Chapter 1

Fairy Tail, or The Fairy's Tail, is the first chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail.

Quick Summary
A young Celestial Mage named Lucy is looking for a way to join an infamous guild. A young man named Natsu and his feline partner Happy is searching for a Dragon named Igneel. What would happen if the three of them met up in the same town, what adventures will await for them in the future, and who is the infamous Salamander that has arrived in the town?

Full Summary
At the Magic Council, Ultear is playing with a crystal orb. One of the members asks her to stop, but she replies that she is bored. A blue-haired man, named Siegrain, replies that it’s quite boring indeed, and wonders if there's going to be any commotion soon. One of the other Council members is angry for his response, and wonders why an immature brat would be a member in the Magic Council, to which Siegrein replies because he has strong Magic. As the chairman calms them down, he comments that while there are a lot problems in the world, one thing that he wished to take care of was the idiots of Fairy Tail.

At a train station located in the port town of Hargeon, the conductor asks Natsu, who is suffering from motion sickness, if he is feeling alright. His feline partner, Happy, assures the conductor that he is alright and that this happens all the time. Hoping that the info about the 'Salamander' was correct, Happy walks off the train, but Natsu, who is still suffering, departs with the train.

In a Magic Shop, a young lady named Lucy is disappointed with the lack of Magic items in the shop. The shopkeeper apologizes, but still tries to sell her other Magic items, but Lucy barely pays any attention and looks on. When Lucy requests if the shop has any keys that can open gates, the shopkeeper immediately presents the White Doggy key. Lucy immediately asks for the price, which was 20,000 Jewels. Hoping for a discount, Lucy asks a couple more times before using her appealing features, which only give her a 5% discount. Storming on the street and kicking signs, she overhears that the infamous 'Salamander' is in town. Curious to see the fire Magic that can't be sold in a shop, she goes to where the crowd is.

Natsu, who isn't happy for riding the train twice, discusses with Happy whether or not the 'Salamander' they heard is really Igneel, to which Happy assures that it can only be him. Noticing the crowd cheering for Salamander, they run up to see if that's who they're looking for.

The Fire Mage, 'Salamander', waves to the crowd, and Lucy wonders why her heartbeat is going crazy. With a look from Salamander, she becomes more infatuated and almost becomes part of the crowd until Natsu's appearance. Staring at Salamander, Natsu asks who he is, to which Salamander replied with a self-introduction. Disappointed, Natsu and Happy quickly leave, but the rest of the infatuated women drag them back and ask them to apologize. Salamander offers Natsu his autograph, but with a refusal, Natsu is thrown out of the crowd. Salamander then states that he had some business, and invites everyone onto his ship for a party. As Natsu and Happy watch on, Lucy thanks them and invites them to lunch.

As Natsu and Happy, (or mostly Natsu) engulf their food in a mess, Lucy explains that Salamander had used a banned Magic called Charm on the people, and thanks them for helping her to break free of the spell. Lucy then states that she wants to join a guild, and starts to explain what a guild is, what it does, and why Mages must join in order to become a true Mage. She then goes on to say that she wants to join a particular guild because she believes that there are a lot of interesting Jobs there. Lucy then asks why they're in this town, to which Natsu and Happy reply that they're searching for Igneel, the Fire Dragon. Shocked by their response, she retorts that it's impossible to find one in a town, shocking Natsu and Happy as well. As she pays for the food and is about to leave, Natsu and Happy begin to cry, kneel, and thank her for her kindness. Lucy is embarrassed by their actions. Natsu, wishing to repay for her kindness, wants to give Lucy the autograph, but Lucy immediately slaps it away.

Reading the Sorcerer Magazine, Lucy laughs at what Fairy Tail has done yet again, including defeating the Debon bandits and seven other houses. Turning to Mirajane's photo shoot page, Lucy wonders how one joins Fairy Tail. Despite the bad publicity, she cannot help but admire Fairy Tail. All of the sudden, Salamander shows up and overhears her monologue. Salamander insists that she join his party, but she refuses and tells him that 'Charm' does not affect her anymore by listing out its weakness: awareness. Salamander then manages to convince her to come to his ship for a party by re-introducing himself as Salamander of Fairy Tail and promising to give the master her request to join Fairy Tail. Lucy happily accepts, but doesn't realize until the end, that she was Charm'ed.

Evening comes, and Natsu and Happy are happy to have eaten so much. Happy then notices the ship far away, and says that the Salamander was going to host a party on the ship, but Natsu gets motion sickness just from thinking about the ship. They then overhear the conversation between two ladies, and are stunned when the ladies say that the party was hosted by the Salamander of Fairy Tail. Natsu's face becomes serious and looks at the ship, before feeling sick again.

On the ship, Lucy is invited to Salamander's personal suite for some wine. Just as she is about to drink it, Lucy immediately swats the wine orbs away, stating that there were sedatives in it. Revealing his true nature, Salamander commands his henchmen to grab Lucy, while stating that she's on his personal slave ship. Taking her keys, Salamander comments on her Celestial Magic before tossing the key out the window. Lucy can't help but cry as she couldn't believe that these are what kind of Mages Fairy Tail has. Salamander then prepares to brand Lucy with a slave mark, but Lucy comments that he's the worst Mage. All of a sudden, the deck of the ship is broken through, and Natsu shows up, all before falling to motion sickness. As Salamander wonders how he came here, Happy grabs Lucy in order to escape. Lucy asks about Natsu, but Happy replies that he can't carry two at a time. Salamander tries to stop them from escaping, but misses in all of his attempts. Knowing that Lucy escaping would result in trouble, the henchmen start to shoot them. Happy then loses his transformation in the midst of escape, and the pair both fall into the ocean. Lucy swims a bit to find her keys, and thinks about what to do next, while Happy falls on his head. Back on the ship, Natsu struggles as he tries to ask about Salamander and Fairy Tail.

After finding her keys, Lucy quickly summons Aquarius, which amazes Happy. Lucy requests Aquarius to send the ship back to the coast, but Aquarius merely sneers. As Lucy yells at Aquarius for sneering, Aquarius calmly replies that if Lucy ever lost her keys again, she would kill her. With a wave of her urn, the whole ship, along with Lucy and Happy, is sent back to the coast. Everyone wonders what's going on, but Natsu realizes that the ship is no longer rocking. Lucy yells at Aquarius's attack on the ship, only to realize that Aquarius had aimed for her all along. Aquarius then tells Lucy not to summon her for a while, and purposely says that she was going on a vacation with her boyfriend twice to annoy Lucy. While Lucy is proud of herself for her action, Happy wants to check on Natsu's status.

With the boat no longer rocking, Natsu's facial expression becomes much more serious. Salamander then taunts Natsu for coming onto the ship, and wants him out immediately. While Natsu removes his clothes, Lucy attempts to help him out, which Happy stops her by telling her that Natsu is also a Mage. With the henchmen rushing towards Natsu, Natsu asks if Salamander really is a Fairy Tail Mage. Salamander replies that he was. Enraged, Natsu bats one of the henchmen away while stating that he's Natsu of Fairy Tail, and that he has never seen anyone like him in the guild. Lucy is surprised that Natsu is a Mage from Fairy Tail. Salamander, who has now been referred to as 'Bora' by his henchmen, tells him not to call him that. Happy then gives some background information about Bora, such as his nickname, his former guild (Titan Nose), etc. Natsu doesn't care, however, except the fact that he cannot forgive him for using Fairy Tail's name to trick people. Bora then launchs a sneak fire attack, but Natsu merely eats it all up while commenting that it's the worst fire he has ever eaten. Both Bora and Lucy's jaw drop as Natsu thanks him for the meal. Everyone is surprised by his Magic, and with a stance, Bora's henchmen along with Lucy, comment that he's the real 'Salamander' of Fairy Tail, and Natsu spews out flames on his enemies. Natsu then begins to fist fight with fire, all the while telling them to remember that this is the real Fairy Tail Mage. Lucy can't believe what she's seeing, such as Natsu eating flames, and using fire to punch. Happy then comments on Natsu's Magic, including how the dragon's lung will blow out flames, dragon's scales will dissolve flames, and dragon's claw will catch flames; all the forms of ancient Magic to counter Dragons, the Dragon Slayer, which Igneel had taught to Natsu. Lucy then asks why a dragon would teach a Magic that would slay them. Happy is shocked by her comment as well.

While Lucy is impressed by Natsu's Magic, she can't help but shout that he has gone too overboard by destroying the whole port. With a defeated Bora, and a pursuing army coming to see what's going on, Natsu grabs Lucy to escape the army so that she can join the guild.

Back at the Magic Council, members of the council are angry at the idiots of Fairy Tail for destroying half a port. Siegrein, however, states that he actually likes these idiots. He then continues that while they are idiots, there are also lots of strong people there. Siegrein, at the end, comments that if it weren't for these idiots, the world would actually be quite boring.

Characters
*Note: Bold+Italicized=First Appearence

Manga & Anime Differences

 * The poses that Lucy did to get a discount is different.
 * Bora tried to use sedatives to capture Lucy in the manga, while the anime, he tried to use Sleep Magic.
 * The anime removed the fire-branding scene that Bora almost did to Lucy in the manga.
 * The fight between Bora and Natsu was extended, and names were given to Bora's Magic.
 * The anime didn't include the key question of Dragons teaching Dragon Slayer Magic to humans.