Sorry for the late update! This chapter was 13 pages long in the document. It took me a while to finisht this.

Oh, oh! About the previous chapter when the people saw Natsu's group running on the water, it's just Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Erza, Gray and Zeref being seen by other people. Mavis is well, as good as invisible.

Hope you'll enjoy Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Makarov's Decision, Dancing Fairies and Water plus Ice

"Good afternoon, everyone." Mavis said.

-"Master Mavis!"-

"I'm not alone, though. Come inside."

-"EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!"-

Everyone was gaping, staring and pointing at the mage that Mavis brought along. Seeing this commotion, Makarov approached the group that just entered and looked at Mavis. The blonde girl was about to count the number of jaws that hit the ground when Makarov spoke.

"Master Mavis, what's..."

"Sandaime (1), I believe that you know who this man beside me is."

"Of course. We heard about him from Master Hades as well as Ichiya of Blue Pegasus. By now, everyone probably knows who that young man is." Makarov answered.

"I'm not even afraid to tell you guys that he is the one and only Black Mage Zeref." Mavis said with a smile. Zeref had his gaze on the floor all the while.

-"No way!"-

"Yes way!" Natsu shouted.

-"Really!"-

"Silence! Hear what Master Mavis has to say concerning the reason why she brought Zeref here." Erza ordered and immediately, everyone was all ears on them. Nobody in Fairy Tail wanted to tempt fate and anger Titania.

"Well then, now that I have your attention. I want you guys to hear me out, okay?"

Everyone in the guild nodded while Natsu grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. Mavis nodded and held Zeref's hand a bit tighter.

"I know that for most of you here, bringing Zeref-kun to our guild is unreasonable and dangerous. With his reputation, he can easily kill all of us if it's what he wants to do. But the thing is, Zeref-kun doesn't want anyone to die anymore because of him. I brought him here in the guild because I want to help him."

"You've got to be joking, Master Mavis. Back at Tenroujima, he tried to kill us with his swirling black magic. You can't possibly-"

*WHACK!*

All heads turned to the source of a rather powerful hit on Elfman's head and saw Evergreen with her fan on the man.

"Why did you do that, Evergreen!"

"Because you were thinking using your muscles and not your head, you humungous Elf!"

"The heck did you say!"

"Remember that time well! That guy had no intention of killing us! He told us to stay away from him and run when his powers went berserk! He can't possibly be all that bad if he told us that!" Evergreen said as she continued hitting Elfman with her fan.

"Stop it, you crazy fairy! His magic was the reason why Natsu's scarf turned pitch black! Have you forgotten that!"

"I still remember that!"

"My scarf's alright and I'm still alive, you know." Natsu said with a huff. Zeref turned to him with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry about that, Natsu. I didn't mean to damage your scarf."

"Nah, it's alright. Wendy was able to change it back to normal." The pink-haired mage said with a grin.

"Master Mavis, you seem to trust that young man beside you so much." Makarov said and earned a gentle smile from Mavis.

"Of course I do. Zeref-kun was the very first one to know about the guild when I founded it. I also owe my life to him since he saved me before. We're friends and I'm not going to abandon him when he needs someone right now."

The whole group of mages inside Fairy Tail was silent for a moment until Makarov chuckled.

"As you wish, Master Mavis. Alright, you punks! Fairy Tail isn't going to close its doors for the mage Zeref! Instead, we're going to protect him from the people of the Magic Council! You got that, brats?"

-"Aye, Sir!"-

"Now let's get one big party started!"

"I'm all revved up!" Natsu said as he growled.

Zeref was immediately welcomed by the mages and true to their words, the mages started up one big welcome party for both Mavis and Zeref.

Everyone started to dance, sing and talk about how things were going. They also introduced themselves to the duo and after a short while, Mirajane handed Zeref a change of clothes consisting of white shirt, black jacket, pants and black boots. It was Mavis who suggested for him to change his outfit to which Zeref complied. After changing, Mavis smiled at Zeref and motioned for him to sit beside her with Team Natsu.

"How can they accept a person like me so easily?" Zeref said and Mavis placed her hand over his.

"Because this is Fairy Tail." Natsu said after eating a mouthful of fire food. Lucy, Gray and Erza nodded at his statement.

"No matter what other people or other mages say, we will accept anyone with a heart the same as everyone's." The blonde said.

"A heart... the same as theirs...?"

"That's right. In this guild, the mages have their own share of sad stories in their past. That's why we try to support each other by becoming one big family. Just like Natsu-kun, Gajeel-kun, Wendy-chan and Gray-kun. They lost their real and foster families at such young ages but in this guild, somehow, the emptiness left by the loss is filled by the love and warmth of the guild members. We're not trying to replace anyone in their lives but we're trying to let everyone know that there would always be people whom they can depend on and share their sadness with."

"Zeref-san, Master Mavis brought you here in the guild because she knows that you also need companionship. We understand that it might take you a while before you adjust to the changes but we're all here for you when the time comes." Mirajane said as she placed a cup of juice in front of Zeref who was thinking.

"Oi, Natsu! Stop it! You're gonna singe my clothes!" Lucy said as she tried to pry Natsu's arm from her shoulders.

"Am not gonna burn them, you know. Try to loosen up and party!"

"I am in the mood for a party!" Lucy grinned and pulled Natsu to the middle of the dancing crowd.

"L-Luce, what are we..."

"We're gonna dance!"

"What!" Natsu blushed furiously while looking at his blonde best friend.

"But Lucy! Natsu can't dance!" Happy said while holding a fish in front of Charle.

"Then I'd teach him how to dance." Lucy declared just as when a slow music started.

"Come on, fireball." Lucy said as she placed Natsu's right hand on her shoulder and his left hand on her waist.

"B-But... I can't dance well..." Natsu complained while blushing.

"Heh... The great Salamander of Fairy Tail is going down on the challenge of dancing? You suck, Slanty Eyes." Gray commented.

"What the hell did you just say, you Exhibitionist!"

"I said you're a loser when it comes to dancing!"

"Wait there, Ice bastard and I'm gonna pummel you to-"Natsu was about to walk to where Gray was but Lucy grabbed him by the scarf.

"Just a minute! You're going to dance with me right here, right now!"

"But Lucy..." Natsu whined while Gray was chuckling.

"Serves you right, Flame-head.

"You're one to talk, Gray. You're not even dancing." Cana commented before chugging down a barrel of wine.

"Says the one on the dance floor." Gray retorted. The Ice mage looked around in search of a certain bluenette who seemed to have stopped stalking him for quite some time now.

'What's with her?' He thought.

"You're bothered that Juvia has been distant towards you for a while, huh?" Freed commented as he leant on the bar. Gray perked up at this and looked at the green-haired man.

"Not really."

"Oh, Gray." Mirajane said.

"Like that'd work on anyone here in Fairy Tail." Freed said.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." Gray lied.

"Really? Then, you probably won't be interested in knowing that she has a lot of suitors right now. Don't be surprised that one of these days, she just might stop stalking you completely. Also, Juvia had been going on A-ranked missions these past few days. The missions seemed to be her stress reliever of some sort." Mira glanced at Freed in a silent request to help her out.

"There were times that she returned here while wrapped in bandages. We offered to help her out but she refused, saying she's alright and just needed to clear her mind." The rune mage said while Gray frowned at the mention of Juvia being injured.

"Brats, I've got an announcement to make! You go and grab a partner then dance to the tune of the music! The contest will start at 8PM so that means you have two more hours to prepare! Whoever's the cutest couple tonight would win prizes!" Makarov announced and everyone cheered. Most of them already got their partners and went out of the guild to look for clothes to wear.

Juvia was about to walk out of the guild when she was surrounded by the new members of Fairy Tail who were her suitors.

-"Juvia-san, please dance with us!"- All eight of them said while Juvia blushed.

"J-Juvia... uhh... Juvia doesn't..."

'Juvia's in a pinch!' She thought.

A certain Ice mage heard the commotion of the group and gripped his glass tightly, almost causing it to shatter. Freed and Mira exchanged looks and sighed. When they were about to persuade him again, Gray stood up abruptly, leaving the glass on the counter and marched off to where Juvia was.

"G-Gray-sama..." Juvia stuttered when Gray approached them with an irritated look on his face. The eight newbies of Fairy Tail looked at him with confused look on their faces.

-"Something wrong, Gray-san?"- They asked.

'Like hell there is!' Gray thought as he grabbed Juvia's hand. The water mage immediately blushed at the contact.

"Nobody dances with Juvia except me. That has been decided long ago." With that, Gray and Juvia left the gaping group of guys.

"He lllliiiikes her!" Happy said.

"Whoa! That ice exhibitionist sure seems to be in a bad mood." Natsu said as he watched Gray and Juvia leave the guild.

"Heh... Gray seems to be catching up on things he should've noticed a lot of years ago." Lucy said with a smile.

"Whatcha' talking about, Luce?" Natsu asked while his arms were crossed behind his head.

"Oh, nothing. I'm sure Gray and Juvia would tell us about it in due time."

"Huh...?" Natsu looked at Happy who was also as confused as him. Suddenly, Natsu grinned and wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders.

"Come on, Luce! Let's look for clothes!"

"E-Eh? Wha..."

"You're gonna be my partner, weirdo." The duo left while Happy was rolling his tongue again.

"They llliiiiike each other!"

"It's just like the Master to organize a contest right now." Erza said while smiling.

"Erza-san." Mavis said as she faced the red-haired mage.

"What is it, Master Mavis?"

"I believe that someone wants to talk to you at the guild's backyard."

"Who?"

"You'll see. Go on, Erza-san and bring him inside. He wanted to talk to you ever since we returned earlier but he opted not to disturb you thinking that you were busy."

Erza nodded even though she was still confused. The re-equip mage went out of the guild and headed towards the backyard. Under the shady tree, she saw the cloaked mage with lots of staff on his back and her eyes widened.

"Jellal... what are you doing here?" She said as she approached her childhood friend.

"Erza, I..."

"Why didn't you go inside the guild instead of waiting here?"

"I'm not a part of the guild. Mystogan is." Jellal said in a dejected voice as he took the scarf off from covering his face.

"Then, go inside as Jellal Fernandes. Crime Sorciere disbanded a month ago when almost all of the members returned to their previous guilds and lives to correct their mistakes together with the people who care for them."

"Master Makarov will get angry at me. He can't possibly take me in for the second time. The rest of the mages would also be angered at my return after all that happened." Jellal said while Erza smiled.

"Tell that to the people who accepted a new addition to the family."

"What? Who's the new member?"

Erza looked at Jellal with a pained look on her face. This caused Jellal to approach her.

"Master Mavis... brought Zeref to the guild..."

"What? The black mage... Zeref?" Erza nodded and rubbed her arm in an uncomfortable fashion.

"Yeah. Master Mavis saw that Zeref needs companionship and protection which can be found in the guild. It seems that Zeref wants to atone for all the sins and death he committed over the years. Everyone, including Master Makarov, agreed in giving him a chance to correct his mistakes."

Jellal was silent for a minute that's why Erza took the initiative and hugged the blue-haired man.

"Jellal, I'm also worried for you. I want to help you. Please start anew with me and everyone in the guild."

Jellal returned the hug and nodded. When they broke the hug, Erza held Jellal's hand and they walked to the town.

"Master Makarov organized a contest for everyone. We have two hours to prepare."

"Prepare for what kind of contest?"

"A dancing contest."

"I see."

They walked hand-in-hand to the town while looking for clothes to wear that night. Meanwhile, back at the guild...

"Zeref-kun, why are you just sitting around? We need to look for clothes too, you know!" Mavis said as she clasped Zeref's hands in her own.

"I..."

"The 3rd Master organized this party for you as well as the dance contest. Everything will be alright." Mavis was grinning while Zeref was a bit undecided.

"You need to loosen up, Zeref-kun. For the past 400 hundred years, we're very sure that you've carried a lot of burden because of everything you've witnessed. For 400 hundred years, you should've witnessed birth and death, war and peace, and how this cycle repeated itself. It's tiring, isn't it? Fairy Tail was built for anyone to be able to carry such pain together with everyone. Master Mavis is there for you that's why we know that you'd be alright." Makarov said as a small smile appeared on Zeref's lips. The girl's swooned around them when they saw the mage's smile.

-"Kawaii!"-

"Thank you, Makarov-san." Zeref said. Mavis looked at the girls around them and sighed.

'My, my. He sure gained so many fan girls with just one smile.' She thought.

"Mavis, please be my partner for the dance contest." Zeref said as he looked at the surprised blonde mage. In a split second, Mavis grinned and nodded.

"Of course! Let's go, Zeref-kun!"

Makarov chuckled as he drank his wine.

"It seems that the guild will be livelier more than ever. Even Master Mavis's found herself a partner."

Two hours later, the mages returned in their formal outfits together with their partners. The girls were told to line up on the second floor while their respective partners were downstairs. Makarov, Macao and Wakaba were the judges while Kinana was the host since Mirajane was competing.

The mages who didn't join were excitedly waiting for the contest to start. The Exceeds were seated on a table while looking at the mages who were going to dance.

"Good evening, everyone! We're going to start the most awaited contest for tonight! Here are our couples. First up, our lovely bartender Mirajane and her partner, the Rune mage, Freed!"

Cheers erupted as Mirajane descended the steps and Freed offered his arm for her to take as they walked to the dance floor. Mirajane was dressed in red V-necked dress with thigh-slit while Freed was wearing red long-sleeves with black linings and black slacks.

"Our next couple is the Sky Maiden Wendy and the Fire mage, Romeo!"

Macao and Wakaba were the loudest cheerers of the kids. Charle was smiling while her paws were crossed in front of her chest. Wendy smiled at Romeo when she reached the last step of the stairs and they walked to the dance floor next to Mirajane and Freed. Wendy was clad in white Lolita outfit while Romeo was wearing white and blue tuxedo.

"Couple number three, the Celestial Mage Lucy and the Salamander, Natsu!"

"Go, Natsu! Lucy!" Happy cheered.

A lot of mages cheered for the Stellar Mage as she descended the steps and smiled at her partner when she reached him. They were of course, wearing matching outfits especially made by Virgo from the spirit world. Their color theme was blue and yellow.

"Couple number four, our Solid Script Mage Levy and the Iron Dragon, Gajeel!"

As they were called, Jet and Droy started weeping. Levy walked down the stairs dressed in orange cocktail dress. Gajeel, who was a wearing grey tuxedo, smirked at her as they went to their spot.

"Gajeel joined! Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Happy asked with wide eyes, even Charle couldn't believe it. Lily just smirked while looking at the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"That's Gajeel all right."

"Couple number five, Fairy Tail's Titania, Erza and Fairy Tail's Prince, Jellal!"

There were gasps and cheers that came from the audience as Erza held on Jellal's arm. The couples on the dance floor cheered for the two as they went to their spot. Erza was dressed in a white and red flowing dress while Jellal was wearing white long-sleeves and blue vest.

"Finally! I knew it was you, Jellal!" Natsu said as he grinned at the blue-haired mage who was smiling.

"Couple number six, the Water Mage Juvia and the Ice Mage, Gray!"

Juvia had a faint blush on her cheeks as she descended the staircase. Gray had a permanent smirk on his face as Juvia hooked her arm around his and they walked to their spot. Juvia was wearing a blue tube cocktail dress while Gray was wearing blue long-sleeves and white vest.

"And for our last couple, Fairy Tail's Fairy, Master Mavis and the Black Mage, Zeref!"

Loud cheers were given to the two and Zeref was totally grateful for their acceptance. His gaze, however, was focused on the blonde descending the steps while clad in a baby pink cocktail dress with a bow on the waist.

Never in his whole life had he seen someone as beautiful as Mavis, not even those girls from before can ever compare to the Fairy mage. He himself was wearing white tuxedo and white slacks, totally in contrast to his black clothes before as well as the title given to him.

"Earthland to Zeref-kun, are you still here?" Mavis teased as she linked her arm on Zeref's. The black mage shook his head as the corners of his lips twitched a bit upwards to a smile and led them to their place.

"Now that all of our participating couples are here, let the dance, begin!" Kinana said as Cana started up the music which was waltz. The couples swayed to the tune of the music and Makarov decided to make an annual dance contest for everyone in the guild.

He, Wakaba and Macao were looking at the dancing mages with complete interest. They were also scribbling things on the papers they were holding.

"Really, Natsu. I didn't expect that you'd ask me to be your partner for this contest." Lucy said while Natsu was assisting their dance movements.

"Why? I don't have any other partner, you know."

"It's not that... I mean... I thought for sure that you'd ask... Lisanna."

"Lisanna?"

Lucy nodded. She was not oblivious to Lisanna's feelings towards Natsu. She knows that if she didn't barge in his life, Natsu would one hundred percent end up with Lisanna. The blonde mage felt a pang in her heart because she knows that she likes Natsu. She even probably loves him but since she didn't want to hurt Lisanna, she's emotionally torn.

"Luce, I don't know what's going on with that weird mind of yours but I'm totally sure that the only girl I'll ever ask to be my partner, whether on a mission or a dance, is you." Natsu sincerely said.

"But what about Lisanna?"

"Lisanna's a little sister to me. Of course she's important."

Not far from them, Lisanna smiled a little. Her stay in Edolas taught her a lot of things including reading lip movements and was certain of what Natsu told Lucy. Of course, she's hurt but not bitter.

"Well, they were together even in Edolas anyway." She mumbled. Just then, a glass of cocktail appeared in front of her. Looking up, she saw Laxus holding the glass for her.

"Cheer up, cat. It's not like you to sulk." He said as the girl accepted the drink.

"Thank you, Laxus."

Jellal spun Erza and gently took her back in his arms as they continued to dance. Erza had a contented smile on her face while looking at the man in front of her.

"Are you going to stay here at the guild? I can help you talk with Master Makarov."

"Erza, I'll talk with the Master. It's all up to him whether or not to accept me here in the guild. I already made you suffer a lot in the past, and I will do everything I can to never hurt you again." Jellal said as he hugged the woman who meant everything to him.

"Oh, Jellal..."

Meanwhile, Juvia had her gaze focused on the floor while she was dancing with Gray. The black-haired man however, wanted something to be done and over with and it concerns the bluenette in front of him.

"Juvia..."

"Y-Yes, Gray-sama?" The girl stammered.

"You've been avoiding me these past few days." It was a statement and clearly not a question he wanted her to answer.

"Eh?"

'Gray-sama noticed that? Juvia's in trouble!' Juvia thought as she raked her mind to say something.

"Ju-Juvia wasn't avoiding Gray-sama... Juvia was just busy with her missions."

"And you've been endangering your life in those missions. Are you planning to die?" Gray hissed through gritted teeth. Juvia flinched when she saw pain and anger in Gray's eyes.

"Gray-sama..."

"I... I..." Gray cursed under his breath and decided to act on his actions instead. He pulled Juvia towards him and wrapped his arms around her. They managed to continue dancing, though.

"Gray-sama, Juvia's sorry for everything... Ju-Juvia decided to... stop pestering Gray-sama so he wouldn't be irritated by Juvia anymore... Juvia already gave Gray-sama so many troubles so Juvia needs to move on and-"

"No!" He growled.

"Wh-What..."

"You wouldn't be doing anything you said. Go ahead and follow me anywhere and everywhere I go. I'll even give you the spare key to my apartment if that'll make you stay. And you definitely won't distance yourself from me."

"B-But Juvia already gave Gray-sama too much trouble... Juvia knows that she's just a bother for Gray-sama..."

"I never said that, right? I will never say that because you're not a bother to me. Juvia, I don't want you to leave me." At the tone of Gray's voice, it looked like he was pleading her to stay with him and continue stalking him.

"Gray-sama, why? What's with the sudden change? I-It's not like Juvia isn't happy about it but..."

"I don't want to lose you..."

"Lose me...? What do you mean by that, Gray-sama?"

Gray sighed then buried his face in Juvia's soft blue hair. Juvia blushed and leant on Gray's chest since she has no way of escaping from his arms.

"You really don't get a thing, do you?"

"Hai?"

Gray just let Juvia's question hanging for the mean time.

'There are more chances aside from this. I'll let it go for now.' Gray thought as he opened his eyes and saw the eight guys from before. They looked at Juvia with pure affection.

'Scratch that! I won't let Juvia go and be together with any of them or even Lyon!' Gray placed his finger under Juvia's chin and tilted her face to meet his gaze.

"You wanna know why I don't want to lose you?" At this, Juvia nodded while entranced with the emotions flickering in Gray's eyes.

"Because I love you and I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose someone as special as you."

"Gray-sama... Juvia's..." Juvia trailed off and passed out. She wasn't able to suppress her overflowing happiness after hearing her Prince tell her that he actually loves her. Gray caught her immediately since she was already in his arms.

"J-Juvia? Hey, Juvia! Oh, shit!" Gray scooped the girl in his arms and headed to the infirmary. Natsu and Gajeel who heard his confession because of their heightened sense of hearing chuckled while dancing with their respective partners. Even though Wendy didn't mean to overhear Gray's confession, she couldn't help it since her sense of hearing is also above normal.

All of the couples continued dancing until the music faded to its last notes. Everyone clapped and Kinana stood on the stage while holding a piece of paper which came from the three judges.

"Alright! I know everyone's anxious to know as to whom among our seven pairs of couples won so I won't make you guys wait any longer. The third place goes to..."

Alzack and Bisca started the drumroll and Kinana spoke up when they were finished.

"Natsu and Lucy! They'll receive 200,000 jewels and two eat-all-you-can vouchers at one of the best restaurants here in Magnolia!"

"We won, Lucy! We're third place! There's eat-all-you-can too!" Natsu said as he hugged Lucy.

"I know! That's great! I can pay my rent with my share and you can do whatever you want with your share."

The duo went up the stage and accepted the prizes from Wakaba as the other guild members clapped.

"Let's now move on to the next winners. Our second place goes to..."

The drumroll started again.

"Jellal and Erza! They'll receive 300,000 jewels and two VIP tickets for the amusement park, Magic Land!"

"We'd be going there together after this." Jellal said as Erza smiled. They went to the stage to claim their prizes from Macao.

"And here's our first place! The cutest couple of the night is..."

The drumroll started once again before Kinana spoke.

"Master Mavis and Zeref! They'll receive 400,000 jewels and two days- one night stay at Akane Beach!"

"Yay! We won, Zeref-kun! We won!" Mavis jumped a bit before engulfing Zeref in a hug.

"Y-Yeah, we did." Zeref found the matter unbelievable but seeing Mavis completely happy, it made him feel comfortable.

The both of them went to the stage and claimed their prizes from Makarov.

"Alright, punks! Let's party until the morning!" Makarov announced and everyone cheered.

On the other hand, at Tenroujima...

"Sir, we didn't find anyone on the island. There were no signs of the Black Mage as well." One of the Rune Knights reported to Lahar.

"Damn. Where could the Mage of Death have possibly hidden himself?" Lahar muttered.

"Officer, an order just came from the Magic Council. They ordered us to investigate the Grimoire Heart guild before continuing the search here on Tenroujma." Mest or Doranbolt said.

"Fine. Everyone, get in the ship and we'd go to Grimoire Heart!"

-"Yes, sir!"-

Sandaime- Third Master

I give up being mean to Lahar. ( -_- ) He reminds me so much of Bleach's Ishida Uryuu so, yeah. I won't harm him. It's quite long, huh? The next chapter might take a little while to be finished.

Until the next update, ciao!

~ sapphire wind