Natsu was inside his house sitting crossed-legged in a meditative state. At the moment, he was thinking over the decision that he had made with Master Makarov about the S-Class trials. On one hand; he hadn't regretted his decision and wanted to stick to them, but on the other hand; this could be his easy way to becoming an S-Class wizard without effort.
If he does the trials this year, it would mean that he wouldn't have to prepare for the trials the same way with the stress hanging over his shoulders. Never mind that; the reward money he would receive would be more than enough for him to live a very comfortable life and be able to become richer with the money as well he would invest with.
But, S-Class takes more than just strength. It takes wits, cunning, bravery, and even loyalty. With wits, you can be able to solve puzzles that might have been written in a journal that was required for that particular quest. With cunningness, you can see if you can gain the upper hand in a battle against the opponent. With bravery, well... if you are not brave enough to face your enemies... then why did you join a guild at all? With loyalty, this one, in Natsu's opinion, was the most important one. Loyalty for an S-Class needs to be there because if you do not have loyalty to your guild, the people of the town you're protecting or helping, then you might as well just leave the guild and never look back.
This was one of the reasons he deemed himself unworthy of being considered for a nomination; he lacked loyalty. He wanted to be loyal to the Fairy Tail guild, be loyal to Fiore, be loyal to his... friends...
But he couldn't. No matter how much he would try to convince himself that he was loyal; deep down he knew he wasn't which was why he rejected the offer Master Makarov gave him.
However, when he had done that and given the reason as to why, he heard his guild members say that he was stupid for turning down a very rare opportunity. Maybe he was, but he knew that the trials were held once a year, so he wouldn't lose anything.
Of course, there was the possibility that Master Makarov understood it as Natsu not being interested at all in becoming an S-Class wizard which was a probability with the way he had worded it. Not that he would have blamed the old master.
Natsu did know it sounded arrogant of him.
He hadn't realised this until he went home and thought about the discussion he had had with the Master did he realise he made it sound as though he didn't need a title to become known in the wizarding community.
Well, it was true, he didn't need the title for that, he had already built a name for himself which he is proud of, to say the least. He noticed people would refer to him as 'Salamander' probably because of his magic and for being notorious for burning down dark guilds.
With all of that, why would he need a title at all?
Well, other than the S-Class quests and perks like being respected by the magic council—to a small extent—there wasn't anything else. Because of this, he failed to see a reason why so many of the guild members were desperate to enter the trials. They were desperate but they didn't do any form of work to even be considered for the nomination.
Okay, now he was hypocritical, he hadn't done any training for the S-Class trials and yet he was asked if he was interested to join.
That made him stop in his tracks.
Why had Master Makarov asked him if he had been interested? Of course, the old man had started with 'I don't normally do this' so this meant that either Natsu was the first one he had asked, or he was one of the few who had been asked if they'd be interested in joining and potentially becoming an S-Class mage.
This was curious to Natsu. His interest had been piqued.
Why would Master Makarov ask him if he was interested? Isn't it something as guild master, something he should decide for himself as well as asking the other S-Class mages? It would make sense to ask the other S-Class mages because they probably pay attention to the other wizards around them, more than they believe. But as far as Natsu could tell, there were no other S-Class mages in the guild par one with the name of Gildarts Clive whom Master Makarov had spoken of many times before.
Suddenly, Natsu's eyes widened and he felt like facepalming. How stupid could he get?! Laxus Dreyar, Master Makarov's grandson was also an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail. How Stupid could he get?!
He had met Laxus once. He didn't understand what the others meant by Laxus being arrogant. All he saw; was a teenager whose father had been excommunicated from the guild and everyone had high expectations of him. Too high. He saw the look in Laxus' eyes and had asked him about it.
At first, the boy had told him to mind his own business, but when Natsu persisted in asking, he gave in and told him how he felt like he lived in his grandfather's shadow and no one tried to even once get to know him. He had cried his eyes out for the first time in years. Natsu hadn't known how to handle the situation, but he didn't say anything and simply gave him tissues.
After that, they started hanging around the guild and talking often to one another. The other guildmembers didn't know how to react. Wakaba and Macao who had been there when Laxus was young were simply happy that he had made a new friend. The others didn't know what to feel because they only knew Laxus as the bully who looked down on others for being weak. He preached about strength and how he would be a guild master one day.
Because of the older teenagers preaching, they stayed away from him, wanting nothing to do with him. However, that is the problem that Natsu saw right away.
They distanced themselves from him because he preached strength and looked down on the rest. Sure, they may not be as strong as him but if they would just stand around and not try to challenge him verbally or physically, then they were only allowing Laxus to make his point across; it then gave the illusion that he was right because no one opposed him.
Natsu wouldn't be the fool who never questioned Laxus. Hell, if he had to, he'd even willingly become a mentor just to show that Laxus was the same as the rest.
...And because he could tell that the others hurt Laxus by doing so. When the others did try to socialize with him, he wanted to take revenge by calling them hurtful things. This created an endless cycle which was like a spinning wheel of abuse that none of them dared talk about for various reasons.
However, after Natsu and Laxus started to hang out, some of the other teens started to slowly talk to the older blonde-haired dude. Cana had no problems striking up conversations with him and found his company to be enjoyable. Levy was hesitant but eventually, started asking him questions and he answered them patiently, not even a small hint of irritation or annoyance.
The other teens like Erza and Mira refused to talk to him or even acknowledge his presence.
This in itself didn't surprise Natsu since he realised there would be some trepidation but he did know that they would come around eventually, even if it did take a few years.
—
Natsu was sitting outside the guildhall one early morning. He didn't know why, but he had this nagging feeling that he would be having an enlightening experience that day. He didn't know where the feeling came from.
He was wearing a red suit with a black shirt. The suit was unbuttoned and revealed a knife that he was hiding inside the suit.
It always made him feel safe. The knife had some kind of power over him; it made him feel so protected and safe that he couldn't fully explain why he felt that way. It just did. He had used it before on a few jobs and done some... things while away.
Just when he was about to dive deeper into his thoughts, he heard someone sit down beside him but didn't say anything. Natsu didn't move a muscle, still sitting with his head turned back, staring up at the last remaining stars that seemed to wave at them. It was relaxing just seeing them up there.
"I overheard your conversation," was the feminine voice that startled him from his musings. He turned and saw that the one who sat beside him was none other than Erza 'Titania' Scarlet of Fairy Tail.
Natsu glanced her way but didn't say anything. At first, that is.
"You heard what exactly?" He replied with a raised brow.
Erza looked at him in the eyes for a long, tense moment. "I heard the conversation you had with Master Makarov. How you didn't want to join the S-Class trials. Would you be so kind as explain why you don't want to join?"
Natsu scoffed. "If you overheard the conversation then you already know the reason why I don't want to join the trials."
Erza didn't answer and enjoyed the scenery with one of her few friends she had in the guild.
"Maybe so, but why would you turn down an offer for the S-Class trials? This isn't something that is nominated easily," The redhead warned.
It was true, the S-Class trials are one of the toughest things a mage can go through and the fact that Natsu Dragneel, one of the most powerful candidates turned it down didn't sit right with her. She didn't know why, but she just felt so incredibly insulted by the fact he turned it down like it was a love letter.
Natsu shrugged. "Maybe, but why would I need to do the trials anyways? If I don't want to become S-Class, then why should I do the trials?" He rhetorically asked while keeping a careful gaze on Erza to observe her reaction.
To his surprise, she didn't scream in shock, retort violently, or smacked his head. Instead, she watched the sun rising over a few houses.
"You don't want to become S-Class?" She questioned with curiosity. It was every wizard's goal to become S-Class because it's the one time the Magic Council takes you seriously and even grants you respect. The fact that Natsu wasn't interested in this intrigued her.
"Of course I do, but I don't believe it's fair that I join this year. If I have a spot next year, then I'll take the opportunity." He replied with a small smile. "Besides, don't you think it's unfair that a newbie like me would be nominated while there are people here who have worked and trained tooth and nail to even get a small chance for the nomination?"
Erza thought about what he said and couldn't help but agree. While she did believe Natsu was still worthy of the nomination, she could understand why he felt like it wasn't the right time.
"I understand." She admitted with a smile. "You want to give your nomination potentially to someone else who deserves it because of their hard work,"
"Exactly," Natsu confirmed with a chuckle. "I wouldn't want there to be bad blood between me and the other guild members because I was nominated by the master."
Erza highly doubted there would be bad blood between him and the other members but she didn't say anything.
"Just do me a favour Natsu," Erza said, turning to face him. The dragon slayer stared into her eyes and waited for her words. "Please reconsider your choice."
The air between them felt tense, but there wouldn't be a fight breaking out between them. Not that it would have happened anyways, Natsu didn't feel like getting another scolding from Master Makarov.
"Erza..." He muttered to himself, wanting to tear his hair from his head. The scarlet-haired woman simply shrugged.
"Look, Natsu, I get what your saying. It's honourable that you think that way; it's a trait an S-Class wizard needs and you're the only one with the trait," She reasoned with a firm look in her eye.
The salmon-haired wizard grinned at what she said. Maybe he could probe her for a while?
"Oh? So you'd give your position as S-Class to me then because of how high and mighty you speak about the title?" He grinned like a loon, believing he had succeeded in making her stop, but to his surprise, she shrugged as if she was speaking about the colour of her house.
"Yes, I certainly would. It's only a title anyways, it holds merit with the magic council, yes, but it isn't everything. I can tell how skilled you are and it'd be angry with you if you didn't explore where tha strength would take you. It'd be very upset," She emphasized the last word as if he would care about her.
Natsu looked at her stunned.
He knew that she would give him a response, but this wasn't the response he had mentally prepared for. This was... it gave him a strange feeling but he didn't deny the emotion like he usually does.
"You would give up your nomination for me?" He clarified to her just in case he heard wrong.
"Yes," Was the amused response that he received from the red-haired knight
They sat in silence together not knowing what to say to the other. Natsu had never known family other than Igneel, so when he received a "new" one, he didn't know what to feel. He barely knew them because he made sure to keep everyone at arm's length, and yet here she was; confessing to him that she would give up her nomination if it meant that he would go. That said a lot to him and it made him feel strange.
But why in the name of the heavens would she go ahead and trust him to that extent? He hadn't done anything extraordinary to warrant such trust from her, and yet she trusted him that much and even wanted him to go.
He glanced over at her and saw that she was preparing to head inside the guild. However, it seemed like she was waiting for his response before she would move inside the guild.
She wasn't forcing him to join the trials, but at the same time; it would be a waste of his strength on something he could have used to achieve S-Class rank or something. Maybe even a small show of appreciation from other members apart from himself and whomever he decides to socialize with.
"Okay then," Natsu said, looking at the rising sun that had made its way over the horizon and was shining upon them all as if to cover the earth. "I'll join the trials."
Erza turned sharply to face him.
"You will?" The stars in her eyes did not go unnoticed by Natsu who chuckled at her antics.
"Well, you don't give me much of a choice so I have no reason to say no," Natsu said, rolling his eyes at the scarlet-haired woman. "I can't promise I'll win the trials though,"
Erza nodded. "I understand that. Even I know that you cannot guarantee that. The trials are too unpredictable so it's difficult to trust."
Before Natsu could respond, he saw a tiny man making his way towards the guild and the young Dragon Slayer jumped when he saw the man.
"Gramps, can I have a word with you?"
Erza watched as the two wizards conversed, leaving her alone. She looked up to the sky and smiled.
'He's making progress,' She thought.