In a city named Fuyuki, filled with bright lights and modern vehicles, stood a luxurious traditional Japanese-style house surrounded by a high fence. On one side of the fence, a wooden nameplate bearing the 'Zenjou' family crest was attached.
Right in front of the gate, a little black-haired girl was seen standing stealthily. She seemed to intend to sneak out of the house at night. However, right as her tiny hands pulled the fence to close it slowly, suddenly…
Whoosh!!
"Eh? Waaaah!" the little girl shouted in surprise.
A strong gust of wind pulling like a vacuum machine suddenly hit her from above, making her twin-tail hair rise fiercely. The little girl instinctively looked up. In the air, she saw a strange magical pattern that she had never seen in her entire life. The pattern emitted colorful lights creating a beautiful symmetrical shape, constantly changing and spinning like a Kaleidoscope.
A moment later, something was thrown out from the center of the pattern, followed by a panicked, shrill scream.
"Uwaaaaaaaa!!"
Thud!!!
"Cough… cough!" The little girl named Rin Tohsaka coughed while protecting her face with her arms. Something that had just fallen and hit the asphalt kicked up quite a thick cloud of dust around it.
Through the flying dust, Rin narrowed her eyes. She managed to catch a glimpse of two strange figures before they landed: one was a small, blue-colored figure, while the other was a messy young man with sakura-pink hair.
As the dust cloud began to thin out and Rin was about to step forward to check, the sound of hurried running footsteps was heard from the front yard of her house.
"RIN!!! What are you doing out there?!" called a voice filled with panic. It was the gentle voice of an adult woman—her mother.
Rin jolted violently. "Mother!" Her face paled like a little thief caught red-handed. Stiffly, she turned her head, finding her mother, Aoi Tohsaka, approaching with a look of suppressed anger.
"Rin! Why are you out this late at night—" The adult woman's words were suddenly cut off. Her gaze went past her daughter's shoulder, fixated on the figure of a young man lying helplessly right in front of their house gate.
Suddenly, a faint whimpering sound was heard from beneath the young man's body. "Natsu… heavy…" the tiny voice complained before going completely silent again.
Aoi stared intently at the sakura-haired young man for a moment. "Rin, who is that person?" she asked, turning to look at her daughter.
"I don't know, Mom. When I was about to go out, I saw him fall from the sky," Rin answered, pointing towards the sky where Natsu had just fallen.
Aoi looked up following the direction Rin pointed, but she only saw the expanse of the pitch-black night sky. Aoi then lowered her gaze back to the young man. Fell from the sky? Could he be a Magus? Should I contact Tokiomi-san? Aoi thought hesitantly.
Before Aoi could make a decision, a groan of pain escaped the young man's lips.
"Argh…"
That suppressed groan made Aoi focus her gaze. Under the dim streetlights, she just realized that the young man's body was covered in severe bruises and dirty bandages.
Seeing that pitiful sight, her logic as a magus's wife crumbled. Driven purely by pity and a mother's instinct, Aoi could not let the young man suffer in pain out there.
"Rin, help me support him. Let's bring him inside first."
"O-okay!" Rin nodded quickly.
Without wasting any more time, Aoi and Rin hurried over to the unconscious young man.
Aoi reached out her hand, touching the young man's shoulder to turn him over with Rin. "Heavy!" Rin complained.
After trying with all their might, the two of them finally managed to roll Natsu's body over.
"What is this?!" Rin shouted in surprise upon seeing the figure of a blue cat who was also unconscious underneath. The cat seemed to have fainted from being crushed and pinned down by the young man's body.
Aoi stared at the cat thoughtfully. "Could he be his Tsukaima?" Aoi muttered. She then looked at Rin who was poking the cat's body with a wooden twig. "Rin, bring that cat inside too."
"Okay, Mom," Rin answered. The little girl slowly carried the blue cat in both of her hands, hugging him tightly like hugging a doll. Rin then turned to her mother who was still standing near the young man. "Mom, how are you going to carry that person? He is very heavy."
Aoi was briefly confused about how to bring the young man inside. But suddenly, the young man's eyelids twitched and opened slightly. Realizing the young man was gradually regaining consciousness, Aoi immediately lowered her body and patted his cheek gently.
"Child, are you still conscious? Can you stand up?" Aoi asked softly.
The young man nodded. He tried to move, forcing himself to get up, but it seemed his strength was still too weak. When his body swayed and almost fell again, Aoi hurriedly supported him.
"Let me help you," Aoi said gently. The adult woman wrapped her arm around him and helped the young man stand by supporting him on her shoulder.
"Thank you…" the young man said with a very weak voice. Aoi just nodded slowly. She then began to guide the young man walking slowly into the house's yard, followed by Rin trailing behind while carrying the blue cat.
In the middle of their steps, Aoi paused for a moment. She glanced at the face of the young man leaning against her. So warm, Aoi thought in wonder. For some reason, when supporting and touching the young man, Aoi felt an incredibly comfortable warmth flowing from his skin. But because the situation was urgent, Aoi brushed aside her wonder and resumed guiding the young man into her house.
After a while, they arrived in the living room. There was a rather large sofa there.
"Rin, lay that cat down on the small sofa," Aoi said.
Rin followed her mother's words, slowly laying the blue cat on the smaller sofa. Meanwhile, Aoi supported the young man to the large sofa and laid him down there carefully.
"Rin, now please fetch a bucket of warm water and a towel," Aoi requested.
Rin nodded and immediately hurried to the kitchen to get what her mother asked for. Left alone in the living room, Aoi looked deeper at the unconscious young man. Her gaze fell upon his messy-cut hair that possessed a very unique color.
That pink color instantly reminded Aoi of the cherry blossoms that she missed so much. The flowers she used to see during spring with her husband and her two daughters. Because of the young man's hair color, Aoi's heart ached. She remembered her daughter—no, more accurately her youngest daughter who had now been given away and adopted by another family.
"Sakura…" Aoi muttered with a sorrowful gaze, her youngest daughter's name was based on the cherry blossom.
While Aoi was still lost in thought looking at him, the young man suddenly opened his eyelids. Aoi jolted in surprise. Not because the young man woke up, but because she saw the young man's pupils were shaped in a glowing 'X' pattern.
Before Aoi could process the bizarre sight, the sound of footsteps and Rin's call broke her reverie.
"Mom, here is the water," said Rin, who had just returned carrying a bucket of warm water and a dry towel.
Aoi immediately turned her head to her eldest daughter. "Oh, Rin," Aoi replied softly.
She hurriedly averted her gaze back to look at the young man, intending to confirm if he was really conscious and to ask about his condition. However, all Aoi saw was the young man's face sleeping soundly with both eyes tightly shut.
"Did I see that wrong…?" Aoi muttered softly to herself.
One hour had passed since Aoi brought the mysterious young man into the living room. She was busy changing bandages, as well as wiping the remaining dust and blood from the young man's skin. However, in the middle of the process, her attention was slowly diverted.
As her wet cloth wiped the young man's body, she realized a fact.
His body is so muscular… So hard. But for some reason, it radiates such a comfortable warmth, Aoi thought in amazement.
Unconsciously, her soft fingers touched the young man's bicep and gave it a slight, gentle squeeze.
This arm… is much harder than Toki—
Aoi's heart seemed to jump. Her eyes widened, shocked by the contents of her own head. She had just compared this unknown young man's physique to her husband's! Guilt immediately seized her common sense, making her realize that it was completely inappropriate.
"Mom?" Rin called out suddenly.
Aoi jolted in surprise. She immediately turned her head with a slightly nervous face. "Wh-what is it, Rin?" she asked, stuttering a bit.
"I have finished cleaning this cat," Rin said innocently, pointing at the figure of the cat lying peacefully on the small sofa.
"O-oh, that's good then…" Aoi took a deep breath, trying to normalize her heartbeat.
Her attention was snatched back when a faint mumble escaped from the lips of the young man behind her.
"Argh…"
Aoi quickly turned her head. She saw the sakura-haired young man's eyelids flutter before finally opening slowly.
The young man blinked a few times, then stared straight at Aoi who was looking down beside him. "Where is this…?" he asked softly.
Realizing her guest had regained consciousness, Aoi's tense expression instantly softened.
"This is my house," Aoi answered with a very warm and soothing smile. "Are you feeling any better?"
The young man's vision slowly began to clear. He blinked a few times before finally seeing the figures of Aoi and Rin near him clearly.
"Did you guys help me?" he asked while slowly trying to get up from his lying position.
Seeing that, Aoi hurriedly held the young man's arm and helped him sit up so he wouldn't fall.
"We found you lying unconscious in front of our house gate. May I know, what is your name, child?" Aoi asked with a gentle, motherly tone.
The young man finally sat leaning against the sofa.
"Oh, is that so! Thank you very much! I didn't expect to be such a bother to you," the young man answered. His face, which was pale earlier, now immediately radiated a wide smile and looked very cheerful.
However, right in the middle of that wide smile, suddenly a tremendously loud rumbling sound was heard.
KROOOOAAAKKK!
Aoi and Rin instantly jumped in surprise. Rin even jumped back a step and looked up in panic.
"Wh-what was that sound?!" Rin exclaimed anxiously, genuinely thinking there was a ferocious monster sneaking into their house.
The young man just held his own stomach while smiling awkwardly.
"Hehehe, that's my stomach growling. It seems I'm starving to the point my energy ran out. Sorry, do you guys have any food?" he asked innocently while looking around the house with sparkling eyes, trying to find the kitchen.
Rin's eyes widened in disbelief staring at the young man's stomach.
"Th-th-that was really your stomach growling?! I thought it was a bear's roar! Are you starving that badly?!" Rin scolded in her typical chatty style.
"Hahahaha! A bear, huh?" the young man laughed freely, not feeling embarrassed at all. He patted his own stomach cheerfully.
"My stomach always growls like this if I just finished fighting like crazy! I feel like I could swallow a whole dragon or cow right now, bones and all!"
"What kind of stomach is that?! Are you a monster or something?!" Rin protested with her arms crossed, still recovering from the heart attack caused by the stomach noise earlier.
Aoi could not hold back a smile seeing their silly interaction.
"If it's as much food as a bear, we certainly don't have that. But we still have some leftovers from dinner. Wait a moment, let me get it for you," Aoi said softly, intending to turn towards the kitchen.
"Eh, wait! No need to bother going to the kitchen!" the young man stopped her quickly. He grinned widely and pointed at the lighting on the table.
"I can just eat that!"
Aoi's steps halted. She and Rin stared at the direction of the young man's index finger in confusion.
"You mean… you want to eat the candle—"
Aoi's sentence got stuck in her throat. As soon as she turned back, her eyes and Rin's eyes bulged almost popping out.
The sakura-haired young man's mouth was wide open, as if creating a mini vacuum space around it.
WHOOSH!
The fire from the candle on the table instantly bent sharply, detached from its wick, and was sucked floating towards the young man. Before Aoi's shock faded, all the fire from around the room responded too.
The strands of fire floated in the air like a river of red light defying gravity, sliding smoothly into the young man's mouth. The young man's body swelled and ballooned up like a balloon for a second before he swallowed it whole.
Aoi covered her own mouth. The mage logic she had once heard from her husband crumbled to pieces.
On the other hand, Rin could only stand stiffly, amazed seeing the stream of fire that had just flown over her head.
Phew! A burp of satisfaction was heard from the young man.
The next second, because all the fire sources were swallowed, the living room instantly fell into pitch-black darkness.
"Hahaha! Thank you for the food! I feel like I've come back to life!" the young man exclaimed in the middle of the dark room.
Then… Click! Whoosh!
A warm light suddenly illuminated both of their faces again. A very bright and comfortable flame now appeared just like that, dancing obediently on the tip of the young man's index finger.
From behind the firelight on his finger, the young man showed off his widest and most sincere smile.
"It seems I've made too much of a commotion and troubled you both! Let me introduce myself, my name is Natsu Dragneel! I am a mage from the Fairy Tail guild!"