Fairy Tail, X791
April, X791
The Fairy Tail guild was as lively as ever. Dozens of people filled the seats of the main hall with drinks in hand and up in conversation as others looked towards the main stage where several young women dressed up in bunny suits were dancing.
"Macao stop doing paper work all the damn time and enjoy the show!" Wakaba shouted as he stood just in front of the stage. Sitting behind him was Macao, his head down as he read through a stack of papers.
"Why don't you do your job as my right hand and help me out." Macao grumbled. "I'm glad this guild is thriving compared to our earlier years but there's even more paperwork to do because of the expenses and jobs coming in and I can't enjoy any of this!"
Macao sighed and grabbed his drink, taking a large gulp. 'Master Makarov...you really went through a lot of hassle on the side for this guild.'
Despite the generally upbeat attitude of the guild, one boy of thirteen years sat at the corner of the hall with an unamused look on his face. The young boy had spiky, dark purple hair with bangs that covered most of his forehead up to his large eyes. He wore an attire that heavily resembled Natsu Dragneel's albeit with different colors such as a maroon sleeveless jacket revealing the guild mark on his left shoulder and loose, green-colored pants. Around his neck he wore a bright orange scarf, mirroring the white scarf Natsu wore.
"What's wrong Romeo?" Reedus asked as he was sitting nearby, working on another painting away from the rest of the rowdy crowd.
"It's great that the guild is thriving...and even though Meliodas hasn't been around for years, we're still doing great without him but...it's just not the same without everyone else…" Romeo responded.
"Oui, we still haven't forgotten about them. Of course, we still send out people to find if they're out there in the ocean somewhere." Reedus remarked. "In fact, several people went out today to look as Blue Pegasus informed us about a strange reading."
"But that's happened before...and nothing came out of it…" Romeo responded. He leaned forward on the table, resting his head on his arms as he looked at his father hard at work at sorting through guild papers.
"HEY FAIRY TAIL!" A loud, familiar voice shouted. The guild immediately went silent and every member turned to face the entrance. Romeo perked up and his eyes widened as he looked towards the entrance. There he saw twenty seven figures standing at the door. The guild immediately went silent as stared at the smiling figures in the front.
"N-no way…" Romeo said, wide eyed.
"I-I don't believe this!" Macao exclaimed, tears beginning to run down his face.
Romeo immediately ran towards the group and up to Natsu who was standing at the very front, tears streaming from his eyes.
"B-big bro Natsu…"
Natsu returned a wide grin to Romeo as he looked at him.
"You've grown a lot Romeo!"
The guild rushed forward, embracing the group from all ends with tears streaming down their faces.
"Welcome back!"
"My goodness, you guys haven't changed one bit."
The guild members backed away after a few minutes, letting the Tenrou team in.
"WE'RE BACK!!" Natsu yelled!
"LET'S THROW A WELCOME BACK PARTY!" Wakaba and several other guild members shouted.
---
Over the course of the next few hours, the guild's atmosphere grew wilder, with everyone celebrating the return of the Tenrou Island team.
"By the way, how has Meliodas been?" Pantherlily asked. "We heard on the boat ride back that Meliodas returned after the incident." Natsu and others also turned over with slightly worried expressions on their faces. The last time they saw him, he was critically injured by Acnologia and sent flying away from the island.
"Meliodas is doing great! He was able to return safely from the journey. It was thanks to his efforts that the guild remained stable. He inspired the rest of the members to work harder as well." Macao said as he explained all of Meliodas' exploits over the seven years or at least ones he knew of.
"Wow, he must have gotten seriously strong!" Natsu said with an excited look on his face.
"Haha! He's definitely one of the strongest mages in Fiore." Macao laughed as he looked at Natsu's excited face.
"That's amazing. Looks like he's been pretty busy without us." Gray said.
"Where is he now? Ezra asked.
A few years ago, he had a mission from the council to stop a dark guild somewhere across the continent in Pergrande." Macao mentioned.
"Pergrande?! That's so far away!" Lucy exclaimed. "And he's still doing that mission?!"
"No. He finished and came back within a few weeks." Macao said. "He claimed his reward from the council but he said the council couldn't provide him with the information he needed so he left on a journey to travel around Ishgar."
"So after all this time, he hasn't found a way home then…" Wendy commented.
"You said he's been gone for years. Does that mean he found a way back and left already?" Lucy asked.
"Not that I'm aware of. He's sent us letters to check up on us but we haven't gotten one in months. Besides, he told us he would say goodbye before he left, so we expect to see him at least one last time." Macao answered.
"I only wish we could do more to help him." Makarov said as he approached the table the group was sitting at. "It's thanks to him that the guild hasn't fallen."
The group continued chatting with each other, with the members of the guild catching up with each other as newer members talked with the older returning ones.
"So this guild is still as noisy as ever huh...no even noisier." A voice said from the entrance.
"Lamia Scale's here too?!" Gray questioned as he turned his head, recognizing Lyon's voice. Standing next to Lyon were Sherry, Jura, Toby, and Yuka.
"Of course. We helped out with the-" Lyon immediately paused and stared in awe as he saw Juvia standing next to Gray.
"And who might this beauty be?" Lyon suddenly questioned as he gravitated closer to Juvia.
"Eh..?" Juvia said as she panicked.
"Anyway, we're relieved to hear that you're all well." Jura added. He looked around the guild hall, scanning for a particular individual.
"Does Meliodas know you've all returned?" Jura asked.
"No. We don't even know where he is to contact him." Macao answered.
"Hmm...then I shall send word of your return to the council and they should be able to find him." Jura responded. "It's the least I can do for him. I know he misses all of you greatly."
"That would be great!" Natsu smiled.
---
Sometime later
"So what you're telling me is Fairy Tail is only the fourth-ranking guild in Fiore?!" Natsu shouted.
"Hey man, we're still up there, but the other guilds are just full of monsters. They also worked hard over seven years." Max said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"You guys have been slacking around huh just because the guild is doing well!" Natsu continued shouting.
"I don't know about everyone else, but I've been pretty hard at work." Max said with a confident grin. Natsu returned a grin back at Max.
"Why don't you prove it?" Natsu asked.
"Sure, I'm down for a fight." Max responded.
---
Max and Natsu stood facing each other at the empty backlot of the guild. Watching from the side were Lucy, Wendy, Vijiteer, Nab, and several other members.
"Woah, Salamander is going to fight Max." One of the guild members commented.
"Max is like one of the strongest guys in the guild after Meliodas! I don't think Natsu stands a chance!" Another one commented.
"All of you shut up!" Natsu yelled. "Watch me! I'm gonna beat this guy!"
"Come at me anytime you like." Max said with a grin as he gestured for Natsu to come at him.