Titania and The Hunter

Chapter 34: Put Yer Feet Up, It's Time For A Break

I was thinking of making one chapter. Then I thought I would just split it in two so we could have more uploads after that long break. These are the unwinding chapters. Some of you noted that the last few chapters have been pretty heavy with conflict, so I'm gonna try going for the lighter side right now.

Enjoy.

########Hunter########

"Is there a reason you're just sitting there scowling at the front door?"

Porlyusica's patient didn't respond as he stayed silent, sitting on top of the bed and glaring forward.

She asked quizzically, "If this is about me keeping you here for so many days it's because you needed to be under constant watch to make sure nothing went wrong." She tried to backup her point, "Your arm has finally changed back into its original form and I had to make sure it worked probably. Your muscles and nerves seem to be in good condition and there doesn't seem to be any atrophy after all these years but it's good to play these things safe."

Naruto sent her a look in the corner of his eyes but kept his scowl firm.

"..."

"..."

Porlyusica got her perpetual scowl back and asked, "Is this because I made you shave that stupid fuzz off your face?"

"It wasn't fuzz! It was facial hair!" Naruto yelled out as he rubbed his now smooth face with a longing anguish. He groaned sadly, "It took me-like-a month to grow it out like that! And you just forced me to shave it off like it was nothing!"

"It was nothing. If it takes you that long to grow that much then you aren't suited for a beard." Porlyusica stated firmly before she started mixing some herbs, "Besides you looked like a hobo with that stuff on your face."

"Grrrrrrrr..." Naruto growled angrily before he sat back down and started fidgeting with pent up energy.

It had been a little more than a week since the guild war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord had come to an end and as expected, it got a lot of attention real fast. Almost immediately after Naruto and Erza left to go to the tree house, the Magic Council arrived on the scene of the battle. Of course, everyone groaned and paled at the sight of the government force coming to meet them...

Apparently Makarov cried too.

Anyway, following the war, everyone from both guilds was apprehended and brought in for questioning. Once the questioning was done, the Magic Council had come to an agreement that despite all the fighting, Phantom Lord was the one that initiated the conflict.

And as a result Phantom Lord was disbanded permanently.

However after all this time there were still people being brought in for questioning by the Magic Council. He probably had that to look forward to once he finally went back. He had never been so thankful for these check-ups.

Now after about a week of being watched by the Magic Council, everyone from Fairy Tail was free to return to their business. Which wasn't much considering the guild hall was destroyed and they couldn't get any new jobs until they had set up a proper workplace and appealed to the Council to return the job forms to them.

So to help speed this along, everyone in Fairy Tail was assisting in building the new guild hall. Not him though. He was stuck out in the forest with the cranky old lady that hated humans.

It wasn't so bad, as some of the others came up to visit him outside the tree home because they didn't wanna risk making the medical advisor mad. Erza and Koyuki were a daily visit, as his girlfriend brought tons of bad tasting soups and meats saying they helped speed up the healing process. And while Naruto had to shove that terrible stuff down his throat, Koyuki happily tried to play with the older woman as she had formed some kind of connection while the elderly lady tried to ignore her.

Oh well...at least they brightened up his day.

Natsu, Happy, Gray, Elfman, Lisanna, Lucy, Levy, Makarov, Cana and the others were visiting him once in a while too, to see how his physical therapy was going and if his arm really had returned to normal. Eight years of knowing a guy and seeing him with such a noticeable change in appearance was bound to be a worthwhile sight. Oh, and they brought horrible tasting foods and drinks(booze in Cana's case) to help him recover faster too.

At least Mira was the saving grace in all of this and brought tasty meals and lunches for him every other day. He nearly cried tears of joy when he got to eat a burger and steak instead of brown sloshy soup.

And all this time getting pent up in bed did help him discover someone else of importance.

Naruto looked down at his right hand and held out a finger that glowed and sharpened with his Armor. He left a very small cut over his palm and watched as some blood started to drip from it. He stared at it intensely for a few minutes before wiping the blood off and seeing the results.

The cut was still noticeable but was already sealed and slowly healing itself.

A big grin came over Naruto's face as he was overjoyed with the fact that he had a healing factor again with Kurama's chakra. Now that his body was stronger and he had a much better control of his chakra, he could better fend off and dilute the chakra coming from Kurama's seal. Which gave him a healing factor that helped quicken the pace of his recovery.

Small cuts and bruises...gone before you know it!

Broken bones, ripped off limbs and decapitated heads...

Yeah, he learned his lesson last time. He's gonna avoid those injuries as much as possible.

Naruto ignored the healing cut on his hand, "Baa-chan, how much longer do I have to be here? I'm pretty much healed now, right?"

"How many damn times do I have to tell you not to call me that?!" The elderly woman yelled, causing the blond to flinch and cower in expectation of being hit. She sighed, "And what do you mean 'mostly healed'?" She drew his attention to the numerous bandages that covered his torso and limbs, "You and the rest of those idiots were beaten to kingdom come and back."

"But they all get to keep moving and rebuild the guild with their injuries."

She raised an eyebrow, "And how many of them got a limb back after almost a whole decade?"

"Awww~, c'mon Baa-chan-"

"Ugh!" She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "If I say yes, will you shut up and leave?"

"Really?!" Naruto jumped out of bed with a huge grin and cheered, "Woohoo! Freedom!" He started putting on the sneakers Erza brought him and went in for a hug, "Thanks Baa-"

"Hold it."

Her stern voice stopped him in place before she tied something around his neck and left arm. He looked down to see his arm in a sling with some writing on the front of it. He got a better look at it.

Do not use

"What is this?"

"A reminder." Porlyusica said before she starting making the bed again, "You shouldn't strain your arm or body too much so I'm banning the use of your arm and from taking any jobs for three more days."

"No way!" Naruto argued, "How can I-"

"Don't argue." She said, "Just be glad I'm letting you go at all. Now get the hell out of my house before you cause a mess."

Naruto looked down at his arm, back at the old woman, down at his arm, and just sighed, "Okay." Before she could do anything, he gave her a quick hug and dashed out the door while waving, "Thanks Baa-chan! We'll come and play again soon!"

"URGH! YOU DAMN BRAT!"

########Hunter########

"O-okay-okay...this..." Gray lowered himself a little and allowed Nab and Warren to throw another pillar of wood onto the pile on his back. The strain started appearing over his face as he wheezed out in a higher pitch, "See? This is nothin'!"

"Yay! Go Gray-niichan!" Koyuki clapped happily from her spot besides Lisanna and Levy on a pile of beams. She cheered with a childish glee, "You can do it!"

Lisanna and Levy looked down at the gleeful Senju before the blue-haired girl asked, "How bad are we that a little girl cheering for guys competing together is normal?"

Lisanna nervously chuckled, "Pretty bad."

"P-pfft! Y-you loser!" Natsu grumbled under the massive weight of more than a dozen beams piled on his back. He wheezed, "Guys, add some more!"

Alzack and Max looked between each other, "Um-Natsu, this is a lot of wood and weight on your back. Considering you're still sorta healing, it might not be good to strain yourself like this."

"Plus don't we need the wood to-y'know-rebuild the guild?"

"Less talking! More stacking!"

They just shrugged and threw more beams on Natsu's back as the dirt slipped under his feet and caused him to fall over into Gray. The two Mage's let out one last yelp before they were crushed underneath the massive weight of the collective wooden banisters.

Happy flew over and landed on top of the pile before announcing, "And Natsu wins!"

"Bullshit!" Gray yelled as his head popped out of the pile and he glared at the blue cat, "I was winning! It was the hothead who fell over and knocked everything over!"

Natsu's head popped out on the other side of the pile and he smirked, "Well I had more weight on me! So I win!"

"No way! You toppled over while I was still holding mine up when you fell! That's my win!"

"It's who had the most weight! Not who stayed up the longest! Besides I didn't fall over, the ground shifted and I slipped!"

"Then you lost!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"You idiots..."

The two boys froze from the growling, peeved voice as a shadow descended over them. They started sweating as they turned to look up at the redhead with a beam on her shoulder and wearing yellow construction worker's clothes. She sighed and reprimanded them, "You both understand these materials are supposed to be used to help rebuild our guild, right? Not for your little contest."

"Y-yes, Erza(x2)." They both whimpered out.

"So..." The Requip Mage swung the beam of wood and knocked them across the construction site, "STOP SCREWING AROUND!"

Natsu and Gray landed in a heap of mangled limbs and moaned as Erza put the beam back on her shoulder. She shook her head, "Seriously, can't you two stop fighting for a moment and grow up?"

"B-but you just hit us with-"

"What was that?!"

"Nothing(x2)!"

"Still as persuasive as ever." Mira noted as she walked over with a tray of drinks for everyone to quench their thirst, "Guys~, come get a drink! You can't keep working if you're dehydrated!"

Erza gratefully accepted the offer and started drinking from her bottle. She looked around at their progress so far to see Elfman in Beast form lifting up a large slab of concrete while Laki formed the scaffolding with her Wood magic. She looked to her white-haired friend, "How do you think it's coming?"

"I think it's starting to look really good." Mira placed the tray on the side and pulled out the floor plan for the new version of the guild. She seemed focused, "But we're going to need to zone a little more space of we want to get everything out of the room we've got."

Mirajane and Erza both looked at the cute little drawing of the guild drawn in crayon, with little flowers around the sides and the sun with a smiley face overhead.

Erza nodded, "If we want the swirly slide we'll have to put it on the second floor."

"I think the slide is necessary for the second floor. All you S-Class Mages work really hard and deserve some luxury. Wouldn't you want to ride down it before going out on a job?"

Erza thought for a moment as she envisioned herself sliding down the spinning slide while letting out a tiny 'wheeeeeee~' and landing in a comfy pillow. Erza seemed determined, "We're building it no matter what."

"That's the spirit!"

"Hey Erza." The redhead looked to see Cana walking over with a hammer in hand and nails secured in her bra. The lazy brunette rubbed her shoulders, "Shouldn't you be heading off to see Naruto or something? I think this is around the time that Porlyusica-San is considering kicking him out of the tree altogether and letting him suffer outside."

Erza realized she was right, "Oh, you're right. I guess I should head over." She was about to leave before her face became focused with serious contemplation, "But what do I need to cook for him today? Meat has a lot of protein, which would help him recover faster. But I hear you need to drink lots of liquids while you're sick, so maybe I should make a barrel of soup and bring him some?"

Mira sweated and chuckled a little, "Um, you remember he's going through physical therapy, right?"

"Oh!" Natsu chimed in and ran over to a cooler that had a supply of food for everyone to enjoy. He ran back over and chuckled darkly, "How about we throw in some charred chicken and ketchup for taste?!"

"Nah!" Gray argued before coming from the other side and holding up a steak, "How about some steak with frostbite and spicy mustard?!"

Happy came up through the middle and help up a trout, "Give him a week old fish! That'll definitely make things worse!"

The three morons kept snickering between each other at the idea of making Naruto's stomach churn before Natsu felt something clamp on the back of his head. He was pulled back and slammed into Happy and Gray before getting planted in the ground. Naruto let go of their heads and cracked the knuckles in his hand with a scowl aimed at them, "Bastards. That was for the last week of torture you've been putting my stomach through."

"Hey guys, Naruto's back!"

"Hey man!"

"You're looking a lot better!"

"How's the arm?"

"Good as new! Literally!" Naruto said with a grin at hearing everyone greet him again. Oh this was so much better than being locked up in a tree on a bed.

"Onii-chan!" Koyuki cheered gleefully as she came running in from the side and Naruto bent down to hug and pick her up. She sat on his arm and hugged him tightly, "We're building the guild again! Isn't it pretty?!"

"It's..." Naruto looked around and gave a lazy shrug of his head, "Nice...I guess."

Erza walked up in front of him, her hands on her hips and a firm, no-nonsense glare aimed directly at him. She asked, "Were you actually released? Or did you just run while Porlyusica-San wasn't looking and say you're fine?"

Woah, she totally guessed his other method of escaping the tree hole before he was willingly released. Man, she knew him so well.

"She told me I could go. Honest." With some forceful and annoying assistance but that didn't matter. The blond lowered the five-year old to her feet and looked to the sling around his arm, "I just can't use this for a few days and I'll be golden."

Erza was skeptical for a moment before she saw no change in the smile on Naruto's face and decided to believe him. She breathed out in relief, "Well if you're getting better than that's all that matters."

"Y'know..." Cana spoke her mind with narrowed eyes at Naruto, "There's something different about you but I can't tell what."

"Is it the healthy glow in my skin? The spring in my step?" He pointed down, "Is it that I'm standing atop a hill of idiots?"

"A-ahhhhhhhhh(x3)~." The pile of three morons bemoaned underneath him.

"No. Not that." Cana kept thinking before she snapped her fingers, "I got it! You shaved that crap off your face!"

Realization brightened Mira and Erza's faces, "Oh yeah(x2)!"

Naruto yelled indignantly, "W-what?! That wasn't crap! I was growing a beard! I was gonna look cool like Gildarts and his scruffy look!"

"Gildarts is old and can make that scruffy beard look cool." Cana shook her head, "You just looked like some homeless dude wandering around in the guild. I'm glad you ditched it."

"I-grrr!" Naruto tried to work with the one person he could trust with everything, "Erza! You thought I looked cool, right?!"

"..."

Erza just had a conflicted, awkward mask about being put on the spot like that. She coughed into her fist before stepping forward and giving her lover a nice kiss before walking back, "I have work to do. Sorry."

Naruto just stood there with a slacked-jaw in disbelief that his longtime girlfriend wouldn't be by his side on this. Cana smiled and walked away, "Told you~."

Naruto just stood there with a solemn expression as Mira patted his back and Koyuki patted his leg. Mira tried to cheer him up, "Wanna come help build the new guild with us? I bet it'll get your mind off the beard thing."

"...Yeah okay."

Mira brightened up and pulled out the floor plan for him to see. She pulled it open, "Ta-da!"

Naruto looked the paper over before he chuckled, "Aw~, you used one of Koyuki's designs. That's sweet." He looked down and patted Koyuki's head, "Thanks for the hard work Koyuki, but I don't know if we'll be able to use a cute little picture like that to actually make the guild."

Koyuki enjoyed the pat on the head but she disagreed with a big smile, "No silly, I didn't draw the new guild!"

"Oh, then who did?"

When Naruto stopped laughing, he looked up to see Mira with a hurt expression and watering eyes. Naruto's mirthful smile fell as he realized what he had just done. He was silent for a moment before he patted Mira's shoulder and walked off, "Well, I've got work to do. Nice talkin' to ya Mira!"

Naruto walked away as fast as possible before the barmaid started whimpering as he came up to the largest figure in the whole area. He yelled up at the giant moving the most equipment, "Jiji, how's everything been going?!"

Makarov stopped hauling the planks and concrete and looked down at the whiskered man by his feet. Makarov smiled, "Ah, Naruto, about time you got back up your feet. Good to see you my boy. And you shaved that shitty fuzz of your face, fantastic!"

Naruto snarled his teeth under his breath before taking a calming breath, remembering he wasn't supposed to get into fights while he was recovering. He looked back up, "Well, we can't take any jobs yet and I'm bored so I was wondering if you needed any help with anything."

"Oh, there's tons we need to work on!" Naruto turned around and looked at Levy's eager form as she came running to his side with some glasses on and a proper floor plan for the new guild. Apparently they weren't just rebuilding it, they were renovating the hell out of it too. She pointed at the back, "We need help moving a bunch of material to the second floor and you can do it pretty fast if you stick to the walls. You think that's all right?"

"Totally."

"That'll have to wait." Makarov said as he started shrinking until he was normal size again and started wiping his face with a towel. Makarov looked up at him, "Sorry Naruto but you've been hold up in a bed for the last week so you're the last one in the guild that needs to meet with the Council."

Naruto went from excited to flat out despair in under five seconds. Levy looked up at him with some sympathy and pity as she patted his back, "I-it'll be okay. They just ask you a few questions and you're done."

"Actually, since you had a big part in bringing that crazy bastard Jose down, they want you to go to the Fiore Branch so they can have a personal discussion about your experience. They did the same thing with Gray, Mirajane, Elfman, and Erza. So you better hurry up. The trains leave by the end of the hour."

Naruto and Levy were completely silent after that addition. Naruto looked at Levy and basically dared her to say anything else. She didn't wanna risk it and awkwardly pointed in another direction, "I-I've-um-I need to go help some of the others."

Naruto stood there silently before looking down at Makarov with some hope, "What if we just say I can't remember anything from the fight? Can we get off with that?"

Makarov shrugged his shoulders, "We could try..." He took a sip from his drink and sighed, "Although they won't let us take any jobs until they've finished interviewing everyone that participated in the war."

...

"Shit."

########Hunter########

"-and from the prior reports we've gathered from your guildmates, while you were responsible for the destruction of multiple floors in the Phantom Lord guild's mobile hall, we've come to a conclusion that it was the damage caused at the top of the guild by Natsu Dragneel that finally knocked the guild over."

Naruto stood at the bench in front of the Thought Projections of the Magic Council as they read off the multiple reports and files they had collected over the last week of questioning. While they kept talking, Naruto silently scowled in annoyance about the fact that Natsu really did finish knocking over the guild. He was never gonna hear the end of that argument now.

"Uzumaki, are you listening?"

"Yes!" Naruto stood straight up and scratched his chin, "I'm listening."

"Right." Org looked back over the papers in front of him, "Well we've got most of your companions testimonies finished up. We just need you to tell us about your experience on the matter."

Naruto cupped his chin, "Well I came back from a job and found the guild was pierced by a bunch of iron spears and everyone was down in the basement. Then at night we found a few of our friends being beaten up by Phantom Lord's Dragon Slayer and they had to be hospitalized. After that we all marched to Phantom Lord's guild and broke in."

Michello raised his brow with a condescending look, "Was it really necessary to go wage war so willing after such a mishap."

Naruto just stared at him, "They were hurting our friends. They crossed too far over the line after doing that." Michello seemed skeptical of the idea so Naruto just continued, "Anyway, after we started attacking, Master Makarov was attacked by a spell and had all of his magic taken away from him. We retreated back to our guild and tried to recuperate from our injuries. But then we looked outside, Phantom Lord had marched over the lake and onto our backyard preparing to fire a blast from the Jupiter Cannon. I wasn't gonna risk something like that happening so I...uhhh..."

"You tried to deflect the Jupiter blast away from your guild and the town." Ultear finished his sentence when she noticed he stalled because he didn't know how to address that action without sounding foolish.

Siegrain finished the thought, "And when that didn't work, you blocked the attack yourself and nearly died in the process. That was undeniably stupid...but quite brave as well." The blue-haired man noted as he sat up in his seat and looked to the blond standing beneath them, "There are only a group of Mages we could think of that can block a blast like Jupiter and survive...and even fewer that would willingly due it despite the risk. You continue to pleasantly surprise us Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto gave the man a slight shrug of his shoulders. He still had a strange tension with Siegrain but even he had to accept a compliment from a guy like him.

One of the other members asked, "How did you initially survive the attack from Jupiter like that?"

Naruto gripped his left arm with a subtle pass and smiled, "I guess I just got lucky."

"Yes, I suppose the fates must've twisted in your favor at that moment, Uzumaki-kun." The chairman, Crawford Seam, noted wisely before motioning with his hands, "Please continue."

"Well after I was hit with the blast I got knocked out-or nearly died from what everyone else told me-and I was out for most of the fight." Naruto still shook his head in disappointment that he couldn't help more during the fight but decided there was nothing he could do to change that now. He continued, "I woke up and ran into the guild when I felt Jose's magic power emanating from the guild. I went in and saw Erza, Gray, Mira, and Elfman fighting Jose off."

Yajima tilted his head, "And that's how you preceded to push Jose-San back with the five of you working together?"

"That's right."

A few days ago, Erza called Gray, Elfman, and Mira over to the tree house so Naruto could help talk them into covering for the situation with his arm. It was all fixed now but it would have been a pain in the ass to try and explain the arm and demon dwelling inside him situation to a skeptical government body that wouldn't believe him without proof.

They simply agreed and said that of course they would do whatever they could to help a friend in need.

Naruto continued with the half-truth they had decided on, "After we had fought Jose for awhile I told the others to leave because they were too injured. Him and I fought more and I started getting in some decent hits until he started heading upwards to check on Lucy. I took that chance to hit him as hard as I possibly could and finally sent him flying. After that I was getting my injuries taken care of so that's basically all I remember."

There was some light murmuring between the members of the Council as they were coming to a consensus. After a little more talking Org finally spoke up, "Okay, that checks out with what we've gathered from the rest of you. I suppose there are just the finishing discussions with Master Makarov and this matter can be settled."

Naruto breathed out in relief before Michello called him out with an annoyed tone, "Don't just think this matter is going to be swept under the rug so easily! Because of the actions of both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord, one of the oldest guilds in the nation have been decommissioned while the other is now without a guild hall!"

Naruto added in, "We're actually rebuilding the guild right now so that's-"

"Silence!"

Naruto sighed, "Okay."

"And because of the irresponsible actions of Jose Porla, we have had to revoke his status as Wizard Saint." Org added with a tired shake of his head, "Now we must make the choice on who should fill his place next."

Realization crossed Naruto's face as to why he was called into the Fiore Branch personally. He started to seem bashful and flattered at the thought as he scratched the back of his neck, "Oh, I get it now. That's why you guys called me here today, right?"

They all seemed confused by what he was implying, "I'm sorry?"

Naruto gave a honest smile, "Actually I'm really flattered by the offer but I don't know what to say. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a cool idea to be a Wizard Saint but you've gotta give me time to consider it."

An awkward silence fell across the whole room as the Council looked between each other giving a wordless conversation. Someone finally spoke up, "Actually Uzumaki, while you were the one who defeated Jose Porla, we can't pass the status of Wizard Saint onto you so casually."

Naruto's smile turned into a straight line as he deadpanned, "Oh."

"That's not to say we didn't consider you as a candidate, Naruto-kun." Yajima reassured him before he made a slight tilt of his head, "We believed that after your showing of bravery and strength, you have been put on a long list of people that are acceptable of the job. It's just-"

"Jose Porla proved that despite ability and status, his mentality was clouded and his pride a hubris that caused grief to many." Ultear continued for the older Council member as she hid a sly smile behind her sleeve, "The same shortcomings that brought a man like Alexander Sorrento to ruin."

Belno nodded, "As such, we of the Magic Council must be far more considerate with future choices of the position of Wizard Saint, and take into account more barriers of entry. Such as humility."

"Temperament."

"Compassion."

"Strength."

"Knowledge."

"Experience."

"Ability."

"Power."

"Wisdom-"

"Okay! I get it! The Wizard Saint gig are some big shows to fill." Naruto raised a hand to try and stop the Council's rhythmic timing with listing off all the traits needed for a Wizard Saint. Did Jura get the long, winded version of the speech like him? He nodded his head before a small smile grew on his face, "So...can we get jobs again?"

"Are you so narrow-minded about your own desires that you don't see the impact this event has-"

"Yes you may." Crawford easily interrupted Michello's accusing rant before he started stamping some paperwork, "We will finish up talks with Master Makarov but otherwise Fairy Tail has finished with its testimonies. You are free to go."

"Sweet!" Naruto jumped out of the hearing bench and looked up at the high seats the Council sat on before asking, "So should I take the paper to a desk or-"

"I will deliver it for you Chairman."

Naruto shut his mouth when he heard the firm voice echo from the other end of the large room as someone started approaching the front. They all got a good look at the woman as she stepped beside Naruto and gave a quick salute to the Council and its members. She had her long, wavy blonde hair in a ponytail to keep it out of sight in battle, and was wearing a captain's uniform from the Rune Knights.

Mahiro Senju.

"Ah, Captain Senju, if you would be so kind as to take this letter and deliver it to the Jobs Department, we can have Fairy Tail receiving requests again within a few days." He handed the letter down to the lower seats that passed it to the blonde captain.

Mahiro took the letter and stood with her hands behind her back, "Of course sir."

"Oh, Mahiro-kun, I heard about the mission you just came back from." Yajima noted with a smile on his face, "I'm glad to see you are unharmed."

She gave a grateful smile and nod of her head, "Thank you Councilman Yajima." She looked back up at the Council and asked, "I don't wish to be rude, but about that matter I brought up when I was last here..."

"Oh yes, your leave." Crawford looked over another set of papers and hummed, "It seems like an extensive period of time for a break, but considering your recent performance we ask that you at least keep notice of your paperwork and we will gladly accept your extended leave."

She gave a grateful nod of the head, "Thank you sirs."

"We will see you again later in October." He motioned to the door, "Do you mind showing Uzumaki-kun the way out as you deliver the letter?"

"Of course." She turned to Naruto and motioned to the door with her arm, "This way please."

Naruto was silent and looked between the Council and the woman like he was trying not to laugh before he started heading to the door with Mahiro walking besides him. The two blondes walked through the door and started moving through the corridor together in silence.

After a moment, a smirk trying extremely hard not to show itself started forming on his face and he snickered, "So~...do I get a salute and 'sir' too or is that asking too much?"

"..."

Naruto was surprised that Mahiro didn't have any retort or say anything at all at his joke. He then saw the strained glare on her face as she marched forward. The whiskered man's eyes darted around for anything she might be glaring at before he asked, "Are you...mad?"

She shook her head, "Nope. I'm pissed off is what I am."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?!" She turned to him and stopped their walk altogether before the woman pointed at her surrogate son with disappointment and anger, "I heard about the Guild War as soon as it finished! Did you guys even try to call me?!"

Naruto leaned back from her accusing finger and tried to calm her down, "Of course we did! We considering calling you to help and everything! It's just..."

"It's just what?" She asked as she crossed her arms with her stern look still focused on him.

"We knew you'd get in trouble if you came running to participate in a Guild War like this! Plus you were still on a mission when we called your Lacrima so we couldn't get you to come down in time!"

"Like any of that matters!" Mahiro tapped the guard over her left forearm, knowing Naruto would recognize the spot where she had her guild tattoo. She proudly announced, "I don't care where I am or what the consequences are if I come, if the guild needs me than I'll come running!"

Naruto looked down at her arm and back up at her before he looked off to the side with guilt. The reason she was always away from the guild was his doing in the first place. The reason she now worked for the Magic Council was to protect him from the prying eye. If she got hurt out there then it-

*THWACK*

"OW!" Naruto rubbed his aching scalp and looked at her with narrowed eyes, "What the hell?!"

"You had that look on your face again. The one where you think about how it's your fault I'm here taking this job or something. So once again I'll make this clear to you..." She lowered her hand from its chopping form and put it back to her hip before reprimanding Naruto, "This is not your fault. This was never your fault. Stop blaming yourself and smile. I'm doing this because I can make a difference and help people everywhere by searching and stopping anyone who might try and hurt Fiore. And I'm doing it very well too." She raised an eyebrow, "So stop worrying, okay?"

Naruto rubbed his scalp a little more before his hand fell from his head. He tentatively looked from side-to-side to make sure no one was around that could see them. When the coast was clear he lunged forward and wrapped his free arm around her in a tight hug that nearly caught Mahiro by surprise. He hugged her tighter, "I'm really glad you're okay."

Mahiro smiled and hugged him back, noticing how he had grown taller than her over the last few visits. She patted his back, "Yeah I missed you too. But I guess you'll get your fill over the next few weeks."

Naruto pulled back and looked at her confused, "What?"

Mahiro smiled, "The Council just signed off on letting me go on vacation for the next few weeks. I'm coming to stay at Fairy Tail until the Harvest Festival is over!"

Naruto smiled, "That's awesome!" He patted her shoulder and started walking away, "You can help with the rebuilding."

"HA!" You kiddin'!" Mahiro followed behind him with her arms locked behind her head, "I'm on vacation! I'm sitting on my ass for the next month! I'll leave that up to you kids and your troublemaking ways."

"Pfft. I bet if Erza or Koyuki asked you for help you'd be moving shit in an instant."

"Probably. But that's because they'd be sincere and earnest with their request while you're probably suggesting it because you're feeling lazy. By the way...what happened to your arm?"

"Oh, you're gonna love this story..."

########Hunter########

"Did you ever buy an amusement park just so you wouldn't have to wait in lines?" Natsu asked with sparkles in his eyes at the new topic he could discuss with their blonde teammate.

Lucy shook her head, "No! I hate going on rides like that now! I never would've done it as a kid!"

Gray's interest was peeked as well, "So did your servants and butlers and stuff dress you all the time or something?"

"No!" Lucy yelled with a red face at the question before turning away and mumbling, "I-I mean not anymore. When I was younger I usually needed help with the bigger dresses so-"

"Fish! How much fish could you buy?!" Happy begged with drool seeping down his chin at the prospect of a mountain of fish to be eaten at his leisure, "Trout! Salmon! Yellow Tail! Swordfish! How much?!"

"Okay 1) I don't think I'd ever waste as much money as you're hoping just buying fish. And 2) Stop drooling on me!" She swatted the blue cat aside before she walked faster down the street back to Fairy Tail to walk besides the much calmer Erza that silently led their path. She sighed, "Geez, these guys have done nothing but pester me since we left my house. Erza, could you say something to them or..." She noticed that Erza hadn't even recognized the conversation around them or Lucy's voice so she looked at the redhead, "Erza?"

"There are the new breastplates and armaments at the store. And I saw a beautiful sword and shield combo when I last visited that would go perfectly with my armor. An axe that Naruto would really like and-Oh! Cake! Oh the cakes and parfaits and eclairs and croissants and doughnuts~." A twinkle formed in Erza's eyes as she imagined the tasty wonderland in her mind, "What I would buy with that money~..."

Lucy deadpanned, "Okay...once again for everyone to hear...I don't have any of that money anymore."

"WOOHOO!"

The group of four humans and a cat stopped outside of the construction space for the guild as they saw it was fantastically lit up with touches and tables line the middle for everyone to cheer and drink together. They walked in and saw Naruto standing by the side with a smile on his face. They all walked up and Erza asked, "Naruto?"

He turned and smiled before hugging his girlfriend, "Hey guys, where have you been?"

Lucy spoke up, "I had some business to take care of back home and they all came to travel back with me. But what's going on here?"

"Everyone's celebrating another day of finishing the guild." Naruto smiled again, "But it's a welcoming party too."

"Welcoming party(x5)?"

"And then this little punk started gathering Lightning all over his arms and tried attacking me from above! So just before he hit me I just held my fist up and he rammed right into it, knocking himself out like a dumbass!"

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" A huge group of people started bursting into laughter after she finished telling her tell.

"Mama! Mama! You beat up all the bad guys, didn't you!"

"Yes I did! Cause they ain't even a match for me!" Mahiro said as she hugged her daughter tightly in the group of friends that were toasting to her return.

Erza smiled, "Mahiro!"

"Erza!" Mahiro gently sat Koyuki back in her seat and jumped out of the table to run over to the younger woman. She nearly tackled Erza and hugged her tightly, lifting her off her feet and gleefully cheering, "Oh I have missed you so much!"

Erza smiled and chuckled despite the awkward position she was in, "I've missed you too!"

Mahiro lowered her back to her feet and patted the younger woman's shoulder sympathetically, "I heard about what you guys had to go through with Phantom Lord."

Erza nodded, "I'm sorry you had to hear about it afterwards but when we were going to call you-"

"It's fine." She motions towards Naruto, "I already ripped into him about it so I'm sorta tapped out in that department. I'm just glad you guys are safe."

Naruto shook his head, "That's picking favorites."

Mahiro gave a wide smile, "Guess what? I'm on break until the Harvest Festival is over so we can catch up!"

"That's great!"

"Mahiro(x2)!" Natsu and Happy cheered at the sight of the blonde woman, "Fight me!"

"You sure you wanna go there Natsu? You've been recuperating while I'm still fresh from fighting!"

"Totally! Bring it!"

Lucy was blinking in confusion as Gray walked up besides Naruto, "Where'd you find her?"

"She was at the Fiore Branch as I was giving my report to the Council."

Gray smirked, "Well that's good. Sucks to face those guys without someone in your corner."

"I-I'm sorry." Lucy interjected with a bewildered expression and looked between the two guys, "Who is this lady?"

"That's Mahiro. She a member of our guild but she's working for the Magic Council right now." Naruto answered for her as he looked over at everyone partying, "She's also one of the strongest ladies in Fairy Tail and Koyuki's mom."

"She's Koyuki-chan's mom?!" Lucy shrieked out in utter surprise at the revelation.

Gray asked, "Why, is that weird or something?"

"N-no! I-it's just..." Lucy seemed nervous under the sudden spot she was put in and admitted to the two men, "I-I didn't know Koyuki-chan's mom was still alive. I thought you and Erza had adopted her or something."

"Nah, we're watching after her while Mahiro works." Naruto waved to the woman, "Mahiro, come over here and meet the newbie!"

"So this is the new kid that's stirring things up in the guild, huh?" Mahiro said as she walked up to the younger blonde and smiled, "Nice to meet you. Name's Mahiro Senju."

Lucy's eyes widened and she stuttered, "M-Mahiro Senju? Captain of the Rune Knights?! 'Starlight Senju'?! That Mahiro Senju?! Y-you're a member of Fairy Tail?!" Mahiro smiled and nodded her head before Lucy grabbed her hands and shook them with excitement, "I'm Lucy Heartfilia and I heard about all the amazing things you've done!"

Mahiro grinned and scratched the back of her head, "Well if you wanna actually see something amazing, you're gonna wanna watch this."

"Mahiro!" Natsu roared loudly as fire swirled around him and he got ready to fight again with a grin, "I hope you're ready cause I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Lucy shook in horror as Mahiro turned around and cracked her knuckles, "Well c'mon Natsu! Let's see how much better you've gotten!"

"All right! Here I come!" Natsu's whole body blew up with flames and he braced the ground before charging forward, "Fire Dragon's Sword-"

His attack was interrupted as Mahiro vanished and appeared right in front of him in a flash of light to grab his face and pull him up. She yelled and threw him like a ball across the clearing and into the scaffolding and wooden beams. She landed on her feet and smiled triumphantly, "Good effort Natsu but you've still got a long way to go!"

The others laughed and cheered after the quick display and Lucy could only stare in shock at the quick defeat Natsu had at the hands of this woman. She was speechless, "Wow. She's...she's really strong."

"Yes." Erza said in agreement as she walked over to their little group and added on, "Mahiro can be quite capable and amazing as a captain in the Rune Knights. But..."

The whole party went silent as they heard wood creak and sprinter before half of the scaffolding and work they had spent the day toiling on started to collapse from the damage Natsu's impact made. A good portion of the new guild was ruined again as everyone glared over at the busty blonde who froze during her laughter and stood there like a statue.

Erza finished, "But she's still a member of Fairy Tail."

"DAMMIT MAHIRO! THAT TOOK US ALL FREAKING DAY!"

Mahiro's victorious expression fell and she cursed, "Shit. Sorry!"

"Haha, see, I told you you're gonna help us with the building!"

########Omake: The Sweet Taste of Payback########

"So, as you can see, there is this massive field of fertilizer and manure that needs to be properly shoveled and spread. The man that made the request is asking that you use all the manure to spread across the fields, then place the proper crops in their spots to be grown, and repeat the process over and over. As for the punishment, you will continue to repeat this request over and over until you have properly paid off the equal amount of Jewels offered in the reward." Erza stated sternly with her arms crossed after reading the notes handed to her by Makarov about watching over the punishment, "And due to all of your involvement in the job, you must each pay back the Jewel reward individually. Any questions?"

"Y-yeah." Lucy panted out and she rammed the shovel into the ground, dirt covering her weird clothes and cheeks before asking, "Why do I have to wear this while I'm here?" Lucy motioned to the large blue jacket with characters on the back, geta sandals that made it extremely difficult to move, and the wrapping around her stomach and chest that were so tight that even her normally alluring curves seem like nothing more than a flat body. She wheezed out, "It's hard to breathe in this thing! It's like something Elfman would wear!"

"That's because it is something Elfman would wear." Erza answered her with a stern frown on her face, "We take suggestions from everyone in the guild on what the punished should wear and put it to a vote. This was what everyone voted you should wear and so you'll wear it until you're done."

Lucy was shocked, "You're kidding."

"Nope." Erza shook her head, "You should just be glad Gray's getting punished alongside you. If he wasn't, there would've been the chance you did this topless."

"Well...I guess that explains why I'm wearing." Gray noted as he fingered the bikini top and jeans he was wearing while shoveling shit into rows over the massive field. Well, if he was gonna do hard work in the field, Cana's clothes seemed the most appropriate for outside.

"This is so damn uncomfortable!" Natsu raged as he pulled on the maroon dress and high-heels he was wearing while doing field work. He whined, "AHHHHHHHH! HOW THE HELL DOES MIRA GET ANYTHING DONE WHILE WEARING THIS?!"

"Natsu~." Happy moaned while he fell into a pile of manure wearing a smaller version of Levy's clothes and barely whimpered out, "I-it's so hot. I-I can't go on!"

"I can't believe we have to do this!" Natsu yelled before pointing up at Erza, "And why are you just standing there watching?!"

"Because I need to make sure you fill out the terms of your punishment properly and don't try to cheat your way out of it."

"AND WHY IS HE HERE?!"

They all looked towards Naruto who was gleefully chuckling and taking pictures with a camera Lacrima. He grinned and mocked them, "I'm gonna sell these for a fortune when we get back to the guild."

"WHY YOU-"

"Natsu! Stop talking and work!" Natsu grumbled and got back to shoveling the fertilizer as Erza came walking over and stood beside her boyfriend, "Do you really need to antagonize them like this?"

He lowered the camera, "Of course. I didn't get any slack when I was the one getting punished. They were all laughing when I came back to the guild after swimming for fish in the Hargeon harbor for nearly two weeks!"

A cheeky smile came across Erza face as she teased him, "You have to admit it was funny seeing you in Mira's goth clothes like that."

"Says you. I swear sharks were drawn in by those colors. Total bullshit." He held up the camera and smiled, "Say cheese guys!"

"GO TO HELL(x3)!"

"That's the spirit!"

########Hunter########

Done

A short chapter but a quick update so that's one thing.

Ugh, I am so glad I have a chance to relax and write again. It's so damn relieving. Not to say I didn't have some nice breaks during that long-ass hiatus.

I don't know how it was possible but I somehow convinced all of my friends to come watch the first episode of One Piece in our living room, and by the end of three weeks we had gone all the way up to episode 310! Damn I forgot how much I love that show! So awesome! And can I just say, Sub vs Dub people can argue as much as they like, but I thought they were both exceptional in this case. Especially Colleen Clinkenbeard, she goes from sexy and mysterious Yuko Ichihara to firm and quirky Erza Scarlet to funny and stupid Monkey D. Luffy. I should think about adding English actors to the voice list on my page.

Anyway, lots of cool stuff over the break. Mortal Kombat X. Spartacus. Hype for True Detective. Red vs Blue. Daredevil. Age of Ultron. Highschool DxD Season 3. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

But now we're back to work.

Second half of the short chapters should come out soon.

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Thank You and Bye