Chapter Six: Stage Two, Anger
A/N: Yay, it's 2018! Gotta make some new year resolutions...
Natsu doesn't come back to the guild, not for a long time. Soon his small family begins to get worried about him, but they must move on with the day. After all, they still need to decide who will be in the games.
"We know Natsu and Ultear will be in the games..." Gramps says and Ultear nods in confirmation. "Guess it's time for an announcement." He says with a sigh and heads towards the stage. Once he hops on it he gets few peoples attention and knows exactly what he must do. "Listen up!" He enlarges his voice and everyone else quiets down immediately.
"He's a loud little old man." Sonya comments quietly to her mother.
"That's better," Makarov says, satisfied by the silence, "for those of you who don't know me I am Fairy Tail's third master, Makarov Dreyar. Macao and I have decided that I will once again become the master of Fairy Tail, so from now on I am the Fifth." Cheers erupt throughout the room, the noise coming from those who had been around during Makarov's reign as master while the 'newer' members look around in slight wonder. Sure, they know about the old man, but they don't know the old man just yet. "As many of you know, in the Grand Magic Games each team can have five members. The five members will be: Natsu Dragneel," the crowd explodes, "Ultear Milkovich," crowd is still extremely loud, "alongside Lucy Heartfillia," many know the name and cheer, even though the blonde is stunned by this.
"Me? I-I don't compare to them!" She means Natsu and Ultear, and many chuckle at her words.
"Master chose you, there's nothing you can do." Erza says and she pats Lucy on the back with a bit more force than necessary.
"Next will be Gray Fullbuster." Master continues.
"And what next, Erza?" Gray says off-handedly.
"And then Erza Scarlet!" Makarov finishes and Gray can see what he's doing. It's practically all Team Natsu, excluding Ultear, but she's Natsu's family and strong regardless. He could deal with that. "Everyone here that I called, please come up to the stage." They all do, and quickly everyone notices Natsu is not present. "He didn't run, did he?"
"No, he went off to find Bisca and Alzack..." Sonya eyes Ultear expectantly, "and Asuka."
"But he left a while ago, he should be back by now." Jellal comments, remembering when the pinkette left at the request of his daughter.
"Yeah, I could go get him if you'd like, I know where Asuka lives!" Sonya volunteers but her mother shakes her head.
"I should go, I may be the only person that can force him to come back."
"Not the only one." Sonya grumbles, knowing she'd have a better chance at it than her mother.
"Okay, but I'm the second best." Ultear says with a little twinkle in her eye, knowing exactly where her daughters thoughts took her. And with that Ultear leaves and Sonya looks longingly at the doors for a moment before skipping over to Meredy with a smile.
"They're just too cute." Lisanna comments as she watches Sonya and Meredy play around.
"Yeah, they are." Lucy agrees with a warm smile. "Ultear's become a great mom."
"She's really changed." Gray adds, remembering how corrupt the woman used to be. "Natsu got lucky."
"I still wonder how they got together." Erza inputs, getting into the conversation.
"How would they get together anyway?" Lucy asks and she turns to Gray. He looks surprised at this before he just sighs and shakes his head.
"Kami knows, I wouldn't have seen it before."
"It must've been a strange meeting, knowing Natsu." Erza says, remembering the crazy pinkette from a (still) shocking seven years ago.
When Ultear gets to the house and knocks on the door she hears the playful shouts of Asuka and whatever Natsu's muffled response is. Okay, that's a good sign. But then there are yips, many yips, like many excited puppies but when the door opens she sees Natsu holding a puppy with three heads.
She looks at the dog then back at Natsu.
Dog. Natsu.
When Ultear releases a shaky exhale Natsu starts to fear for his life and slowly maneuvers the dog more in front of him. She wouldn't hurt the cute thing, right?
"You've been worrying us all day," Ultear says with a clenched fist, "and haven't returned to the guild because you've been here playing with a puppy Cerberus!" Ultear explodes and two of the puppy heads cower but the third licks her face.
"How long has it been?"
"Too long, now come on."
"Can we bring Fluffy?" Asuka asks.
"You named the dog Fluffy?" Ultear turns the question to Bisca who had come in view.
"It was Asuka's choice." Bisca says with a smile. They attach a red leash to it's matching red collar and begin the hike to the guild, the dog having and endless supply of energy and bouncing all around.
"Ul-dear, is it-"
"No." Ultear cuts him off.
"It isn't?" Natsu says even though he knows she's telling him not to talk to her. She sighs in frustration.
"You get to deal with Sonya." Ultear states as they get to the guild.
"Fine, I will." Natsu says and Ultear sends him a sidelong glance. He sounded very confident. They open the doors and immediately Natsu scoops up Fluffy and puts on his best smile. "Sonya, look what Asuka got!"
"What! What is it!" Her high-pitched voice squeaks from the mass of people, and she comes racing up to her father. Her eyes seem to sparkle when she sees the dog in her father's arms. "A puppy! Can we get a puppy?" She asks with her arms reaching for the dog. Natsu sets the cerberus on the ground for her to pet.
"Only if Mommy says we can."
"Can we, Mommy?"
"We'll see." Ultear says with a sigh.
"Welcome back!"
"What is that?"
"Is that a cerberus?"
"Where on Earthland did you get that?" The families get bombarded with question after question and Natsu does not hesitate in pointing at Alzak's.
"It's his dog, ask him." And just like that Natsu sets the guild on the poor male while choraling his own family away from the mass of mostly girls trying to see the cute thing. "So Macao, what's the team?"
"Ask the Master."
"What?" Natsu says but it doesn't take him long to figure out just who the master is. Natsu looks over to the old man who took him in as a child after Igneel had left. "Ah, Gramps. So, what's the team?"
"You, Gray, Lucy, Erza, and Ultear."
"And the reserve member?" Natsu asks and it catches the older man off-guard for a moment.
"Oh, yes, ah... How about-"
"Wait." Natsu says and raises his hand. Makarov watches the mischievous glint come to the pinkettes eyes. "Have you read all the rules."
"Yes?"
"I say our reserve should be Wendy. And..." He nods his head towards a group of many notably strong mages, then looks back to the old man. "If you get what I'm saying." Makarov then mirrors the look Natsu gives him.
"Oh, yes." They both chuckle at the plan they secretly formulated, and the rest of Natsu's team is watching in confusion.
"What just happened?" Gray asks and Lucy just shrugs.
"I'm sure it will be alright. This is Natsu and Master we're talking about." Erza states and that's the end of that.
"I'm glad Gramps is Master again, it didn't feel right without him." Gray says and the others can't help but feel the same way. As they watch the duo, Natsu turns to walk back to his daughter but then Erza raises her hand.
"Natsu, join us." She calls and Natsu looks at her before changing his course and taking the open seat at the table.
"So, you and Ultear..." Lucy says with a knowing look. Natsu just rolls his eyes.
"I thought Mira would be the first to attack me." Natsu jokes but they all have to admit, they're also surprised she hasn't dragged him into a back room to demand for answers.
"Well, when?" Lucy says and leans towards him.
"Six years ago." he says. "And four months..." he adds and then a light blush dusts his cheeks and he rubs the back of his neck, "and eight days exactly."
"You know the exact day by heart!" Lucy says with hearts in her eyes, "How cute!". And now Erza is completely in the conversation while Gray just wants to leave.
"Is that the day you got together or the day you met?"
"The day we go together, officially."
"Only eight months after our disappearance?"
"Yeah, well..." This time he seems to get even more uncomfortable but tries to hide it. And he would have, too, if he didn't stop shifting because he was so obviously uncomfortable.
"What?" Lucy says and leans to a more comfortable position, realizing that they're done with the silly gossip.
"It's nothing."
"Speak." Erza orders with a growl and Natsu flat out laughs at her. It's a hearty laugh and tears prick his eyes and as if by instinct he blindly reaches his arm out across the table. Lucy is quick to grab him and clasps his hand in both her smaller ones. He just laughs harder at that and she smiles sadly at the pinkette.
"I'm sorry." Lucy says because she understands. He's seven years older and the experience gap that existed before the skip has grown even more between them, yet she still understands him so well as if he's one of her books. "I'm sorry, Natsu." She says and he quiets down and just looks at her.
"Why?"
"We left you." He just looks at Lucy as if she had just said the craziest thing.
"I..." He shakes his head. "You don't have to be sorry about that." Natsu says. "No, I mean, I... I hurt you so don't apologize."
"You..." Lucy looks over to Gray and Erza because god dammit she wants to tell him that no, he would never hurt them, and he never did.
"You didn't." Gray says and looks Natsu straight in the eyes.
"Huh?"
"You didn't hurt us."
"Well, I didn't hurt you, Ice Princess." Natsu grumbles and they can tell that he really does not enjoy the conversation.
"You didn't hurt anyone."
"Gray." Natsu says and there's a glint in his eye.
"What?"
"What do you mean what." Natsu says with a confused glare. "What are you doing."
"I'm telling you the truth. Seven years ago, you didn't hurt anyone."
"Gray." Natsu says in warning.
"You didn't kill-"
"Stop-"
"ANYONE!" Gray shouts and stands up, his chair noisily scraping against the floor.
"BULLSHITING ME!" Natsu screams back, but when he stands the chair falls and bangs on the floor. The commotion brings everyone's attention to the table and they all know right away that it isn't a typical guild fight. Both boys have red faces and Natsu's fist is clenched to the point that his veins are seen pulsing in his arm.
"Mama..." Sonya says softly and flees to her mother. Sonya hugs her mother's leg and Ultear wraps a protective hand around her daughter. Things could get ugly. Ultear looks down at Sonya then back to Natsu.
"Honey, stay with Meredy, okay?"
"Daddy's getting scary." Sonya says and looks up at her mother.
"Yes, he is." She says and picks her daughter up only to put her in Meredy's arms.
"What are you, deaf!?" Gray shouts at Natsu.
"You're saying ridiculous things, Gray!" Natsu fires back and Ultear sighs.
She had fought with herself since they had framed Natsu for all those deaths. Then she quit Grimoire Heart with Meredy, and fell in love with the very man she ruined the life of. She did not necessarily do the deed, that was mostly Zancrow, but she couldn't help but feel responsible. She told Fairy Tail immediately about Natsu being framed, and they pushed her to keep it a secret as they formulated a plan to bring Natsu back.
She had been holding onto the secret for seven years. Seven years. She has been living with him for six of them. He is the father of her five year old daughter. And she ruined his life. That's all Ultear can think of when she remembers the incident, whenever Natsu would get a far away look in his eyes and she can only count on one hand what he could be thinking about. She heads towards the duo and watches the verbal battle evolve as Natsu grabs the front of Gray's shirt and Gray, in return, grips Natsu's wrist, both men unrelenting.
Everyone watches Ultear approach the two with the posture of a queen.
"Natsu." She says but the pinkette ignores her for favor of glaring at his old rival. "Natsu." She repeats as she gets even closer. "You're scaring Sonya." She says and that does it. He lets Gray go immediately and steps away from the ice wizard and looks to where Sonya is, burying her face in Meredy's neck with one eye watching her father.
A/N: I couldn't not name the cerberus Fluffy, I mean come on guys, any of you feel me on that? It's so late it's early morning and in the past three hours I have eaten four popsicles and two tacos. So, yeah.
MyN: That can't be healthy.
Ultear: Like you're one to talk.
MyN: My magic takes a lot out of me, I need to eat a lot. Last I checked, Wolves doesn't have magic.
WW: Yeah, but I wish I did. Or maybe my Dad stole my Hogwarts letter!
MyN: Uh-oh.
Ultear: Well, thank you readers for your continued support. Reviews are much appreciated and always read.
WW: Ahem. I recommend the manga Hunter X Hunter. It's a popular one and you've probably heard of it. I enjoy both the manga and anime for it.
Sonya: Til next time, see ya!