Author's Comment: Just so you know, the beginning of the fanfic starts with the main character being 15 years old, only a year or two older the other main characters. I can't find a confirmed age for Natsu, (although I've read theories that he's up to 400 years old) so for the time being I'm going with the assumption that he's the same age as Gray. (at least for emotions/appearance sake) I also haven't read the manga, so I apologize if I'm wrong about some of the info in this story. I've only seen the anime (on Netflix, it only covers half of the first season), and I'm in the process of watching it a second time.

If you see anything that doesn't make sense in the story, let me know. I love feedback and suggestions, so please leave a review!

Second author's note: This story was written several months before the other stories that I've been posting, so the quality might not be quite as good.

Summary: Hunted by a rich lunatic, Kasai must live a quiet life of peace and secrecy. After 4 years of being alone and unable to truly trust anyone, finds herself conflicted between safety and having friends. Natsuxoc

Chapter 1:

Humility

-4 years ago-

"Would you guys like a muffin? I have enough for everyone here, if they'd like one." Kasai offered one evening, holding out a basket filled to the brim with blueberry muffins. A group of wizards standing by the bar looked up from their conversation, locking eyes with the young girl. They just stared for a moment, confused by her presence and not recognizing her. "I came here to meet Levy, but she doesn't appear to be here yet."

"What kind are they?" One of them asked, his face suddenly brightening up. He had short blue hair and a matching blue mustache.

"Blueberry."

"I'll take one, thanks!" He said, and the others joined in the enthusiasm. They all grabbed one of the muffins, thanked her, and watched her walk off to offer them to the rest of the wizards. "These are delicious. Strange girl, delicious food!"

"Who are you, my dear?" A very old, very short man asked the young girl when she reached him, and she smiled kindly.

"Kasai. I'm Levy's friend. Would you like a muffin?"

"Thank you, I'd love one!" He said jovially, and quickly snagged one of them. "You're welcome to return here anytime, given you bring more of these!"

"Oh, are you the owner here?"

"Yes, I'm the Guild Master. My name is Makarov."

"It's nice to meet you, Makarov." She said with a bow, but then her attention was diverted when she noticed two boys fighting in the middle of the room, their voices getting louder with each insult. One of them had fire beginning to appear on his fists, while the other was taking his clothes off. "Is that… fire on his hands?" She asked, a slight blush crossing her cheeks.

"Yes, he's a dragon slayer. He can control fire."

"A fire dragon slayer..." She whispered, watching him in awe as he fought the other boy, the fire becoming more and more wild.

The familiar sight caused her chest to squeeze tight, memories of her mother replaying in her mind.

1.

Kasai sighed tiredly, her belly rumbling uncomfortably as she walked down the street. Each step brought another stab of pain that wracked through her foot and into her ankle, each time making her wish that she had a place to rest (and better shoes). The pack on her back was getting heavier with each block, and she knew that she would have to stop being picky soon and just pick a random ally to sleep in for the night.

Her red hair was tied back in a short braid, only reaching a few inches past her neck. The clothes that hung loosely from her body were beginning to smell weird, and she knew that if she didn't find a way to clean them tomorrow, any future chance of finding a place to stay would be diminished greatly. She had been lucky to find strangers homes to sleep in a few nights this past week, but she knew from experience that people were less friendly to homeless people that smelled/looked weird.

If she smelled and looked like a normal girl, she could pass as a runaway or someone that 'got their wallet stolen' at the bus station. Kasai never lied to people when she asked for a place to sleep, but on occasion she would leave out details or hint at untrue scenarios to get more sympathy.

Having never been in a city before, she had yet to figure out how to make money. When she lived near monks, and interacted with them on a daily basis, they were so kind and courteous that there was no need for currency. The same applied with her village. You worked for your food, you helped your neighbors, and when you had extra you gave it to others.

There were a few shops open, but for the most part, everything was closed. It was well past midnight and she was beginning to see an increase in drunk people wandering the streets.

"Happy! Give me back my scarf!" She heard a voice laugh from behind her, and turned around just in time for a young boy run right into her. Their bodies bounced against each other and caused them to flail to the ground a few feet from each other, hitting the stones on the ground painfully.

"Are you alright?!" Kasai asked immediately, looking to the boy in the dim light.

"Aaaw man! Who did I run into at 2 in the morning!?" He asked loudly, his voice echoing in the eerily quiet street. He sat up, hand holding his head, and looked up at the surprised girl. "Sorry about that." The pink-haired boy said awkwardly, standing up and offering the girl his hand.

"It's okay. There's usually not many people out here this late." She replied, accepting his hand and standing up with his help. When she realized just who it was, she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of his appearance.

"Oh, hey, you're that girl from earlier today, right? Muffin girl?"

"Muffin girl~!" A small blue cat cheered happily as he landed on the boy's head, scarf falling onto his shoulder.

"Yeah." She confirmed awkwardly, her belly rumbling loudly at the memory of the food. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for! I'm getting hungry just thinking about them. What are you doing out here so late? It can be dangerous to wander the city alone."

"Oh? I haven't encountered any trouble so far." She admitted truthfully. "Although, I've only been here for a couple of weeks…. I'm Kasai, by the way."

"I'm Natsu, and this is Happy. It's nice to meet you." He said, and extended his hand again. She happily took it.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

Something about him, whether it was his resemblance to her mom or something else, made her feel like she was talking to an old friend. His hand, much warmer than the average person, felt comfortable against her equally warm hand.

"I should get going. You probably have somewhere to be. Good night, Natsu." She said softly, gave a slight bow, and began walking towards her earlier destination.

Natsu stood there for a moment, watching her walk away and a little confused by the abrupt departure. "Do you like her, Natsu?" Happy asked suddenly in his ear and causing him to jump.

"Gah! Don't talk in my ear so loudly."

"Do you like her?" He repeated, this time quieter and flying a couple feet away from him.

"I dunno… she smells kinda weird." He commented, his nose wrinkling up. "I'm hungry, let's go get some grub!"

2.

The next morning, she found herself drawn to a relatively secluded part of the beach. There were a few beer and soda cans lying about, meaning that it was likely a meeting place for late night parties, but at the moment it was quiet and peaceful.

She found a large boulder on the edge of the water and sat down, cross-legged, and rested her hands on her knees. The leather knapsack rested perfectly between her legs, relieving the weight from her shoulders yet safe from theft or falling into the water.

A calm breath left her mouth as she gazed out into the horizon, eyes locking onto a large ship sailing away into the rising sun.

The sudden memory of the blueberry muffins she gave away the day before caused her belly to rumble loudly, and frown tugging at the corners of her lips. She didn't regret giving the muffins away but her stomach did.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" A deep voice yelled from behind her, and caused the woman's shoulders to briefly slouch.

Regaining her composure, she shifted in her spot to look behind her, smiling at the small group of 4 men. One of them was chugging the last of his beer, burped rather loudly, and threw it at a tree some 10 feet away.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" She asked, not expecting the man's face turn such a dark shade of red. His face scrunched up, his dark brown blood shot eyes locking onto hers, and hands balled up into fists. A vein began to appear on his forehead, pumping so prominently it threatened to burst at any moment.

They all reeked of alcohol. She could smell it even from her spot, several yards away on her rock. One of them seemed so disoriented that he needed to lean on a nearby tree.

"What did you just say… girl?" He asked, at first sounding insulted and furious, but suddenly changing to an expression she had rarely seen on men's faces. His eyes, looking her up and down, caused an uncomfortable chill to run down her spine.

"I've only recently moved to Magnolia, I didn't know this was private property. I'll leave." She stated calmly, reaching for her bag and standing up.

"Hold on, you don't need to go… anywhere. Come party with us." He said, staggering forward and reaching out to her.

"No thank you."

"Oh, come on." Another joined in, seeming a bit more sober than the other. "We can show you a good time."

"I think you guys should get some sleep. You look tired." She said, still smiling. When one of them got a little too close, she used the added height of the boulder to her advantage to leap onto his shoulder, her right foot landing square on his left shoulder, and continued to land on the other side of him.

As he fell, she continued walking forward, easily dodging the clumsy hands and bodies reaching for her.

"Have a nice nap." She said with a wave of her hand, not bothering to look back at the men that had fallen to the ground.

3.

"Hello, I'm Kasai." She said with an outstretched hand, grin stretching from ear to ear. The older woman smiled politely in kind.

"Maki. Can I help you miss?" Maki replied, looking tired as she sat on the wooden chair. She was sitting, Kasai was standing, in a small room attached to a diner, only separated by a closed door. The ragged woman had bags under her eyes, and her hair tied back into a braid with stray hairs going everywhere. Papers were strewn across the desk, books left haphazardly around the room with no shelves to sit on, and a picture of the woman and another man, presumably her husband, hung on the wall.

"I was wondering if you have any job openings here?"

"I'm sorry, I-" Just as she was answering, the door burst open with a thundering crash. A large burly man stepped into the room, looking to be in his mid 30's, and a large cigar in his mouth. He gingerly took the cigar from his mouth and ground the burning tip into the woman's desk.

"Where the hell is my stuff, you old hag?" He asked, getting so close to the old woman's face that their noses touched.

Her face, beat red, looked from his face, to the cigar damaging her desk, to the knife on his belt, and to his face again. "Y-you haven't paid r-r-r-rent in months. Y-you're rude to-" Before she could finish the sentence, he pulled the knife from his pocket, and rammed it into the wooden desk.

"Excuse me, sir, can you speak to her more politely? I don't think she appreciates the damage you're doing to her desk." The little red head, half the size of the knife-wielding man, asked politely from her spot.

"Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do?" He asked, just noticing her presence.

"Saki, get out of here, this has nothing to do with you."

"My name is Kasai, and it's no problem. My mother always taught me that when I see someone in trouble, that I should help them, especially if it's a woman being troubled by a man."

"I don't care if you're a girl," He said, plucking the knife from the table and turning towards her. "I'll kick your ass."

"I should warn you, if you try to harm me, I will defend myself." She stated, watching him closely yet remaining calm and ready to spring into action. A kind smile stayed attached to her face, unintentionally taunting him.

"Defend this!" He yelled, throwing a punch at her.

The back of her hand gracefully redirected his attack, leaving her scratch free yet leaving him unbalanced and vulnerable to attack. She pivoted, kneed him in the groin, and in the process grabbed the knife from his hand.

He groaned in pain, hands protectively holding his crotch, and on the verge of falling over. "I'll… I'll…" He tried to threaten, but gulped when the small girl held his knife to his throat.

"Please do not bother this woman again, unless you plan to be more civil." She warned, locking eyes with his frightened brown ones. Her smile was gone, and instead a serious glare replaced it. He nodded, as much as he could through the pain and having a knife at his throat. "Promise?"

"Y… yes. Yeah." He stuttered between grinding his teeth, and then high-tailed out of there as quickly as possible, stumbling with his hands still over his crotch.

Kasai turned back to the older woman, flipped the blade in her hand so that the handle was facing her, and held out the weapon to her. "You should hold on to this in case he comes back." The kind smile had returned.

"I think a position just opened up. When can you start?"

"Immediately. I take it that his apartment is up for rent?"

"I'm sorry, I've already got it rented out." She apologized, and then went on to describe the job and pay. Basically helping her get rent from people and being a body guard of sorts, but between those two things doing cleaning, serving, cooking, or anything else that she was told to do for less than minimum wage.

4.

Even though she knew she was being taken advantage of by the older woman, she couldn't help being happy as she wandered the streets again that night, full of tasty food for the first time in weeks. As she looked up at the starry night sky, she couldn't help but appreciate how beautiful and magnificent it looked.

"Kasai!" A familiar voice yelled down the street, and a warm feeling spread through her belly.

He recognized me. And he's happy to see me!

"Natsu, how's it going?" She asked, beaming at the young dragon slayer.

"I'm doing good. I went fishing with Happy today and caught a HUGE fish!" He explained, stretching his arms out to each side as far as he could.

"Awesome!" She said with a giggle, and blushed when she noticed his cheeks burning red. "Where is Happy?"

"Oh, Lisanna is watching him tonight."

"Who is Lisanna?"

"She's a friend of mine. She's raising Happy with me. We're kind of like his parents." He said shyly and scratching the back of his head. "Do you want to see something cool?"

"Sure." She replied, and watched in awe as he shot fire out of his mouth like a flamethrower. "Wow, that's amazing!"

"If you think that's cool, watch this!" He said, and started showing her fire trick after trick, enjoying her expressions and reactions to them.

"You're amazing, Natsu."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm an S-ranked wizard at the Guild. That's the highest ranking you can get." He lied, continuing to show off as he jumped and kicked the air multiple times, causing flames to shoot out. Even though she knew the truth, after overhearing a conversation with him and an older girl the other day, she nodded and laughed as he continued boasting and having fun. "Hey, you should join the guild!" He stated suddenly, but then frowned. "But you don't know any magic…"

"It's okay. Can I still be your friend, though?" She asked, and he beamed at her.

"Of course! Will you come to the Guild tomorrow? Maybe bring more muffins?"

"I just got a job, and I work tomorrow…"

"Oh, that's okay! Don't worry about it, I know how it is…. Where do you live? Can I walk you home?"

Silently, she deliberated on whether to admit her living situation. Although she was fine being open with strangers over the past couple months, sharing that information suddenly seemed difficult. "I… uh… I'm between homes at the moment." She admitted awkwardly, her face heating up from embarrassment. "I only recently moved here, and haven't been able to get enough money for an apartment."

"Really? Is that why you've been wandering around alone at night?"

"Yeah…"

"What happened to your parents?"

"I never met my dad, and my mom died half a year ago."

"I'm sorry… I don't have any parents either." He admitted, his gaze now focused on the stars shining brightly above them. "I was lucky enough to find the Fairy Tale guild. They took me in… and they're like family to me." Natsu admitted, still not making eye contact with her. For the first time that night, he felt perfectly calm.

"I'm sorry about your parents."

"Do you want to stay at my place until you can afford your own? It's pretty small, and pretty messy, but you're welcome to stay there until you're back on your feet."

"I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"Nah, I would feel bad if I knew you were sleeping on the streets! You're my friend, after all." He stated, and grabbed her hand. "You could also use a shower!"

5.

That night, she slept better than she had in months. She was clean, full, hydrated, and best of all, safe. Even if she was sleeping on a mat, and his snoring was loud, it was comfier than an alley way and she didn't have to sleep with one eye open.

The house was small, like Natsu had said, but it was perfect for his needs. It consisted of a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom. A few of his belongings were strewn about, but for the most part it was empty. He had little to no furniture except a table and a few chairs.

Their mats were a few feet apart, and on occasion his arm or leg would reach out and accidentally nudge Kasai in her sleep. Each time it woke her up, but fell back to sleep once she realized the cause.

About a month later, after she got enough money, she managed to get her own apartment and move out. They didn't see each other very often after that, but she was still grateful for the help from such a kind stranger. On occasion she would visit the Guild Hall with some form of baked treat, and when he was there, he would beam and embrace her in a hug.