"Hey Nashi." Natsu asked.

"Yes Papa?"

"What's Luce been doing to make her so busy anyway?"

"You mean Mama?"

Natsu, Happy and Nashi were sitting on the grass of the duo's fishing spot. Another four days had passed since the job at Count Balsamico's ball and Nashi had finally agreed to spend time with Natsu and Happy by learning how to fish. In the past four days, Nashi took the liberty of showing the duo the around Magnolia since they hadn't properly seen what has changed and what hasn't. Change was never really Natsu's style but he had to accept it since he hadn't seen Magnolia in seven years.

"Oh right! Mama..." Natsu said, correcting himself even though he still wasn't used to calling Lucy by that name. "Is it something really important that she has to be gone for so long?"

Nashi hummed in thought, probably thinking on how exactly she was supposed to describe what Lucy does. When the three of them were at the guild, before the Velveno job, Kinana had asked Nashi to not tell the others about Lucy's situation. When she had asked why, Kinana simply said that it was Lucy's job to tell them herself since Lucy doesn't know that the core members had come home. Knowing that, Nashi promised that she wouldn't tell and she doesn't break promises.

"Uh... I don't know." She replied after a few minutes. "Grandpa says that Mama does a lot of boring work."

"Grandpa?" Happy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nashi nodded and smiled, clearly the thought of her grandfather had made her happy. "Grandpa watches over me whenever I come over and Mama is busy! He helps me with my magic too! Me and Nee-san had come back from visiting him when we got here!"

While Nashi continued to go on about what her grandfather does whenever she's around, Natsu and Happy leaned closer to one another with a confused gaze. "Do you really think Luce made up with her dad while we were gone?" The dragon slayer asked in a hushed whisper. "I mean, who else could Nashi be talking about?"

"It's possible, seven years is a long time." Happy replied as he thought about anyone else. "Maybe it's like when you call Master 'Gramps'? Probably some other old guy that's like a grandfather?"

"We'll just have to find out when Luce comes home." Natsu sighed, adding that topic on the list of things to ask whenever Lucy decides to show up at the guild hall. Not like he could go out and search for her either since her scent just cuts off in the air. So he and Happy just went back and paid attention to fishing.

"Hey Nashi? You said that your grandfather and Lucy helps you with magic?" Happy asked, changing the subject to fill the silence. "What kind of magic do you use anyway?"

Nashi blinked twice at his question and just laughed, though Natsu and Happy didn't know what was so funny to begin with. They waited patiently for the little girl to stop laughing while they could see tears form in the corner of her eyes from too much laughing. The duo had to admit though, the way Nashi laughed sounded very identical to that of Lucy and they couldn't help but feel reminiscent. They just missed Lucy too much for their own good.

"You're so funny, Happy. You and Mama are so forgetful." Nashi said as she placed her fishing rod down and stood up, dusting off the dirt from her skirt. "I know Mama told me not to tell anyone about it until I learn how to control it better, but you and Papa were there when I made my first flame and nearly burned the house down."

"Eh?" The duo asked.

They watched with wide eyes as Nashi brought the palm of her hand up, much like how Natsu does when he gets determined or excited. Then, a large flame encased her fist as she showed off her fangs with a smirk. "I got my magic from Papa remember?"

Happy had already fainted at this point as Natsu stared at the girl in awe as her magic energy grew, the aura from her flames containing the same aura as his own. Natsu couldn't even deny the power she held. "A dragon slayer..." He thought as his draw dropped. "She's a fire dragon slayer just like me!?"

Natsu was carrying Nashi while Happy flew beside them, the peach haired girl had fallen asleep after awhile and the duo decided it was time for them to start heading back to the guild. But as they walked, Natsu and Happy remained lost in thought. They didn't understand anything that was happening. What was going on with Lucy, why everyone was keeping him and the others in the dark about her and now... how it is possible for Nashi to hold the same type of magic he had. It made no sense.

And the one who probably held all the answers, was his absent best friend and partner; Lucy Heartfilia. Nashi had mentioned that Lucy told her not to tell anyone about her powers, so Natsu could only assume that only he, Happy and Lucy knew of her magic. But there was a chance the non core members knew too. He sighed again and decided to be patient a little longer. Though he was never the best at that, he had no choice since Lucy's whereabouts were completely unknown.

"How could Nashi be a fire dragon slayer?" Happy asked in an unsure tone. "I thought Igneel disappeared a long time ago and you couldn't find his scent anywhere?"

"I dunno, little buddy." Natsu replied honestly. "I don't want to count my chances on Igneel teaching her dragon slaying magic, but there's only one other way I could think of."

"Yeah?"

The fire dragon slayer looked at the sleeping girl and pulled her closer into his embrace, her body responding by snuggling even closer to his chest. Natsu smiled at her sleeping form before a serious look replaced it. "What if she really is my kid, Happy?"

Happy's eyes popped out of his eye sockets at the mere suggestion. "Natsu! Did you hear what you just said!?"

"Yeah?"

"You do realize that you gotta do something specific in order to have a kid, right?"

Natsu blinked twice at Happy's words and thought about what he meant. After a few minutes, he realized what thing he had to do was and facepalmed at his own stupidity. "Yeah there's no way that's the case 'cause I've never done it before!"

Happy laughed at the boy's reaction and then looked at Nashi's sleeping form. The more the exceed stared, the more his laughter died down. When Natsu realized that happy had gotten quiet, he looked at the sullen expression on his face. "Even so... I can't help but think how similar she is to you and Lucy..." He said in a whisper.

The dragon slayer took in the exceed's words and had to admit, even though Nashi wasn't his or Lucy's biological daughter, he could see many similarities between the three of them. Nashi looked like a mini Lucy in her own right and the way she acts is definitely more mature than the average five or six year old. But at the same time, she was still childish and had a big appetite like himself. She's protective of her friends and wants to get stronger to continue to protect them. It's like combining his and Lucy's personalities together.

Natsu just shook his head out of his thoughts and pushed the matter aside for now, grabbing Happy by the head and making him ride on his shoulder. "We can worry all we want about this when Lucy gets back. So for now, let's just keep things the way they are, alright?"

Happy looked at his best friend in uncertainty, but he immediately got a smile when Nashi began to call out his, Natsu and Lucy's name in her sleep. "Aye sir."