AN: Hey there guys! First off, thanks all of you for following and favoring this story; and of course for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate that and am happy that you liked what I wrote.
There is something funny actually. The last few months I searched a fic with Natsu staying for the seven years of the time skip and found nothing; and just when I got desperate and wrote one myself, I found one. It's called: The Tenrou Group Lives On By ValinNight. I actually haven't read it, and probably wouldn't for a while. Too late! Haha! Anyway, why I'm saying this is that if by any chance, you've read it and it has some similarities with mine, that's purely accidental; I'm copying no one.
Alright, here is the chapter you were waiting for. It's a bit longer than the first and hopefully to your liking. :)
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Chapter 2: Seven years later
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"Are you sure it's a wise thing to go there without them?" Ren asked with a frown appearing on his face.
"We aren't sure about all this, and I don't want to give Natsu another false hope. Not again." Ichiya replied in an unusually serious voice.
"We're here, boss!" Hibiki exclaimed from the front of their flying boat.
"I don't see anything. Are you sure it's here?" Ren looked around narrowing his eyes.
"Wait...I...I can smell something..." the leader of The Trimens whispered. Suddenly the surface of the water started to move, as if something was trying to come out of it. "What the...?!" The ripples were getting stronger and stronger when a massive sphere came out of the water, causing all their eyes to widen. A part of Tenrou Island was actually enclosed in that sphere!
"Is that...?"
"Yes, this is Tenrou Island." Ichiya replied still under shock. "Achnologia's breath attack should have razed everything but yet it's still here! Natsu was right! Something protected them; I'm sure they're alive! Let's go boys!"
"Hey! I'm here too!" was Jenny's cry of outrage.
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"So, you're telling me that the alliance was searching for us for all those years?" Makarov still couldn't believe that he along with his kids had stayed in stasis for seven years! Mavis had really saved them from the Dragon of the Apocalypse, and now they had to pay the price. Was time their price?
"Well, at first yes, but after searching all around for a few months, only Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail continued to search for you." Hibiki continued.
"Natsu-san refused to stop, proclaiming that all of you were still alive. And he was right, wasn't he?" Eve said with a smile.
"N-Natsu...?!" whispered Erza, her eyes widening.
"Natsu is alive?!" Lucy exclaimed suddenly, losing her cool.
"Ah, yes, I remember that he was injured when he returned; a battle against Achnologia... Yes, he is alive, my friends!" Ichiya supplied with a charming, at least for him, smile.
"NATSUUU! I'm coming!" Happy cried out, streams of tears falling from his eyes.
"Calm down, Happy. We're all going home. But tell me, how is Fairy Tail, how is Natsu?" Makarov asked, a great weight being lifted from his shoulders. Natsu had saved them, and he even survived! Seven years of life was a meager price to pay for such a miracle.
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"Oh, Fairy Tail has changed a little bit. Some new members, a new master; you see the picture." Ren said with a smirk.
"Hm, I'm sure Natsu is still the same old Natsu. He wouldn't change for anything." Gray supplied with a smirk of his own. "Wait! Does that mean that he's older than us now!?" he exclaimed suddenly.
"That would be correct." Eve was smiling, already imagining their reaction upon seeing the pink haired Dragon Slayer.
"Oh, Natsu-sama will be so happy to see you all!" Jenny exclaimed suddenly, her own excitement getting the better of her.
"Natsu-...sama?" Erza asked a frown appearing on her beautiful face.
"Why the sudden honorifics?" Gray asked, suddenly remembering another girl with such quirks, a certain Juvia... "Do you like him or something?"
"Of course I do! Everyone likes him! He is so strong, handsome and so cool! How couldn't I like him?!" Jenny replied, hearts appearing in her eyes.
"Euh...are we really talking about the same Salamander?" Gajeel asked with a snort, trying with all his might to fight his motion sickness.
"Salamander? Oh you mean his old moniker? Now he goes by Phoenix!" Jenny continued with a beaming smile.
"What? From hearing this, you'd think that he isn't the same." Gray asked a frown appearing on his face.
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"Well he hasn't changed that much. But you have to understand that even for Natsu, seven years without all of you, and with nothing to assure him of your survival, were very hard." Ichiya explained with a suddenly serious face. "We all tried to help like we could, be it wasn't enough."
"What do you mean?" Mirajane asked with concern in her eyes. Had something bad happened to their always smiling Dragon Slayer?
"Oh, Mirajane! Already trying to snatch my price as soon as you returned, huh? I'm Miss Fiore now, and forever! I'll never lose to you again! And Natsu-sama is mine!"
"What...?" was the only thing the white haired beauty could utter in astonishment. What was she talking about?
"Jenny, I think you're going a little overboard. And I remind you that you have no chance against her." Ren said with a smirk and shake of head.
"Her?" Lucy asked pointing toward Mira.
"No, her." Ren replied turning toward the horizon. As if it could answer their question, the Fairy Tail wizards turned toward the horizon, too, but the answer never came.
'What happened in our absence...?' Makarov thought, a bit of dread forming in his mind.
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When the flying boat stopped in midair and started to hover, they understood that they were finally home. Without wasting time, all of them descended to the ground only to stare in amazement and surprise. Their old guild building was in nothing like they remembered. It was gigantic, majestic and seemed brand new. A giant castle in the middle of Magnolia, with enormous double doors with the Fairy Tail insignia.
"What...happened to the guild?" Makarov muttered, being the first out of shock.
"Oh, the new master decided to do a few changes, here and there." Hibiki replied with a knowing smirk.
"Here and there? The whole freaking thing is new!" Gray exclaimed.
"Juvia agrees with Gray-sama, the new building is a little overwhelming."
"Let's get inside, children." Makarov said, and Laxus with Gajeel opened the big doors and led the rest inside.
Their entry was met with silence, as every person in the hall stopped doing whatever they were doing and stared at them.
"Yo!" Gray said with a wave, and suddenly everyone frozen until now sprung to their feet and ran toward them.
"You're back! I can't believe it!"
"Levy! Oh my god you haven't aged at all!" Jet exclaimed as he jumped toward the blue haired girl, giving her a bear hug.
"Move it, idiot!" Droi said pushing his teammate to the side without difficulty.
"D-Droi! What happened to you!?" Levy asked her eyes widening. Her old teammate was very tall and had on a bulky build with muscles rippling all over his body.
"Well, at first I started to fatten from all the food I ate, but with Natsu's help, I turned all that energy into something useful." he replied doing a few ridiculous poses. " Ain't am cool?!" he continued with a grin. The Script mage could only smile at their antics. They hadn't changed at all.
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"I'm so happy! All of you are back! If only Master was here." Laki said with a smile, tears flowing from her eyes.
"Makarov! Euh...Master...? Hm...Old man!" Macao exclaimed, not really knowing how to call the old wizard. "You're finally back!"
"What's with all the hesitation?" the older Dreyar asked with a frown.
"Well, we had had a new Master for the past seven years, so yeah, it feels a bit strange." Macao elaborated.
"What he isn't saying is that, Macao is actually Master's counselor!" Wakaba supplied with a smirk.
"What the hell happened in our absence?" Gray whispered shaking his head.
"Ichiya-san, so they were there this time!" a new voice entered the group. "Thank you for helping us all those years!"
"Ah! Meredy-chan, my beautiful flower!" the orange haired wizard replied with his usual charming smile. "You guarded the secrecy I presume?"
"Yes, he knows nothing about it, but will be ecstatic once he finds out." the pink haired mage continued. "Welcome back to Fairy Tail!" she then exclaimed opening her arms wide.
"M-Meredy...!? What are you doing here? Is...Is that the Fairy Tail mark on your shoulder?!" Gray was astonished to find her here and a member no less.
"Many things happened in your absence, Gray. And not all for the worst if I say so myself!" Macao said with a smirk.
"Natsu-nii will be so happy!" a boy suddenly exclaimed.
"Romeo!? How you've grown! Incredible!" Lucy was smiling her eyes wide in wonder.
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"Bisca! Alzack! I'm so happy to see you!" Mirajane hugged the both of them and continued with a sly smile. "So, have you finally decided to date?"
"Actually, we're married." was Alzack's simple answer.
"M-Married?!" Erza was staring at them with a red face.
"Then you've made many kids!" Makarov continued with a perverted grin.
"Well, I don't know about many kids, but we have a daughter." Bisca replied waving behind her, and a little girl approached them shyly. "Her name is Asuka; say hello dear."
"Hello." she whispered and shyly stepped behind her mother.
"Oh, she is so cute!" Mirajane had a warm smile on her face.
"Let's sit for a bit, I'm feeling drowsy from all those news. And where is Natsu?" Makarov asked once they were seated and had a few drinks.
"Uncle Natsu is on a mission!" Asuka said suddenly, but when all the attention was diverted to her, she blushed and hid behind her hands.
"Uncle Natsu now? Hn...well he aged after all, so that was inevitable." Gray sighed; his rival was now older than him, and he didn't know what to think.
"Hey Laxus, he is even older than you now! Ghaha!" Gajeel snorted with a smirk.
"Shut up! He was and will always be a brat!"
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"Speaking of Natsu, he should be back soon." Wakaba said out of the blue.
"How is he?" Makarov whispered, leaning toward the Purple Flame mage.
"He has changed. Your death really hurt him a lot. Even with all of us still by his side, there was still an emptiness in him. After years it was finally filled."
"Filled by whom?" the third Master asked, and to answer Macao only nodded to the side.
"Meredy?" Makarov asked surprised, watching the laughing girl who was talking with the members
"Among a few others." Macao replied. "He worked his ass off to make sure that Fairy Tail stayed on the top, and without him I don't think that we would have survived all those years."
"That's Natsu for you." the older man smiled. "What about her? How did she finish with us?"
"Oh she isn't the only new member. Fairy Tail is still the best guild in Fiore, now more than ever. And with all of you back, our fame will only increase."
"I can see that money is no longer a problem."
"Ah yes, Fairy Tail is the most sought after guild in Fiore; missions literally overflow us!"
"I see. What about this new Mast-..."
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Suddenly the doors were opened and a man and a woman entered.
"Master! Master is back!" someone suddenly cried out.
"Na-chan!" Meredy exclaimed and launched herself toward the man. He caught her with ease and twirled her around, a beaming smile appearing on his handsome face. And that's only then that the rest of the guild finally saw the man.
He was tall, with broad shoulders, wearing a gray shirt with black trousers, a black trench-coat covering the ensemble. A white scaled scarf was rolled around his neck emphasizing his vibrant pink hair.
"Natsu..." Erza whispered her eyes widening.
Upon hearing his name despite it being barely audible, the young man turned toward her.
"Erza?!" he cried out his eyes widening in shock. It was not possible! How could she be here? Then he looked around and his eyes widened even more. "Everyone...You're back…"
Tears started to form in his eyes and a beaming smile formed on his face. "Guys..." he said again and not a second later he was engulfed in a group hug, most of them smiling with a few crying in happiness.
Even if Ichiya had said that he was alive, seeing him standing here in all his Dragon Slaying glory was very moving. The guild was finally complete.
"Welcome back, Master."
"Thank you, Laki." Natsu said with a smile still tightly holding the now smaller Erza.
"Why I'm not surprised?" Makarov muttered with a smile. "Natsu of all people. Seems like you did a great job, Master."
"I only filled the role until your return, gramps." the pink haired young man replied with his usual face splitting grin.
"Very few people can make him smile like this, ain't am right, Ultear?" Macao interjected suddenly with a knowing smile.
Upon hearing him, the entire guild finally turned toward the woman, ignored until now. Ultear Milkovich stood there with a charming smile adorning her beautiful face. "Yes, Macao." she replied simply.
Gray's eyes widened for the umpteenth time this day as he watched the daughter of his teacher, smile warmly at them. But then he actually remarked that she wasn't smiling at them, but at the pink haired Dragon Slayer. What was going on?
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"Hey Ul-chan, you're the only one that hasn't hugged me yet!" Natsu said with a devilish smile on his face. Then, he burst into flames and disappeared from the circle of his friends and not a second later reappeared behind the young woman, enveloping her in a hug. The surprise of his new technique still on their mind, nothing prepared them for what came after. Ultear turned around, still enveloped in his arms and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
A few whistles and cat-calls could be heard in the background, but the Tenrou Island group stayed there frozen in place, speechless.
"That's more like cheating, but that's beside the point." Natsu said, his new smile literally illuminating the guild hall. "What got into you guys; never seen people kissing in front of you or what?" he continued, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Did-...did she just kiss Natsu?" asked a flustered Erza, pointing her finger toward the said woman.
"What is it Scarlet, jealous are we?" Mirajane asked in an unusually sly tone.
"W-what...N-no! I...I..."
"Hey! Is that what I think it is?!" Gray exclaimed suddenly pointing his finger toward Natsu.
"What?"
"The Ten Wizard Saint's brooch!"
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AN: I hope you liked it! Finally they are back and the real story can begin. Please review! In the next chapter you'll see the changes triggered by Natsu.