After Natsu had admitted why he had done what he did to his best friend, they had been inseparable. This wasn't anything new, but the usual dead-eyed dragon slayer felt alive somehow compared to the sort-of-cold look he would give.
He talked more with Cana and cracked jokes about the other guild members—specifically Gray Fullbuster about how he was a stripper from a strip club.
That had started a small brawl between the two, the ice-make wizard actively trying to kill the dragon slayer while Natsu was laughing his head off. The brawl, however, ended up knocking into a table which started another brawl and before everyone knew it; there was a full-scale brawl that made them unique from the other guilds.
Fairy Tail wouldn't be the same without at least one brawl a day.
But that wasn't the only thing unique change that came from the son of Igneel. He also started to open up to a wider circle than just Cana and Levy. He started having conversations with Jet and Droy, which was inevitable because they were always around Levy, but he did get along with them well enough that he did a few quests with them.
Of course, he did have a few conversations with Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Makarov Dreyar, their guild master, but he was a snobbish, arrogant asshole, that no one liked. He wasn't bad when he was younger but something happened and all of a sudden, he started acting cold towards everyone be it the old or young generation.
But Natsu wasn't phased. He started talking to Laxus and they hit it off to the point in which Laxus even did an S-Class quest with Natsu in secret. Well, "secret" might stretch the word a little because Makarov was well aware that Natsu was on the quest but he never said anything.
Because of this, Laxus became friendlier towards the guild and was rebuilding a few friendships and connections he had. Macao and Wakaba were prime examples of this but they didn't mind because they simply saw it as him getting over his angsty phase.
The others were wary of being near Laxus or even talking to him but they decided to give him a chance. The one who was fully open towards Lisanna who naturally saw everyone in the guild as her friends and family.
Natsu felt satisfied when he had seen his Nakama react positively to the new change even though some were bitter towards the S-Class dragon slayer, they at least appreciated the effort he put into making connections.
Another thing the guild noticed was that Natsu didn't go on as many solo quests as he did before. It was no secret he liked his alone time which hadn't changed, but he liked the company Cana provided and enjoyed his guildmate's company as time went on.
He still went on solo quests, but that was only if he was in a bad mood which rarely happened, but when it did, they knew to just leave him be. Only Cana and Levy seemed to be able to talk to him in his bad mood.
Today, Natsu was making his way to the guild early in the morning to have breakfast and maybe take a quest with Cana if she was available.
The guild master had said that today was the day the candidates for the S-Class trials would be announced. While Natsu did know that he was on the list, there was a possibility that the master might have changed his mind even if it is highly unlikely.
Silently, he prayed that he was on the list so he could take difficult quests.
When he turned a corner, he started thinking about his best friend and her excited mood as the announcement drew nearer. He'd asked her what she was excited about but she had simply said that she hoped to make S-Class someday. He had shrugged and let it be. It did make sense.
S-Class was something every wizard in one way shape or form was striving for so it's not surprising that even the laid-back Cana Alberona was keenly interested in S-Class.
Reaching the guild, Natsu kicked in the doors and walked through as if he owned the place and sat at the bar where a waitress smiled at him and took his usual order. It was no secret that Natsu Dragneel loved his blood-rare steak in the morning.
There weren't many people in the guild but it gradually became more filled as the hours would go by.
"Here you go," the waitress smiled and Natsu smiled back.
"Thanks," he replied and dug in.
While he ate, the other guild members showed up and talked lightly with one another. It was too early for brawls—in the older members' opinion—but that wouldn't stop Elfman who showed up with his siblings to get into a fight with Gray who had stripped and caused Lisanna to suffer a nosebleed.
"Your not a man if you strip!" Elfman shouted and jumped at Gray who looked for his clothes and didn't see the punch coming towards his face.
Gray stumbled and crashed into a table where there was a bitter-looking Laxus. In response, the blonde S-Class electrocuted the ice wizard and Elfman walked away thinking he won the fight but that wasn't correct.
Gray got up and prepared a spell towards the second-oldest take-over sibling.
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
Elfman turned around and managed to dodge the lances heading towards him in the nick of time. Mira, who saw what Gray did, smiled evilly and kicked him in the face, sending him flying right back at Laxus who was pretending to be drinking juice but was actually beer and dropped his mug as the young ice wizard crashed into the older Nakama.
"That's for trying to attack my brother stripper!" Mira taunted with an angry fist prompting both Gray and Laxus to turn to the Demon of Fairy Tail with a glare. Laxus grabbed Gray and hurled him towards Mira like a basketball but the demon managed to dodge so the poor guy landed at a random table which caused a large commotion among the guild members.
"The hell's your problem?!" Wakaba shouted and avoided a spell from Laxus that somehow hit Max instead and made the guy pass out.
"Don't ask me, ask the demon who flung the stripper right at me," the lightning dragon slayer responded while dodging an attack from the same demon he mentioned.
Before they knew it; the guild became a warzone. Chairs and tables were flung at one another and spells were cast all the while Natsu Dragneel ate his steak in peace as if he had reached Nirvana. He ignored the brawl and instead focused on what he was going to do that day.
After finishing his steak, he thanked again and looked around at the battles going on. Laxus versus Mira, Elfman versus Gray and so forth. The usual. He looked around with a disinterested face.
Today he didn't feel like fighting his Nakama. Normally, he would do so immediately with anyone and anything, but today wasn't in the mood for it. He couldn't explain why.
He shrugged his shoulders and watched the fights get intense with each passing second and couldn't help but grin when he felt magical power that only belonged to one person; Makarov.
Before Laxus could attack Mira, a giant hand pounded into the lightning dragon slayer leaving a dent on the wooden floor with an angry Laxus looking up with a nasty sneer on his face. The others who were fighting immediately stopped in fear of invoking their master's wrath upon them.
"What the hell gramps?! Why did you attack me for?!" Laxus demanded while gritting his teeth and his hands clenched into fists.
"I should be the one asking that you scoundrel!" Makarov retorted with a fist in the air. The others gulped while Natsu was snickering in the background as quietly as possible.
Cana was sitting beside him while drinking beer and was also showing her amusement.
"I'm gone for one hour… ONE HOUR! And the guild turns into a war zone! What were you fighting about this time?!" Makarov rhetorically asked. "Never mind, I don't want to know,"
The others gulped again. This wasn't the first time they've had this discussion and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But then again, Fairy Tail wouldn't be the same without their brawls.
"Anyways," Makarov muttered catching everyone's attention once again. Natsu and Cana looked on in intrigue. Is this what they've been waiting for? "It is that time of year again when I decide the next S-Class candidates." There were cheers from the entire guild. This was a very big event for them. "I have decided all the candidates for the trials and I hope you all agree with my choices, not that I'll listen anyways,"
The others sweatdropped and laughed at the guild master's joke.
"Okay, so the S-Class candidates are as followed; Cana Alberona!"
Everyone applauded and cheered for the brunette who couldn't help but smile at her family and silently hoped that this would be her year.
"Mystogan!"
The guild once again applauded but not as much as the previous contestant. They didn't know Mystogan very well but he did put them all to sleep every time he came by to take a few quests.
"Erza Scarlet!"
They cheered loudly for the scarlet-haired knight who wore a smug look as she glanced over to her rival, Mira who looked as though he was gonna faint.
"How did the stupid tin-can manage to become a candidate?!" Mira furiously asked and painted towards Erza who had a tick mark on her forehead.
"What did you call me you slut?!" Erza demanded but before they could start throwing punches, Makarov interrupted their fight.
"ENOUGH!" That made them stop instantly and Erza bowed down to master in apology. "Thank you, next up is Mirajane Strauss!"
The cheers of the guild were so loud that they were sure half of Magnolia heard them. Mira's smug look irritated Erza to no end but didn't say anything. Mira's siblings cheered in delight that their sister was getting recognition.
"Now to the final candidate…" Makarov spoke lowly, and the guild was at the edge of their seat. Who could it be? "...Natsu Dragneel!"
The guild roared when the final contestant was revealed. If Natsu would have continued to be secluded and never interacted, they would have not been against it per se, but they would be hesitant to cheer for him. The same thing technically applies to Mystogan but they have heard about his quests and the power he wields so because of that, they aren't hesitant.
"Now, I need to go over the rules for the trials; first up you need a partner in these trials, you cannot go solo because of the dangers. As candidates, you must protect your partner. The second rule of the trials is that your partner cannot be S-Class. The third and final rule is not to doubt yourself for a second,"
The candidates and guild members looked at Makarov in confusion but Natsu understood what it meant. S-Class quests are so dangerous that one wrong move could kill you one wrong move is doubt. If you have doubt, then it could be far more fatal than if you made the wrong decision.
"Now, let's party for our future S-Class mages!" Makarov shouted which made the guild roar in approval.
The candidates for the trials were chatting away merrily. Erza looked pleased with herself but showed no other emotion. Mira was bragging to her siblings about how she would be too much to handle for the other candidates. Natsu snorted at that. Mira wouldn't last five seconds. Mystogan was nowhere to be seen but he must have hidden himself somewhere so he would know about the trials. Cana must have expected to be nominated because she had a look of indifference.
"Looks like we're heading to S-Class now, eh?" Natsu spoke with a cheeky grin on his face. The type of grin that he only had when he found a loophole in a law or rule. It made Cana almost shiver. Almost.
"Yes, we should probably look for partners if we want a fighting chance," Cana pondered with a thoughtful expression on her face. Natsu snickered.
"Well, why don't we become partners?" He asked with a grin that looked to hurt his face. Cana, however, frowned.
"We can't, both of us are candidates for the trials," she explained while chugging on her beer.
"Is there a rule that says both participants can't be partners?" Natsu asked with curiosity, his grin never wavering, even if there was such a rule, he would try to find a way around it.
Cana started thinking about the question but couldn't think of a time when Makarov ever said that it was against the trials. But the problem was that there was the rule only one person per guild could become S-Class… but she did hear that the council had changed a law regarding S-Class promotions.
"Okay, Natsu, I'll become your partner, but I want to do some research before we become full-fledged partners. There was a law that stated that only one person per guild was to become S-Class but I have heard that the law was changed recently for whatever reason." Cana smiled at the salmon-haired dragon slayer.
Natsu chuckled a little and nodded.
"Well, that was why I asked. You see, I enjoy questioning everything the magic council does. And I mean everything. I'm the annoying person that shows great displeasure in everything the council does. I looked into the guild laws regarding S-Class wizards but the interesting thing is that there is no specified number. So, that means you and I can become S-Class without trouble if we teamed up." Natsu was close to bursting out in laughter but he managed to control himself.
Cana stared at the dragon slayer in amazement. She had no idea that there wasn't a limit to how many S-Class mages could be promoted, she always believed that there was only one person per year but at the same time, it made sense. It could be that the council allows the guild to decide how many they want to promote and not question their judgement in that field.
"Wow, so we could become S-Class together?" She asked in a hopeful tone and Natsu smiled and nodded in confirmation. "Then let's be partners!"
Unknown to them, Makarov was groaning from the fact that Natsu knew about the law regarding S-Class promotion or lack there off.