Sorry for not updating in such a LOOOOOOONG time. I had a lot of activities in school as I am a basketball player who's representing the school so I had to go through a lot of training during my free time and I still have a marching course which means I have to go there every Saturday and public holidays and most of all, my exams are coming up and I am studying my head of so I had no time to update! Gomenesai! Please forgive me! Anyway, Here's the new chapter for this story! Hope you like it! ^_^
P.S. Gajeel and Juvia are already in the guild

Friendship Rings

Chapter 7: I Finally Found You

It's been 6 years since Natsu and Lucy parted ways. During those 6 years Lucy ran away from home leaving her father because he's been crazy about money ever since Lucy's mother died so now Lucy's goal is to find her and her mother's favorite guild called 'Fairy Tail' and become a mage there.

~Magnolia Train Station~

"Dear passengers, we have arrived at your destination. Please get down from the train. Thank you." Said the announcer. Everyone then got down from the train. A blonde haired girl with a curvy body was the last one to get down from the train dragging a pink luggage in one hand and holding a map in the other hand. "Ah~ I finally made it here. Now to find that guild." she said and looked at the map.

A/N: Just be clear that girl is Lucy Heartfilia. Please continue reading. XD!

She looked for a house to stay in and put all her things at the house. "I'll unpack it once I find Fairy Tail." said Lucy. Then she locked her house door and went to look fot=r the Fairy Tail guild.

She looked everywhere for one hour and a half but she still couldn't find the guild. "It's hopeless! I can't find it anywhere!" said Lucy. Lucy sighed and looked around once again and that's when something caught her eye. She looked at it closely and there in the middle of the road with a lot of people she squeled loudly making everyone look at her.

She covered her face with a map and went her way. "Man. That was embarrassing but the good news is I finally found it." thought Lucy happily. She stopped in front of a tall building with a symbol on it. "I finally found it." said Lucy while smiling. "Fairy Tail."

"Should I go in?" she thought. She reached for the doorknob and opened the door. Instantly, everyone stared at her. She bowed and asked, "A-A-Ano... M-May I know where's your m-master?"

A girl with long silver hair went up to Lucy and said,"I'm sorry but Master's not in right now. Would you like to leave him a message?" Lucy shook her head,"No. It's ok. I'll come back some other time." The girl nodded,"Alright but if I may ask, what do you want with Master?" Lucy smiled and said,"I just want to ask him if I could join this guild that's all. Anyway, I'll be going now. Ja ne!" While walking, Lucy thought,"Oh my gosh! I finally get to meet the famous Mirajane Strauss!"

When Lucy was about to leave, Mirajane grabbed her by the shoulder. "Wait! If you want to join this guild, you can!" Lucy turned around,"Honto-nii?! I really can?!" Mirajane nodded while smiling. "Yatta!" cheered Lucy happily. Mirajane smiled at Lucy and said,"Could you wait for a bit? I have to get the stamper so I can stamp your Fairy Tail mark."

Lucy nodded and sat at the bar while waiting for Mirajane to get the stamper. "Now where did I put the stamper again?" Mirajane said while searching the drawers at the bar. Not long later, she found the stamper. "Finally found it!" she said holding it up to let Lucy see.

"Okay. Now where and what color do you want it?"

"Etto... Pink and on my right hand."

"Ok."

Mirajane then stamped the Fairy Tail mark on Lucy's right hand. "There. Done. You are now officially a member of Fairy Tail. Welcome..."

"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Welcome Lucy! We hope you will like it here!" smiled Mirajane. "WELCOME LUCY!" shouted the every guild member happily. "Arigatou gozaimasu!" bowed Lucy. "I'm Mirajane Strauss. Nive to meet you Lucy." said Miarajne with a smile. "I know! It's nice to meet you to!" smiled Lucy. "Anyway, what kind of mage are you Lucy?" asked Mirajane.

"I'm not sure if you have heard of it but I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage." said Lucy smiling. "W-What kind of mage is that?" asked a little 12 year old girl with blue hair hiding behing Mirajane. "Oh. Etto... It's hard to explain but let me show you, alright?" said Lucy to the little girl. The girl nodded her head shyly and said,"Alright."

"Ok. Here I go." She took out one of her golden key and said,"Gate of the Maiden. I open thee. Virgo!" Suddenly, a girl with pink hair and wearing handcuffs and a maid costume appeared out of nowhere. "Punishment princess?" asked the girl. "No! Anyway, let me introduce one of my spirits. Her name is Virgo. Virgo the Maiden." said Lucy.

"Nice to meet you all." bowed Virgo. "Wow.. You have an amazing magic..." said the little girl. "Ah... Arigatou. Anyway, my name's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. What's yours?" said Lucy. "W-Wendy. Wendy Marvell." said the girl. "Nice to meet you Wendy. Let's be good friends, alright?" smiled Lucy while holding out her hand. Wendy smiled back and took her hand while nodding.

"Come on Lucy. I'll showing you around the guild." Lucy nodded and followed Mirajane.

~After hours of showing around~

"Wow. Everyone's so nice here and the place is so much different from when I was young." Exclaimed Lucy excitedly. "We had to rebuild this place after a fight with the Phantom Lord guild." Lucy was shocked. 'A fight? And with the Phantom Lord guild?' thought Lucy. "Anyway, let's not talk about that anymore. Anyway, there are still some people you haven't met yet." Said Mirajane. "Where are they?" Asked Lucy. "On requests but they will be back by today but some of them by tomorrow." said Mirajane while drying some empty cups. "Oh... I see."

"Why don't you go and talk to a few other people while waiting for them?"

"Thanks but I'll just stay here and read."

"Alright."

"Oh and Mirajane?"

"Just call me Mira."

"Okay oh and can I have a strawberry milkshake please?"

"No problem."

"Thanks." Lucy started reading her book which was titled 'Accidentally in Love' while drinking her strawberry milkshake. Suddenly, a blunette came and said, "Mira, one apple juice please." Mira nodded and started making the apple juice. The blunette then turned to Lucy and saw the book she was reading. "Hey! I heard this book is great. Is it yours?" she asked. Lucy stopped reading and looked at her, "Not really. I just borrow them from bookshops."

"Honto-nii?" Lucy nodded and smiled at her. "Yeah." "Then can you lend it to me for a day? I promise I'll give it back to you." pleaded the blunette. "Um... sure but you will have to wait till I finish it. Is that okay with you?" The blunette nodded, "It's fine with me. I can wait."

"Okay. By the way, my name's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Levy. Levy McGarden."

"Nice to meet you Levy-chan."

"Nice to meet you too Lu-chan." smiled Levy while shaking Lucy's hand. "Are you in to books as well?" asked Lucy. "Yeah! I'm a bookworm." "Honto-nii?" asked Lucy surpised. "Yeah!" smiled Levy.

After a few minutes, Lucy finished reading and passed the book to Levy. "Here. I'm finished with it." Levy jumped up excitedly and took the book from Lucy. "Arigatou Lu-chan!" exclaimed Levy excitedly. "Hope you like it!" said Lucy. "Thanks!" said Levy who then started reading the book. Lucy just sat there with her eyes starting to close. Soon, she fell asleep.

~After 2 hours~

"Wake up Lucy." said Levy while shaking Lucy lightly. Lucy's eyes started to open slowly. Once she was awake, she popped right up saying, "Oh no! How long have I been sleeping, Levy-chan?" "2 hours." said Levy. "Honto-nii?!" exclaimed Lucy. Levy nodded and handed Lucy the book she borrowed. "Here. I'm done with it."

"You are already done reading this thick book in 2 hours?" asked Lucy with a shock tone. "Yeah! I read pretty fast you know." winked Levy. "Anyway, let's have a chat. I was so keen on reading that book that I didn't have a chance to chat with you." Lucy smiled and nodded. Then they started chatting for a long long time.

"So you like to read romance novels?" asked Levy. "Yup! I just love them! Plus, I hope the things that happens in the novels will happen to me in real life!" smiled Lucy while daydreaming about her prince charming. "Really?" Levy smiled. Lucy nodded happily and said, "Yup!" "Oh... Well I too hope that the things in the novels will hap-" Levy was suddenly cut off when a huge guy approached them.

"Shrimp! Let's go on a mission!" he said. "Can't you wait? I'm talking to my friend and stop calling me 'shrimp'." answered Levy. "I don't care. Let's go." said the guy as he picked her up from the back of her collar. "Gajeel!" squeled Levy. "Let me down! I promise I will go on the mission with you. Just put me down and let me talk to Lu-chan for a while." argued Levy. "Fine. Hurry up alright?" said the guy while putting her down. "I'll wait with Lily at the table where we always sit alright?" Levy nodded and he went his way.

"Now. Where were we again?" asked Levy turning back to Lucy. "Who was that?" asked Lucy curiously. "Oh him? He's Gajeel Redfox. He's my...b-boy- boyfriend." blushed Levy. Lucy's eyes widened, "Boyfriend?!" "Ssshhhhh... No one knows that yet. So keep it to yourself alright?" said Levy who's blushing 20 shades of red while covering Lucy's mouth. Lucy took Levy's hand off of her mouth and said,"Ok. I'll keep my mouth shut but I still can't believe that you're dating him." whispered Lucy. "I know right?! Anyway, why did you join Fairy Tail?" asked Levy.

"When I was young, my mom really loves Fairy Tail but she didn't want to join it so she joined 'Love & Lucky'. That's where she met my dad. When I was 3 years old, I really loved magic and mages and I promised my mom that I'll join the guild that she couldn't and that's Fairy Tail. I've never joined Fairy Tail before but one a saw a catalog about Fairy Tail, I instantly fell in love with it. So, it's become my dream to join Fairy Tail so here I am." explained Lucy. "Oh... So that's it." said Levy. "Well I'm glad that you could fulfill your dream."

"Shrimp! Are you done already?" shouted an angry Gajeel from afar. Lucy sweatdropped and said, "You better go before Gajeel starts starting a rampage." Levy nodded and waved goodbye. ''Looks like I have no one to talk to now." said Lucy. Mirajane popped up and said, "You still have me! Since I'm free now, you can chat with me." Lucy smiled brightly and nodded her head. Then they started chatting.

~After 2 hours~

"I have to get back to work now." said Mirajane. "Okay. Anyway, are the other members gonna come back soon?" asked Lucy. "I'm not sure but I'm sure they are gonna barge in through that door any minute now." said Mirajane jokingly. Lucy giggled and said,"Maybe. You never know." They were laughing when Mirajane noticed a ring on Lucy on Lucy's finger. "That's a nice ring. Where did you get it?" asked Mirajane. "From a beach." replied Lucy. "From who?" asked Mirajane curiously. "From a very special person from my childhood." answered Lucy.

"You must have really cherished it since it's from a very special person from your childhood." said Mirajane. Lucy nodded and hugged the ring tightly. "And I'm sure I'll meet him again." said Lucy. 'Why does that ring looks so familiar?' thought Mirajane. She turned to Lucy and saw her crying while hugging the ring tightly. 'Oh never mind.' she thought. 'Natsu... Where are you? I miss you...' thought Lucy while tears kept flowing down her cheeks.

Suddenly, the door burst opened and there appeared a figure of a woman. "Tadaima." said a woman with scarlet colored hair. "Welcome back Erza." welcomed Mirajane. "It's good to be back." said the woman. "One strawberry cake please." said the woman sitting down on the seat next to Lucy.

'Oh my gosh! It's Erza 'The Titania' Scarlet! I can't believe she's sitting next to me!' thought Lucy. Erza looked at Lucy which made Lucy look away. "I've never seen you before. Are you new here?" asked Erza politely. Lucy turned to look at her and nodded. "Well, welcome to Fairy Tail. I'm Erza Scarlet. Nice to meet you." said Erza while holding a hand out. Lucy shook her hand and smiled saying, "Nice to meet you too! My name's Lucy Heratfilia by the way."

Suddenly the door burst opened again and appeared two figures which is a guy and cat figure. "You wanna die huh fire breath?" shouted a guy with raven colored hair. "He's not here." said Erza to him while munching on a piece of cake. "Why are you looking for him anyway?" asked Erza. "He took off and left us at Hargeon to fight those thieves on our own." explained a blue neko. "And while he was running, he was laughing like a crazy person." 'A talking neko?!' thought Lucy. "Why?" asked Mirajane appearing out of nowhere which scared Lucy. "Hiekkkk!" squeled Lucy. "Don't appear out of nowhere like that!"

"Gomenesai Lucy." said Mirajane. "It's ok." said Lucy. "Lucy?" asked the raven colored hair guy. "Yeah! She joined Fairy Tail 4 hours ago." explained Mirajane. "Oh... So your new?" asked the raven colored hair guy. Lucy nodded and thought, "He's so handsome and so cool."

"Well nice to meet you. I'm Gray Fullbuster but you can just call me Gray." said the guy while holding out his hand. Lucy took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you too! I'm Lucy Heartfilia. Just call me Lucy." said Lucy happily. "I'm Happy! Nice to meet you Lucy!" said the blue neko while flying high in the sky. "Kyahh! A flying talking neko!" shouted Lucy. "I'm not a nekot. I'm an Exceed." said Happy. "An Exceed?" asked Lucy. "Yeah! We're just like a neko but we talk and fly not like a normal neko." explained Happy. "Oh..." said Lucy. "Anyway, welcome to Fairy Tail Lucy. I promise that you will love it here." said Gray. "Yeah! Welcome!" said Happy. "Arigatou!" thanked Lucy

"Since we're all friends now, could you guys tell me what's your magic?" asked Lucy nicely. "Why tell when we can just show you." said Mirajane. Mirajane then suddenly transformed into a demon. "I have Transformation Magic which can make me turn into demons like now." explained Mirajane. "That's scary!" exclaimed Lucy.

Mirajane then turned back to normal while Erza changed into a beautiful armor. "I have Requip Magic which can make me change into any armor I want." said Erza. "Wow~ It's so pretty." said Lucy. "The armor I'm wearing now is the Lightning Empress Armor which can withstand lightning." explained Erza. "Wow~" said Lucy. Erza then requiped into her previous armor.

"I'm an Ice Make mage. I can make things using ice." explained Gray. "Really?" asked Lucy. Gray nodded saying, "Yeah." Lucy smiled and asked, "Then can you make the symbol of Fairy Tail using your ice?" Gray nodded and made a symbol of Fairy Tail with ice. "Wow. It's beautiful." said Lucy. "Here. Its for you." said Gray. "Think of it as a welcoming gift."

"But won't it melt?" asked Lucy. "Nope. It won't. So, take it." said Gray handing the ice-made symbol of Fairy Tail. "Arigatou!" said Lucy while taking the symbol of Fairy Tail made by ice. "You're welcome." said Gray.

"When is Natsu coming back anyway?" asked Mirajane. 'Natsu?' thought Lucy. "I don't know but I'm gonna kill him once he comes back for leaving us like that." said Gray. "Natsu?" asked Lucy. "Yeah. That bastard." said Gray. "He's known as 'The Salamander' Natsu." said Mirajane.

'Salamander? Then it must not be him. Natsu...' thought Lucy. Tears started flowing down Lucy's cheeks while she hugged the ring tightly. "Natsu... I miss you..." mumbled Lucy. "O-O-Oi. Why are you crying? Is something wrong?" asked a panicked Gray. "Nandemo nai. I was just thinking about my special person from my childhood." said Lucy wiping away her tears. "Is he really that special?" asked Erza. Lucy nodded and said, "Yeah. He's very special. I even shared my first kiss with him."

"What happened between you two?" asked Gray. "We parted ways after 6 days because we had to go home." explained Lucy. "Go home? So you guys met at a public place like a beach?" asked Gray. Lucy nodded and said, "Yeah. It was Akebono Beach. He promised that he would look for me on the last day." "So is he?" asked Mirajane. "I don't know but I'm still looking for him so I'll try my best." said Lucy.

"Well, what does he look like? Maybe we can help you find him." said Mirajane. "Really? You guys would do that for me?" asked Lucy. "Of course! You're our nakama. We help each other you know." said Happy. Lucy smiled brightly and said, "Arigatou minna!"

"So? What does he look like?" asked Erza. "I don't remember since it's been 6 years already but I have something at my house that reminds me of how he looks. Should I go get it?" said Lucy. "Yeah! Go get it! We'll wait right here." said Happy. "Okay! I'll be right back." said Lucy. "But I'm very slow so maybe Virgo can help." mumbled Lucy.

She reached for a golden key and said, "Gate of the Maiden, I open thee. Virgo!" Virgo appeared and bowed saying, "Punishment, hime?" Lucy shouted, "No! But I need you to carry me to my house as quickly as you can. Can you do that?" Virgo nodded and carried Lucy princess style and ran as fast as she could to Lucy's house.

"Wow. That was fast. Plus, the spirit looks so cool!" said Happy. Gray, Erza and Mirajane all nodded in agreement. "Anyway, don't you think the story she told us was just the same as Natsu's? Plus, her ring looks similar to his too." said Erza. "We shouldn't be too sure first. Let's see how he looks first then we'll talk about it with her." said Mirajane. They all nodded in agreement and waited for Lucy.

~Lucy's House~

"Where are they?!" said Lucy searching her whole bag full of clothes and other things. "I'm sure I brought them." She looked everywhere but she still couldn't find it."Where did I put them?" said a frustrated Lucy. Suddenly, she remembered something and went to a chest with golden words on it saying 'Childhood Memories'. She opened it and searched it. While she was searching, something caught her eye. It was the doll she was looking for and a few pictures.

She took it out of the box and held it up. "Here you are." She smiled at the doll and she looked at the pictures and remembered her childhood.

~Flashback~

After returning home from the beach, Lucy ran up to her room with her sewing kit and started sewing a doll. After sewing it, she made the clothes. After a few hours, she finally finished it. She held it up in her hands and looked at it. 'There. My Natsu Doll is all done. This will make me remember how he looks so that I could find him in the future.' thought Lucy.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and there appeared her mother, Layla Heartfilia. "What are you doing, dear?" asked Layla. "Look mama! I made a Natsu Doll!" exclaimed Lucy happily. "Natsu Doll? Why did you make a doll that looks like Natsu?" asked Layla. "I want to remember him so if 3 years passed and I forgot how he looked like, I'll just take this doll out and look at it and hug it so I'll feel safe." said Lucy. "Oh... Well you made it look just like him." said Layla. "Arigatou mama!" thanked Lucy.

"Oh and I almost forgot to give you these." said Layla handing Lucy some pictures. "What's this?" asked Lucy while taking the pictures. "It's some pictures you and Natsu." said Layla. "This one is the funniest. This was when Natsu slept over at our room. You two shared the same bed and we took it because you two looked so cute like that." said Layla pointing to one of the pictures. "And this one is when you two went swimming together." said Layla pointing to another one.

Lucy giggled and said, "This is where an octopus got stuck on his face." They both laughed and Layla said, "Lucy?" Lucy looked up and Layla said, "No matter what, keep these pictures safe so that you can always remember Natsu Dragneel, the son of Igneel. Got it?" Lucy nodded and thanked her mother for the pictures. Then, Layla left the room.

~Flashback Ends~

~Lucy's House~

A tear rolled down from her cheeks when she thought about that memory. "Mama..." she mumbled. "Hime, are you ready to go back now?" asked Virgo who's waiting for Lucy to finish so she could send her back to the guild as fast as she can. Lucy wiped away the tear and nodded. So, Virgo carried her and dashed back to the guild.

~Back at the Guild~

"What's taking her so long?" said an impatient Gray. "Wait for a few minutes. I'm sure she will barge in through that doors any minute now." said Mirajane. Suddenly, the doors burst opened and there appeared Lucy and Virgo. "There she is." said Erza. Virgo put Lucy down and said, "I should go now hime." Lucy nodded and thanked her. Then, Virgo disappeared into mid-air.

"Tadaima." said Lucy holding the doll and pictures in her hand. "I brought the things. Here." she handed them to Mirajane. Mirajane took the pictures and looked at it with Gray, Erza and Happy. Once they saw how the doll and the boy in the pictures looked like, they all sweatdropped. "We know this guy." they all said in unison. Lucy's eyes sparkled when they said that and asked, "Really? Where is he now? I want to see him again." The all tilted their heads and said, "Well... You see..."

Suddenly, the door burst opened and there revealed a man with pink hair. "Tadaima!" he shouted. "Where's Happy?" 'He appeared just at the right time.' thought Mirajane. "There he is right now." said Mirajane. 'Good luck Lucy.' thought Erza. Lucy walked towards the man and said, "Natsu? Natsu Dragneel?""

The man looked at her and his eyes widened, "L-L-Luce? Luce Heartfilia?" Lucy nodded with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Is it really you?" asked Natsu who's about to cry. "Hai. How are you fire breath?" asked Lucy while crying. "Luce..." mumbled Natsu while starting to cry. "Natsu..." said Lucy while still crying. Lucy ran and tackled him to the floor. "Natsu! I missed you! Where have you been?! Did you know I searched everywhere for you?!" she cried while hugging him tightly.

Natsu hugged her back and said, "I missed you too Lucy. I've been here the whole time and did you know that I was searching for you too? I couldn't break the promise I made with my most precious nakama." Lucy looked up at him and smiled, "I know you wouldn't.

" Natsu started crying again and hugged Lucy tightly. "I finally found you. After all these years, I finally found you." 'This is the best day ever!' thought Lucy while hugging Natsu.

Finally finished it! Hope u liked it and pls wait for the next chapter I might not update it that fast! Sorry! Anyway, hoped u liked this chapter! P.S dun forget to review