Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Time is the Path to Strength	By : Repiece Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 47113 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Chapter 3: Natsu's Return to Fairy Tail

"I can't believe I'm finally going to be a mage of Fairy Tail!" Lucy was ecstatic as she followed behind Natsu and Happy. "Umm...are you really fine with carrying my luggage?" She asked Natsu.

"I don't mind!" He replied with a grin as he carried Lucy luggage in his hand.

"It's been a while, huh Natsu?" Happy asked the pink haired dragon slayer.

"Ah! It has." Natsu's grin grew wider. "I wonder how everybody is doing?" He asked, even though he knew the answer to his own question.

"Aye!"

"How long have you two been gone from the guild?" Lucy asked.

"Two years!" Happy answered. Lucy stopped and gawked at them.

"T-T-T-Two years! Why were you two gone for so long!" She asked. Natsu stopped and turned around to look at her.

'Should I tell her that I was training for the past two years? But I wonder what the Old Man told the others? Oh well, I'll just wing it.' He sighed. "I was looking for someone." He answered. Happy gave Natsu a quizzical look and Natsu winked at him.

"Huh? Why are you winking at me?" Natsu would have face palmed if it wasn't for the luggage in his hand.

"Nothing." Natsu responded. "Never mind, let's just go." He told the other two and they started walking again. Lucy stared at his back in question. She wondered if the answer he gave her was truthful or not. She shrugged it off. At least she was finally going to be a member of the guild she so desired to become a part of.

"Ah! There it is!" Happy shouted as Lucy looked ahead and saw the building that belonged to her favorite guild in the world, Fairy Tail. Lucy grinned as wide as possible at the sight of her dream guild. Her eyes glistened in delight of her dream of joining Fairy Tail was only a few steps away from becoming true. Natsu grinned as well at the sight of the building. The building he loved more than anything in the world. It was filled with the laughter and cheerful smiles of his friends and comrades. After everything he has seen and been through, he was going to see the people he called his family.

"Well then,...come on! Let's go!" Natsu told the two and started running. Happy smiled and flew after him.

"Ah! Hold up!" Lucy called after them and ran after them, her grin still plastered on her face.

When they reached the front of the guild, Lucy's excitement turned to nervousness. Her body shook slightly at the thought of getting rejected by the Master and that would really put a damper of her excitement from earlier. Natsu looked back at her and smiled, knowing how nervous it must have been for her. In fact, he felt nervous as well. Not as nervous as Lucy appeared to be, but still a fair amount. He was going to see his nakama after everything that happened. The dead bodies of his friends appeared in his mind and he mentally shook his head to erase such thoughts. They were alive and he trained for two whole years to get stronger so that he would never have to see their bodies covered in a pool of blood again. He cost them their lives once and he was not going to do it again.

"Lucy!" Natsu called her name and she turned to look at him. Natsu looked at Happy and he did the same. With two big grins from both, they were the first to welcome her.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

Lucy felt herself calm down at their grins and nodded her head. Then the three pushed open the door.

"EVERYONE! WE'RE BACK!" Natsu and Happy both shouted in excitement. They looked around the guild and just like Natsu predicted, they were all shocked to see both of them in the flesh. Natsu couldn't but grin at their expressions. He looked throughout the guild and saw each and every member that he couldn't save, alive and well. The only members who he didn't see were Erza, who he knew was on a mission at this moment and the few members who they haven't met yet in this period of time. At the moment, it took his entire strength to not run up to his family and hug each one, except for Gray, the reason being was he was his rival and there was no way he was going to hug him.

"I-I-It's really him..." Nab was the first to speak, not believing what his eyes were seeing.

"S-See, I told you guys..." Niggy told the others.

Flashback

"H-He's back..." The man started, taking deep breaths. "He's back...Natsu...he's...he's back..."

The sound of a silverware breaking into pieces was heard. The eyes of all were widened at the news. There was one smirk. 'So, you come back, huh? Natsu...'

"O-Oi...stop joking around..." Gray was the first to speak. "N-Natsu has been missing for over two years...why would he suddenly show up now..."

"B-But I'm not lying..." Niggy retorted. "I'm certain it is him..."

"Oh? Where's your proof?" Elfman asked, crossing his arms.

"W-Well, I don't have physical evidence...but I heard a rumor going around that something happened in a town not far from here and the rumor stated that some mage caused a huge destruction over there..." Niggy explained his source.

"Please...that could have been any mage..." Gray scoffed. "...although it does sound like something Natsu would do...but it couldn't be him..."

"But..."

"A rumor is just a rumor." Makarov spoke. "However, in every rumor, there is always a shred of truth behind it."

"Master..." Mirajane whispered. "...do you really think Natsu is coming back?" He closed his eyes and everyone in the guild were on the edge of their seats, waiting for Fairy Tail's Master to speak.

"I'm an old man! What the hell do I know! HAHAHAHA!" Most of the members fell in shock at his response as he continued to laugh. Mirajane sweat dropped.

"Oh Master..."

End of Flashback

"N-Natsu...is that really you...?" Mirajane asked him and Natsu nodded.

"Of course! What other pink haired dragon slayer you know?" Natsu smirked.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Mirajane smiled and it grew as she felt tears start to form at the edge of her eyes. Natsu was surprised by the tears that were slowly developing and panicked. He knew there was a possibility that tears were gonna be involved, but he assumed it would have been his own tears at the sight of seeing the friends he couldn't protect, be alive and well. "Ah...Mira...don't cr-" He didn't get to finish as the white haired Take Over mage ran up and gave him a hug. Natsu was surprised at the hug, but he could understand why she did so. After all, he was gone for two whole years and he didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them.

"I'm so glad your back..." Mirajane whispered as she could feel Natsu grin.

"Ah! It's good to be back!" He laughed. Lucy watched the moment feeling both happiness and a feeling she never experienced before. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like it. Mirajane released him and smiled at Natsu, who returned her smile with his own. "Oh yeah." Natsu said, looking like he remembered something. No one would have guess, especially Gray, at the sudden punch he delivered to his rival. Gray crashed into one of the tables and immediately stood up, giving Natsu a glare.

"What the hell was that for!" Gray yelled at him.

"I have been waiting two years to do that." He laughed as Gray became angry at his answer.

"You..." Gray growled and delivered his own punch to Natsu, who didn't even bother blocking, seeing how he missed these 'friendly' fights he had with Gray. Natsu crashed into the wall, making Lucy gawked at the event that just transpired. "How's that!" Gray grinned.

"Hahahaha!" He heard Natsu laugh as he stood up. "Not bad...although it seems two years have made you more weak than strong!"

"What was that!" Gray yelled back.

"Gray...your clothes..." Cana pointed out and Gray looked down to see him naked once again.

"Gah! When did I..." Gray yelled in shock. Cana sighed in annoyance.

"Hahahaha! Your an idiot!" Natsu laughed.

"I don't need to hear that coming from you!" Gray yelled back.

"Damn! You are all idiots!" Cana muttered. "Another one of those undignified idiots...I really hate that!" She muttered before taking the large barrel of alcohol by her feet and began chugging it down. Lucy gawked as the entire guild soon turned into a battle royal. Lucy watched in horror as the place began to get torn apart, with tables and chairs either being thrown or breaking due to attacks or bodies crashing into them.

"Oh my. It sure has been a while since the guild was so rowdy." Mirajane commented putting a warm smile on her face. "It's so great that Natsu returned after all these years." She added and then turned her head to the blond woman who came with Natsu and Happy. "And who are you?" She asked nicely.

"M-Mirajane...it's really you...in the flesh..." Lucy stuttered in shock at seeing the beautiful Mirajane in person after just admiring her in her magazine a few days ago. She then turned back to the destruction the members of the guild were doing and pointed toward it. "S-Shouldn't we stop this?"

Mirajane giggled. "There is no need to worry. In fact, it really has been a long time since something like this happened. I mean, just look how happy everyone is." Lucy blinked at her before looking back at the chaos and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it, but they really were enjoying themselves. All of them were smiling and laughing, while being punched, kicked or thrown by each other. She didn't know how all this could make them this happy. "It's all thanks to Natsu's return." Lucy looked back at Mirajane. "I'm really happy that everyone can return to what they used to be like." With that comment, a bottle was thrown at the side of Mirajane's head, shocking Lucy.

"Mirajane!" Lucy called out as Mirajane looked back at her, her smile still in contact, despite the trail of blood that was falling down from the cut she received on her head. "A-Are you okay?"

"Of course!" She replied. "It really has been a long time since something like this happened. "So, who are you again?"

Lucy opened her mouth to introduce herself before Gray's voice interrupted her. "I don't know what the hell you have been doing these past two years Natsu, but I wasn't just sitting around. I'll show you what I'm made of!" Gray told Natsu as he closed his right hand into a fist and placed it on the palm of his left.

Natsu laughed. 'If only you knew...' He clenched both his hands into fists and they erupted into flames. "Let's go!"

"Wroooaaaahhhh!" Elfman roared as his arm began transforming due to his Take Over magic.

"It's time to end this!" Cana joined in as she rook out a card and magic began circling around it.

"Hmph, what a troublesome bunch!" Loke also joined in as the ring on his finger began glowing.

"W-Wait a minute...isn't this going a little overboard!" Lucy cried out as they prepared to use their magic.

"Oh dear...it appears so..." Mirajane smile faltered a bit in worry.

"That's enough!" A loud booming voice echoed throughout the guild and a large shadow covered the entire area. Lucy turned around and her jaw dropped and eyes widened in horror at the large, dark figure that appeared out of nowhere. "CUT IT OUT YOU FOOLS!"

"H-HE'S HUMONGOUS!" Lucy shouted and shook in fear.

"Oh, Master...you were here?" Mirajane spoke.

'M-MASTER!' Lucy was shocked. 'This guy is the Master! H-How the hell can I ask to join the guild to someone like him and be accepted!' She then noticed something. She looked around and everyone stopped fighting. She was amazed and in awe at how amazing this Master was to calm down the members of his guild so easily.

"Hahahahaha! What! All you give up already! That's pathe-" Natsu began, but wasn't allowed to finish as the Master shut his mouth by stomping his large foot on him. Natsu yelped in pain, but grinned, knowing this would happen if he said those words. Lucy sweat dropped.

"Hm? A newcomer?" Lucy flinched in surprise at his loud booming voice that was directed toward her.

"H-H-Hai!" Lucy replied nervously, but mostly in fear.

"Fnuuu!" The monster like thing began growling, making Lucy fear for her life at the thought what this thing might do to her. However, to her surprise, the monster started shrinking until it turned itself into a short old man.

"W-W-What!" Lucy shouted.

"Nice to meet you!" He said, raising his hand. Lucy blinked at him, still in shock as he jumped up to the railing above, accidentally hitting his head on the railing, before weakly climbing over and standing on the railing. He then turned to face the guild. "You brats done it again haven't you! Look at these!" He yelled showing them papers that he held in his hand. "All of these documents were given to me by the council!" He yelled and then started to name all the incidents each member caused. Lucy was astonished at all the things he was listening. From walking naked through town to a Talent Agency charging the guild compensation. "You guys...the council is so angry at me..." Lucy started shaking in fear as she saw the Master begin to shake angrily. "But who the hell cares about that! Natsu and Happy have returned! That means we get to celebrate all night long!"

The members of the guild all grinned and smirked. "YEAH!"

Lucy was surprised at the sudden change of attitude of not only Makarov, but the entire guild. She smiled. Fairy Tail was just as amazing as she knew it would be. She heard Natsu laugh and saw a wide grin plastered on his face as he and Happy began catching up with their friends they didn't see for two long years. She smiled. "So, what's your name?" Lucy looked away from Natsu and at Mirajane.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Lucy Heartphilia and I w-was wondering If I-I could be a member of Fairy Tail." Lucy told her.

"Really!" Mirajane responded with a wide grin and she clasped her hands together. "That's fantastic! We would love to add new members to our guild!"

"So then..." Lucy asked, hoping she was not hearing things from her.

"Of course! As long as the Master approves then everything would be fine!" She told her and Lucy gulped. "Master!" Mirajane called Makarov as he hopped down to the bar.

"Hm? What is it, Mira-chan?" Makarov asked.

"Go on introduce yourself." Mirajane nudged Lucy.

"E-Eh...ummm...hello...my name is L-Lucy Heartphilia and I was wondering if I could join this guild please!" She exclaimed with her voice filled with nervousness.

"Hmm...I see. Well then, if you really want to join then there is one thing I need to make sure." Makarov told her. Lucy gulped.

'W-What could this thing be? Is it what kind of mage I am? Or maybe I don't look strong at all! Please let me be a member of this guild!' Lucy prayed as she waited for Makarov to tell her what she needed to officially join the guild. Just then, she felt something tap her on her butt. She blinked and turned her head down to see a hand there. However, it wasn't anyone's hand. It was Fairy Tail guild's Master's hand.

"Yep, it seems to be alright..." Makarov commented. Lucy blushed and threw anything near her, hitting Makarov square in the head, knocking him over the bar.

"You pervert!" Lucy shouted.

"Hehe..." Makarov chuckled, getting back up on the bar. "You're a feisty one!"

"Can I join or not!" Lucy demanded an answer.

"Of course you can. If Natsu brought you here then you must be an excellent mage." He grinned as Mirajane helped place a bandage on his forehead. Lucy's face lit up in excitement. She was going to be a mage of Fairy Tail. Her dream of joining her favorite guild was going to become a reality. She squealed in excitement. Natsu heard her squeal and looked over to her. He smiled. It was good to see Lucy smile. The image of her dead body popped in his head and he closed his eyes. He mentally shook his head to erase the image. She was alive and he was going to keep it that way.

"Now then, where would you like it?" Mirajane asked Lucy. Lucy was confused at first, but then saw the stamp she had in her hands and understood.

"Right here." She showed Mirajane the back of her right hand and she nodded. She stamped the symbol of Fairy Tail on her hand. When it was done, Lucy examined the symbol and grinned in excitement. She ran over to Natsu to show him. "Hey Natsu! Look, I'm officially a member of Fairy Tail!"

Natsu turned and grinned at her. "That's great Lucy!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Lucy snickered, placing her other hand on top of the mark. Natsu couldn't help but smile at how happy she was. Even though some of the events that transpired were a little off, thanks to his own stupidity, everything was going just the way he remembered it. As long as everything went smoothly, then he would protect his friends from anyone who dared threatened them and that included the same man who gave him this second chance.

"Natsu..." The pink haired dragon slayer turned around to see the Master calling him.

"Ah! Old man! What's up!" Natsu asked, walking toward him.

Makarov signaled him to get lower and he did so. Makarov leaned into his ear. "Later tonight, I want to see just how strong you become. Meet me in the forest east of here." Natsu's eyes widened at the request, but nodded.

"Ah! You got it!" Natsu grinned and then joined the others in the celebration.

Later that night...

"Glad you came, Natsu." Makarov smiled as Natsu arrived alone. "Oh, Happy isn't with you?"

"Nah, once we got back home, he fell asleep instantly." Natsu chuckled.

"I see...poor thing must have been tired after that party. How about you, aren't you tired?" Makarov asked.

"Hell no! I've been pumped up ever since you asked me to do this! However, I should warn you...I'm not as weak as I used to be." He pounded his fist into his free hand.

"Haha, we'll see about that! Come, Natsu!"

"Yare, yare...look at this mess." Mirajane sighed. The guild was a total mess after the party. Mostly everyone who was here earlier left, with only a few members remaining that were passed out on the floor. "Hm?" Mirajane hummed questionably. If there was one thing Mirajane learned ever since retired and started working at the bar was the ability to catch everything that was going on in the guild. However, for the first time in a long time, she seemed to have missed something. That something was Natsu and the Master. She never saw Natsu leave the guild and yet he wasn't among those who were passed out on the floor. The Master was also not here and she didn't see him leave either. Normally, he would keep her company when she had to stay late to clean up the guild, but he wasn't here tonight.

"Mira-chan, something wrong?" Mirajane turned around to see Lucy looked at her with a questionable look.

"Ah no, it's nothing important." Mirajane told her.

"Oh..." Lucy whispered and looked around at the mess. "Does it always become so messy around here?"

Mirajane giggled. "Well, this is the first time it was this messy in a long time. I guess it's because of Natsu's return that it turned out this way."

"I see." Lucy smiled. "Natsu...he must be really fun to have around."

Mirajane matched her smile. "Mm. Natsu has always been the one person this guild could count on during it's toughest times. He would always cheer everyone up with his yelling and fighting. However, after he left and was gone for two years, things weren't the same. I'm so glad he's back."

Lucy chuckled. "By the way..." Lucy began. "...why did Natsu leave for two years? He told me he was out looking for someone."

"Mm." Mirajane nodded and her smile turned into a small sad one. "Before Natsu arrived, he was trained by Igneel. However, one day, Igneel disappeared and left Natsu alone."

"Igneel? Who is that exactly?" Lucy asked.

"Igneel was Natsu's somewhat foster father." Lucy tilted her head to the side.

"Somewhat?"

"W-Well, it's hard to say he was his father, since he was a dragon and all." Lucy's eyes widened in horror and shock.

"A-A-A D-D-D-D-Dragon!" She shouted loudly, earning some groans from the passed out guild members. Mirajane laughed.

"I knew you would have such a reaction. But even so, Natsu has always been looking for Igneel since the day he disappeared. Natsu was found by that dragon when he was little in the forest and he taught Nastu how to speak, write, culture and magic as well. Every time he would hear a rumor about him, he would immediately go to wherever the rumor took him. Normally he would have been gone days or even weeks at most, but...no one would have expected him to be gone for two whole years." Mirajane told her. "We all missed him and there were times when we all thought of the possibility that he would never return. But he's back and everyone is so happy."

"I see." Lucy smiled warmly. She didn't know Natsu that well, but from what she could tell from his personality and what Mirajane just told her, Natsu was someone who you could depend on. Despite his weird personality, Natsu was fun to be around with. He was able to place cheerful smiles to an entire guild with his arrival. It was almost like he was the heart of the guild itself.

"Well then, I'm pretty sure you are tired from today. If you don't have a place to stay at the moment, you could use the spare beds we have in that room over there." She told her, pointing to a door.

"Ah, thank you!" Lucy thanked her and walked over to pick up her luggage. When she turned back around she noticed that Mirajane started cleaning the mess and frowned. "Hey, why don't I help you clean up the place?"

"Oh, no you don't have to worry about all this. I'm used to cleaning up the place by myself, with some help from the Master of course." Mirajane kindly declined her request. Lucy shook her head.

"But I want to help you. I'm a new member so I don't know much about anyone and the least I could do is help clean up the place." Lucy said sternly.

"Well, if you insist." Mirajane smiled at her offer. Suddenly, the two of them felt a quick sudden shake that rattled some of the glasses that were lying around.

"H-Huh? W-What was that?" Lucy asked while regaining her balance.

"I-I don't know..." Mirajane replied unsure about the sudden quake as well.

Makarov's eyes widened. He wanted to know just how strong Natsu became and to be honest, he would have never expected him to get this strong in just two years. But strong was not the word to describe how powerful Natsu looked like right now. Never in his long life did he see something like what Natsu was now. There weren't any words to describe it.

"N-N-Natsu...w-what in the world...d-did you do these past t-two years...?" Makarov stuttered.

Natsu chuckled. "Pretty cool, huh old man!"

"Natsu...I'm quite impressed..." Makarov complimented, still stunned.

"Thanks, old man!"

Next morning...

"Hm? A quake last night?" Gray raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember feeling one last night."

"Really?" Lucy asked and he nodded his head.

"It must have been your imagination." Gray suggested.

"But Mira-chan also felt it, right?" Lucy asked her as she walked past them, holding a tray full of food on it.

"Mm. It was a small one, but quakes are pretty rare around here." Mirajane told Gray. Lucy then noticed the food on the tray.

"Mira-chan, why is the food on fire?" She asked, pointing toward the flames.

"Oh, this is Natsu's breakfast." Mirajane answered with a smile.

"Eh! He eats fire for breakfast!" Mirajane nodded at her surprised expression.

"Yep." She replied back before heading off to deliver Natsu his food. "Here you go, Natsu!" Natsu watched in excitement as she placed his food on the table.

"Arigatou, Mira!" Natsu thanked her and started stuffing his face with the food.

"What about me?" Happy asked as Mirajane smiled and pulled her other hand out from behind her to reveal some fish she held in her hand. Happy's face glistened with excitement as Mirajane handed him the fish and he started chowing down on them. Mirajane giggled at the two before walking away to attend to the others.

"Hey Natsu..." Wakabe whispered to him. Natsu turned his head to look at him, continuing to eat. "...where did you find such a cutey!" He asked with a wide grin.

"I wonder if she'll join my team." A man next to Wakabe wondered, his eyes turning into hearts.

Natsu ignored them and devoured the last piece of his food in one gulp before standing up. Happy too finished and followed Natsu. "Hey Natsu! Where are you going?" A man asked.

"It's been a while since I've been on a mission!" He responded, heading over to the request board. "Well, what kind of request should we take?" He asked Happy, even though knowing he wouldn't be taking on any of the requests on the board.

"Did my daddy come back?" Natsu turned his head over to the little boy who was talking to Makarov.

"You're annoying Romeo. If you are the son of a mage then be a good boy and wait patiently for his return." Makarov told him.

"B-But he said that he would come back in three days...b-but it's been a week since then..." The boy started to form tears in his eyes.

"Macau's job is at Mount Hakobe, isn't it?" Makarov asked.

"It's not far, either!" The boy yelled. "Please look for him! I'm worried about him!"

"No! Your dad is a mage! We have no mage here who can't take care of himself here! Go home and drink some milk or something!" Makarov yelled at the worried little boy. The boy began shaking before he jumped up and punched the Master in his face.

"Idiot!" He yelled before running away.

Natsu frowned. He knew what Macau's son was going through. He knew Macau was in trouble and he was planning on saving him. Turning away from the request board, he walked over to Lucy. Lucy noticed Natsu heading over to her direction and looked up at him. "W-What's wrong, Natsu?" He suddenly grabbed her arm and started pulling her with him. "H-Hey, what are you doing!" Lucy shouted.

"You'll see." Natsu replied and the three of them left the guild.

"Aren't you going to stop him?" Mirajane asked Makarov.

"Nah, no one should decide what he should do. Just let him be." He replied.

"But...does he even know what kind of request Macau took?" Mirajane wondered.

Makarov didn't think of that. 'Did he know? That can't be...he was gone for two years and Macau left only a week ago...I know I said that Macau went to Mount Hakobe, but does he know the reason? Hmmm...'

Macau's son tried wiping away his tears, but they continued to fall from his eyes. He couldn't understand why any of them would help his father. It just didn't seem right. He then felt a hand on his head and looked up to see Natsu walk by him, letting go of his head as he did so. "Don't worry, we'll get your father back." He turned his head to look up at the warm smile of Lucy and he nodded his head. The tears he had were no longer falling.

"So, what exactly kind of request did this Macau person take?" Lucy asked but got a groan in response from Natsu. "Y-Your motion sickness is that bad?"

Natsu couldn't reply, so Happy did it for him. "Aye!"

Natsu groaned once more. "By the way, you two wouldn't happen to know any place for me to live, would you?"

"You can live with Natsu and me!" Happy suggested.

"If you're seriously saying that, then I'll have to pull out your whiskers, little kitty." She threatened, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Just then, the movement of the wagon they were in stopped and Natsu's motion sickness disappeared instantly. Grinning, he pushed himself off the couch. "It finally stopped!"

"Are we there?" Lucy asked the driver.

"Ah...no...but it looks like I won't be able to go any farther than this." He answered, making Lucy raise an eyebrow in confusion. They opened the door and were met with a full blown snowstorm. Lucy was shocked that there was a snowstorm like this during the summer even if they were on a mountain. Natsu was unfazed by the storm as he used his own magic to warm his body up. It wasn't the same with Lucy. Natsu noticed this and reached into his bag to take out a large blanket.

"Here." Natsu handed her the blanket and she looked at it for a few seconds before accepting it.

"T-Thanking you, but I don't think it would..." She stopped talking when her body suddenly felt all warm as soon as she put the blanket over herself. "W-What? How am I...?"

"That blanket is something I found during my two year journey." Natsu explained as he started walking forward. "It's a special blanket that absorbs my magic allowing anyone to wear it to get warm."

"Eh? Wow..." Lucy said in amazement as she followed Natsu.

'I think it would be better to not tell her what it's made of...I'm pretty sure it would freak her out...' Natsu made a mental note as they traveled through the snowstorm.

"So, what exactly did this Macau person have to do in a place like this?" Lucy asked.

"To subdue the brutal monster, 'Balkan'." He answered, making Lucy eye's widen in fear.

"W-WHAT!" Lucy screamed.

"Shh, don't start an avalanche." Natsu put his finger against his lip.

"Aye!" Happy mimicked.

"S-Sorry, but why didn't you tell me earlier?" Lucy asked.

"I thought you wanted to go on missions and stuff...?" Natsu asked.

"Well yeah, but I was thinking of starting with easy jobs before taking on the hard ones!" Lucy replied.

"Oh, too bad." Natsu simply answered.

"Damn you!" She growled in anger.

"Hey Macau!" Natsu shouted. Where are you!"

"Weren't you the one who said not to shout!" Lucy yelled at him.

Natsu didn't respond to her as he sensed someone or something above him and looked up to see the silhouette of something on top of a cliff. He watched as it jumped off and began descending down toward them. Lucy screamed as Natsu took three steps back to allow the figure to land on the snow a few feet in front of him. The figure turned out to be the Balkan.

"It's the Balkan!" Happy shouted in surprise.

"Gah! Monster!" Lucy screamed in fear. The ape looking monster growled and glared at Natsu before turning it's eyes toward Lucy and then scurried toward her. "Waaahhhh!" Lucy screamed as the ape monster grabbed her by the shoulders.

"A human woman! Uh ho!" The Balkan said, sticking his tongue out like the perverted ape he was. The Balkan suddenly felt a hand on it's shoulder and turned it's head around to see the culprit to be Natsu.

"Hey, get your hands off her ya' dirty ape!" He growled and lit his fist into a flame and punched the Balkan in the face. "Iron Fist of Salamander!" The Balkan spat out blood at the punch and fell to the snow, cushioning the blow. Lucy let out a sigh of relief that she was rescued. "Oi, Macau!"

"Huh!" Lucy questioned.

"How could you let yourself be taken over by a Balkan! I mean come one, I don't remember you being this week." Natsu yelled at the ape.

"Umm, Natsu, what are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

The Balkan hopped back to his feet and put a hand to his cheek. "Uh ho uho!" He roared and charged at Natsu.

"Natsu! Watch out!" Lucy yelled. She reached for one of her keys and pointed the key toward the ape. "Open! A door to the Golden Bull Palace! Taurus!"

"MOOOOOO!" The mighty bull Celestial Spirit roared and charged at the ape.

"Wooooooaaaaahhhhh!" Happy exclaimed in awe.

'Oh...it's the pervert cow...' Natsu observed as the bull ran past him.

"I will protect Lucy and her boobs with my life!" Taurus roared as he swung his axe at the ape.

"Don't say something like that!" Lucy screamed at Taurus.

The ape jumped to dodge the axe and then landed on Taurus' shoulders. He then used his shoulders as a springboard to jump up, making Taurus fall face first into the snow as the ape ran toward Natsu again. "UH HO!"

"Didn't you hear me..." Natsu growled. "I said wake the hell up Macau!" Natsu yelled, punching the ape again, this time knocking him out.

"W-Wow...Natsu...your amazing..." Lucy whispered in awe. "Unlike someone..." She eyed Taurus who went to the fetal position and cried.

"That's mean Lucy!" Taurus cried.

"By the way, why were you yelling at the ape as if he's Macau?" Lucy asked Natsu.

"That's because he is Macau." Natsu answered.

"W-What?" Lucy asked confused. Suddenly, something was happening to the ape. The ape began changing and instead of an ape, a person took it's place.

"HUH!" Happy and Lucy screamed in surprised. Natsu ran toward Macau and looked down at him.

"Oi Lucy, Happy! Macau is injured!" Natsu yelled over to them and they rushed over.

"This wound is serious!" Lucy examined as the four of them were now inside a cave they found. "We only have a first aid kit, but it won't do much with a wound like this." Lucy cringed in fear.

"Like hell I would let him die!" Natsu yelled. 'I won't let any of them die!' Natsu lit his fist and pressed it against the wound.

"W-What are you doing!" Lucy shouted, surprised by what he was doing.

"This is the only way we could save him." Natsu told her as Macau screamed in pain. "You got to hold on, Macau!"

'I see. He's burning the wound so it would close up and stop the blood. That can work!' Lucy thought in amazement at Natsu's quick thinking. Macau began coughing as he opened his eyes slightly.

"N-N-Natsu...is that..ugh...really you...?" Macau whispered.

"Mm. I'm back." He grinned at him.

"Me too!" Happy exclaimed.

"You too...Happy...I'm pathetic..." Macau said making Lucy frown. "I-I managed...to beat...19 of them...but...the 20th one got me..." He said sadly. "...I don't think...I can face my son...like this..."

"Baka!" Natsu yelled. "Romeo is waiting for you to come back! There is now way I'm letting you die! You hear me!" He yelled. "Just don't speak!"

Macau looked at Natsu before doing what he said and stayed silent as Natsu, Lucy and Happy worked together to bandage up Macau's energy. 'I can't believe he managed to defeat 19 of those ape things...I wonder...am I really fit to be in this guild...?'

Romeo sat on a bench as he waited patiently for the arrival of his father. He read a book while he waited. He then heard footsteps and looked away from his book to the direction the footsteps were coming from and his eyes widened at the sight of his father, Natsu, Happy and Lucy. He felt his eyes begin to tear up as his father gave him a sheepish smile. Romeo ran toward his father and gave him a huge hug as the other three watched the moment between the two with warm smiles.

"Daddy...I'm sorry...I...because I said those things..." He cried into his father's chest.

"No...don't blame yourself...it's my fault for making you worry..." He whispered in his ear. He then pulled away and grinned at his son. "Next time, ask those kids if their fathers ever defeated 19 monsters by themselves." Romeo looked up and continued to cry as he nodded his head.

"Okay!" Natsu smiled and started walking away, with Lucy and Happy right behind him. "Natsu-niisan! Happy! Lucy-neechan! Arigatou!" Natsu waved his hand to tell Romeo he heard him as Lucy turned around and waved her hand goodbye.

If there was one thing about this guild that Lucy loved the most, it was the fact that the bond between all of them were just like family. They were kindhearted people. If any of them feel sad, the others would do anything to make them smile again. 'This guild really is the best.'

Natsu clenched his fists and looked down at them. 'I promise all of you...with this strength...I will not allow any of you die! If I can't keep that promise...then...I could never forgive myself.'

To Be Continued...
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Time is the Path to Strength