When Natsu turned around, his gaze was drawn to a familiar blonde-haired girl sitting on a tree branch, swinging her bare feet. She was looking down at him with a bright smile which he returned.
"Well, I couldn't really not say hello to an old friend when the opportunity finally presented itself after a hundred years but I don't really want to be seen unnecessarily either." she explained.
"Right, I had forgotten. Ghosts are always scary, even when they look like a 13-year-old girl." the Dragon Slayer joked which earned him a giggle from his interlocutor. "It's good to see you again, Mavis." he greeted sincerely.
"You too, Natsu." she replied with a warm smile as she jumped off her branch and floated to the ground. "And it is even better to see you have joined my guild." Mavis added, pointing at his guild mark on his shoulder. She couldn't see it under his trench coat, but she could sense it.
"Yeah well, I helped create the thing, I was curious to see how it was doing." he explained while Mavis was walking to a fallen tree log and sat down on it. After which, she patted the spot next to her as an invitation that Natsu accepted.
"Speaking of which, how is Fairy Tail? Who is the master now?" the thought projection questioned.
"One of Yuri's relatives. An old man by the name of Makarov." he responded simply but was surprised when Mavis' eyes turned to stars and she clapped her hands together.
"Oh, so little Maki is the guild master now? That's great!" she exclaimed with joy and excitement.
""Little Maki"? You know him?" the pink-haired mage asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course I do, I'm the one who named him. He's Yuri's son and my godson." she explained with the same happiness but it subsided at her next statement. "Although, I haven't seen him since he was a newborn, eight decades ago. He must have changed a lot since then."
"Well, his size hasn't." Natsu joked, trying to cheer his friend back up. Mavis vigorously turned her head at Natsu with wide eyes and they both stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Whatever the case may be, you certainly haven't changed." the fairy claimed once she was done laughing and raised her hand to touch her friend's face but stopped herself when she remembered she couldn't have physical contact with him and put her hand back where it was before.
"Neither have you, except that you are…well…dead." Natsu replied which got Mavis to giggle briefly but she then got a sad look in her eyes and stared down at the ground.
"And yet…I'm still here but Zera…Yuri…his wife…they are all gone…for good." she said as she started to tear up. "T-They are gone forever a-and I'm not. T-That feels so wrong." She was now crying profusely into her hands but abruptly stopped and widened her eyes when Natsu wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into a comforting hug.
What really shocked Mavis however was that she could feel it. She could feel his arms around her waist, the warmth of his body. More importantly, she wasn't supposed to. She was a thought projection, incapable of physical contact with anyone.
For now though, she decided to just enjoy the feeling and she would question it later. So she snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest.
When he felt like Mavis had calmed down enough, Natsu spoke up. "I know how you feel. It's even worse for me because I died and was given a second chance. But after a while, I understood that the ones who didn't get that opportunity would want us to make the most of it. They all loved you Mavis, they'd want you to carry on." he softly said while gently drawing circles on her back in a comforting manner.
Once Natsu's words had sunk in and all of Mavis' tears were spent, the two separated and she wiped her eyes. "You're right. Thank you Natsu, I needed that." she thanked with a grateful smile.
"Anytime." he answered with a small smile of his own.
"Though I have to ask. How were you able to touch me? From what I know that should be impossible." the blonde girl asked, intrigued. But, much to her disappointment, her interlocutor just shrugged.
"I don't know. It might have something to do with how I could see Zera while no one else could, except you of course." the pinkette theorized.
Seeing that she wasn't going to get an answer to this question, Mavis decided to change the topic, though this new piece of information did give her a few ideas that she put in the back of her mind. "Yeah, about that, how do you think I felt when Zera told me that, not only she was an illusion I created for myself, but my good friend Natsu had figured it out and didn't tell me." she complained in a fake angry tone that didn't fool Natsu in the slightest.
"It wasn't my place to do so. I think it's a mistake for anyone to deceive themselves but it's their right." he calmly answered.
"Maybe but mistakes are not shackles that stops a person's progress. They are the fuel that raises the heart."
"Who taught you that?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow and a small smile.
"An old friend of mine, he had pink hair." she responded which got both of them to chuckle a bit.
"Moving on, I must say I'm a bit curious. If no one outside of Fairy Tail can see you, why do you stay on this island? Seems rather boring to me." Natsu wondered.
"You have no idea." she replied with an exasperated sigh. "Unfortunately, I don't really have much of a choice. I could go on the mainland, but it would consume a tremendous amount of magic so it would only be for a short time. I can stay on Tenrou Island as long as I want because that's where my grave is and I can use it as an anchor but I haven't found anything suitable to serve the same purpose on the mainland. Not yet anyway." she explained with a mischievous smirk at the end that went unnoticed by her pink-haired friend.
"What about the guild hall?" he suggested.
"It's too big and obvious. Besides, it has a tendency to get destroyed in pieces every now and then." she responded in an amused tone. "But why are we talking so much about me? What about you, Lord Etherious Natsu Dragneel?" she teased and Natsu couldn't contain his shock.
"H-How do you…?" he stuttered and trailed off as Mavis giggled.
"Six years after we first met, I had another chance encounter with your brother and he told me quite a few interesting things about both of you, especially you." the ghost explained.
"And…you're fine with that?…With me, a dragon and demon, being part of your guild?" he had to ask but received a fond look and smile.
"I have seen you show a lot of kindness and compassion to me and my friends, I refuse to believe the rumors." she reassured him but then her gaze darkened significantly. "Your brother Zeref though, I can't say he is a monster but I never want anything to do with him."
Natsu was taken aback by the look of anger and resentment in the girl's eyes, especially since she was one of the nicest people he had ever met. Nevertheless, he decided not to argue. He had no idea what his brother had done to warrant such reaction and he wasn't a fan of anyone talking about him this way but he knew Zeref could be uncaring at times towards everyone but his little brother. So the pink-haired mage simply sighed and looked to the horizon, noticing the sun was getting quite low. Remembering his original task, he got up from the log and Mavis looked at him with curious and confused eyes while tilting her head slightly.
"It's not that I've grown bored of talking with you but I've got a library to find." he explained while stretching a bit.
"My library? What for?" she asked, even more confused.
"For the S-class trials. I don't know why but Makarov thought it would make a good test." he supplied. Satisfied with the explanation, the blonde girl stood up as well and started walking in a specific direction.
"In that case, follow me. I know where it is better than anyone." she offered and Natsu started walking next to her.
"Isn't that cheating?" he questioned with a smirk.
"Maybe, but you have done so much for me and Fairy Tail, it is the least I can do. Besides, you would have already found it, if it hadn't been for me holding you up." she explained with a smile of her own.
Makarov was sitting in what remained of the library of Tenrou Island, drooling over a magazine with…unique content. The library had a stone and concrete floor and walls with many shelves. However, a good portion of the walls had collapsed, the books had turned to dust and there were vines everywhere. As the guild master noticed the candidate stepping into the room, he frantically threw his book away and walked towards him.
"Congratulations my boy, you made it just in time but you still…" he trailed off and stopped in his tracks when he saw who Natsu was with. He then wore a face of pure shock and confusion.
"I see what you meant." Mavis said to Natsu who had to stop himself from laughing.
"F-F-First Master?!" Makarov finally managed to say.
"Hello, third." she greeted with a wave and a smile.
"H-How are you here? And what are you doing with Natsu?" the old man asked.
"I brought him here because I'm the reason why he barely made it. Speaking of which, I'd like you to show Natsu the guild's basement." the thought projection requested which only shocked the small man further.
"A-Are you sure? The guild rules state that only the master should know about this."
"I am. I can't tell you why, but I trust Natsu completely." she explained before saying goodbye to both men and disappearing.
Unsurprisingly, Natsu was promoted to S-class wizard shortly after. When they returned to the guild, Fairy Tail threw one of their usual party in celebration. When everyone was either passed out or had left, Makarov followed the First Master's instructions and took Natsu deep below the guild, to a stone underground passage, consisting of a long spiral staircase that ended in a large, mildly ruined and yet majestic room, possessing columns on its walls and brick arcs, with its carved walls adorned by several Fairy Tail symbols, with a larger one standing on a circular platform in the center of the room, held up by four small bridges and being seemingly suspended above a deep hole. Numerous long banners were attached to the walls and ceiling, and a massive double door was located on the other side of the room from the entrance. This seemed to be usually kept closed by a large, magical glyph floating in front of it, which was undone by Makarov Dreyar. In the middle of the room, stood a giant purple/pink lacrima crystal with Mavis' naked body inside.
Natsu was left staring at it, feeling the power coming from it but not showing any emotion.
"Okay, what am I looking at?" he finally said. Before Makarov could answer, somebody beat him to it.
"That would be me." a petite blonde girl answered.
"Yeah, I can see that but why did they have to put you in there? And without clothes?"
"It's a long story." Mavis said while throwing a meaningful glance at Makarov who understood and exited the room to leave the two alone. Feeling more and more intrigued and troubled by the growing mystery that was Natsu Dragneel.
When he was gone, Mavis started talking again. "I'll gladly tell you all about it. But first, can you show me your arm please?"
Natsu was surprised by the request but decided to trust his old friend and pulled his left sleeve up, showing his left arm to Mavis, the right one already being taken. Without a word, she placed her hand on his arm which was surrounded by a gold light. When it died down and Mavis withdrew her hand, Natsu's forearm sported a dark tattoo, consisting of Fairy Tail's symbol surrounded by a sharp, concave design, resembling an arrowhead, or a slender triangular shield.
As he examined it, Mavis explained what it was. "This is Fairy Glitter, one of the guild's Three Great Fairy Magics. Think of it as a thank you gift from me."
When he nodded and pulled his sleeve back down, Mavis started explaining the story and power of the artifact in front of them, known as Lumen Histoire or Fairy Heart. What she didn't tell him was that she had also put something else inside his body along with Fairy Glitter.