Another Day

Act 1
Eight Years Earlier...

Hargeon Town was as bright and colorful as it ever was. People roamed through it's streets and sidewalks as they had always done, and the entire day seemed like it would just be a normal one.

That is, save for one small exception.

There was a particular house on the upper part of the city, facing the wilderness and mountains of Fiore, all by itself. It wasn't a messy or repulsive home, by any means. It was just....a normal home, with good walls, windows, a wide open space on the outside for a good sniff of strong, fresh air. It was painted an odd, grey color, sticking out like a sore thumb in the other colorful parts of the country.

Within the top room of this house, lying in a bed and snoring loud enough to where the folk on the eastern side of Iceberg could hear him, was a young boy, a teenager, most likely. He had spiked up, dark blue hair that was even more messy than it usually was thanks to his tossing and turning while in bed. He wore a white shirt, plain with no stains, and black shorts that one would find on any boy who played outdoors.

His expression, despite clearly drowsy, was actually rather annoyed looking. A bad dream, perhaps? Maybe he just didn't get enough sleep, or maybe he got too much and didn't feel like moving...or maybe it was something more. Maybe this clearly energized teenager had just too much energy, but nothing to exert it on? Perhaps he dreamed of becoming something more than what he already was...but had no chances to do so?

"Eh..." he muttered in his sleep, sniffing as his head rolled over slightly onto it's side. First, his right eye popped open, half lidded and still rather annoyed, and then the left eye did the same. Both of them blinked lazily before he groaned and picked himself up from his lying position, sitting upright on the bed as he rubbed his head slightly.

His room was rather small, having only a single bed, a night stand right next to it, and a dresser on the other end of the room. There were some trivial children's things laying around the floor, a few old clothes, a basketball, a couple of 20 pound weights, and some shoes right next to the doorway leading out into the hallway. But there was a poster on the wall across from him, next to the door. It was a large, bird like symbol, colored in red and outlined in black, contrasting quite nicely with the grey walls of his room.

It was the symbol of his most idolized Guild, Fairy Tail.

He looked at it for a few seconds, each one feeling like a minute at a time. Ever since he had heard about Fairy Tail and their accomplishments, he'd wanted to join them and even try to make a name for himself, live up to their expectations and serve along with them...understanding what "nakama" really meant.

But for now, he was just another kid in the neighborhood, living with his sister. Speaking of which...

"Mikado???" an older feminine voice said aloud from outside his room, as if she was not sure if he was awake or not. "Are you awake?? You'd better be! I'm not dragging you to class this time!"

"Yeah yeah...i'm awake..." he groaned as he stood up fully from his bed, walking up to the door and slightly cracking it open so that he could see outside of it.

In front of the door on the hallway's side was a taller woman with long and spikey purple hair up top, brown eyes and a school teacher like uniform, along with a not so amused expression. "You sleeping in all of the time isn't exactly going to make your future all that bright, Mickey."

"Don't call me that, please." he said in a comically deadpan tone, rubbing his eyes again. "What is it you want, sis?"

"Since you woke up so late, and since you also poke around too much when you get ready..." she began, pushing the door open slightly further open and handing him a fairly large book. "I've decided that it's best to home school you on your lessons. You hardly ever do anything with the class room anyway."

"Gee, this is the best thing you've given me since that gold fish..." he said as he took the book, glancing back at an empty fish tank. "...you know, the one that was dead before you even got back?"

"Well, excuse me for not knowing that fish die after being shaken around!" the woman huffed. "I was in a hurry to get home so I had to run fast, can't blame me for it really, can you?"

"Yeah sure." Mikado teasingly smirked as he tossed the book over onto his bed before looking back at her. "Are you heading out now?"

"Yes I am." she said, placing her hands on her hips as she spoke in a parental, commanding tone. "And I want you to read chapters one and two of that book completely. It's about basic elemental magics, fire and ice for the most part, so it's not that hard. I'm going to quiz you when I get back, so you'd better be ready."

"I will I will, don't get you're panties in a wad..." he replied, turning around back into his room with a slight wave of his hand in a dismissive manner.

She almost barged into the room in order to smack the back of his head after hearing him say that, but she restrained as she prepared to leave. "Ugh....i'll be back later."

And with that, she left the hallway, and then the house entirely.

To be continued...