Natsu awoke early the next day like any other but as he went to get up he realised he didn't have to there were no responsibilities he didn't have to open up the guild hall he had no guild master jobs he could spend this morning with his family he looked down at the sleeping Mirajane on his chest and smiled she finally had her siblings back after everything. Natsu relaxed back in the bed with the love of his life in his arms and their daughter in the room next door content he settled back to sleep.
Mira awoke a little later expecting to new missing her personal radiator but was happily surprised to feel him still there, of all the abilities she had inherited from Natsu feeling the cold was not one of them, she sat up in bed and planted a kiss on her dragons forehead before getting up and getting quickly showered and changed before going to check on their young child, she left their room smiling at the sleeping form of her husband then walked next door to peek in her room and her smile grew when she saw Takara playing with her toys.
"Morning sweetie" Mira called stepping into the room.
"Morning Momma" Takara said in joy dropping her toys and heading towards Mira with open arms, as she reached her mother she wrapped her arms around her waist.
"Come on let's surprise Daddy" Mira said as she got her daughter changed.
Natsu awoke again as light peered in through the curtains he squinted looking round the room realising that Mira was no longer with him, he got up as a smell of bacon and Eggs filled his senses he smiled as he got up and changed and headed out to the main house, he was greeted by the sight of Mire and Takara putting breakfast on the table.
"Morning Daddy" Takara said happily hugging Natsu's leg.
"Morning Takara how are ya" Natsu said picking her up in and resting g her on his arm.
"I'm good, don't you have work today?" she asked sweetly, for all the time Natsu was master he was always up and working by the time the young dragon woke up.
"Not today sweetie I've got a few days off" Natsu said as he walked towards the table and gave Mira a morning kiss.
"Morning beautiful" Natsu said smiling breaking the kiss.
"Morning" Mira replied happily "What are your plans for today?" she asked curiously sitting down at the table.
"I don't know I guess I'll just hang around the guild hall spend some time with you guys" Natsu replied placing their daughter down at in of the space chairs.
"Yea it would be nice, Lisanna wants to spend a bit more time with Takara, she adores her" Mira said starting eating.
"Ha, I'm glad Takara got a chance to meet her aunt and uncle" Natsu said smiling. The family finished their breakfast and soon they headed downstairs into the guild hall, there were a few people already arrived. Bisca, Alsack and their young daughter Asuka were over at the bar with Master Makarov who was sitting on the bar reading a letter drinking already, he greeted the three as they emerged from upstairs.
"Morning Master" Natsu greeted politely.
"Mommy is it OK to play with Asuka" Takara asked with a cute smile.
"Of course sweetie just stay where I can see you" Mira said happily letting go of her daughters hand. "Is everything OK master?" Mira asked taking a seat with Natsu next to the small group she could see an unhappy look on his face.
"Yes it's fine, it's just Guildarts he's left on one of his long journeys again" Master Makarov said glumly.
"You know he'll be fine, has he left anything for Cana" Natsu asked, needless to say he was shocked when he found out that Guildarts had a daughter especially that it was Cana.
"Yes he's left her a letter of her own" Makarov replied placing a sealed letter to the side.
"Anyway how's being back in charge of the guild?" Mira asked changing the subject quickly.
"Its like I never left, it's just getting used to all the new faces" Makarov replied taking another sip from his drink, just as he finished Ultear and Meredy walked in. "Speaking of new faces here are some cute ones" Makarov said with a perverted smile, but suddenly next to him he could feel a pair of eyes burning into the side of his head.
"Master you wouldn't be behaving like an old pervert now would you" a sickly sweet voice spoke, he turned to see Mirajane who was smiling but her eyes promised pain and lots of it.
"No why would I be doing that" Makarov laughed awkwardly.
"Good" Mira said quickly slipping back to her normal self.
'I see what Macco said about the 'demon' returning' the elderly master thought to himself.
The morning went on and soon everyone was in the guild laughing drinking and being happy except for one mage ever since he entered the guild he had been looking over to Natsu thinking and then the inevitable happened.
"Hey flame brain" Gray called.
"What's up Gray" Natsu said casually looking in his direction which surprised a few people from Tenrou who thought Natsu would pick a fight, the lack of reaction slightly irritated Gray.
"You still the same weakling after all this time" Gray shouted, Natsu sighed he had a feeling this was coming.
"I've been training with Mira and Sting for the past seven years" Natsu stated plainly.
"So, I bet I could still take you in a fight" Gray said confidently.
"I would prefer of we didn't I'm not in the mood" Natsu said politely trying to avoid a fight, Gray and a few others mouths dropped they had never known Natsu to turn down a fight, Makarov and Erza who just smiled thinking how being the guild master had changed him for the head strong teenager who always caused brawls. Gray snapped out of his shock and launched himself towards Natsu his fist primed to hit, he smirked to himself when he saw that Natsu hadn't reacted he swung his fist towards Natsu just for it to be caught.
"What.. but how?" Gray asked himself.
"If I give you a fight will you calm down" Natsu sighed.
"Sounds like fun" Gray smirked "That's all I wanted"
"Fine let's head outside, I don't want to destroy anything in the guild" Natsu said letting go of Gray's hand. The two went outside closely followed by the entire guild Mira picked up Takara and took her to see what was happening, she was more than excited to watch her father fight. Soon the two had attracted the entire guild, Cana was holding a poll to see who would win with most people putting green their money on Natsu except for a few on of witch was Juvia.
"I know you can do it my love" Juvia shouted causing Gray to blush a little not that anyone noticed.
"Its rare to see Master fight outside of training" Sting spoke to no one in particular.
"I doubt he will even have to use his power" Ultear replied from next to him "And don't forget he's not the master anymore" Ultear reminded the blonde mage.
"Oh yea just guess not" Sting said scratching the back of his head. Not to far away Mira was standing with Erza and her daughter holding her back so she didn't run into the fight out of excitement.
"On the count of three you may begin" Master Makarov shouted "Three" Gray got in to his ice make stance "Two" Natsu till stood there his arms crossed "One, go" the moment the word was given Gray charged as he got close he cast his spell.
"Ice make Endbringer" he called as two short swords appeared one in each hand he swiped them straight towards Natsu, the dragon slayer didn't even flinch seeing the swords heading towards him, the blades reached an itch away from Natsu when they instantly turned to mist leaving Gray holding the hilts bit giving him an idea. Gray didn't falter he jumped back summoning his Ice make cannon firming straight towards Natsu as it neared him it created a mist which surrounded Natsu but Gray knew this would happen so as he landed he moved as quickly as possible to punch with out magic into the mist but his fist didn't make contact. Gray was confused he could of sworn he punched where Natsu was standing, the mist faded reviling that Natsu was still in the mist but he had moved slightly to the left so the fist missed it mark.
"Good move but predictable" Natsu said calmly, in an instant he readied his fist and hit Gray square in the chest knocking him back several feet and on to his knees. Gray had fought Natsu many times he immediately knew he hadn't even used an ounce of magic.
"How have you gotten so strong over the last seven years?" Gray asked in awe.
"I've had to get strong to protect the guild, my family" Natsu replied as a painful memory flashed through his head "Its not been easy but nothing worth having is" Natsu said, he could see the frustration on Gray's face while the crowd was silent except for Takara who still stood in awe of her father "there's still three months till the Grand magic games if you train hard enough you'll still be able to compete"
"You really think I can compete?" Gray asked.
"I don't see why not" Natsu said offering his hand to help Gray up, the ice mage took it and forced himself to his feet.
"As of tommorow I gonna start the hardest training of my life" Gray declared.
"I look forward to it" Natsu said as he let go of Gray's hand and walked back to his wife and daughter.
"That was great papa" Takara said as Natsu approached.
"It was nothing" Natsu said confidently ruffling his daughters hair.
"Your daughters right you have grown quite strong" Erza chipped in.
"Its nothing really, Mira is just as strong if not stronger than me" Natsu said humbly.
"Oh really" Erza said peaking her interest. "How about a sparing match, it's been a while since you and me have fought" Erza said.
"If you want, it would be nice to test out my new magic" Mira said with her usual smile, Mira knew Natsu was being humble she had seen him at full power only once and it for surpassed her own.
"New magic eh, this should be good" Erza said with a smirk? The two walked to the arena and stood face to face the crowd was dissipating but whispers started in the crowd as the saw Mira and Erza standing ready to fight and soon everyone was back watching with anticipation. Cana had restarted her polls and the guild was divided between the two.
"So what is this new magic of yours" Erza asked trying to get any hint of what it could be.
"From someone very close to my heart" Mirajane replied with a joyful smile.
"Well that's no help" Erza sighed she didn't actually expect Mira to tell her but she hoped she might slip a hint.
"On the count of three" Makarov ordered.
"Three" the crowd held there breath.
"Two" Erza Requiped in to her black wing armour, a powerful armour for when she didn't know what she was going up against.
"One" Mira stood in a familiar stance, it was Natsu's.
"Go" Erza recognised the stance but assumed it was just because she had trained with him. She pushed that thought to the side before taking to the air gaining the high ground she then swooped down taking a swipe at the white haired woman, Mira managed to dodge the swipe before counter attacking.
"Fire dragons iron fist" she called as he hand lit on fire hitting Erza square in the back. The Requip mage was shocked as she staggered forward
"Dragon slayer magic, but how" Erza mumbled to herself, but Mirajane heard it with her enhanced senses.
"I told you it was from someone close to my heart" Mira said not taking her eyes off Erza.
"I must say I wasn't expecting that, but tell me how did you learn it?" Erza asked standing up straight.
"Let's just say it's a wedding gift, I'll tell you the rest later but for now let's fight" Mira said smiling, she was enjoying herself fighting her rival again it was like the old days. "Fire dragons roar" Mira yelled sending a steady stream of fire towards Erza, the Requip mage didn't move she just had a smug smile on her face the flames hit and quickly dissipated revealing Erza in her flame empress Armour.
"Come now Mire you must remember how Natsu has never beaten me before solely due to this armour" Erza said confidently, Mira's smile still hasn't dropped.
"This is perfect it means I won't have to hold back" Mira said her old personality slightly showing.
"Is Mira bluffing or has she really been holding back" Lucy asked she was standing near Ultear and Sting.
"Milady has been holding back even though she isn't as practiced in her dragon slayer magic compared to her take over, but she had Master as her trainer" Sting explained.
"Besides if what I heard about this armour is true it can only absorb half of the attacks" Ultear chipped in. "Ether way this should be a good fight"
The two rivals stared each other down, Erza standing proud in her flame empress Armour, Mira standing ready for any assault. The crowd was silent until both rushed each other, flames had engulfed Mirajane's arm up to the elbow the flames were bright crimson.
"Fire dragons iron fist" Mira yelled as she brought her fist forward to strike, Erza easily blocked the fist but in doing so she didn't see the flaming foot heading up and kicking her supporting leg knocking her off balance she tried to follow it up with a downward punch but Erza rolled out of the way so she hit the ground instead, Erza quickly recovered going immediately on the offensive swing her sword towards her long time rival Mira did a good job dodging most of the attacks buy a few still found there mark.
"Fire dragons roar" Mira spewed fire out of her mouth giving Erza, it burnt the Requip mage dispute her armour, eventually the fire subsided but Mira was no where to be seen Erza looked all around her but couldn't find her.
"flames of my left hand... the flames of my right put them together they make... Fire dragons brilliant flame" Mira yelled, Erza looked to the sorcerer of the voice above her she was surprised to see Mira hovering there with her Satan soul wings on her back but the rest of her stayed her normal self but what concerned her more was the massive ball of fire heading straight towards her at high speeds Erza attempted to block it with her sword but was unsuccessful the attack broke through the sword and hit Erza, the Requip mage was knocked back a fair distance as Mira landed.
"Very good" Erza complimented as she stood back up she had Birmingham marks and injuries all over her body and pieces of armour missing, thankfully for Erza the flame empress Armour did it's job. "I doubt I could take one of your take overs, you really have gotten stronger" Erza said smirking "I concede to you on the condition that we will have a rematch once I've gotten stronger" as she Requiped to her skirt and blouse.
"I look forward to it, I've got to say you pushed my dragon slayer magic quite far" Mira said with her usual smile. The two shock hands and the crowd finally dispersed as some collected their winnings and others mourned their loss.
"You fought well both of you" Natsu complimented as the two rivals approached ass they did Erza nodded her head in appreciation and Mira got pulled into a hug by Natsu. " You've really come far with your slayer magic" Natsu said letting Mira go.
"Yea I could still use more practice" Mira said.
"You look really good Mama, after the stories you told me about Erza you made it seem easy" Takara chipped in.
"That's only because Erza has been out of practice for a while" Mira reminded.
"You told her stories about me?" Erza asked looking touched.
"We brought her up on stories of all you guys, but she always like yours best" Natsu explained.
"Yea your magic is pretty" Takara said smiling up at Erza.
"Well thank you" Erza said picking up the young child "Well aren't you a cutie" Erza said only just getting a proper look at her friends daughter. Soon the group headed back inside and Erza, Mira and Takara went sit by the bar, Natsu took a moment to look around the guild seeing his friends back the way they should then his eyes fell on a certain take over mage, Elfman was sitting with Lisanna and the thunder legion but he was staring straight at Natsu as he wanted to speak to him, the older dragon slayer sighed internally as he knew what this conversation would be about then motioned for Elfman to follow him to the back of the guild. The two arrived on the kitchens as there was a few seconds awkward silence before Natsu spoke up.
"Look I know what this is..." Natsu was then stopped by two hand each resting on one of his shoulders.
"Thank you" Elfman said looking him straight in the eye, Natsu was confused he was expecting the typical big brother speech the usual 'Don't hurt my sister' but thank you?
"What for?" Natsu said looking back at him.
"For looking after Mirajane while I was gone" the takeover mage explained.
"There's nothing thanks necessary there isn't anything I wouldn't do for Mira or Takara, if it wasn't for those two I don't think I would of made it through these seven years" Natsu admitted, Elfman smiled. "Now come on let's get back to the others I'll get you a drink"
"Yea let's drinking manly" Elfman said back to usual self. The town rejoined the guild hall with smiles in there faces and joined most people by the bar Natsu ordered himself and Elfman a drink and sat down next to Makarov.
"Master" Natsu greeted politely.
"Hello there my boy, I was hoping to ask you more about these grand magic games?" Makarov asked.
"Yea sure, usually guilds area divided in to five person teams with one back up, the events vary from year to year" Natsu explained "I've got a copy of the rule book of you want to look at it"
"I'll give it a once over" Makarov agreed " Then he leaned in closer to Natsu. "Are you sure it's aa good idea to let Gray to lead the team shouldn't we lead with our strong gest foot first?" Makarov asked it's not that he had no faith in Gray it's just he knew there were stronger mages.
"I've got faith he'll get stronger, besides I've got a back up plan just in case, there's a small loop hole in the rules about the teams" Natsu smirked.
That evening people started to go do there own training Gray, Erza, Wendy, Lucy, Juvia and Sting were heading to a beach resort to start their training, Laxus, the thunder legion, Lisanna, Elfman and Cana went up tk the mountains for theirs while others stayed to train in Magnolia before they left Natsu had words with a few to help put his 'plan' in to action. Everyone was preparing for the grand magic games always little did they know how much they would need it.
Well that's another chapter done Merry Christmas everyone I hope you all have a wonderful time I will be uploading the next chapter sometimes. E in the end of January until then see ya later