S-Class Exams

The wind softly blowed over the golden grass, and through the trees. A young man with dark hair, wearing a black robe lay on the ground, apparently sleeping, completely silent. However,r his attention as drawn by the sound of something approaching. The man looked up, and saw a pack of wolves approaching him, after which he stood up.

"Please don't come any closer," he said softly, "I don't want to hurt you." However, one of the wolves sprung at him, only to fall to the ground. Soon, other wolves began to keel over, as birds fell from the sky, and trees wilted. Everything around the man was dead, as if their life force had simply been extracted from them.

"The world seems very intent on rejecting me," the man said, as he looked around the ruined land, and took a sad breath, "I suppose there's nothing to do now, but wait for you, Natsu."

(at the Magic Council)

"So you're telling game all of this was caused by a single guild?!" a Councilman demanded angrily. He and the rest of the Magic Council were assembled in their headquarters to discussed one of their banes.

"And who else would it be, but Fairy Tail?" another Councilman answered.

"As always, they're causing trouble."

"Let's not get to riled up," Org said, "We can't forget that they helped remove the Oracion Seis."

"They did it without our permission!"

"Is that really important?" Org asked.

"Yes it is! Guilds can't act on their own!" a Councilwoman said.

"They broke the rule that prohibits infighting amongst guilds, dark guild or not."

"It also stands to reason that the Balam Alliance members might try and seek revenge."

"Add together they called Jellal a 'friend'. They're a reckless bunch, are they not?" Org clenched his teeth. It was apparent that the Council was looking for reasons to try and get rid of Fairy Tail.

"We must make an example of them! We can't let reckless attitudes like this go on."

"Correct," the chairman, Gran Doma declared, "We must remind the magic world who leads them. Next time Fairy Tail gets our attention, we'll have them dissolved!" The Council, save for Org, applauded him.

(at Lucy and Natsu's house)

"Nothing like a hot shower after a long day," Lucy said, as she let the hot shower water run over her body. She had just come home from a job, a particularly tiring job. The job was a courier task, where she and Natsu had to go from one side of the country, to the other, just guarding the cargo. Since the job was fairly safe, Lucy had agreed with Natsu to bring their son with them for the first time. It had gone decently well, until this trio of idiots with large asses decided to give train robbing a go. They weren't a real threat, but Lucy's maternal instincts flared up, and she sicked Taurus on them. Fortunately for the "robbers", Wendy was also with them, so they were saved from the brink of death. At this point, Lucy was just thankful that the day was over, and just wanted to relax with her son, maybe work on her novel some more.

The shower that Lucy was using had been added onto Natsu's house after she moved in. Natsu would often bathe in the river, and Lucy refused to live in a place without a legitimate bathroom, so they built one in. To save some money, Natsu would use his dragon fire to heat the place. And while dragon fire could incinerate a person no problem, but when finely managed like that, it could prove quite pleasant. One more plus about being with a Fire Dragon Slayer, one would always have warmth.

"Nice place you got here."

"Well Natsu and I….," Lucy began, before noticing that another voice that shouldn't be present. Lucy turned, and with a scream, noticed Cana sitting in her bath.

"Do you think Natsu would let me live here too?" she asked.

"What are you doing in my house!" Lucy demanded.

"Isn't this technically Natsu's house?" Cana asked.

"Well…," Lucy said, averting her eyes rather nervously, "What are you doing here?"

"Hanging out," Cana answered, staring at the ceiling, "This place is nicer than my place."

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"Fine then," Lucy said with a sigh, "Let me join you then." She then got in the tub, and sat across from Cana.

"Where are Natsu and Haru?" the brown haired girl asked.

"Natsu's out showing Haru around the forest," Lucy answered, "But I think the better question is what's up with you? You're looking kind of down."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Cana said.

"Well now I have to worry about it," Lucy said, "Come on, I'm putting my friend hat on." Cana sighed slightly.

"How are things going with your dad?" she asked. Lucy paused, surprised but the question.

"Well, they aren't going badly if that's what you mean," she said, "He hasn't really tried to get in touch. He may have a grandson now, but if he wants to see him, then he's got to come here."

"Oh, well, I guess that's not bad," Cana said, as she looked away.

"Come on, just tell me," Lucy said with a smile, "You can tell me anything." Cana then looked straight at Lucy.

"I'm considering leaving the guild," she said.

(at Fairy Tail)

"… and then she just left," Lucy said, "The girl wouldn't even explain herself." She was sitting at the bar, with Haru in his basket beside her, sleeping. Mirajane just chuckled gentle.

"Actually, this is happens all the time around this time," she explained.

"Wait, what?" Lucy asked.

"Nobody really knows why," the waitress explained, "But its like clockwork, but she never does it this time of year."

"What goes on now?" Lucy asked. Turns out she got her answer when Natsu ran up to her.

"Come on Lucy! We got to go on a job!" he said.

"Aye sir!" Happy said.

"Wait, I've got to keep an eye on Haru," Lucy said, "I can't go now."

"Just bring him with us!" Natsu said, as he lifted up his son, "Would you like to go with us, buddy?" Haru blinked slightly, still half asleep.

"Let me see the request," Lucy said, holding out her hand, and after taking one look said, "No way in hell! Way to dangerous!"

"But Lucy…," Natsu whined.

"Look, just go on your own," Lucy said, "This may be dangerous for Haru, but no trouble for you. I'm not going to disappear while you're gone."

"Really?"

"No, not really," Lucy said, "What do you think?' For once, Natsu understood her sarcasm, and he and Happy ran out of the guild. Not long after, other people began clambering over one another, desperate to apparently get their jobs.

"What's with everyone?" Lucy asked, holding onto her son under the table. Meanwhile, Lisanna and Wendy were listening to Carla.

"So you can see into the future?" Wendy asked.

"In a sense, yes," Carla answered, "After the queen told me about the ability, I'm trying to get some fitness over it."

"That sounds really cool!" Wendy said.

"Can you tell me who Haru is going to marry?" Lisanna asked.

"I can't see that far into the future," Carla said, before looking around, "Let's find an example." She then saw Macao sitting on the table.

"Take Macao," she said, pointing, "In short order, Wakaba will come over and start talking about the 'young people'." The girls watched, as Macao sat on the table, and sure enough, Wakaba walked up to him.

"Yo Macao!" he said.

"What's up?" Macao asked.

"The years are just spinning on, aren't they" Wakaba said, "The kids we all know sure are growing fast."

"I guess so," Macao said, "Now our Natsu's got a son of his own."

"We sure aren't as young as we used to be."

"Speak for yourself, buddy, I'm still in my prime."

"Wow," Lisanna said, "That's pretty impressive. You got a power up to, didn't you Wendy?"

"I guess I did," Wendy answered, "I absorbed some of Särakaotus power, and it merged with mine. Though since we got back, I haven't really tried using it."

"You should," Lisanna said, "Make sure you've got the proper fineness on it." They then suddenly heard the sound of metal crashing together.

"Speaking of fineness," Carla said, as they turned to see Pantherlily and Erza sparring, with Pantherlily in his combat form. The swords were swinging so intensely that they could barely be seen. However, it came to an abrupt end, when with a "pop" Pantherlily turned back to his small form.

"Apparently the time I can stay in this form is rather short," he said.

"That's some top notch swordsmanship," Erza said.

"I would sometimes spar with Erza Knightwalker," Pantherlily said, "You're just as good as she is, maybe even better by a margin." Lucy rolled her eyes at the sight of all the people, as she set her son back in his basket.

"I guess there will always be those who don't change that way," she said.

"Don't worry, it'll make sense tomorrow," Mirajane said.

(the next day)

On the following day,the guild was completely full, assembled before the stage. It was as if the entire guild had assembled for whatever Makarov was going to announce.

"So will we finally get some information now?" Lucy asked, holding Haru.

"I'm curious too," Wendy said, on Lucy's left. Natsu, who was on Lucy's right, was fidgeting in place in anticipation.

"Calm down, you're making Haru anxious," Lucy said. Eventually, the curtains opened, as everyone cheered for the announcement. Assembled on the stage were Makarov, and the S-Class mages, including Mirajane.

"Now!" Makarov said, "I will announce the participants of the S-Class Promotion Trial!"

"Eh!" Lucy and Wendy said

"Hell yeah!" Natsu said, his chest lighting up in excitement.

"The test grounds will be Tenrou Island," Makarov explained, "Our guild's sacred ground." Sounds of "ooooh" resonated across it.

"There will be eight participants," Makarov said, "They are the following: Natsu Dragneel…."

"I'm all fired up now!"

"…Gray Fullbuster…"

"High time."

"… Juvia Lockser…"

"Juvia too?"

"… Elfman Strauss…"

"Only a real man can do this."

"… Cana Alberona…"

"…."

"… Freed Justine…"

"I'll take Laxus' place."

"…. Levy McGarden…"

"Me, really?"

"… and Mest Gryder." There were sounds of disappointment and support from around the rest of the guild members.

"Can't believe I wasn't chosen," Alzack lamented.

"Don't worry," Bisca said, patting him on the shoulder, "There's always next year." Meanwhile, Jet and Droy were cheering the fact that Levy was chosen.

"Well that explains everything," Lucy said, "So everyone was trying to get the Master's attention."

"Good luck big brother!" Wendy said to Natsu.

"We'll be cheering for you," Lucy said, "That includes Haru." Haru laughed, absorbing the excitement. Lucy then looked at Cana. Is that why Cana was thinking about leaving?

"This time around, only one will pass," Makarov explained, "You all have one week to prepare yourself. I suggest you use it wisely."

"Why wasn't I chosen?" Gajeel demanded.

"I heard of what you did," Pantherlily said, "It stands to reason that you aren't fully trusted to be S-Class yet."

"You kidding?!" Gajeel snapped, "I could kick everyone's ass!" Carla watched all the antics at Wendy's side, as she shook her head.

"Its just a title," she said, before suddenly, a series of images flashed through her mind. Images of a crying Cana, Natsu holding Lucy in his arms, a dark haired man, and a titanic serpentine form behind crackling lightning.

What was that? she thought.

Note: This brings the S-Class exams to the start. Let's see how things go there.

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