"Yo!"
The entire guild was still silent, still shocked that after six years, one of their members had just returned out of nowhere, even if they didn't really know said member. Mirajane actually dropped her platter of drinks, making a huge clatter among the silence.
After a few seconds of absolute quiet, they heard a sigh from right above Kakashi, and this time saw shoes first, then a pair of jeans, followed by a red coat. Natsu floated down from the ceiling, arms crossed, smirking. The bottom portion of his coat fluttered upwards as he descended down to hover right beside Kakashi.
"Damn, Kakashi, looks like they don't remember us!" Natsu said, still smirking.
Aki finally snapped out of her stunned silence. "NATSU! KAKASHI! YOU'RE BACK! I KNEW YOU DIDN'T DIE!" She yelled, smiling brightly.
Gray smirked. "About time you got here Natsu, Kakashi." He said.
Erza's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. She was visibly trembling, and her eyes were still wide.
Lucy was incredibly confused at the new appearance. Why the hell is everyone so surprised to see them? Just how long have they been gone? And how come I've never heard of them in the Sorcerer Weekly? She wondered, completely perplexed.
She leaned over to Mirajane, who she noticed still had a shocked expression. "Mirajane," She whispered. "Who are they?"
Mirajane shook her head to snap herself out of the little trance she was in. "Those two right there are Natsu and Kakashi. They've been gone for the past six years on a decade quest, so most people thought they were dead." Mirajane explained.
Lucy gasped. SIX YEARS?! That's insane! No wonder everyone here is shocked to see them so suddenly!
Suddenly the entire guild erupted in cheers. Even the people who didn't really know them cheered, welcoming them back to the guild.
"Good to see ya guys!" Yelled Macao, raising his drink as if to give them a cheers.
Wakaba elbowed Macao in the ribs. "Heh, told ya they'd come back!" He yelled.
Normally, this would be around the time where Makarov would attempt to back flip up to the second floor and tell everyone to start partying, but since he didn't seem to be here right now, Aki decided to take the role.
She whispered something to Gray, who nodded, and lifted her onto his shoulders, much to the surprise of Natsu and Kakashi. Aki let out a little plume of fire into the air, getting the attention of everyone in the hall.
"OI! NATSU AND KAKASHI ARE FINALLY BACK! YOU PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN THEM ALL TOO WELL, BUT TO GRAY, ERZA, AND I, THEY'RE SOME OF OUR BEST FRIENDS!" She yelled. "NOW, FAIRY TAIL MAY NOT BE THE MOST GRACEFUL GUILD, BUT WE STILL KNOW HOW TO BE PLENTY FRIENDLY! SO LET'S WELCOME BACK TEAM GHOST WITH BRIGHT FAIRY TAIL SMILES!" She shouted, pumping her fist in the air.
The crowd started to cheer in praise for Aki's speech. Who knew a sixteen year old girl could be so moving? Did she pick it up from Makarov? Whistles and claps could be heard in the guild for the next three minutes at least!
But Aki wasn't done. "THIS CALLS FOR A PARTY!" Aki proclaimed, once again raising her fist in the air. Gray let Aki off his shoulders, and they immediately dragged Natsu and Kakashi over to their regular table.
Meanwhile, the guild was partying hard. And that's saying something, considering which guild it is. Mirajane had actually left the bar unattended, instead opting to go talk to her old friends. The problem with this is the bar is unattended. In Fairy Tail. During a party.
The taps never stopped running. Beer poured out of bar like rivers, creating a cesspool of various beverages on the floor beneath it. Cana had her barrels going on overtime, keeping at least two in her off hand at all times. Cups were everywhere, and nobody really knew who's was who's, so people just drank from whichever glass was closest. The brawls started almost immediately seeing as how Erza was completely distracted with the new arrivals.
WITH NATSU AND KAKASHI
Natsu and Kakashi sat at the head of the table, facing the rest of the group with their arms crossed. Said group was comprised of Aki, Gray, Erza, Jet, Droy, Levy, Mirajane, and Elfman. Most of them had plenty of things to say and questions to ask, but nobody knew where to even start. This lead to an awkward silence.
Kakashi decided enough was enough, having seen enough genin teams do this exact thing. "So... How's it been since we left?" He asked, hoping to provoke some conversation.
Aki was eager to answer. "It's been great! I mastered more of my dragon slayer spells, I helped Gray with his dragon slayer spells, and I even made up my own magic!" She proclaimed excitedly.
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And just what kind of magic did you create? And what the hell has happened between you and Gray since we've been gone?" He asked, getting a laughing reaction from the rest of the table, excluding Aki and Gray, who turned away from each and blushed.
"N-nothing happened... WE JUST DECIDED TO BE FRIENDS OK?!" She said, maybe a little too quickly. But her red face told the real story here.
Her blush soon faded, replaced by an immensely prideful expression. "Aaaaaaaaaand... I created resistance magic!" She exclaimed, giving them both a thumbs up.
"It allows me to... well, resist things like poison, slowing, possession, AND SLEEP MAGIC!" She finished with a yell.
Natsu and Kakashi winced at the loud noise. Natsu looked confused. "Something I'm missing here? Or..."
The others sighed, and Gray decided to explain. "This guy named Mystogan joined up with the guild a little after you guys left."
Kakashi frowned. "I don't see how this affects Aki in any way."
Gray continued. "Well, the guy uses a powerful sleeping magic on everyone in the guild before he even walks through the doors. The only people so far who have seen him are Master Makarov and Laxus."
Aki interjected. "BUT THAT'S GONNA CHANGE SOON!" She yelled.
Kakashi rubbed his chin. "Seems kind of suspicious to be honest, but I guess I can't talk, now can I?" He said, eye smiling at the end.
Natsu shook his head. "Nope, you can't." He said.
The table was silent for a few seconds, each person trying to remember the questions they had for the returning team. But before they could speak, Natsu broke the silence.
"Hey, does anyone know where Mirajane is?" He asked.
Everyone, minus Kakashi, was heavily confused for a few seconds, before laughing, realizing what had happened.
Gray spoke up. "Natsu... She's right here!" He said, pointing at a smiling Mirajane.
Kakashi and Natsu blinked, trying to comprehend what Gray had just told them. After a few seconds, Kakashi spoke up. "Ok... just what the hell happened?" He asked. Natsu looked down, stroking his chin.
All of a sudden, Natsu's head shot up. "Wait a minute guys, where the hell is Lisanna? I thought she would have been one of the first people to talk to us." He asked, looking around for the missing girl.
As soon as he said her name, every single person at the table looked down in sadness. It was dead quiet. Nobody wanted to break the news to them, especially Natsu. Everyone knew that Lisanna had been one of Natsu's best friends at the guild.
Eventually, Mirajane decided it would be her responsibility. "Natsu... I'm sorry... It shouldn't have happened... I- I just sh-shouldn't have..."
Natsu and Kakashi suddenly had a sense of dread, realizing what had happened somewhat. "Mirajane..." Kakashi began.
"What happened to Lisanna?" Natsu finished, voice barely above a whisper.
Mirajane tried to answer, she really did. But it was too much. She broke down into tears, falling to the floor on her knees. Elfman took a deep breath, and answered.
"Lisanna died."
Natsu and Kakashi already somewhat knew what had happened, but the news spoken as words hit them like a bullet train. Natsu almost broke down like Mirajane.
AGAIN! FUCKING AGAIN THIS HAPPENED! WHY MUST I ALWAYS LOSE THE ONES CLOSEST TO ME!? AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN EVEN DO ABOUT IT! IF I JUST DIDN'T GO ON THAT STUPID MISS- Wait a minute. There is something I can do.
Natsu looked up, looking determined as ever. He looked straight at Kakashi, as if he were silently speaking words. Kakashi seemed to catch on to whatever Natsu was communicating, as he nodded.
The crowd watched in confusion as Natsu closed his eyes in deep concentration, clasping his hands together in a prayer looking formation. They watched in half confusion and half confusion as he began releasing huge amounts of energy.
"Lisanna isn't dead."
The table went silent. Mirajane stopped crying and looked up at him with wide eyes. Everyone else just stared at him as if he were crazy.
"N-Natsu..." Mirajane said in a shaky voice. "I-I know she m-meant a lot to y-you, but she is d-dead... I watched her die..."
Natsu shook his head. "No. I would be able to sense her soul in the underworld. Since it isn't there, that means she is 100% alive. However, I cannot sense her anywhere within this world, which is very strange. It could only mean she somehow ended up in another dimension."
Lucy gasped. "YOU CAN SENSE SOULS?!" She yelled.
Natsu nodded. "Yes, I can."
"Is there a way to get her back?" Asked Mirajane.
Natsu shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. If we knew where the alternate dimension is, me or Kakashi could open a portal to get her back, but since we don't, we're just going to have to wait for an opportunity. After all, since she got sent there, there is one hundred percent a way for us to, we just don't know how yet." He explained.
Mirajane wiped her eyes, and smiled. "Thanks Natsu. It means a lot knowing she isn't dead, and that someday, we can get her back!" She said.
Elfman smiled and looked up, thinking. So you aren't dead... Lisanna. I can finally make it up to you! He thought with determination.
Gray and Aki high fived, smiling brightly. They were all glad that the little girl the guild thought of as a little sister was still alive and well.
A few minutes later, after the shocking news had worn off, they remembered why they were originally even there, and got back to the topic of Natsu and Kakashi.
"So what the hell took you so long?" Yelled Aki.
Erza nodded. "Yes. I would also like to know." She stated.
Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Well... Actually the mission only took us two or three months to finish." He said, causing everyone at the rest of the table to face fault.
"THEN WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS?!" They all yelled at the same time, causing Natsu to wince at the loud sound.
"Kakashi and I decided to travel around Fiore." Natsu said.
"Just where did you go?" Asked Gray.
Natsu shrugged. "Pretty much everywhere I guess. We just wanted to learn a little more about Fiore, since we aren't from here."
"So... did you learn any knew tricks?" Asked Aki excitedly.
Natsu nodded. "We both did. I came up with a few new dragon slayer moves, and some other things with my other abilities. Kakashi spent the entire time mastering this new form of requip magic that he invented."
This prompted a reaction from the person in knights armour. Her head snapped towards Kakashi, eyes brimming with curiosity. Lucy once again leaned over to Mirajane. "Mira what's requip magic?" She whispered.
Mirajane turned her head and whispered back. "It's a kind of magic that allows you to change weapons, and in rare cases armour, magically. You'll see it in action if you ever see Erza or Kakashi fight."
Lucy wondered just how the hell switching weapons and armour could make you the most powerful woman in Fairy Tail, but she decided not to question it.
"What kind of requip did you invent, Kakashi?" Erza asked.
Kakashi eye smiled. "You'll see when we go on jobs, don't worry about it." He said.
Erza huffed in frustration, but then smiled. "I'm just glad you guys are back." She said, causing everyone else at the table to nod.
But Aki wasn't done yet. "YOU LEARNED NEW DRAGON SLAYER MOVES? WHICH ONES? WHAT ARE THEY CALLED? CAN YOU TEACH ME?!" She asked all in a row, not even waiting for Natsu's reply.
Natsu waited for her to finish before answering. "I learned three new moves, invented by yours truly. And yes, I'll teach you them." He answered, making Aki jump in the air with a shout of triumph.
He turned towards Gray. "You can come along too, if you want. I'm fairly certain that one of the spells you would be able to adapt to ice dragon slayer magic." He said. Gray nodded, wondering what kind of new move Natsu had come up with.
All of a sudden though, Erza slammed her fist on the table with a huge crash, causing them all to jump in surprise.
"No training yet! There's a problem we have to deal with first!" Erza stated.
Kakashi sighed. "And what seems to be the problem?" He asked.
Erza looked dead serious. "On my way back to the guild, I overheard some people in a bar. They were talking about a flute called Lullaby. They also said that they had to return it to their master, Erigor. At the time, I didn't realize who it was, but I remembered a day later that he's the guild master and ace, of the dark guild Eisenwald." She said.
Natsu and Kakashi's heads snapped up at the mention of Lullaby. They looked at each other, before looking back to Erza. Kakashi spoke up. "Yes, I agree. This must be dealt with immediately." He said.
Mirajane raised an eyebrow. She noticed how they sat up once they heard the word 'Lullaby'. "So what's 'Lullaby', Kakashi?" She asked.
"It's an ancient death magic, created by the dark wizard Zeref. It takes the form of a flute, and all who hear it's song die instantaneously." He responded, causing them all to gasp.
Erza looked furious. "WE MUST STOP THEM!" She roared. "Aki, Gray, I'm going to need your help on this one. Natsu, Kakashi, if you would also come, that would be greatly appreciated." She said.
Natsu nodded, and Kakashi eye smiled. "Of course." He said.
Erza smiled. "Good. Then meet me at the train station, tomorrow at seven. Don't be late."