Back to the Start(nalu)

18- Return

Everybody in the guild visibly cringes and they all go into panic mode.

The doors creak open and a hush travels through the guild as Erza returns from her job. I watch her lazily from a corner of the guild. She walks in with the souvenir from her job and after moments of silence, begins to tear into everybody.

I listen intently, having not heard this in three years. This is the farthest I've gotten since I was sent back. It's weird going through this again. There's so many things I didn't pay attention to or I forgot about.

She singles everybody out one at a time for causing trouble and when my name gets mentioned I cringe a little bit.

"Are Natsu and Gray here? I need their assistance."

My hand goes to scratch the back of my neck awkwardly as I slouch into the seat in an attempt to hide. I do remember this part, though, and I am not up for a fight against Lullaby with Erza and Gray.

My attempt at hiding doesn't work and I can hear heavy footsteps as she walks over to where I am.

"Natsu."

I avoid her gaze and stare at the table.

"Erza."

I can sense her confusion at my attitude but she doesn't stand down or go away.

"I have some information that I thought you'd like to know. It's about you."

She doesn't manage to spark my interest and I only sigh.

"I don't care."

She takes a seat across from me, not taking the hint that I'm uninterested. Not that she would care regardless. I lift my eyes just enough to get a glimpse. Her hands rest on top of one another on the table, her back straight.

"You should care that someone is tarnishing your name."

I perk up and finally look up to meet her gaze.

"What?"

She smirks triumphantly and proceeds.

"I read an article on my way back. A fire wizard claiming to be Salamander of Fairy Tail was caught with kidnapped girls on his boat. He had illegal love charms in his possession. It was on the front page."

My breathing halts for a moment and my mind quickens its pace, asking a million questions all at once.

He was caught? How? By who? Was Lucy found on that boat? Was Lucy anywhere near that boat? Where is she-

Erza's stern voice snatches me from my thoughts. She now sits with her arms crossed.

"Natsu."

I perk up and blink a couple of times. She raises an eyebrow at me and I smile apologetically. My smile drops and I hesitate before going into questions to suppress my curiosity.

"How was he caught?"

I bite my lip while I wait for a response.

"One of the girls that he tried to kidnap was a mage herself and she brought the entire boat crashing into the shore."

My heart rate quickens.

Erza shakes her head and mumbles to herself.

"Caused lots of trouble...even so, she must have been some mag-"

"Who-Who was it?"

My hands are flat and tense on the table and only after a few moments of silence do I slowly sit back in the seat and attempt to relax. Erza looks at me curiously as she answers.

"It was a celestial mage...you don't see many of them nowadays. Weren't you in Hargeon, Natsu? Usually you magnitate towards trouble so I'm surprised you weren't in on the whole fiasco."

I shake my head numbly at the realization that Lucy still had a run in with the fake Salamander and his boat of girls and Erza continues.

"Well, I'm glad that you weren't there. You would have done more damage than that celestial mage, I'm sure."

Her words and slight scolding goes right over my head, one thing I have in common with my old self, and I look at her hopefully.

"So she's alright?"

Erza raises an eyebrow at me questioningly and if it weren't for how hidden her emotions always are she'd be looking at me as if I had grown another head. Current me is very out of character of three years ago me, especially after all that I've seen.

I don't respond to her questioning gaze and wait desperately to hear her answer that she hesitantly gives.

"Yes. There was a picture taken of her in the article. Not even a scratch."

I lean back into the seat, my muscles relaxing and a smile attempting to tug at my lips.

She's alive.

I knew it.

I knew that it would work this time. I did it...

A smile doesn't tug at my lips at the thoughts that follow.

All I had to do was never meet her...and never take her to Fairy Tail.

I shake my head.

This is better, though. Now that she took care of Salamander herself and it was her name that was in the papers instead of mine, lots of guilds will see it and want to take her in. Lucy can live her dream now and continue to live it without Fairy Tail dragging her down.

Now...

Now I just need to get back into the swing of things and manage on my own.

I direct my attention at Erza again but she stops me before I can say anything.

"Natsu, you seem a little off today. Is something wrong?"

I smile and shake my head.

"I'm just itching to go on a job, that's all. You were going to ask me and Gray for help on one, weren't you?"

She covers her look of surprise and nods her head before going on about a job that I went on with Gray, Erza, Happy and Lucy long ago.