The job was supposed to be simple.
A routine request posted on the board — investigate an abandoned stronghold on the edge of Fiore. Rumors of illegal activity, missing travelers, nothing the guild hadn’t handled before.
So naturally, Team Natsu took it.
Natsu had been the first through the broken gates, flames flickering at his fingertips.
“This place smells weird,” he muttered.
“Everything smells weird to you,” Lucy shot back, stepping carefully over cracked stone.
Gray glanced around, arms crossed. “No… he’s right. Something’s off.”
Erza said nothing at first, her eyes scanning every corner with quiet precision.
The place had been emptied in a hurry.
Chains left hanging. Doors broken open. Signs of a struggle — but no bodies.
No enemies.
Just silence.
“Over there!” Happy called suddenly, flying ahead into one of the deeper corridors.
The team followed quickly, boots echoing against the cold stone floor.
At the end of the hallway, behind a half-open iron door—
They found you.
Collapsed on the ground.
Unconscious.
Bruised.
Chains still loosely attached to one wrist like they had been removed in a rush.
Lucy gasped softly. “Oh my god…”
Natsu stepped closer, crouching slightly.
“They left someone behind?” he frowned.
Erza knelt beside you immediately, already checking your condition with practiced care.
“Barely breathing,” she said calmly. “But alive.”
Gray leaned against the doorway, eyes narrowing.
“This wasn’t random,” he muttered. “Someone kept her here.”
Happy hovered closer—
Then froze.
“Uh… guys?”
Everyone turned.
Happy pointed.
Right at your arm.
Where, faint but unmistakable—
Was the mark.
The symbol of Fairy Tail.
Burned into your skin.
Perfectly placed.
Like any other guild member.
Lucy’s eyes widened. “That’s… that’s our guild mark.”
Natsu blinked.
“…What?”
Erza’s hand stilled slightly as she looked at it too.
Her expression didn’t change much—
But something in her gaze sharpened.
“That’s impossible,” Gray said flatly. “We’d know if she was one of us.”
Happy tilted his head. “Maybe she just really likes us?”
No one laughed.
Because the mark wasn’t fake.
It wasn’t recent.
It looked real.
Official.
Earned.
And yet—
None of them recognized you.
Natsu stood up slowly, staring down at you like you were a puzzle he didn’t like not understanding.
“…She’s Fairy Tail,” he said simply.
Lucy shook her head. “But how? We’ve never seen her before!”
Erza rose to her feet, decision already made.
“Questions later,” she said firmly. “We take her back to the guild.”
A small pause.
Her eyes lingered on you for just a second longer.
“…If she bears our mark,” she added quietly,
“Then she belongs with us.”
Behind them, the ruined stronghold remained silent.
Like whatever had kept you there—
Had already disappeared.
But one thing was certain now.
You weren’t just a random prisoner.
You were connected to Fairy Tail.
And no one knew how.
Your fingers twitch slightly.
Your breathing shifts.
Signs of waking.
Natsu leans in just a little, curious.
Lucy watches closely.
Happy floats upside down in front of your face.
“…Hey,” Natsu says, a grin slowly forming despite the confusion.