Nalu: The Lone Slayer

Yajima

Lucy's POV
"Are you okay, miss?" The man asked.

"Yeah, just hungry." I said, weakly.

He looked me up and down, then back up to my eyes and raised a brow. "I think your a lot more than hungry. Come inside and sit at a booth. I'll get you something to eat and drink."

I simply nodded. I felt too weak to argue with him. Following him inside, he led me to a booth where he told me to sit and then left to what I assume was the kitchen.

I looked around and realized that there weren't many people there. I looked above the door the man had gone through and spotted a clock. It read 9:00. He must be closing soon and that's why there isn't many people here.

Eventually, the man came back from the kitchen and sat a plate of food in front of me. As I hungrily ate it, I noticed he had sat down on the other side of the table and was watching me. Now that I pay attention, I realized that everyone else had left the restaurant, too.

"You're not from around here, are you?" He asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

"No. How did you know that?"

"Well, everyone in this town has been to my restaurant at least once. They know what time I close my doors and what time they open. I close my doors at 8:30. The people who were still here were finishing up their food."

I nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry. I can go if I'm being a bother."

As I began to stand up, he immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me gently back down into the booth. "You aren't going anywhere. At least not until I check on your ribs. It's obvious you're injured and haven't eaten much in the past few days. You sit here while I go and see if I have anything to help with the pain."

Before I could argue, he had already gotten up and left. By the time he came back, I had finished my food and was waiting patiently for him. He had what looked to be some sort of wrap and some painkillers probably. He walked over to me and handed the wrap to me and went back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came back with a glass of water.

"Take the water with the pain killers. I assume you can wrap your own wounds so you can go upstairs into my loft and do it. I'll just be down here cleaning up."

"Thank you, sir."

He gave me a kind smile that lit up his eyes and said, "Just call me Yajima."

I smiled in return. "It's nice to meet you, Yajima. My name is Lucy."

***

It had been a couple of months since I had arrived in Hargeon. Yajima had allowed me to stay with him for a while as long as I helped around the restaurant. I still summoned Aquarius often. When Yajima found out I could use Celestial Magic, he immediately became more curious about me.

As it turned out, he knew a lot about dragon slayers, so he knew I was one for a while. Apparently all dragon slayers have a few traits that are shared among them. He told me they were the sharpened teeth, the constant awareness of their surroundings, and their ability to heal faster than any normal human.

When I asked him how he knew so much about them, he told me about his connection to a well known guild in Fiore. Fairy Tail. He said he thought I'd fit in well there. I simply told him that if I went there, I might put the entire guild in danger because of my father. He chuckled a little, told me the guild could take care of themselves, and that they was like one big family.

Family. I hadn't heard that word in a very long time. Not since I was taken from my mother. Honestly, I didn't realize how desperate I was for a family until he mentioned it. That was when I really started considering it. I knew I couldn't use my dragon slaying magic while I was there. That would put them in even more danger than they were already in. Although, I could say I was just a Celestial Mage.

I am a natural with Celestial Magic, not just because of Draco, but also because my blood line is filled with many different Celestial Mages. I could easily lie and say that I had been one for a long time. That would account for why I have so many keys.

I sighed and told Yajima that I would think about joining the guild when the time came. He simply gave me an innocent grin. I knew Aquarius was laughing her ass off at that one. He stole my trick.

Anyway, enough of the past. Right now, I was walking through Hargeon with all of my belongings in my backpack. Yajima had somehow convinced me to join the guild, now. So, unfortunately, I was on my way to the train station. Luckily for me though, Yajima had found a way to make motion sickness antidotes. They were temporary, but one would last until I got Magnolia at least.

Honestly, I was tempted to turn around and go right back to the restaurant. That was until I saw a huge crowd of women standing in the middle of town. I walked closer to see that there was a man standing in the middle of them all. The women were calling him Salamander.

I snorted my opinion of that on. Yajima told me Salamander was a dragon slayer. This guy doesn't have a scent remotely close to that of a dragon. That, and the fact that something about this guy put me on edge.

I pushed through the crowd and tried to leave but the man saw me. He walked over to me and started talking to me. I wasn't really listening to a thing he said. My attention was focused on the ring he had on his finger.

I barely held back a smirk and decided to play along. That was my plan anyway, until a pink haired man and a blue cat pushed through the crowd to the man in front of me. Immediately, I caught a whiff of his scent.

A campfire, cinnamon, and a little bit of a dragon was evident in it. 'This should be interesting.' I thought.