characters don't have such childish designs.

Magic is used the same way it is in the Fairy Tail universe and the Mahouka universe, it is basically a combination of the two.

Next chapter will be the start of the high school arc.