Ch 7: Return To Fairy Tail
At Fairy Tail:
"I just thought of something." said Cana to no one particular.
"And what might that be Cana?" asked Mira as she cleaned a glass while standing behind the bar.
"Haven't Erza and her friends been gone for a while now?" asked Cana with her head tilted to the side.
"They have been gone for a few hours now haven't they." replied Mira with not much concern or interest in this topic.
"Mira I think you are forgetting where they most likely ended up because they were chasing Happy." stated Cana as she waited for Mira to realize where they were at.
"Oh my, you don't think that they are actually there do you?" asked Mira now concerned about what could have happened.
"I am confident they are, because where does a scared kid go to when they need help. Their parents and Natsu is definitely the person that Happy would go to meaning that the rest are there as well." answered Cana as she took a swig from her barrel.
"But I thought that Erza was going to wait for Natsu to come back to the guild?" asked Mira.
"She planned that but I have the feeling that Mini-Erza decided otherwise and since we haven't heard the town screaming about two monsters going at it. I can only assume that it went better than any of us could have expected." replied Cana with a grin.
"Well that's good, I was concerned that they might not patch it up between the two of them." said Mira with a big smile as she then heard someone cough to get their attention.
"This is Fairy Tail, correct?" asked an elderly Lady.
"That it is, so how may I help you?" asked Mira giving the woman her warmest smile.
"Is the Salamander around, I mean is Natsu here?" asked the woman now getting most of the attention of the whole guild.
"Sorry but he's not here right now, may I ask why you need to see him?" asked Mira with a concerned look.
"Well you see I met Natsu a little over a month ago and helped him out with a few things while not even knowing that he was the famous Salamander. And just a week ago a reporter came to my store and started to ask me all sorts of questions about Natsu and what we were doing together that day." answered the woman.
"What did you say Miss?" asked Cana since she was right next to the two of them.
"You can just call me Clare and I didn't tell the reporter anything since he was asking very personal questions and I don't know if Natsu would have wanted what happened that day to be public. I was hoping that the reporter would just leave me alone if I didn't give him anything but he showed up yesterday asking the same questions as before." replied Clare with a small frown.
"Does this reporter have a name Clare?" asked Mira as she now had an angry expression on her face because she had a really good idea of who it was.
"I think his name was Jason." answered a nervous Clare thinking that Mira was mad at her.
"That bastard is now harassing other people to try and figure out what Natsu is up to since he can't get any information out of us." stated Mira as her magic flared up thinking about paying Jason a visit that he wouldn't forget the next time he thinks about harassing a normal person for a story.
"Calm down Mira, you're scaring Clare and Jason's only doing his job." said Cana even though she was thinking the same things as Mira but was planning on doing it where Jason would have no idea it was her.
"Yes, but he doesn't have to bring in other civilians into all of this." replied Mira as she got control of her magic.
"And that is why I decided to come here and see what Natsu would want me to say to him." said Clare with a faint smile since she now knew that the anger was actually directed at Jason and not her.
"Well Clare, Natsu is extremely busy as I am sure you are aware of and rarely comes here anymore." stated Master Makarov from his spot on the bar counter.
"I knew that which is why I tried to find his house in town but no one knew where Natsu lived at. So I came here in hopes that one of his guild members would know where he lived so that I could talk to him about this." said Clare as she looked around.
"I could take you Clare." volunteered Mira with a huge smile hoping that she would be able to.
"Sorry Mira but don't you have to keep working, but I am completely free and would love to take her to Natsu's place." said Cana with a smug grin as Mira's smile quickly changed to one of horror.
"Kinana can just cover for me." argued Mira who wasn't going to let Cana swoop in and take this chance away from her.
"Mira she's already working and it looks to me as if she won't be able to handle any more, so you just stay here as I go and take Clare to Natsu's." replied Cana thinking that she had won this one.
"Quiet you two, no one is going to take Clare to Natsu's place!" shouted Master Makarov so Mira and Cana would actually hear him.
"Why not?" asked Cana and Mira as they looked at their Master.
"First off we don't need more people knowing where Natsu lives even if Clare and Natsu are friends, because from what I heard I wouldn't be surprised if Jason was waiting in town for Clare to lead him to Natsu. Also I have a feeling that Natsu will be stopping by the guild today, so if Clare wants to see him she can just stay here until he shows up." answered Master Makarov as he took a long drink from his mug.
"Why would Natsu come to the guild today of all days?" asked Clare finding it odd that Natsu would happen to come to the guild the same day that she did.
"Yea Master, why would he come to the guild today?" asked Cana.
"Because as the two of you were discussing earlier, Erza went over there today and that was just after having conversation about the danger he's in and how I wanted to speak with him. And knowing Erza she's already told him that, which would mean that Natsu probably wants to get all of this over with as soon as possible so he'll come here and tell me what he wants to do." said Master Makarov.
"I didn't even think about that." stated Mira as she went back to her duties as a barmaid since no one was going to be heading to Natsu. But she kept an eye on the door waiting for two of her favorite people to show up, and when they did no one was going to stop her from being with the two of them.
"How long do you think it'll take for Natsu to show up?" asked Clare who felt out of place in the guild.
"Not too long since Erza and her friends have been there for a few hours." replied Makarov with a grin.
"Give me a second Clare and I can get you a more accurate time than that." said Cana as she pulled out her cards and set to work.
"What is she doing?" asked Clare who had never seen someone predict small parts of the future with cards.
"Cana is figuring out when Natsu will show up here today if at all, since I could be wrong about that." said Makarov with a sheepish grin.
"That's pretty handy." stated Clare as she watched Cana continue to use her cards.
"It truly is, but you have to be very specific about what you are looking for, and it also helps if you have a good idea of what is actually going to happen. With that she's able to give us more details than we otherwise would have had." explained Makarov as they both quietly stood there and watched Cana set to work. It only took Cana five minutes to get when or if Natsu was actually going to come to the guild.
"Looks like you were right Master, Natsu is going to stop by today." said Cana with a big smile spread across her face.
"So when is he exactly going to show up?" asked Mira who had been waiting this whole time for Cana to tell them.
"I would usually just taunt you with this info Mira, but since Clare is here I won't. Natsu and everyone else at his house are going to be here within the next half hour." replied Cana as she took a huge swig from here barrel.
"That isn't that much more to wait and see him." stated Clare since she was slowly getting used to the quite rowdy guild.
"Glad to hear that Clare and I am positive that Natsu will be happy to see you." said Master Makarov with a grin on his face since he hadn't seen Natsu over the last month and was excited to actually talk with the dragon slayer again.
At Natsu's:
"How about we all head back to the guild?" asked Natsu shocking all of the girls at his place.
"Why do you want to go back to the guild right now all of a sudden?" asked Kagura who was really enjoying this calm atmosphere that Natsu's place had. And all of the time she got to hold Akari which she knew would be drastically smaller if they went to the guild.
"Because of what Erza said earlier about talking with Master Makarov. So I was thinking I might as well get it out of the way right now, rather than postponing it until I don't have a choice when it happens." stated Natsu as he started to get ready to leave with Akari still clutching his right arm.
"That is just like you Natsu, never sitting back when you can take control of the situation." stated Erza with a faint smile on her face.
"Is that why you always rush right in whenever you get into a fight?" asked Millianna who was holding a sleeping Happy in her arms gently.
"I guess that is one of the reasons." said Natsu as he was trying to put a blanket on Akari who wasn't too keen on that idea and kept pushing it off of her head.
"And what are the other reasons?" asked Kagura.
"I get bored easily and it is always so much fun whenever I do that." replied Natsu as he and Akari continued to fight each other over her using the blanket.
"Why did I expect anything else from you Natsu, and I am positive that Akari will be fine without that blanket Natsu. Besides you give off enough heat already that the blanket is probably over kill for her." said Erza with an actual smile on her face seeing how much Natsu actually cared for Akari.
"Fine you win Akari no blanket since you're awake this time." said Natsu as he smiled at Akari.
"Dada." said Akari with a big smile on her face causing everyone else to have huge smiles spread across their faces.
"That's right Akari, and now you and daddy are going to go and visit our big family again. And this time hopefully I won't be attacked by a close friend." said Natsu as he grinned at Erza who looked away as he said that.
"I already said I was sorry Natsu and that I was wrong." mumbled Erza.
"HAHAHA I am just messing with you Erza, which is something that I don't think I have ever been able to do before without you instantly knocking me out." said Natsu with a huge grin.
"Well I would have done that right now if you weren't holding Akari." stated Erza with a grin of her own since Natsu was indeed just messing with her about that.
"Glad to hear Erza, so let's head to Fairy Tail!" said Natsu excitedly and walked out of his house as Akari babbled along with him.
"Is he not going to lock his doors?" asked Kagura as she and Erza watched Millianna and Natsu head into the woods chatting with each other while carrying precious cargo that both of them would defend with their lives.
"Nope, I honestly don't know if he even has keys for them." stated Erza as she closed the door and followed after them.
"But isn't he afraid of getting robbed?" asked Kagura who was walking right next to Erza.
"Not really since he lives out in the middle of nowhere, also he has it labeled as his and Happy's place so you would have to be pretty stupid to steal from him." answered Erza as she followed the rest of their small group.
"I guess that makes sense." said Kagura as they finally caught up to Millianna and Natsu who were now discussing what Akari's first word should be after Daddy.
"Come on Natsu, how can you not want it to be cat or Happy?" asked Millianna with a small frown.
"Because Millianna, if she said those words or fish for that matter, I would never hear the end of it from Happy. Besides I just know that her next word is going to be dragon or fire because Akari's just like me, isn't that right daddy's little dragon." said Natsu as he tickled Akari's little tummy causing her to giggle.
"Dada." replied Akari with a big smile.
"You are so close to saying daddy Akari, but I know that you're trying and that's all that matters." said Natsu as he smiled back at his daughter.
"What about Fairy Tail, Natsu?" asked Erza with a small smile.
"Fairy Tail?" asked Natsu as he looked back at her with a confused face as they were getting into town.
"I was asking if you wouldn't mind those being her first words after daddy of course." explained Erza still smiling.
"I think that would be awesome, but I really don't think that will happen either since she doesn't hear that as much as other things. And from what I have read kids start saying things that they hear which is why no one is going to say anything bad around her. I mean even Gajeel has cleaned up his language when he's with Asuka and Akari so I really don't think that it's too much to ask of everyone else." said Natsu as they were now getting weird looks from the townspeople.
"I guess that makes sense, and don't worry Natsu I will make sure that everyone is on their best behavior." said Erza as her smile turned into a smirk that meant pain for anyone who said something not to Natsu's liking.
"Thanks Erza but you really don't need to do that." stated Natsu as he started to hear the citizens start talking about their group.
"But I want to Natsu because like you said, kids pick up what they hear and repeat it. And I will not let the guild corrupt Akari after you've done a great job of protecting her." declared Erza with a determined voice and expression signaling to Natsu that she was already going to do this no matter what he said.
"Fine Erza, but if you have to punish anyone don't do it in front of Akari since we are trying to make her warm up to you remember. And brutally beating up some idiots is not going to help so just keep that in mind otherwise who knows how long it'll take for Akari to warm up to you." said Natsu as he smiled at Akari who was sucking on his scarf like she always did.
"Duly noted Natsu, and I'll make sure that Akari doesn't see any of it." replied Erza still set on punishing anyone who said anything bad around Akari.
"Which girl do you think is the mom?" asked some random civilian.
"It could literally be any of them with how close they are all walking together." stated another person quietly.
"One thing for sure is that the kid is definitely Natsu's, just look at its hair color." said an elderly man causing Natsu to smile at how sure the man was just because of their hair color.
"Natsu!" said Millianna quite loudly in his ear.
"Oh sorry about that Millianna, what did you want?" asked Natsu with a sheepish grin since he was so focused on listening in on what the town said about them.
"Well I was saying that maybe Akari is just afraid of Erza's armor, especially her gauntlets. But now I want to know what you were doing that made you zone all of that out, so what was it?" asked Millianna as she got as close to Natsu as she could without disturbing Happy or Akari.
"I was just listening in on the town talking about us, or haven't you noticed that pretty much everyone is staring at us?" replied Natsu waiting for his companions to answer.
"Well that is normal for me since a lot of people think I look weird." stated Millianna with a smile.
"I noticed but chalked it up to you being the Salamander and thought that this was usual for you Natsu." replied Kagura.
"Not at all, pretty much everyone knows me but they don't stare at me like they are doing right now." stated Natsu as they continued on towards Fairy Tail.
"What were they saying about us Natsu?" asked Erza who remembered Natsu saying that he was listening to them.
"You know this and that." replied Natsu nervously hoping that they wouldn't want more information.
"Natsu?" asked the three women at the same time while glaring at him.
"Fine, I really need to learn when to keep my mouth shut." stated Natsu.
"Tell us now Natsu!" ordered Erza in her usual commanding voice.
"Well they are all surprised to see that I have a daughter and are saying how she looks like me and that they can definitely tell Akari's mine since she has my hair color. And they are also now wondering which one of you is her mother since they are assuming that it is one of you with how comfortable we are with each other." answered a slightly embarrassed Natsu who then turned to see how they would react to that. Natsu was surprised to see that all of them were indeed blushing just at the thought of being married to Natsu and raising Akari together with him.
"Are you guys alright?" asked Natsu as they were now at a standstill.
"Did they say anything else?" mumbled Kagura as she looked at Natsu now slightly embarrassed.
"Oh nothing much besides wondering why something like this wasn't in Sorcerer's Weekly, and why would we keep something like this a secret. Oh and a whole lot of people keep calling me a lucky b word, and of course they are now making bets on who the mom is." answered Natsu with a grin that he hoped would get the rest of them back to normal.
"Really, so who is the most common guess?" asked Millianna with a huge smile and seemed to be back to normal.
"I really don't think that is good idea Millianna." replied Natsu as he started to walk away from them and head towards the guild again.
"Hey wait up Natsu, we all want to know the answer to Millianna's question." stated Erza as she caught up to Natsu along with the other two girls.
"I know you do but I can guarantee that somehow this will get out of hand and cause me problems later on." stated Natsu as he continued on his way while checking on Akari who was happily sucking on his scarf that was wrapped loosely around her.
"What if we promise to not make a big deal about it and never speak to you about it again Natsu?" asked Kagura with a pleading look that none of them had ever seen on her face before.
"You too Kagura?" asked Natsu and all he got was her nodding her head while still giving him that look that was so foreign on her face.
"Fine, but remember that you promised that this wasn't going to come back and give me a headache. So the one that they think least likely to be Akari's mom is Erza and…" said Natsu after a long sigh but was cut off by Erza.
"Are you kidding me, I have known you way longer than these two so why on earth am I the least likely mother?" asked Erza with an extremely pissed off look on her face.
"I was just about to tell you that before you interrupted me Erza." said Natsu as he glared back at her.
"Sorry Natsu, I just can't believe that I am last." said Erza with a frown.
"See this has already started to make problems for me, and why are you sad Erza none of you are Akari's mother so there is really nothing to be upset about. As for why they don't think it's you Erza, that's because most of them have seen you beat me up and don't think that I would ever be able to date you because of being too afraid. Along with the fact that I am holding Akari and most of them know that you would be holding her and never letting her go if she's yours." explained Natsu with a small grin as he thought how ridiculous it would be for him and Erza to start dating. Not that he didn't find her attractive or anything like that he just didn't think that Erza could ever see him as anything other than that little idiot of a kid brother that she had to teach how to read and write.
"I guess that makes a little sense, especially about the not letting go of her." said Erza with a faint smile on her face as she pictured having her own family someday.
"So what about the two of us?" asked Millianna with a glint in her eyes as she smiled at Natsu waiting for his response.
"Well from what I heard it's pretty close but Kagura is actually the most common bet." said Natsu with a slight blush.
"Really, why did they think that?" asked Kagura who had a very noticeable blush and smile on her face.
"Yea Natsu, why did she beat me?" asked Millianna with now a slight frown on her face as she hugged Happy who was somehow still asleep.
"Now this is according to what I have just heard them saying while we've been walking through town. But a lot thought that it might be you since you are holding Happy and are constantly smiling, but that also seemed to go against you for other people since you seem to care about Happy more than Akari." explained Natsu with a little chuckle at the end.
"That's not true Natsu, I care about them both equally and I just know that Akari is safe when she's with you." refuted Millianna as if Natsu just accused her of not caring about Akari.
"I know Millianna, that is just what I have been hearing other people say." replied Natsu as he gave the girl a reassuring smile.
"So why am I the most likely?" Kagura asked nervously.
"One reason was that you are right next to me while we are walking around, but the main one according to the people that I have listened to was that you keep looking at Akari and can't help but smile. While you are also constantly looking out for any possible signs of danger so that you can protect her if need be." answered Natsu as he looked at her and gave her his usual grin.
"I can't help that Akari is so cute, and I won't let anything happen to her while I am around." stuttered Kagura as she looked away to only see Erza grinning at her, causing Kagura to become even more embarrassed than she was before and decided to look straight ahead.
"Well now that I have told you three what the town is thinking about us let's never speak of this again." said Natsu still having his grin on his face.
"That was the deal, so when we get to the guild can I try and hold Akari without my armor on?" asked Erza with a hopeful expression on her face.
"Of course Erza, but don't get sad if she's still a little afraid of you and doesn't want to be held by you just yet. Because as you all just saw earlier, Akari is almost as stubborn as me which means a lot since I don't change that easily." said Natsu as they were now just two blocks away from the guild.
"I won't Natsu, but it would be great if she was just afraid of my armor." said Erza with a small smile.
"We'll have to wait and see about that." said Natsu as he then all of a sudden stopped and started to sniff the air.
"What going on Natsu?" asked Kagura who thought this looked very strange and wondered what he was up to.
"I can smell two people that are usually not at Fairy Tail." stated Natsu with an expressionless face.
"Are they people we know?" asked Millianna as she tried to see if she could see them.
"You know the one that I am not really excited about being here, but the other one is someone I know and helped me out a lot when I really needed it." said Natsu with a small smile forming on his face when talking about the second person.
"Why don't you just tell us Natsu." stated Erza who never liked being left in the dark.
"See for yourself." said Natsu who pointed at a man who was sitting at a bench watching Fairy Tail intently.
"I can't tell who it is from behind, we don't have your sense of smell Natsu." said Erza not happy with his answer as they came closer to the man on the bench. But rather than saying anything Natsu continued on towards the man and stopped right behind him.
"You do know what happens when you play with fire, right Jason?" asked Natsu in a very deep and deadly calm voice as he started to increase the temperature to absurd heights, already knowing that Akari for some reason wasn't affected by it at all and in fact enjoyed it more than she probably should.
"I-i-i-I h-h-have n-no idea w-w-what y-y-y-you're talking about s-s-s-sir." stuttered the man.
"I don't really get called "Sir" that often, usually it's Salamander when I am talking with people who are messing with my friends and family. So cut the act Jason, you can transform into anything you want but I will always know it's you because of your scent. Oh and the answer to my question is that you get burnt, but the severity of the burns really depends on you." said Natsu still using his intimidating voice that even scared the three girls that were just standing back and watching this play out.
"O-okay Natsu you got me." said Jason as he started to turn around but was stopped dead in his tracks by Natsu growling at him.
"Did I say that you could turn around Jason, because right now I have stumbled upon someone who seems to be spying on my guild. And I really haven't been able to cut loose lately and would really love to do that if you tried anything funny or something that I might misinterpret as funny. So what are you doing here Jason?" asked Natsu as he lit his left fist on fire and held it close enough to Jason's left side of his face for him to feel it but not get burned.
"I just needed to get an interview with you about what's going on with you lately. Also to fact check some rumors about you that a lot of people are finding it really hard to believe." replied Jason nervously but was completely shocked to start hearing giggles that sounded like they were coming from a baby.
"HAHAHAHA did you like watching daddy make Jason almost wet himself Akari?" asked Natsu with a huge grin on his face as Akari continued to giggle and smile at him.
"What's going on?" asked Jason who was still too afraid to turn around even though Natsu no longer had his flaming hand by his face.
"Just having a little fun is all Jason, of course it was at your expense. So why don't you come with us into the guild and we'll have a little conversation, just you, me and Master Makarov of course." said Natsu as his tone once again went to the intimidating one.
"O-okay." replied Jason as he got up from the bench and took off the disguise that was pretty basic, it was only a coat with sunglasses and a hat.
"So let's go shall we." stated Natsu as he took the lead not letting Jason see Akari in the process.
"Natsu what happened to your scarf?" asked Jason as his curious nature took control and forgot that he was pretty much being captured as a spy right now.
"You are very observant Jason; it took some of the members of Fairy Tail hours to notice what you did in seconds. Oh and we'll talk about that during our little conversation with Master Makarov that's going to be loads of fun for everyone involved." replied Natsu in a cheery tone that creeped Jason out.
"Natsu why are we even bringing him?" asked Erza as she glared at Jason who didn't even notice since he was studying every single move that Natsu made.
"We talked about this earlier and knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later, so once again why not take control of the situation while I still can." replied Natsu as he stopped in front of Fairy Tail's doors.
"You really do go by that logic most of the time don't you." stated Kagura with a small grin.
"Yep and so far it's worked out for me so why would I change it now, oh and could one of you please go into the guild and give some sort of warring. Along the lines of "if something like last time happens again I won't hold back and they'll all get what they deserve even if I have a slight handicap"." said Natsu trying to not let Jason know what's going on. Even though he knew that Jason had already pieced everything together and just needed to confirm it before he published anything.
"I am on it Natsu, so you have nothing to fear." declared Millianna with a big smile as she then headed into the guild.
"I'll go with her to make sure that they take her seriously." said Kagura with a slight grin as she too went into the guild.
"Don't worry Jason I won't be going anywhere, since I need to keep an eye on you." said Erza as she put a hand on his shoulder and gripped it like a vice, causing the reporter to be in slight pain but didn't complain since it was better than receiving burns from Natsu.
"I am really surprised that you haven't shouted Cool yet." stated Natsu with his back still to Jason.
"You kind of made this extremely serious when you caught me watching your guild." replied Jason.
"Don't you mean when you harassed one of my friends until she felt the need to come and talk with me Jason." growled Natsu causing Jason to want to turn and run, but couldn't since Erza already had a good grip on him.
"That isn't what happened Natsu, I was only doing my job which was to ask her questions about you." stuttered Jason who was now regretting that he thought that he could sneak up on Natsu by using Clare.
"Seems like it to me Jason, and you know how protective I am of my friends." said Natsu still not even looking at him.
"I'm sorry Natsu and I promise that it'll never happen again." replied Jason.
"Good to hear Jason, otherwise I might have to do the same to your friends but I won't be asking questions." stated Natsu as he lifted his left fist into the air which was on fire.
"It won't Natsu, I'll only come to Fairy Tail from now on if I have questions about you." said Jason who couldn't believe that he was being threatened by Natsu right now.
"That's what you should have stuck to all along, but hey lessoned learned and you won't ever make that mistake again." said Natsu as he chuckled at the end.
"They're ready for you to come in now Natsu." said Kagura as she opened the door for him.
"Thanks Kagura, oh and Jason you can head up straight to Master Makarov's office and we'll be up there in a bit to talk with you." said Natsu as they entered the guild.
"Don't worry Natsu, I'll make sure he gets there without any problems." said Erza as she still had an iron grip on Jason's shoulder and started to guide him to the office.
"Thanks Erza, and wow I really think that this has to be the quietest the guilds been in years." stated Natsu as he looked at all of the members that were staring at him and not making a sound.
"Why is Jason here?" asked Mira who was now right in front of Natsu with Cana right beside her.
"I know you both know the reason for that." replied Natsu as he looked up at Erza leading Jason into Master's office.
"So what are you going to tell him Natsu?" asked Cana who had a concerned look on her face.
"I'll figure something out, so why does it look like everyone is afraid to talk?" asked Natsu as he looked at everyone staring at him as if he was going to explode any minute.
"Ask those two." said Mira with a big grin on her face as she nodded at Millianna and Kagura who were on both sides of Natsu.
"What did you two say when you came in here before me, I didn't want them to be too afraid to even speak?" asked Natsu with a small grin.
"We told them what you said to tell them Natsu." replied Millianna.
"While also saying that we would help you of course." stated Kagura with a little grin.
"I still don't see how that would cause most of the guild to be so afraid." said Natsu a he looked at Kagura.
"That's because Kagura said that she would actually draw her blade on them if anything upset Akari." stated Master Makarov with a small grin spread across his face while sitting on the counter next to Clare.
"That makes more sense now and I can honestly say that I don't blame them for acting this way." said Natsu while chuckling at the rest of the guild.
"I see that you sent Jason up to my office." said Master Makarov after taking a swig of his beer.
"I did so that we can discuss what's going on right now, which I am sure you have already done a lot of thinking about. Since after talking with Erza today you've had some very good points." replied Natsu with a very serious face.
"I have and I can also see that you were also thinking about this as well which is why you've been hiding out at your place for the past month." said Master Makarov as everyone else listened in on their conversation.
"Yep, because I knew that if I was out and about with Akari I would attract unwanted attention. Just like I did with our little stroll to the guild today, you should have seen the people looking at me. They were looking as if I had an extra head on my shoulders just because I was carrying Akari around without her being covered up since she's my stubborn little dragon." said Natsu as he started to tickle Akari causing her to start giggling which brought most of the guild out of their sacred state and couldn't help but smile at the two.
"Well you do have to admit Natsu that this is a big change from what you are usually doing." pointed out Makarov.
"You do have a point there Master." said Natsu not knowing that calling Makarov by that actually hurt him a little because he was focused on Akari.
"So Natsu are you going to say hi to your guest?" asked Makarov after recovering from not being called gramps by Natsu like he usually does.
"My bad Clare I seemed to have done it again didn't I." said Natsu with a big grin as he looked at her.
"And just like last time Natsu, I don't see that as a problem at all and I am really glad to see that you still care for her as much as you did when we first met." replied Clare with a fond smile on her face as she looked at Natsu and Akari and couldn't help but feel a little proud that she helped Natsu.
"Akari, I would like you to meet someone who really helped your daddy out when he really needed it, this is your Grandma Clare." said Natsu as he got right next to Clare so Akari could see her.
"Natsu, I really don't need to be reminded of my age like that." stated Clare while smiling at Akari who was asleep the whole time she was with her before.
"Oh come on Grandma Clare, you're nowhere near as old as Master Makarov over there." stated Natsu with a smug look on his face as he motioned at Makarov.
"Hey you little brat, I am not that old!" shouted Makarov and was going to continue but was silenced by the intimidating glare that he received from a few women.
"Whatever Master, so do you want to hold Akari now that she's actually awake unlike last time?" asked Natsu as he watched Clare nod her head excitedly.
"Alright Akari I am going to hand you over to your Grandma Clare so be a good girl for daddy." said Natsu as he started to pass her over.
"Dada!" said Akari happily as Natsu handed her over to Clare while still letting her hold his hand.
"She's so cute Natsu and she even has your hair." said Clare as she smiled down at Akari who seemed pretty happy right now.
"That she is Clare, now let's see if Akari will be a good little girl and be fine with her grandma Clare holding her without me still touching her." said Natsu who then pulled his hand away from her ready to put it back if needed.
"Does Akari really love her daddy Natsu that much, that she can't stand being away from him at all?" asked Clare with a big smile on her face as she looked down at Akari who seemed perfectly fine with what's going on.
"Seems to me like the answer would be no on that one Clare." said Natsu with a big grin.
"I don't know about that Natsu, I think that Akari might be just listening to her daddy about being a good girl." stated Clare as she gave him a grin.
"Maybe, maybe not honestly I hope that she's finally warming up to other people holding her." replied Natsu who couldn't help but smile at Clare so caringly held his daughter.
"Time will only tell which one of us are right about this one." responded Clare as she started to play with Akari and a toy that she apparently brought with her that was a little dragon plushy.
"Oh come on, how could Akari like Clare more than me?" asked Mira with a hurt expression on her face.
"Mira once again I really think that Akari just likes women that give off a motherly vibe." stated Cana with a smirk.
"I am so tired of you of all people saying that to me Cana, because you are not motherly in the slightest unless we're talking about a drunk mom that is." replied Mira with a glare directed at Cana.
"Well if that isn't the case then why am I the only one other than Asuka and the dragon slayers that can hold Akari without Natsu being there." refuted Cana who was a little hurt by Mira snapping at her like that and pretty much saying that she wouldn't be a good mom.
"I don't know Cana but I will figure it out." declared Mira as she glared at Cana.
"Wait only those people have been able to hold Akari without Natsu?" asked Millianna who was no longer holding Happy because he was on her head eating a fish now with a very content smile on his face.
"Yes they are, but mark my words I will figure out what is making Akari like them more." stated Mira while still glaring at Cana.
"Did you hear that Kagura you're one of the very few that Akari really likes and isn't a dragon slayer like her daddy." said Millianna happily.
"Wait are you saying that Kagura can hold Akari without Natsu as well?" asked Cana.
"Yes I can Cana." replied Kagura who was now feeling proud about that fact for some reason.
"Are they telling the truth Natsu?" asked Cana as she turned to Natsu who just smiled and nodded at her.
"Ha, see that Cana you aren't as special as you thought you were." taunted Mira with a smug grin.
"You're wrong Mira, it's just another person added to the list that Akari sees as more of a mother figure than you." responded Cana with a smirk.
"Oh I am so sick of you right now Cana." said Mira as she glared at her with a little bit of her magic flaring up and scaring Akari since she was so close to the two of them.
Akari looked like she was about to cry, but surprisingly held off for a bit. But eventually she started to while hugging Clare and trying to hide from the rest of the world by doing so. Clare tried to calm Akari down but nothing seemed to work as Akari continued to cry and getting louder and louder until she then did something that no one saw coming.
"Dada!" cried Akari loudly while looking for Natsu.
"Hey it's okay Akari, Mira wasn't mad at you she's just mad at your aunt Cana. And don't worry daddy's always going to be there for you no matter what so how about we go and read a story. Because I am pretty sure that your aunt Levy has been dying to read you one as soon as we came in here." said Natsu after quickly taking Akari back who instantly calmed down a little.
"Dada" said Akari in between her crying as she buried her face into Natsu and calmed down even more.
"That's daddy's little dragon, not letting anything keep her down. Isn't that right Akari?" asked Natsu knowing that she still didn't know what he was talking about but it really didn't matter to him. Akari started to babble back to him which only made Natsu smile down at his daughter who was now looking up to him with a smile on her chubby little face.
"So let's go read that book with aunt Levy and Grandma Clare if she wants to that is." said Natsu as he headed to a booth that Levy had already picked out for them with Gajeel sitting across.
"I would love to Natsu." replied Clare with a smile since she just watched Natsu calm down Akari as if it was nothing.
"Oh Carla you can join too." stated Natsu knowing that Carla also really enjoyed reading with Akari and rather than saying anything Carla just flew over to the booth and landed on Levy's shoulder ready to read with the group the new books that Levy bought just for Akari.
"Look at what you just did Mira." hissed Cana as she glared at Mira who looked like she was about to cry.
"I didn't mean to scare her." mumbled Mira as her head dropped and she stared at the floor.
"Mira it's okay, Akari was just startled by the amount of magic coming off of you. She did the same thing when I thought that someone was in our house a few weeks ago, but it turned out to be just Happy coming home later than what he said he would." said Natsu from the booth having heard what the two of them said to each other.
"Aye Sir!" cheered Happy from atop of Millianna's head.
"Are you sure Natsu?" asked Mira as she looked up at him hopefully.
"Positive Mira, it might also be that Akari was surprised that it wasn't my magic that she felt." replied Natsu with a reassuring grin on his face.
"Okay Natsu and I am really sorry that I scared her." said Mira with a slight frown.
"It's fine Mira, and Akari is going to have to get used to other people using magic if she will want to become a mage when she grows up. But if she doesn't then that's okay but she'll still need to get used to it since her family is full of crazy mages." replied Natsu as he then turned back to the book that Levy was already reading to Akari.
"Natsu what about Jason?" asked Master Makarov.
"Oh he'll be fine waiting for a few more minutes Master, I actually caught him watching Fairy Tail from a bench outside so this is actually a whole lot nicer for him." stated Natsu while not looking up from the book that his little group was reading.
"HAHAHA, okay Natsu but don't forget that we need to talk with him." stated Makarov while shaking his head at how much Natsu had actually changed since getting Akari, but still was somehow the same person he watched grow up right in front of him all of these years.
"I would love to go join them but it is already really crowded." stated Cana with a slight frown.
"Me too but I still don't know if Natsu has forgiven me yet." said Lucy who had a big frown on her face.
"He has Lucy and would have told you guys sooner but was really busy." said Millianna with a big smile on her face.
"Are you serious Millianna?" asked Lucy with a smile starting to grow on her face.
"She is Lucy, Natsu's has even forgiven Erza already who did way more than you did from what she told me." said Kagura as she watched Natsu holding Akari with a loving smile permanently on his face.
"That's great news and I can't wait to go and hold Akari." cheered Lucy as she hugged Millianna and Kagura quickly.
"Doesn't he look so natural with Akari." stated Mira who had a faint smile on her face and all of the women around her nodded in agreement.
"You guys will never guess what happened to us while walking here." stated Millianna as she turned around to look at the whole group.
"Millianna we said that we weren't going to talk about that." said Kagura as she started to blush.
"Yea to Natsu, but we never said that we wouldn't talk to anyone else about it." replied Millianna with a devilish grin on her face.
"Now I see why Natsu didn't want to tell us." said Kagura as she could now see how this could easily come back to Natsu and cause him problems.
"Don't be like that Kagura." said Millianna with her pouting face on.
"Okay now you two have to tell us what happened." demanded Mira as Lucy and Cana nodded in agreement along with a few other members who happened to be listening in on their conversation.
"I really don't think we should Millianna." said Kagura who was now a little nervous.
"Well I do Kagura, so while coming here people were commenting on our group and wondering who Akari's mother might be." said Millianna with a cheerful smile spread across her lips.
"Well that would be none of you." stated Cana as if that was obvious.
"Yes, but the people we passed didn't know that so they started to guess and make bets on who the mom was. And I bet that you won't be able to guess who the most common guess was." said Millianna with a small smirk now on her face.
"Well it was definitely not Erza." said Mira as Cana nodded her head in agreement with that statement.
"Why not?" asked Lucy.
"Think about it Lucy and you'll realize that it would be a real surprise if they had any sort of relationship like that going on between the two of them. Especially with how often Erza used to beat Natsu up." said Cana with a small grin.
"I guess that does make sense, so that just leaves you two, so who was it?" asked Lucy excitedly.
"That would be Kagura." said Millianna before Kagura could stop her, causing said woman to blush even more.
"It doesn't mean anything Millianna." said Kagura dismissively.
"But it does Kagura when you add in the fact that Natsu might be soon looking for someone willing to raise little Akari with him. Also you two both had the same thoughts on what you were looking for in a possible partner of the romantic kind." said Millianna with a sly grin as she watched Kagura start to blush even more and not be able to speak properly.
"Are you serious Millianna?" asked Mira who looked like she might have just gotten the best present in the world.
"Totally, I would have you ask Kagura for confirmation but it appears that I might have broken her." said Millianna with a big grin.
"I don't believe you Millianna." stated Lucy who couldn't really see Natsu dating someone.
"I am not Lucy, Natsu apparently even started to think about it earlier when he didn't have Akari, but for some reason it didn't feel right to him so he didn't pursue it any further than just looking. If you don't believe me then ask Erza because she was there too." stated Millianna defensively.
"She's not lying about this." said Erza as she walked up to the group.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching Jason while he's in the Master's office?" asked Mira.
"Master came in and said that I was free to go." answered Erza.
"So who was Natsu thinking about?" asked Cana who really wanted to know.
"He wouldn't tell us anyone specific, he didn't even tell us what type of woman he prefers. All Natsu told us was very generic things that didn't narrow anything down except for the woman has to care about Akari and be a great mother for her. While also being able to handle him and all of his oddities as he put it." replied Erza as she sat down with them.
"That really doesn't narrow it down that much now does it." stated Lucy.
"Actually it does Lucy, me and Mira are pretty much off of the list after how Akari has acted with us." stated Erza with an expressionless face.
"You're probably right on that on Erza, but if you keep going by that line of thinking then right now there are only two candidates for Natsu." said Mira with a frown that quickly turned into a grin.
"What are you talking about Mira?" asked Lucy as Kagura finally recovered from Millianna's earlier statement.
"The only two people that Natsu might look at as possible wife or girlfriend material would be Cana and Kagura because they are the only two women that are around Natsu's age that Akari has liked so much that he doesn't need him to be there the whole time." answered Mira as her matchmaking side of her personality kicked in.
"W-what d-don't be s-so silly Mira." stuttered Kagura as she once again got too embarrassed to speak anymore.
"Weren't you considering going after Natsu yourself Mira?" asked Cana who could only think of trying to deflect the attention away from her since she was already blushing.
"I still am Cana, now I just need to put in some extra work to get Akari to like me. But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with Natsu and you two until then." stated Mira shocking everyone except for Cana who saw that comment coming because it was Mira who was a very open person about things like this.
"Aren't you afraid that we might take him for ourselves before you get your chance?" asked Cana.
"That could happen and if it does then it was meant to happen Cana, but I am really surprised to not hear either of you two saying that it's not going to happen or you aren't interested in Natsu that way. But actually I am not that surprised when I remember why I am interested in him, Natsu has all of the things that you would want for someone that you plan to spend the rest of your life with." answered Mira with a grin spread across her face as she watched everyone else nod their heads in agreement at her last statement.
"I wouldn't mind dating Natsu because that would mean I get to spend more time with Happy and Akari." said Millianna with a big smile as she broke all of the other women out of their thoughts.
"I am pretty sure Natsu wouldn't want someone just using him to get to his kids." stated Mira after giggling at Millianna who was more focused on cats and babies than Natsu.
"You're probably right, but luckily I can be the cool aunt that visits her best friend Kagura who's more into Natsu than me." replied Millianna with a smirk as she watched Kagura once again start blushing profusely.
"I do not Millianna." denied Kagura causing the rest of the women to laugh at how embarrassed she was.
"Who's to say that Cana won't get to him first." pointed out Mira who really enjoyed that Millianna seemed to like teasing Kagura about such things as much as she did to her guild mates.
"Mira please keep quiet about such things." stated Cana as she glared at Mira.
"I am not hearing you denying that you like Natsu that way. Could it be because you do and you also know that Natsu might be the only man that Gildarts would actually approve of you dating?" asked Mira with a huge smirk.
"I am not saying anything because I am apparently the only one that seemed to remember that Natsu is a dragon slayer and probably heard everything that we've been saying." replied Cana with a smug grin as realization spread across most of the girls faces and they all became embarrassed except for Millianna who started to laugh with Cana about it.
"Shut up you two." said Lucy who was not as embarrassed as the other three.
"Fine Lucy, but it looks like Natsu is coming over here now." replied Cana with a big grin as she watched the other three panic a little.
"Hey Cana, could you watch Akari for me while I go talk with Jason?" asked Natsu with a smile as Akari looked at Cana while sucking on His scarf.
"I would love to Natsu." said Cana as she accepted Akari and instantly started to play with her.
"Natsu did you happen to be listening to us talking earlier?" asked Mira as she stared at him.
"Nope but judging by all of your expressions I can only assume that this all spawned from me telling them about what the people in the town were saying. Oh and Millianna you'll be a great aunt and are free to stop by whenever you want." said Natsu with a grin and quickly left before they could ask him any more questions.
"Does that mean he just lied to us about not listening?" asked Millianna who was confused on if he did or didn't.
"I honestly don't know any more if he can or can't lie." stated Erza as she shook her head.
"I really hope he didn't." mumbled Kagura.
"Why because you were lying about not liking him?" asked Millianna which caused Kagura to get embarrassed once again while the others giggled at Kagura acting like a normal girl.
End of Chapter
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading and I hope that you enjoyed this installment of Dragneel's little dragon. I would also like to apologize about the long time for me to update, and I can go into all of the different reasons why it took so long for me to do so. But instead I am going to keep it simple life is what happened so moving on, the next chapter is going to start with Natsu, Makarov and Jason talking in his office and that might lead into something different happening other than a normal interview but I haven't honestly decided yet. Also if there are any talented artists out there I would love to use your art for the cover art of this story and any other of my stories out there if they actually apply to story. So as always feel free to leave a review or any other suggestions that you might have about this story because I love hearing back from you guys. And I will of course try and respond back to you as soon as possible.
Until the next Chapter
Digem Out!