Lucy and Happy strolled to the guild in silence. They had left the house a couple minutes after Natsu and Nashi and were almost to the guildhall. The entire time they had been heading to the hall, Lucy had been silent, much to Happy's displeasure. She looked very nervous and antsy.

"Lushi?"

Lucy jumped in her spot at the sound of the exceed's voice. Happy looked at her sadly, wondering why she was so out of it today.

"I'm sorry Happy," she sighed, "there's just a lot left to be planned, and knowing our family, most of it probably isn't done."

"It'll be okay Lushi. Yeah, the guild is rowdy, messy, likes to fight, and constantly screws up important occasions."

"What is your point?" Lucy growled, reminding Happy of Erza after Natsu or Gray accidentally knock over her cake. The blue exceed trembled, putting a few feet of space between him and the blonde.

"Even if the guild isn't exactly the best at some things like yourself, they will still do their very best because they love you, and Nashi."

Lucy pondered what Happy was saying. Happy relaxed when the blonde smiled gently. Why had she been worrying? Yes, the guild wasn't as civilized as her, but they were her family, and they were going to help her. Now that she thought about it, it was stupid to assume that everything would fall apart.

The two friends could see the guild down the street. It sounded as loud as ever, but the thought soon vanished when a pleasant smell invaded their noses. Lucy and Happy took in a deep breath, enjoying the wonderful scent.

"It smells almost as good as fish!" Happy exclaimed, putting his paws on his cheeks. Lucy nodded, since she was never a fan of fish to begin with. They continued to walk toward the guildhall, the smell growing stronger. Lucy placed a hand on the thick door of the hall, pushing it with little effort. She was surprised to see the hall was empty considering all the noise she heard on her way there.

"Hello Aunt Lucy and Happy!" a young voice called from the bar. Lucy and Happy looked over to find Elfman and Evergreen's son, Otoko, behind the counter wearing an apron that was too large for his small body. He was holding a plate of mini sandwiches, smiling at Lucy and Happy.

"Hey Otoko," Lucy said, walking over to the counter, followed by Happy, "What are you doing?"

"Aunt Mira needed help with some of the snacks at the party, so I offered her a hand.

Lucy giggled, ruffling his light brown hair, "I can see that. Where is Mira?"

"Right here!" called a cheery voice. The three turned to the kitchen door to see Mirajane carrying a three-layered cake along with her sister, Lisanna. Their clothes and faces were covered in cake batter and icing. Happy and Lucy marveled at the culinary masterpiece. The cake was covered in white frosting with pink icing along the edges. Strawberries decorate the cake, and on the top was a fondant cut out of the Fairy Tail guild mark. Lucy took a sniff of the cake and recognized it immediately.

"The cake is wonderful you two. Happy and I could smell it all the way down the street."

Mira laughed, wiping some batter off her pale cheek, "It was no problem Lucy. We had fun making it."

"You had fun making it," Lisanna laughed. She turned to the blonde, "Mira-nee woke me up at six because she was so excited to make the cake. I've been fighting to keep my eyes open all morning."

Lucy looked at her sympathetically, "Sorry Lisanna." Lisanna smiled at her and Lucy did the same. It had been pretty awkward for the two in the beginning of Lucy and Natsu's relationship since Lisanna was also in love with Natsu, however, things started to get a lot better down the path and it wasn't long before all the awkwardness was completely gone.

"Hey, where is the birthday girl?" Lisanna questioned, dusting off some flour from the top of her white head.

"I had Natsu take her out to train."

"That's a smart idea," said Mira, taking off her apron, "how is she doing in the training?"

Lucy shrugged, "Natsu is quite impressed with her progress." Lucy had never actually seen Natsu and Nashi train. They wanted it to be something that just the two of them shared and Lucy respected that. She had her own special activities with Nashi that Natsu wasn't allowed to be apart of.

"That's expected," said Mirajane, "She's a Dragneel after all."

Lucy smiled, "Yes she is. What other foods do you have?"

Otoko put down his tray and grabbed a menu specially made for the party. He cleared his throat.

"Beverages include water, lemonade, fruit punch, and Sprite."

"Nothing alcoholic?" Happy questioned, seriously surprised.

"Well it's an eight-year olds party, so we assumed..." Mirajane trailed off.

"No, I really appreciate that you aren't serving any of that stuff," Lucy said, "It's just, are you sure Cana will survive?"

"She'll live," Lisanna said, dismissing the subject. Otoko continued reading off the menu.

"Sides include potato chips, barbecue chips, French fries, fruit cups, veggie platter, a plate of fire for the birthday girl and her father, backed beans, potato salad, and the mini sandwiches. The main course is burgers or hot dogs and strawberry cake for desert."

"I don't think Erza will be able to wait," Happy joked. The five laughed in agreement. Lucy calmed herself, a giggle or two still escaping her lips.

"I'm going to go check on the decorations."

"Okay," everyone responded. Lucy waved bye to her friends before walking down the back hall to the back of the guild. She opened the door and was taken back at the transformed yard.

Large posts with streamers attached to them were spread all around the edge of the yard, ending at the cliff edge. A couple of torches had been set up as well, patiently waiting to be lit at nightfall. Picnic tables had were laid out around a large fire pit. Along the back wall of the guild was a large table, which Lucy assumed was for the food. She smiled at all the guild members who were working so hard to decorate the area.

"Hurry up everyone!" yelled Erza from the center of the yard, "We need everything done by 5 o'clock!"

"Hey, Lucy's here!" Gray called from the ladder he was standing on. He was tying a streamer to one of the large posts. Upon hearing his comment, everyone stopped what he or she was doing to say hello to Lucy.

"Hey everyone," Lucy called. She grunted when something came in contact with one of her legs. She looked down to find a navy haired little girl clinging to her leg. A black headband pulled parts of her navy hair back. She was wearing a black jean vest with a white tank top underneath it. She had on a purple skirt that reached the purple guild mark on her thigh and black sneakers.

"Hey Gale, how are you?" Lucy said smiling.

"Aunt Lucy, where is Nashi-Chan?" the girl asked.

"Her and Uncle Salamander are training. You'll see her at the party," said Lucy, referring to Natsu as "Uncle Salamander".

The small child pouted cutely, "Okay, fine," then she ran off. Levy walked up to Lucy giggling. She was wearing a simple orange sundress and her usual flower headband.

"Gale is incredibly bored. Mai isn't here yet and Otoko is helping with the food. She was hoping Nashi would be able to keep her company."

"I hate to disappoint her. I just though Nashi should wait before seeing the party."

Levy nodded, "I would do the same thing. It's hard to believe she's eight now. It feels like only yesterday I busted into your house to find out that you were secretly pregnant. Aah, the good old days," she sighed.

Lucy laughed, Levy joining soon after. Gray rolled his eyes.

"Girls. They're so weird," he muttered. He was unaware of a certain water mage standing next to the ladder. Her lower lip trembled and comical tears squirted from her eyes like a sprinkler.

"B-But Juvia is a girl! WAAH!"

"J-Juvia, calm down!" Gray called down to the blue haired mage, hoping to soothe her before she flooded the area. A few more girls rushed to Juvia's side, yelling at the Ice Make wizard for making her cry. Lucy watched from a distance, smiling at her strange family. She jumped when she felt a finger tap her shoulder. She turned around to find Gajeel, holding a box on one shoulder.

"What?" she asked.

"There are some weirdoes out front who claim to be tonight's entertainment," he said, gesturing behind him with his thumb. Lucy raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"What do you mean weirdoes?" Gajeel shrugged.

"They look like a bunch of circus freaks, dressed in colorful clothes and covered in face paint."

"Gajeel, that doesn't make them weirdoes," Lucy scolded. The man glared at her, crumbling any of her fierceness.

"I can't explain it, but I don't like the vibe they have. I don't trust them." Gajeel didn't say anything more as he walked away with his box full of supplies. Lucy sighed; it was impossible to understand him.

Well, I'd better see what he's talking about, she thought to herself. She walked around the guildhall to the front and was surprised by the colorful display before her. There were two large covered wagons, painted over with strange markings and pictures. Next to them stood three people, all wearing funny outfits. One of the men in the group walked up to Lucy, giving her a creepy smile.

"Um, can I help you?" Lucy asked, glancing at the other people behind him. The other man and woman were giving Lucy the same creepy smile as the one in front of her. Her eyes wandered to the covered wagons. She hadn't noticed before, but there was another man with the group. He was sitting in the drivers spot, holding the reigns of the horses. He was covered in a dark cloak and slouched over so she couldn't see his face. Something was off about him and Lucy could feel it. The woman in the group then moved to the side, covering the wagon driver from Lucy's view.

"We are here for the party!" the man in front of Lucy said in a strange accent. Lucy had never heard that accent before and it made her feel uneasy.

"Um, I don't remember hiring you," she said. The man laughed. She cringed at the sight of the piercing on his uvula.

"We are travelers from Tiar. We heard you were looking for entertainment so we have come to help."

"I've never heard of Tiar before?"

"It is far from here, very far. We come to spread the joy of our traveling troupe." He pulled out a couple of colorful balls and started juggling them in the air as demonstration. Lucy had him stop, seeing as he wasn't very good at it.

"I'm not sure you're right for the job."

"W-Wait, we can do many other things, just wait to see our finale, just please give us a chance," the man cried desperately. Lucy had a feeling they weren't going to leave until she agreed. Sighing, Lucy caved.

"Fine. The party starts at 5:30, you can do your performance after presents." The small group cheered happily, except for the man driving the wagon.

"You will not regret this," said the leader. Lucy watched as he walked back to his group and started shouting orders. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about them. Her eyes wandered back to the man driving the wagon. Her breath got caught in her throat when she saw him looking back at her. She quickly averted her eyes, looking back at the guildhall.

"I hope I don't regret it," she whispered.

FAIRY TAIL

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" a burst of flames came from Nashi's fist as she hit it onto a log. The power of the attack sent the log rolling a few yards away and down a small hill. Nashi stumbled slightly due to the force of her own punch. She turned to her father to see what he thought of her move. The pink haired man was smiling from the boulder he sat on.

"That was good Nashi, well done. Just remember to keep your legs farther apart." Nashi nodded, re-positioning her legs as Natsu instructed. She stared down the tree stump in front of her. Channeling her energy to her fists, Nashi let loose her power.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Just like last time, the stump went flying, but it went a farther distance and Nashi remained planted in her spot. When it landed, Nashi started jumping up and down.

"I did it! I did it!" Natsu laughed, jumping off his boulder. He strolled over to Nashi and patted her on her pink head.

"Good job sweetie. You've practically mastered the Iron Fist." He had to admit, he was very impressed by her progress. She listened to his orders and wasn't too impatient when it came to mastering moves. Natsu looked up into the sky, holding a hand over his eyes to keep them shielded from the sun. The evening sky was now an orange color with some pink and blue here and there.

"It's almost time for the party. We should probably head back soon."

"Wait Daddy, can we do one more?" Nashi asked, fiddling with her finger. Natsu raised an eyebrow. It wasn't rare that she wanted to extend their training sessions, but considering that they were about to go to her own birthday party, he assumed she would want to leave early.

"Okay, we have time for one more. What do you want to do? Another Iron Fist, Talon, Flame Elbow?"

"I want to do a roar."

Natsu blinked three times. Sure, a roar was basically the signature move for Dragon Slayers, but it was very difficult for him to grasp when he was first learning. He knew Nashi would be very frustrated with this one, that's why he had been avoiding it.

"Are you sure Kiddo? It's kinda hard to do, it requires a lot of focus. Grandpa Igneel struggled the most teaching me that one."

Nashi nodded, face firm with determination, "I want to try it. Please, Daddy?"

Natsu couldn't find it in him to deny her wish. She would have to learn it eventually, better sooner than later. Natsu smirked at the child before him, "Okay, but you have to do exactly as I say. Understood?"

"Yes Daddy!" she said, straightening her back and saluting him. Natsu chuckled, before his face grew serious.

"Now here's what you have to do. When first doing a roar, there are only two things you can focus on, the power you are drawing to do the attack and the object you intend to hit. So what do you want to hit?"

Nashi looked around the clearing. The reason Natsu and her had chosen this spot for training was because it was large and it had a lot of things to punch. Her eyes fell on a small boulder a couple of yards away. She pointed to it, "Is that okay?"

"Perfect, if you're going to do a roar, make sure it's within your range limit." Natsu straightened himself, a look of peace gracing his features, "Now comes the harder part. Now you must completely block out any outside interference. If you don't focus on the object you intend to hit, your attack could go off point and travel in the wrong direction." Natsu closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, "I want you to close your eyes, and concentrate only on the rock. Forget about everything else, all that matters now is hitting the enemy."

Nashi did as her father instructed and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath, thinking about the task at hand. Natsu cracked one eye open to see if she was doing as he instructed. When he saw her eyes shut and her breathing steady, he opened both eyes.

"Are you focusing on the rock?" When he didn't get a response, he assumed she was ready to move forward.

"Just like you do with your other attacks, channel all your energy to the part of your body you intend to fight with, in this case your stomach. It will feel warm, almost like when you eat fire, but this time your entire stomach will feel engulfed, not just the inside. Can you feel it?"

Nashi's eyes tightened. Just as she had done so many times before, Nashi used her magic to increase the temperature of her stomach. As she did, she could almost feel the churning and shifting of the fire within. She opened her mouth to answer Natsu, a small spark coming from inside, "Yes."

"Good. Wait until the fire reaches its highest peak, and when you're sure it has, aim and fire." Natsu took a step behind his daughter, waiting for her to make a move. Moments passed and nothing happened. Natsu expected this. When he did his first roar, he couldn't tell exactly when the fire was at its highest, so he just waited. He saw Nashi shift slightly in her footing. Her brown eyes peeled open, fierce like they always were when she was training. The child took in a deep breath.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Unlike her father's ginormous flames, only a small ball of fire flew out of her mouth, landing with a plop on the grass floor. Natsu stepped on it before it spread any farther. Natsu looked back at his child who was staring sadly at the floor. Natsu smiled, patting her on the shoulder.

"Cheer up Nashi, that was a good first try. You'll get it eventually and when you do, pretty soon you won't have to worry about all that focusing on one thing and you'll be able to do it without thinking."

Nashi didn't raise her head; she just kept looking at her brown boots. Natsu started growing concerned. Nashi had never really been one to be discouraged. Sometimes she would get a little sad, but her father's praise always seemed to perk her up and make her want to strive to do better.

"Nashi, are you okay?" he asked.

"I just wish I could do magic right," she muttered.

"I already told you Honey, it wasn't going to be easy,"

"Not that," she said, shrugging off his hand from her shoulder, "my magic, I can't do it right."

Natsu cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

The young girl sighed, "It's just, everyone at school is getting farther in their magic than me, and I feel like such an outsider. My magic isn't like theirs. People don't want to hang out with me because they think I'm a loser who can't learn magic and has all these strange habits because of it. Nobody understands me. I just thought that if I could master it sooner, they wouldn't pick on me."

Natsu was feeling a lot of emotions at that moment. Confusion as to why he was just now learning about this, anger from hearing all these kids were being mean to his little girl, but most of all guilt. He had no idea that their magic was causing Nashi pain. He understood that Dragon Slayer magic had its own strange quirks, but didn't every magic?

But not every kid knows Dragon Slayer magic, he thought. Very few people knew it, the only ones who did were Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, Cobra from Crime Sociere and Sting and Rogue from Sabertooth. Then of course there was the fact that Nashi was the first of her kind. She was born with her magic and she was her own generation of Dragon Slayer, 4th Generation because one of her parents was already a Dragon Slayer. Gale didn't know magic and Sting's kid, Hikari, down at Saber was learning Celestial Spirit Magic like his mom, Yukino. That meant Nashi was all alone.

No.

Natsu knelt down on one knee. He used his thumb and index finger to tilt Nashi's chin. He stared into her large doe like eyes. Natsu gave her a tender smile.

"Nashi, nobody on the face of this earth is going to understand you quite like I do. Not Gajeel, not Wendy, not even Mommy. We are the last Fire Dragons, and Fire Dragons have to stick together."

"But-"

"No buts," he interrupted. He placed his hands on the child's small shoulders, "Nashi, I will always be here. You will never be alone."

Nashi's lower lip trembled slightly, "But what about when you're not here? What about when you're on missions with Auntie Erza and Uncle Gray?"

The pink haired man looked at her as if asking her for the answer. Nashi blinked in realization, remembering what her mother always told her. She placed one of her hands on her chest, right on her heart, "You'll be right here, and in here," she finished, pointing to her head. Natsu nodded.

"I might not physically be with you, but I will always be there. Sometimes, life will get hard and I'm not there besides you, but you have to hold on, and remember that I'm with you in spirit, every step of the way."

Nashi's somber frown soon morphed into a warm smile. She leapt into her father's arms, holding his neck tightly, "Thank you Daddy."

"You're welcome Nashi." Nashi pulled away from her father's loving embrace. Natsu looked up into the sky, surprised to see some stars poking out across the orange and pink sky.

"Look at that, we should get going. We don't want to miss your birthday party," Natsu said, rising to his feet. He held his hand out to Nashi who took it willingly. She smiled up at her father with the same fanged grin he had. They walked down the hill towards Magnolia hand in hand, both with immovable grins on their faces.

Natsu tightened his grip on Nashi's hand. He would never let anything happen to her. He would always be there to help pick her up in times of need.

Always.