Chapter 14: Reunion
'Thinking' – thoughts
"Speaking" – speech
'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking
"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are property of Hiro Masima.
arata7kasuga: I have some explanation in this chapter, but I should have probably noted the time when the last chapter's flashback happened.
Kriim-Sauce786: I explored Mira's reaction a bit in this chapter, but I will be using flashbacks in later stages of the story to emphasise more of the situations they will find themselves in.
yogaratw607: I didn't want to flood the story with a bunch of OC's so I only took Yuihara and edited her backstory.
Professor Fluff: Thank you very much for the amazing praise, I hope I can expand their characters as time goes on.
NinjaFang1331: Thank you very much
zzdragon: It's Maz, his personality and magic type.
joecgarcia1991: I won't directly write when they find out, but it will be explored soon.
- Kodokuna Yama-
The small mountain town hasn't grown much in the past four and a half years, but the bond between the town and its local guild has only strengthened. It's common to see one of the mages lending whatever aid they can to the villagers in whatever way they can. Depending on the task some of the mages will be able to speed the process up by using their respective magic.
In turn, the villagers sometimes invite the mages into their homes for either a freshly baked treat or a heartwarming meal. The villagers could all agree that the addition of the small guild four and a half years ago was truly a positive influence on their daily lives.
Just outside the guild hall of Griffin's Heaven, a small training ground has been created since the Guild Master Mira refused to see her hall get destroyed when some of the members wanted to blow off some steam, and with a mage as energetic as Maz and a mage as obsessed with 'Manliness' like Elfman, a good-natured scuffle was rarely far off.
Today was a rare occasion where two travellers arrived in the town. The townsfolk would give the travellers a wave in greeting, and some of the business owners would offer to direct them to the Fireplace Inn and Bar where they can rest and fill their stomachs. The two travellers continued through the town until they saw a dark wooden structure nestled in the mountainside.
"So this is the place?" the female traveller asked as she looked at her male companion.
"Yeah, let's see what changed since the last time I was here," the male said with a fond smile.
As they approached the door, they could hear some conversation from inside, one voice significantly louder than the rest. Sharing a quick glance with one another, the male traveller reached out to the heavy double doors and gently pushed them open, opening a scene that one traveller simply began to chuckle at, while the other traveller instantly raised her guard.
On a table, the ever-cheery Maz was attempting to balance a set of plates on his war hammer that he had in his mouth while trying and failing to juggle a few of Yuihara's arrows. The hammer was almost as tall as Maz with a large double-sided head. Said female mage was clutching her gut in laughter at the scene while Izayoi had his head in his hand in second-hand embarrassment, but amusement was clear in his eyes along with a small grin at the antics of his guild mate.
The sound of the male traveller's chuckle emanated through the hall and caught the attention of the three mages. Izayoi quickly donned a neutral expression while a shimmering silhouette of a bow flickered on the edge of existence in Yuihara's hand. Maz on the other hand jerked his head from the skewed position where he was attempting to balance the plates on his hammer, causing them to tumble to the ground as he caught his hammer and grinned at the two cloaked travellers.
"Hi there, you two need some help from the best guild ever?" Maz asked with a big smile and a cheery tone.
'He kind of reminds me of myself' the male traveller thought before deciding to answer. "Best guild ever you say, I wonder if that is true," the male said in an amused voice.
"Yeah, 'cause here we are the home for those who lost theirs and the warmth of a family for those who have forgotten. Or that's what Master always says when she calls an important meeting," Maz grinned as he rested his war hammer on his shoulder.
"What can we assist you two with?" Izayoi asked. He had a strange feeling about the two strangers but had no idea as to why.
"Nothing much, but we would like to speak to your Guild Master," the male said, finding it amusing that the new members didn't know who he was, not that he could blame them since he didn't know them either.
"Wait, do you want to join us? Are you a mage? Are you strong? Can we fight?" Maz rapidly asked as his excitement got the better of him. This brought a grin to the male traveller's face while his female companion reached for her rapier. The male traveller turned to his female companion and saw her hand hovering millimetres above the hilt.
"I don't mind a friendly spar every now and then, but it seems like my companion wouldn't mind taking you up on that offer," the male said in a friendly tone. At the male's words, the female traveller's hand grabbed onto the rapier while a chilling aura surrounded her.
"If you must indulge this energetic child in his request, please would you take this outside? I would prefer our Guild Hall stay intact when he inevitably starts blasting his magic all over the place," Izayoi requested quietly.
"Please don't fight in here, I really don't need another reminder from Master as to what happens when we mess up the hall," Yuihara said in a shaky tone, a shiver running up her spine as the terrible memory of a true demon sowing her unbridled wrath over their poor souls.
"Of course, I wouldn't dream of bringing a brawl into this hall," the male said as he turned around and walked out to the clearing in front of the Guild Hall. The two travellers moved to one side while the Griffin's Heaven members moved to the opposite side, with Izayoi stopping somewhere in between the two groups.
"Sam, keep your power to a minimum, this is merely a friendly spar with your new guild mates," the male traveller quietly told his companion.
"Fine, but I won't roll over and let him land any free hits," Sam replied with her gaze shifting from a caring one to her usual chilling stare as she turned to her opponent, her hand still firmly gripping her rapier.
"All right, just don't do anything stupid that would cause damage that the Master would flip out about and don't try and kill one another," Izayoi said with a sigh since he still couldn't understand why Maz always wanted to fight or run or do anything apart from sitting still for more than ten minutes.
"Let's get this party started," Maz shouted with a gleeful grin and a laugh as electric sparks started swirling around him as he held his hammer behind him. "Thunder Clap Strike" Maz shouted out as he dashed forward, leaving a crackling trail of lightning in the hammer's wake. Sam tightened her muscles and strengthened her grip on her rapier, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Her moment quickly arrives as Maz started swinging his hammer upward. As the sound of thunder preceded the lightning strike that followed the crackling hammer, Sam quickly drew the rapier and thrust it forward. "Sure Point: Freeze" Sam said in a soft yet chilling tone as she made contact with Maz's hand, causing a thick layer of ice to form around his hand.
This prevented Maz from performing his full swing, resulting in the hammer harmlessly passing a few centimetres from Sam's face which housed a calm expression. As Maz completed his failed swing, the sky lit up with a large bolt of lightning, curving behind Maz with the arc of his swing.
Quickly taking advantage of Maz's situation, Sam quickly pulled her rapier back and rested the blade between her thumb and index finger on her left hand. "Shatter Point: Scatter" Sam said as she formed a layer of ice with spikes in her left palm and thrust the rapier forward. This caused a barrage of frozen spikes to fly at Maz.
Allowing the power and momentum behind his previous swing to carry his body, Maz spun in the air and allowed his swing to continue past a complete circle, now finding it exactly where he needed it to block the spikes.
'Impressive,' The male traveller thought as he watched the hammer shatter the spikes and saw the bolt of lightning still coming from the hammer, actually following with the circular swing and coming back up and towards Sam.
"Safe Point: Guard" Sam called out as she drove the tip of her rapier into the ground. As the ray of lighting began to emerge from the ground a solid block of ice expanded from the rapier. The crack of lightning hitting its target was quickly followed by the cracking of the ice. Sam had to quickly lean backwards as the lightning broke through the top of her shield and blew through the air above her head.
"You're quick with your spells, but how will you deal with a bit of brute strength," Maz shouted with a grin as he began to hammer away towards Sam. Knowing her rapier wouldn't hold up a successful guard against the war hammer, Sam opted to either weave out of the way of her opponent's weapon or use her rapier to guide it off course.
Getting tired of his attacks missing his nimble opponent Maz decided to change his approach a bit. Lifting his war hammer above his head, Maz shouted out "Paralyzing impact" as he slammed the war hammer that was infused with his lightning on the ground. Sam easily evaded the blow, but she didn't expect the shockwave that emitted from the impact zone.
The lightning surged up her body as she felt her muscled refusing to move. Her eyes snapped towards her opponent with concern as she saw him ready for a devastating blow.
"Sorry about this," Maz apologised before swinging his war hammer while calling out "Raijin's Roaring Clap". The hammer instantly got surrounded by blue-coloured lightning and a deafening crack echoed across the mountains. As the blow closed in on her, Sam chastised herself for being caught off guard so easily while closing her eyes, prepared to accept her fate.
"You have quite impressive battle instincts, but this was merely a friendly spar so no need to fight until only one stands," The male traveller's voice reached Sam's ears instead of the harsh impact of the hammer to her side.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw dark tendrils sprouting from the ground, binding the war hammer that was still sparking with lightning. Slowly turning her head next to her where she heard his voice from she saw that from his cloak, a black substance that could only be described as pure darkness slithered to the ground.
"Wait, damn it, I almost went overboard again," Maz shouted as his eyes widened. He quickly dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead into the ground with such force that some cracks formed as he began spouting apologies.
"I-it's fine, the blame lies with me for underestimating you," Sam said in a confused tone while the two Griffin's Heaven mages quickly came running to the three mages.
"I told you not to try and kill each other," Izayoi said in an annoyed tone but his gaze drifted to the cloaked male who easily stopped the powerful swing with those weird tendrils.
"I'm really sorry for the meathead, he sometimes forgets when he is sparring with someone and tends to ramp the power behind his blows up way too far for friendly fights," Yuihara apologises as she came to a stop and knelt in front of Sam.
"No one was hurt too badly so no need to worry. It's good to see young mages so full of life. This battle goes to you, uhm," The male traveller said with a grin showing from below his cloak.
"Oh yeah, the name's Maz, this is Izayoi and this is Yuihara," Maz introduced himself and his friends, Izayoi giving a quick nod while Yuihara gave a friendly wave.
"As I was saying, this victory is yours Maz," The male traveller said as he turned and offered a hand to Sam who happily accepted it.
"Mind releasing my hammer?" Maz asked as he tried to pick his weapon up but found the strange tendrils refusing to budge.
"My apologies," The male traveller replied as the tendrils receded back into the ground and below his cloak.
Before either party could say any more an enraged female voice boomed from the hall with a single word.
-Earlier in Mira's office-
Mira was working on some paperwork. The guild has gotten more requests since their showing at the Grand Magic games a few months ago. This meant more quests would come in that would take mages further away, like the one Elfman was on currently. This also helped the economy of Kodokuna Yama to grow as more traffic came to the tow, though the amount of traffic wasn't that much due to the remote location.
Mira had a smile on her face as she heard the cheerful laughter of her younger mages outside as her eyes moved to the next paper. In front of her was her little sister Lisanna. She took over all duties relating to the bar at the guild. After the Grand Magic Games, she expressed that she didn't want to constantly work as an active mage and had found joy in working in the guild when she was in Edolas.
Mira was happy to grant her sister's request, especially now that they had more members to help fund the guild's expenses. Along with the guild members, Griffin's Heaven also opened its bar to the villagers and it became a regular place for the people who worked out in the fields to come and drink after a hard day's work. Elfman having taken multiple jobs to help them definitely made the workers more comfortable with coming over.
"I took an inventory of what we had yesterday and also took into consideration what some of the villagers suggested and set up a list for what we might need," Lisanna explained as she pointed to some of the new items on the list.
"I completely trust your judgement Lis, you know where we store the Jewels, so once you have some time, you can take someone with you to buy everything," Mira smiled as she signed the paper and moved to look at the next one.
"Seems like we are getting a few S-Class requests, Elfman should be back soon then he can pick one up," Mira said as her mind started to drift to her first S-Class mage who had been gone for over four years now.
"He'll show up soon, I just know it," Lisanna said with a soft smile as she saw the nostalgic look in her sister's eyes.
"I know Lis, just wished he contacted us more than once every six months and with a bit more detail," Mira said with a similar soft smile.
"Well considering how he said he was far in the middle of the mountains and considering how he sometimes takes training when it will lead to him protecting those he holds dear to his heart, you can't blame him for not being able to walk for almost two days one way," Lisanna said with a giggle as she remembered one of the first letters he sent where he complained about how far the walk to the nearest town was.
"He sure is a lovable goofball. He did mention that he would hopefully be back before the next time he sent a letter and that time is quite close," Mira mentioned as she held a finger to her chin in thought, counting the months since the last communication with the man.
Before the two sisters could reminisce about the member of their family that was off training, a loud crack of lightning resounded through the guild hall. Lisanna momentarily had a concerned expression before it suddenly turned to fear as she felt a powerful demonic aura wash over her.
Slowly and shakily she turned her head to look at her big sister. The demonic Master of Griffin's Heaven had broken out of the shackles of the kind angel that usually runs the guild and was now flooding the room with her terrifying power.
"I swear if that idiot destroyed the hall or harmed one of the other members again I will ensure he knows what true fear is," Mira hissed out as she moved to the door. Lisanna clutched her ears as the demon's voice boomed with a single word that would surely send the target of her rage to wishing he had an early death.
"Maz," Mira boomed in anger as she walked through the guild hall, knowing that the fool was outside since there was a distinct lack of three young mages in the confines of the oak hall.
Maz's happy smile quickly faltered and unadulterated fear replaced it.
"I'm too young to die. Master is going to kill me. Please you got to help me out," Maz started to panic and beg his guild mates. Both Izayoi and Yuihara quickly found the sky and ground respectively very interesting, both not wishing to be on the receiving end of their Guild Master's wrath. Sam had a confused and slightly fearful look on her face as a wave of demonic magic flowed over her. The ale traveller's expression was still to change as his grin was still present.
Mira burst through the heavy oak doors of the guild hall and started to advance on the poor mages with a demonic aura surrounding her.
"How many times do I have to tell you to not use that spell when you are close to the guild hall? It's blatantly clear that I will have to make your punishment… " Mira shouted as she closed in on her prey until she was interrupted by a male voice.
"Come now Mira, this is hardly close to anything that we saw daily back in Fairy Tail," the male traveller commented as he turned around and allowed Mira to see the grin with his arms open and to his sides.
The demonic aura instantly vanished and the angered expression melted into one of shock and disbelief. This expression didn't last long either as an angelic smile took hold of her lips while tears started to brim in her eyes. Her initial reaction completely caught the terrified mages off guard, but they would never have guessed her next action.
"Natsu," Mira happily shouted as she rocketed into the male traveller's open arms and tackled him to the ground, clutching him like her life depended on it. The Natsu's hood fell off during the tackle to reveal his pink-coloured hair while his laughter filled the air.
"It's been too long Mira," Natsu whispered into her ear as he held her close.
"Did she just say Natsu?" Yuihara asked, having heard many tales of the man that helped create the guild.
"That she did. It seems like the guild is one once more," Izayoi softly replied.
"Who's Natsu?" Maz asked with a confused expression that caused Izayoi and Yuihara to lose all faith that they had in their friend's ability to remember anything.
"Wait, is he our first S-Class mage?" Maz shouted in an excited tone as his eyes lit up.
"Of course, he will remember someone who will be able to give him a fun brawl," Izayoi deadpanned.
"That's our Maz. Anyway, I'm Yuihara Fox. Are you also a part of the guild?" Yuihara said with a quick giggle before turning to Sam and introducing herself.
"Samantha Rein, most people call me Sam. I hope to follow in Natsu's example of how to be a mage. The first step is to join the guild he is part of," Sam replied.
"Izayoi Coattue," Izayoi offered before returning his attention to his Guild Master.
"Hiya, I'm Maz Stron nice to meet you. You are quite powerful, that was a great battle," Maz said in his cheery tone.
"Though you soundly defeated me," Sam said as she let her hood down that was miraculously still over her head. This action revealed her mature face, blue eyes and long flowing hair.
"Nah, I only won because I stepped over the line and kind of forgot this was just a friendly dual. I'm glad Natsu stopped me before I hurt you too badly with that spell. He's really strong, it seemed like he didn't even try when he blocked that," Maz said in embarrassment that quickly changed to admiration. 'His control over his power is amazing, I hope I can one day be like that,' Maz thought with a hint of sorrow invading his usually cheerful mind.
"He's been training non-stop for the past four year or so years, though I can only really comment on the last six months," Sam said as she gazed upon the happy man she devoted her life to.
"Hey Mira, you haven't got too…" Lisanna's voice called from the open doors of the hall but it quickly got stuck in her throat as the world around her disappeared and all she could see was her sister clutching onto a man who she had missed dearly.
"Natsu," Lisanna happily shouted as she dashed towards the two. Mira, hearing her sister's call, rolled off the man that she knew was the only thing that her little sister saw in her world at the moment.
A soft smile tugged at Mira's lips as she watched Lisanna embracing Natsu, the man instantly returning the embrace as tears flowed from both their eyes. 'Our family is back,' Mira thought as oy flowed from her heart. The newer members of Griffin's Heaven were happy to see the pure joy on Lisanna's face, while the travelling companion of Natsu revelled in the love that he had for the woman in his arms, overjoyed to see the longing that had plagued him finally evaporate.
"I've missed you so much," Lisanna said as she placed her forehead against Natsu's.
"Not as much as I have missed you," Natsu replied before giving her a soft peck on the lips.
The comfortable silence the two fell in as they drowned in one another's eyes was interrupted by the roar of "MANLY" that echoed from the mountainside. This caused everyone to break out laughing at the stark difference between the tender moment and the rude and loud voice of the remaining Strauss sibling.
The arrival of Elfman signalled a start of a celebration, because what was there not to celebrate? For the first time in four and a half years, their entire family was finally together. The joy that filled the night sky around the Griffin's Heaven guild hall radiated to town and the villagers felt the weight of their daily lives melt away.
Throughout the celebration though, Mira noticed Natsu would sometimes look off into the distance with a faraway look, but before any else managed to notice he would be back to his happy self. 'Something happened while he was away,' Mira thought with a slight frown. When she looked back at Natsu, she saw a sad smile directed at her as their eyes met.
A silent message was shared between the two with that one look. Natsu would confide in her once the celebration dies down. Silently agreeing to keep this between themselves, the two smiled as they resumed the light-hearted conversations. The new members of Griffin's Heaven asked an assortment of questions regarding the tales they heard of the Dragon Slayer while the white-haired sisters crowded Samantha with all sorts of questions regarding her life up until then, not casting judgment on her dark past, truly showing her the values on which their guild had been found on.
The celebration came to an eventual end as the night stretched out into the early morning. The young mages went to their respective rooms, Sam entered her new room in the guild hall, now sporting her new guild mark just above her breasts in a dark navy blue. Lisanna and Elfman had also retired for the night, Elfman heading to his room while Lisanna fell asleep on Natsu's shoulder, leaving only Natsu and Mira awake.
"Want to talk about it?" Mira asked.
"I think now will be best, just let me get her to our room," Natsu replied softly before motioning to the sleeping girl on his shoulder. Mira nodded and headed to her office while Natsu took Lisanna to their shared room. A faint smile spread on his face as he entered the room, seeing that almost nothing changed. Natsu gently placed Lisanna in the bed and covered her with the blanket.
"I've missed you so much Lis. I love you," Natsu whispered as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. The action brought a beautiful smile to her face as Natsu left the room.
Taking a breath to steady himself, he entered Mira's office. He saw the Guild Master sitting behind her desk, a chair ready for him as she looked at him with a compassionate expression. Sitting down in the chair, Mira could see Natsu letting whatever it was that was bothering him come to the forefront of his mind as his shoulders sagged and his facial features dropped from the happy one he had up until now.
"I'm here for you Natsu, whatever it is you need, I will do everything I can to help you," Mira softly encouraged him with a gentle smile.
"Thanks, Mira. Have you ever been, controlled by your takeovers?" Natsu asked.
"I wouldn't say controlled, more like their demonic nature influenced my actions, especially when I am using one of them with my magic," Mira answered after a moment's thought to word her answer correctly. A creeping suspicion rose in her mind as she began to understand where this conversation was heading.
"The Demonic power I have, it influences my mind. The first time it came out in a combat scenario outside of training, well, it was a slaughter. Sam was the only survivor and only because I managed to wrestle what little control over my state of mind I could gain. The thing that scares me more though is that I agreed with all the actions I took to some degree. Since then I have managed to lessen the bloodlust that I feel and I am able to keep a clearer head about the situation, but still, to think that taking a life can be so easy and depending on who it was you killed, the consequences can be non-existent," Natsu said as he laid his heart bare for Mira to see.
"Am I a monster?" Natsu asked as a thick silence filled the room, tears threatening in his eyes as he kept his head down. Natsu barely heard the screech of a chair against the hard floor but he twitched at the gently embrace that followed soon after.
"Oh, Natsu, just the fact that you can ask this question and feel remorse proves you aren't a monster. I know at Fairy Tail there was the unspoken rule of never taking a life, but the place where that came from was because Master Makarov never wanted his members to feel what you are feeling. We live in a world of magic and monsters, and with the powerful dark mages out there death is a constant in our line of work. We go on extermination missions all the time, but I know that the thought of killing another human is not comparable, let alone how you must feel once you actually do the act," Mir started as she led the man to a couch near the wall.
Mira led Natsu to sit down as she took a seat next to him. With one hand on his back, she made comforting circles while her other hand turned him so that they faced one another as she continued.
"What I'm trying to say is that in our volatile world, we can't guarantee that our enemies will lie down once we have defeated them, nor can we guarantee that when we cast more powerful spells that no one will be caught in them," Mira continued as her heart ached for the man in her arms.
"It's hard to live with this feeling. They deserved to be punished but to take their lives away, I just can't completely justify it," Natsu softly confessed.
"A life is a precious gift, but if it's tarnished by atrocious acts then there will be repercussions, some end up more permanent than others. But the main difference between you and those horrible people are how you feel about it after the fact. You feel remorse, you feel guilt and you understand the value of innocent lives. You are no monster Natsu, you are our guardian Dragon, and like with all guardians, if the threat is great, the resistance will be greater. I will always be here for you," Mira finished.
"Thanks, Mira, I will try my best to keep my hands as clear of blood as possible, but as you said. If a Dragon's family is in danger, their wrath will be brought upon those foolish enough to dare threaten them," Natsu said with a smile and eyes filled with gratitude. It felt like a weight has been lifted off his chest. He knew he had more control over his demonic power and the last scuffle he activated it in didn't result in any deaths, but the memories of the screams and his satisfaction when hearing them still haunted him until his talk with Mira. The two embraced one another again.
"Welcome back Natsu," Mira simply said as happiness filled her heart to see the darkness leave his eyes. The weight of the man in her arms increased ever so lightly while they embraced one another as his arms slumped a bit. Pulling back from the hug, Mira didn't expect the man's body to fall down, his head lightly landing on her lap as soft snores started to escape him. With a soft smile, Mira gently ran her hand through his hair. 'The weight he carries throughout these years seems to have caught up to him,' she thought as she gazed at the sleeping man in her lap.
"Good night Natsu," Mira whispered as she relented to be stuck in the position until morning, not that she was particularly complaining.
-The next morning-
Lisanna woke up with a start as she found herself alone in her bed. Fearing that the previous night was nothing but a dream, Lisanna burst through her bedroom door, her eyes rushing over everything in the empty hall. Her heart was clutched by fear as she saw nothing of the man she loved.
Fearing the worst she ran to her sister's office. Mira was usually up quite early and opted to do the paperwork during the morning to allow her enough time with her members during the day.
Lisanna quickly opened the door, disregarding knocking but not bursting through since she did not want to startle her sister and cause her to have to redo whatever work she was busy with. Confusion momentarily took hold of her panicked mind as she didn't see Mira at her desk, but her panic and confusion quickly evaporated as her eyes found Mira sitting on the couch, a soft smile on her sleeping face as her hand was idly moving in a circular form on a mop of pink hair.
Joy bubbled from her heart as she saw Natsu silently sleeping, there in person and not some hallucination. 'He's home, he's come back to me just like he promised,' Lisanna smiled as she quietly closed the door with a beaming smile cemented on her lips. Her eyes took in the actual state of the hall, and now that she wasn't panicking, she spotted the residue of their celebration the previous day.
The morning crept along slowly, but Lisanna didn't mind as she allowed her mind to wander as she idly cleaned the hall. Once more, as it has done many times before, Lisanna thought if this was why Mira used to go to the guild as the sun rose above the horizon while they were still members of Fairy Tail after she returned.
As the morning continued to pass, Lisanna heard Mira's office door open and saw her sister walk out.
"Had a nice snuggle buddy throughout the night, Mira?" Lisanna asked with a giggle as Mira took a seat at the bar.
"Oh it was wonderful, I might even try and keep him for myself," Mira replied with a teasing smile.
"I would like to see you try," Lisanna said with a glare, but the amusement in her eyes was clear and gave away the fact that this was just friendly banter. After a moment of a stare-down between the two sisters the two broke down in a fit of giggles.
"So how did things end up like that?" Lisanna asked as she offered Mira a fresh cup of coffee with a smirk.
"I'm not trying to steal him from you," Mira instantly denied as she found her cup of coffee very interesting. This uncharacteristic reaction earned a giggle from the younger Strauss.
"I know, but I also know you wouldn't say no to being with him," Lisanna said, the latter part changing to a teasing whisper. Mira raised her eyes to her sister with a slight pout but didn't offer any words of objection.
"Now I understand why you enjoy teasing everyone, it's so much fun to see their reactions," Lisanna said in a fit of giggles. Mira simply rolled her eyes at her sister but couldn't help but let a tiny smile creep to her lips.
"Back to your question, Natsu just had a lot on his shoulders and once everyone was asleep we went and had a chat. He has some inner demons he is dealing with, literally and figuratively. Since I have the Satan Soul Take Over magic, I was the one with the most experience to talk to him. Once we were done he simply fell asleep and I couldn't move and disturb him," Mira explained.
"I think him being back with his family will help him out a lot," Lisanna said quietly. The two sisters idly chatted, Lisanna busy with her morning routine and cleaning with Mira helping out, deciding not to do her regular paperwork to not disturb the sleeping Dragon Slayer.
The members of Griffin's Heaven started to filter into the main hall, with Maz being the first one up, shortly followed by Elfman. Yuihara and Samantha entered at around the same time and Izayoi entered when the sun was already cemented in the morning sky. Finally, at around ten thirty, Natsu emerged from Mira's office.
"Master, will we be joining the Grand Magic Games this year again?" Maz asked after all the members had their breakfast and settled in for a comfortable and calm day.
"What are these Grand Magic Games?" Natsu asked, with him training deep in the mountains, barely making contact with anyone else apart from Skotadi, the post office worker and Samantha at the end of his training, he wasn't in the know of what happened this past few years.
"The Grand Magic Games is a tournament that the country formed to determine the top guilds. The first one was hosted a little after you left. Exactly what happens during the games change each year, but they usually for some sort of challenge between all the teams, then some sort of battle between individual mages," Mira answered.
"Interesting concept," Natsu commented, but not offering any additional insights into his thoughts.
"As for your question Maz I haven't decided yet, but we can have a vote to see what everyone thinks," Mira said before looking to her mages. Maz and Elfman were both happy to participate while Lisanna and Yuihara had some reservations. Izayoi didn't mind any which way and Samantha seemed to be waiting for Natsu to make a decision, leading to all eyes resting on the pinkette.
"Honestly, I am tired of fighting in situations where the stakes are so high, maybe in a year or two we can see again, but these past four years have me wanting to take a break," Natsu said with a sigh. The three Strauss siblings had shocked expressions, not expecting the battle junkie to say he wanted a break from fighting.
"Damn, I was really looking forward to throwing down with some of the strong mages there," Maz said with a slight frown but that quickly vanished as he perked up again.
"Would you mind sparring with me sometime? The way you stopped my attack yesterday definitely tells me that I can learn a lot from there," Maz requested of the S-Class mage.
"Sure thing kid, but allow me to take a rest for a few days," Natsu said with a smirk as he found the similarity between Maz and his younger self amusing. The confirmation sent Maz into a celebration as he hopped up and down in his excitement.
"I think it would benefit them all if you maybe sparred with them, you were always the most in tune with how a battle flows and I think it could benefit their development to have you guide them," Mira Requested of the Dragon Slayer.
"Sure, I have no problem with that, but first I just want to take some time to unwind and relax, get to know the new members and just share some stories in general," Natsu said with a smile.
"This is going to be so cool," Maz cheered.
"Training is Manly," Elfman bellowed.
"I will be honoured to learn from an S-Class mage," Izayoi said calmly.
"I wouldn't mind getting to know you and Sam," Yuihara said.
"This is indeed an interesting and unique place Natsu," Samantha said as she observed how her new guild functioned. She couldn't help but compare the relaxed atmosphere here to the dark and cruel atmosphere at her previous guild, not that she wasn't contributing to it.
"Seems like you have your work cut out for you Natsu," Mira said with a smirk.
"You always bring new life to wherever you are," Lisanna giggled while looking lovingly at Natsu.
With a setting so peaceful and jovial, the darker and more nefarious developments from the past four and a half years are put aside to discuss when everyone has settled into their daily lives again.
Hey everyone, here is the latest chapter to the story. My plans forward are to have another time skip to where we are back with the anime and the return of Fairy Tail. I have some fun ideas to change how things are going to play out in the GMG but any suggestions are welcome. Feel free to leave a review and I will see you all next time.
