Chapter 9: Return to Fairy Tail & Meeting Natsu

Back to Magnolia –

Richard and Gray pushed open the doors of the Fairy Tail Guild, stepping into the usual chaos and noise. The first thing Richard saw was a table flipping through the air, two guildmates locked in a headlock, and someone—probably Cana—calling out bets on the latest brawl.

Richard exhaled deeply. Yep. Feels like home.

"Oi, look who's back!"

Richard turned toward the bar, where Mirajane stood, wiping a glass with her usual warm smile.

"Welcome back, Richard! How was your first mission?" she asked cheerfully.

Richard walked up to the counter, pulling out the mission report and setting it down. "Tougher than I expected, but we got the job done. The village chief should've already sent confirmation."

Mirajane flipped through the papers, nodding. "Mhm, everything checks out! Congratulations! You officially completed your first mission as a Fairy Tail wizard!"

Before Richard could properly celebrate, a loud voice cut in.

"Whoa, hold on! The rookie actually survived his first job?"

Richard turned to see Macao and Wakaba walking up, both wearing matching smug grins.

"Didn't expect you back in one piece," Macao said, crossing his arms.

Wakaba nodded. "Thought for sure you'd be crawling through that door, begging for help."

Richard rolled his eyes. "No faith in me at all, huh?"

Gray smirked, leaning against the bar. "Honestly? You did better than I thought. You've got potential, but you hesitate too much in battle."

Richard took that as high praise coming from Gray.

Mirajane set a small pouch of jewels on the counter. "Here's your payment—200,000J!"

Richard grabbed the pouch, but before he could celebrate, he remembered something.

Richard groaned. " Your share."

Reluctantly, he handed over 130,000J—100,000J for Gray's mission cut and 30,000J from selling the extra Rampaging Boar to a merchant in the village.

Gray shrugged, pocketing the cash.

Richard checked his remaining funds and his mood instantly dropped.

130,000J left… And I still need 70,000 more just to pay this month's rent not mentioned other things .

Before he could lament further, Macao and Wakaba grinned shamelessly.

"Kid, you gotta give us a party for completing your first mission!"

Richard shot them a glare. "Oh, come on! No way I'm buying drinks for you geezers!"

Still, he sighed and reluctantly bought a round for Macao, Wakaba, Gray, and himself.

Afterall he still want to celebrate a little.

The two older mages laughed, clinking their drinks together. "Ah, good man, Richard!"

Richard sighed into his drink. Guess I gotta take another mission sooner than I thought…

As Richard relaxed at the bar, getting familiar with his guildmates, a few others joined the conversation.

Reedus, the artistic mage, flipped open his sketchbook. "Your summon, Groff, sounds fascinating. May I draw a sketch of him?"

As as hasn't called back Groff , he was sleeping in side.

Richard blinked. "Uh… sure? I guess he does look cool."

Cana, sitting nearby with a whole wine keg in hand, smirked. "So, the newbie didn't get himself killed, huh? Guess you're not totally hopeless."

Richard smilled slightly, still not sure where to look at.

As he got comfortable, the think about Gray battle advice.

' A defensive spell? Or maybe an offensive one…?'

Before he could think too much—

BOOM!

The guild doors slammed open, shaking the whole building.

Richard turned just in time to see a pink-haired figure stumble inside, looking furious.

"I'M BACK FROM MY MISSION!!"

Floating above him was a blue, winged cat, snickering.

"Aye, sir! That's not called completing a mission—that's called destroying it!"

Richard blinked. What the hell…?

The guild barely reacted—everyone was used to this level of chaos.

Mirajane giggled. "Welcome back, Natsu!"

The pink-haired guy, groaned. "It wasn't my fault…"

Gray smirked. "Still can't complete a mission without blowing something up, huh?"

Natsu immediately snapped to attention, pointing an accusing finger at Gray.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, ICE BLOCK?!"

Richard watched, utterly baffled, as the air between them crackled with tension.

Gray, not backing down, crossed his arms. "You heard me, flame-brain."

"YOU WANNA GO?!"

"ANYTIME, PYRO!"

"Be A Man"shouted Elfman

Cana slammed her beer keg on the table shouted . "Alright! Thise who are betting come here!"

BAM!

Just like that, Natsu and Gray launched themselves at each other, sending tables and chairs flying.

Richard turned to Laki, completely stunned. "Should… should we stop them?"

Laki patted his shoulder. "You get used to it."

Once Makarov had crushed them both into the ground, Mirajane finally introduced Richard.

"Natsu, this is Richard, our newest member! He just finished his first mission!"

Natsu's eyes lit up instantly.

"A new guy?! AWESOME!" He grabbed Richard's hand, shaking it roughly. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, and this is my buddy Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" the blue cat added.

Richard barely kept up. "Uh—nice to meet you?"

Then, just as suddenly—

"FIGHT ME!"

Richard froze. "W-WHAT?!"

Natsu grinned. "I heard you're a Summoner, right? That sounds cool! Let's see what you got!"

Richard panicked internally. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GUY?!

Gray sighed. "You just got back, flame-brain."

"So what?!" Natsu shot back. "A good fight is the best way to bond!"

Richard held up his hands. "I… uh… I literally just got back, too—"

Happy floated up, smirking. "Heh, are you scared, Richard?"

Richard felt the entire guild watching.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!

Before things could escalate—

"OI, NO FIGHTING IN THE GUILD!"

Richard let out a breath of relief.

Natsu groaned. "Man, I just wanted to have some fun…"

After things calmed down, Richard finally introduced himself properly to Natsu and Happy.

"So, this wolf is your summon, right?" Natsu asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, his name's Groff," Richard confirmed.

"That's awesome! You should team up with me for a mission sometime!"

Richard was shocked at how fast Natsu wanted to work together. "Uh… maybe after I train more?"

Mirajane laughed. "Speaking of missions, Richard, will you be taking another mission?"

Richard sighed, glancing at the mission board.

Guess I need more money…

---