A/N: First and foremost, writing is not something I commonly do. It's more of a hobby than anything, so I doubt my storytelling is exactly the most polished out of all the writers on this forum; however, I hope that people at least find this story both entertaining and appealing. The story is set not long after the Oración Seis arc (about a week), and I plan to have quite a different take on events after it than the manga/anime, though elements from them will certainly (perhaps inevitably) come into play. Also, some ground rules about Mavis: I assume that Mavis was twenty when she became immortal, so that is her age in this fiction. Either imagine her appearance to be different or don't; the story will be written as though her appearance is no different than in the anime/manga (with the exception of her dress, which will be addressed as "white" rather than the very light pink it is in the anime/manga). In case it isn't obvious enough from reading the story, Mavis is still alive because she is immortal due to glimpsing the One Magic, and she is trapped in a seal created by Zeref. This fiction assumes that Mavis and Zeref battled one another at some point in the past, and Zeref came very close to losing, so he sealed Mavis away due to his inability to escape from or defeat her. Also, there are some made-up towns in here. This is to make Fiore feel a bit less empty. (Take a look at the map of Fiore on the wiki to reference what I'm saying here, if you so wish.) This fiction also assumes that trains travel at roughly ten miles per hour, and that Fiore is roughly four-to-five hundred miles from East to West (or vice-versa, of course). On a final note, I will update this when I have time. I will not ever promise an update schedule; life is hectic sometimes, and at others, I honestly just want to do something besides writing. I expect the readers of this story to respect both my decision and honesty on this matter, just as I would theirs.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor am I in any way affiliated with its creation or distribution. I am simply a fan who wishes to present a different take on events than the canon series.

Four figures trotted along the beaten path in the foothills of mountains larger than they'd ever seen, all from the same guild. A fifth figure, also from the same guild, could be seen hovering alongside a pink-haired man. These five figures were Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Gray, and they were all looking ahead of them, a headwind coming down from the mountain and into the valley, chilling them slightly. The only one who seemed comfortable in the chilly weather was Gray, who had incidentally taken off his shirt yet again. He didn't realize it, but his shirt was about two miles up a river they had passed about an hour ago at that very moment.

"How much longer is it gonna be until we get there?" Natsu asked in a rather whiny manner, causing the redheaded night to look at him in slight annoyance.

"Natsu, you forfeited the right to complain when you refused to take the train. If we'd have done that, this trip wouldn't have taken nearly as long!"

"But Erza, you know how I get when I ride trains." said Natsu, his face developing a rather unhealthy shade of green at the prospect of again confronting his archenemy: transportation. "Besides, we had to ride trains for almost a week and a half just to get here!"

Natsu spoke in earnest. Their quest had taken them quite far from Magnolia; they were currently treading in the northwestern, mountainous portion of Fiore, which, despite the oncoming spring, was still chilly due to both its elevation and its more northern orientation on Earth Land.

"Natsu doesn't look so good . . . ." said the Dragon Slayer's best friend, Happy, who seemed to be amused at watching Natsu get closer and closer to being pummeled by Erza.

"I gotta say, though," said Gray, "the flamebrain has a point. I didn't think it'd take us this long to get there. The village was supposed to be just a few miles away from the barrow. We've been walking for hours."

Lucy nodded her agreement. "I didn't think it'd take us this long to reach the base of the mountain. It's really a testament to how crazy the terrain is around here."

Erza, as well as the rest of the group, stayed silent (save the occasional squabbling between Natsu and Gray) for the next half hour, when they finally topped a particularly large hill, and the barrow for which they were searching was in their sight. Their mission was to go into the ruins of the ancient burial site to investigate the rumors concerning a dark guild in the area. Specifically, they were investigating a sect of Naked Mummy that was supposedly using the barrow as a de facto base of operations. The reward was over six hundred thousand jewels, which was a rather hefty sum for the job, all things considered. Lucy insisted on doing the job when she realized that she could pay her monthly rent with a single mission's reward.

The five wizards snuck into the decrepit ruins, each one barely making a sound as they made their way down the rather narrow staircase. All of them (with the exception of Gray, of course) felt the cold slowly seep into their bones as they ventured deeper into the darkness of the crypt.

"Shh!" Erza said, putting her index finger to her lips as she heard what sounded like a distant voice resounding on the ancient stone walls. This proved to be a wise decision as two people engaged in discourse passed them a short time later, their presence going unnoticed in the inky shadows.

Soon enough, they arrived at the main chamber. In true Natsu fashion, he burst through the steel door with searing flames, only to be met with the shocked gazes of about fifty or so Naked Mummy wizards.

"C-crap! It's Fairy Tail, and they've got Titania and Salamander with them! Everybody run!" The guild members attempted to escape further into the crypt, but they failed miserably as steel, flame, ice, and wool met flesh.

A short while later, the five figures could be seen emerging from the barrow, all wearing smiles that betrayed their sense of satisfaction that their job had gone so well.

"You know," said Natsu, "I'm glad this went well and all, but . . . now we have to walk all the way back."

Erza smiled evilly, "Not so fast, Natsu . . . there's a train station with a train back to the village about a mile away from here."

Natsu's face turned green at the outset of her dialogue. "Why, Erza? Why?" he pleaded.

"Because none of us feel like walking all the way back to the village. Plus it's getting late as it is."

They arrived at the train station by sunset and had to wait only a few minutes for the last train to Karwood (the village in which the client resided). In a matter of moments, Natsu was on the verge of throwing up. As usual, Erza let him put his head in her lap before subsequently knocking him unconscious. She sighed as she took a brief glance out the train window as the vehicle departed from the station. Just before the train had passed the train station, she thought she saw a short blonde woman with long, flowing hair, small wings on the sides of her head, and a small smile on her face. She blinked and the woman was suddenly gone, and Erza briefly wondered if she was hallucinating. She shook her head. Gray and Lucy noticed this but did not comment on it, mostly because the two of them were worn out from the day's events. Even Happy was snoring softly. In fact, Erza was the only one who wasn't tired, mostly because she was a more hardened warrior than all the others on the train.

Who on Earth Land was that girl? Erza wondered. I'm sure I saw someone there. Maybe fate will decide that we will meet again.

At Fairy Tail, at the same time

Makarov was finishing organizing some books. He rarely had the chance to do so since the guild would often descend into chaos and general shenanigans when he wasn't around for a while, but it decidedly happened quite a lot less when Team Natsu was out on a mission. He just hoped he wouldn't have to deal with another destroyed town and tens of thousands of jewels worth of property damage. That team was one of the best in the guild, he realized, but its members certainly had some of the most reckless and destructive tendencies out of everyone in the guild, especially Natsu.

As Makarov put the stepladder back into the closet, he heard a feminine voice say "It's been a long time, ne, Sandaime?"

His eyes widened as he turned to face Mavis. "M-Mavis! What are you doing here? I thought it'd be a much longer time since I'd hear from you again."

The woman in question simply smiled, "I've recovered my power more quickly than I anticipated. However, this is just a thought projection. I'm still caught in Zeref's seal."

"Any luck on finding a way around it?" Makarov asked, clearly bothered by the fact that the genius woman in front of him had still been unable to escape.

She shook her head in the negative. "Makarov, I believe the only way for me to escape this seal is for Zeref to be killed. The key to the seal is his life force. He wants to die, and he tried to release me himself, but not even he can undo it. He says his last hope is a member of this guild."

Makarov looked away. "Natsu . . ."

Mavis nodded. "I went by the train station they were at earlier." She laughed a little. "It looked like he was having some trouble with the train."

"That boy has a problem with transportation in general." Makarov sighed.

"I wonder why Dragon Slayers all get such violent motion sickness . . ." Mavis trailed off.

Makarov looked at her, wide-eyed. "You mean all Dragon Slayers get motion sickness?"

Mavis nodded. "I've never met a single Dragon Slayer who didn't get violently sick from transportation. But anyway, Makarov, I'm sure you've noticed by now."

He nodded. "Yes, this thought projection packs quite a lot of punch, easily that of an S-class mage."

"Yes." Mavis looked Makarov in the eyes. "I want to officially rejoin the guild."

Makarov's eyes widened. "Y-you think you're ready for that big of a step?"

"I do. I want to participate in the guild again. Plus," she said, mischief shining in her green eyes, "it'll be pretty funny to tell everyone that I'm back after four hundred years, don't you think?"

Makarov smiled. "You never change, Mavis. Well, I think it's only appropriate that you become the guild master again."

Mavis laughed. "No thanks, Macky. I don't want to have to worry about dealing with property damage again, and with those four, I think it's all the better."

Makarov sweat dropped anime style. That's why she doesn't want to become the guild master again?

Mavis giggled slightly at his exasperated expression. "It's also because I honestly don't have the power to be the guild master right now. I'm about as strong as Erza as things stand now, but I wouldn't bet on me beating her in a match."

Makarov raised a brow. "I take it you've been watching as things have been progressing over the years?"

She nodded lightly. "I've dropped by every now and again, though I watched a lot of the Oración Seis incident. Natsu . . . that boy shows more promise than even Zeref realizes."

Makarov grinned. "That boy gives everyone hope, even in their darkest hours. He's really something else."

Mavis smiled. "And that's why I want to be on his team."

Makarov nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking. "What?!"

"You know he's the only one in this world with enough potential to defeat Zeref, Makarov." said the Fairy Tactician, turning serious. "Even though his abilities are latent now, they won't be forever. I want to be on his team to ensure that nothing prevents him from being able to unlock all of his potential and rid this world of Zeref once and for all."

Makarov nodded. "Understood. It just caught me off guard. By the way, what about you, first master . . .?"

"Me?" She laughed. "I am at peace with my immortality, Makarov. It's the price one pays for catching even a glimpse of the true One Magic. I was prepared to pay that price as soon as I learned of it. Zeref thought he was as well, I imagine, but he was apparently wrong. I just hope Natsu is prepared for it when he releases all of his latent ability."

"Well, I'll add you to our guild roster officially tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm sure you need rest, so feel free to sleep in one of the beds here in the guild hall. We normally reserve them for guests, but since there aren't any here to speak of, feel free to use them."

"Alright Macky. See ya in the morning."

"Wait . . ." said Makarov, turning to her. "You're a thought projection . . . do you even need to sleep?"

She nodded. "While my actual body is in the seal, it's unchanging, but my thought projection needs rest and sustenance, just like any normal person. This is because it functions as a normal physical entity."

Makarov nodded as she left the room. By that time, all the other Fairy Tail members had left the guild building, meaning they wouldn't see Mavis for a while. Makarov simply stared straight ahead for a moment before sighing. Things can never stay the same . . . hehe. I remember when Natsu was still a little squirt. I didn't realize it until now, but . . . well, you've really grown up, haven't you, Natsu? The old man smiled before heading towards his room.

With Team Natsu, two hours later

"Thank God that's finally over!" Natsu exclaimed as he hopped off the train enthusiastically. He had woken up shortly before the train reached the station.

"How can he be so full of energy?" Happy wondered aloud as he floated tiredly behind Erza, Gray, and Lucy, who stepped off the train about a minute after Natsu's proclamation.

"Well, he did get to nap for about an hour." Gray said, smirking slightly at the pink-haired man.

"I don't know if I'd call it a nap, exactly . . ." said Lucy, smiling tiredly and enjoying the banter.

"Hey, Erza," Gray said, shifting his attention to the knight, "what were you thinking about on the train? You looked out the window and then just kinda went blank."

Lucy looked at her expectantly while Natsu and Happy looked at her with a small measure of surprise. It was rare that Erza ever lost her focus, even when she wasn't in battle. She smiled. "It was nothing. I thought I saw a girl, but then she disappeared. I think I just imagined it, to be honest."

With that, they all let the topic go and proceeded to banter as they stopped by a restaurant before going to their room. They all agreed to talk to the client the next day, as they were sure he was in bed by then. However, as usual, pandemonium followed after Gray and Natsu got into a pillow fight. Perhaps "pandemonium" is not even accurate enough to describe the chaos, for even the capital of Hell and all the demons and devils contained therein would surely shudder at the sheer level of destruction caused by this seemingly innocent action. Even Satan and Beelzebub would have a hard time handling the harbinger of destruction. For after Gray threw the fated pillow, Natsu dodged the fated dodge, and the Fairy Queen took the pillow in the face. Outrage marred her features, and the pillow fight that followed utterly demolished the inn, which would no doubt cause the Third grief to no end. Luckily enough for the warriors, the inn had good insurance, and so it would only cost fifty thousand jewels of the pay rather than the full million the inn was actually worth.

In Magnolia, about a week and a half later

"Alright! We're finally back!" Natsu said as he walked toward the guild.

Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Happy all smiled at their comrade's exuberance. You never change, do you, Natsu? they thought in unison.

"Natsuuuuuuuu," said Happy, "let's catch some fish after this! I'm starving!"

Natsu looked at his blue best friend, grinning. "No problem, pal! I'm not much better off."

They all walked through the doors of the guild, only to see a giant fist coming at them, sending them flying back through said doors and into a building nearby. Everyone in the guild started laughing as the five members floated down much like paper from being flattened against the wall.

"Ne, Sandaime, I think you might have gone overboard . . ." said Mavis with a hint of amusement in her voice. She was sitting on the bar at the back of the room.

"Nah, they're fine." said Makarov as he retracted his fist and took a sip of ale.

"H-hai . . ." said Wendy as she rubbed the back of her head. Carla sat in silence.

"Gray-sama . . ." said Juvia worriedly.

The came back into the guild a couple of minutes later. Erza's eyes landed on Mavis, and her eyes widened. "Y-you're . . .!"

Mavis nodded. "Yes, you saw me at the train station, Erza-san."

"Huh?" said Natsu. "Master, who is she?"

"She is the first guild master of Fairy Tail, Mavis Vermilion."

Their jaws dropped. Natsu was the first to recover as he ran up to her and yelled, "First guild master, huh? Fight me!"

Mavis reached out an arm above Natsu. He looked it curiously before it came down on top of his head and smashed him into the floor. "O-ow . . ." he said, out of it for the moment.

"One hit?" said Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Erza in a disappointed tone simultaneously.

Mavis giggled. "My strength isn't nearly what it used to be, but it's more than enough to beat you, ne, Natsu-san?"

Natsu immediately rebounded, pointing at her and yelling. "You won't get away with that!"

Makarov sighed, sensing a huge fight about to break out. "Okay, everyone, please be calm. Now, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Mavis has something to discuss with all of you."

They all looked towards the blonde woman in curiosity. "I will be joining Fairy Tail as a member of your team, if that's okay with you all."

Lucy and Gray just looked on in shock. Erza bowed deeply, "It would be an honor to have you with us, Shodaime-sama."

"Please, just call me Mavis." she said, laughing lightly.

"Hell yeah!" screamed Natsu. "Now our team's gonna kick even more ass than before!"

About an hour (and a massive brawl between guild members sparked by Gray accidentally sticking his elbow in Erza's cake) later, most of the guild members had already left, including Erza, Lucy, and Gray.

Happy's stomach growled rather loudly, causing Natsu and Mavis to laugh. "See ya later Master! See ya Mavis-san! We're going fishing!"

Mavis smiled. "Bye Natsu-san! Don't get eaten by a giant fish!"

"I'll try not to!" he yelled back, amused.

Mavis watched as the Dragon Slayer and his Exceed companion left the hall, a small smile on her face. Makarov looked at her. "You seem fond of him, Mavis."

"He has a good heart, Macky. I can tell. Besides," she laughed, "his audacity and sheer boisterousness know no bounds. He challenged me as soon as he found out I was the first guild master. He's practically the embodiment of the spirit of Fairy Tail."

Makarov looked at her in surprise. Despite her great kindness, he never knew her to dole out such praise to anyone. I wonder if . . . nah, I'm just over thinking things.

Three days later, in the guild building

"I'm so bored!" yelled Natsu, fed up with just sitting in the guild all day. Erza, Gray, and even Wendy were all out on jobs, and Lucy said she wasn't up to another job so soon after coming back from the one a few days ago, though Natsu highly suspected that she also didn't want to go on another job simply because she already had her rent for the month paid.

"Natsu-san, why don't we go on a job together?" asked Mavis, who was walking over towards him.

"Ooooh, good idea, Mavis-san!" Natsu said happily. "Did you have a job in mind?"

"Yup!" she said, her eyes shining brightly. "This one!"

She showed Natsu the poster, which had the details of the job on it. Apparently, a group of bandits was terrorizing a town named Lorshire in southwest Fiore. The reward made Natsu's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. "Over three hundred thousand jewels just to defeat a group of bandits? Count me in!"

Mavis smiled. "I knew you'd be in! Now all we have to do is show it to Macky and we can go." She heard Natsu snort in a miserably attempt to suppress a laugh. "What?" she asked, clearly amused.

"Macky? Macky?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu roared with laughter, making the woman smile at his amusement with her nickname of the third guild master.

"I didn't think it was that funny . . ." she smiled, nonetheless enjoying Natsu's apparent amusement at the situation. She then saw that Makarov was looking their way inquisitively, and she put a hand over his mouth. "Shhh! He's looking."

Natsu immediately stopped laughing as they approached the old man. "What was so funny?" asked Makarov.

"Nothing of importance, Sandaime." Mavis smiled. "We'd like to take this mission."

Upon seeing the job, Makarov nodded his approval, and the duo exited the guild. About five minutes after they'd left the building, Natsu abruptly roared with laughter once more, attracting some looks as they walked down the road. Mavis looked over at him, bemused.

"What is it now?" she asked.

Natsu looked over at her, his face screwed up into the biggest grin she'd ever seen on a human being. "M-M . . . Macky! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She shook her head, amazed that he'd held in his laughter for so long. She supposed he had practice, though, considering the fact that he had to contend with quickly changing his moods when Erza flew into a rage about them. She then decided to tease him a bit. She knew they would have to ride a lot of trains to get to Lorshire; similarly, she knew that Natsu was so nearsighted in matters like these that the notion of distance didn't even enter his mind. Hey, she thought, if I'm gonna be on his team, I might as well mess with him a bit, right?

"Ne, Natsu-san, you're going to have a lot of fun riding all those trains to Lorshire, aren't you?" Mavis asked, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

Natsu then turned a pale shade of green. "Gods, why?"

Mavis giggled. "You'll be fine, Natsu."

The two boarded the train at Magnolia Station, and Natsu mentally prepared himself for a very long trip.

The Fairy Tactician looked at him, feeling somewhat guilty about her decision to travel such a long way. Maybe I went a bit overboard . . . . She sighed internally. "Natsu, sit right here." she said, patting the spot next to her.

Natsu cautiously obliged, sitting down next to her nervously. He clearly feared something, thought what exactly that was she couldn't quite discern. It soon became clear, however.

"Are you going to knock me out like Erza, Mavis-san? Please don't . . ."

She didn't really know why, but she reached out, gently patting Natsu's head while also feeling a little bit of anger at Erza. "Don't worry, Natsu-san, I don't plan on doing anything like that. And I'm sorry for taking a mission that's so far away . . ."

To her surprise, Natsu smiled. "It's alright, Mavis-san. Let's just . . . take our time getting to Lorshire."

She smiled in return. "In other words, we'll be staying a day or two in each town along the way."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Y-yeah, I hope you don't mind. It's just that I really don't want to go on trains for days in a row again . . . it was bad last time mainly because of that."

"We can stay in each town as long as you like, Natsu-san. I'm not in any hurry to get back, but we should be pretty quick about getting there so we can stop the bandits."

"Yeah!" yelled Natsu. "I'm all fired up!"

This ended a moment later as the train started moving and he turned green, causing all his energy to be abruptly sapped from him as he felt as though he was dying.

Mavis then realized something. "Natsu-san . . . where's Happy?"

The Dragon Slayer managed to stave off his motion sickness long enough to reply. "He went with Wendy and Carla on their job."

Mavis covered her mouth with her hand to prevent Natsu from seeing her mischievous smile. "Happy really is smitten with Carla, isn't he?"

Natsu, due to the conversation he was having, didn't feel quite as sick anymore. He realized that he never really conversed with anyone while he was on transportation, so he could only focus on his sickness. "Yeah, he's really got a big crush on her. I just worry that it's because he's never been exposed to any other . . . cats? Happy's not really a cat, though, is he?"

She looked over at Natsu in slight surprise. She didn't know why, but it looked as though he'd slightly downplayed his intelligence when he was around others. "No, he isn't. I don't see the harm in telling you about it, so listen, Natsu-san . . ." she trailed off, turning her gaze to look out the window as the countryside passed by. "Don't tell anyone else, but there is another world connected to Earth Land . . . it's called Edolas. Happy and Carla come from there; they're part of a race called 'Exceeds.'"

Natsu looked over at her. "Seriously? Well, that explains why Mystogan looks exactly like Jellal."

"You're really not dumb at all, are you, Natsu-san?" she asked, still looking out the window. "Why do you hide your intelligence from the guild?"

Natsu inhaled sharply. He'd forgotten who he was talking to. Normally, he could get by with a couple of intelligent comments and not have anyone think anything of it, but this was very likely the most intelligent member to ever pass through Fairy Tail, and perhaps one of the most intelligent people to ever walk Earth Land, if not the most intelligent. Knowing he could not play it off due to who he was dealing with, he decided to come clean. "To be honest with you, it's because everyone knows me the way I was when I was younger . . . I'm a lot smarter now than I was then, but . . ." he trailed off, not really knowing how to complete the sentence, but Mavis did it for him.

"But you're afraid that changing your character now will put people off?" He nodded. "And yet you were completely serious about fighting me despite the fact that you knew the outcome . . . you really are an odd man, Natsu-san. I won't press any further or ask you to change yourself in the eyes of your friends. That's your issue, not mine. However . . ." she turned her eyes to meet his. "Why act normally around me, then? Surely you don't have as much trust in me as, say, Erza-san or Gray-san."

Natsu averted his gaze, surprising her. She never thought Natsu would back down from her gaze. "You're my nakama now, Mavis-san, but . . . I don't really know how to explain it. I feel like you won't judge me. You're a lot nicer than Lucy, Gray, Erza, and even Happy."

She smiled. "I'm glad you see me as a nakama, Natsu-san. As I said, how you deal with other people in your life is up to you. It's not my place to tell you how to interact with others, but . . . have more faith in your friends, Natsu-san. Bonds are the only things really worth having in this world, and they're what empower us and give us something to live for."

"Thanks . . . Mavis-chan." said Natsu, surprising her once again.

What really surprised her, though, was how she responded: "Anytime, Natsu-kun."

The two then sat in peaceful silence for about half an hour, and Natsu dozed off in his seat, not very bothered by his motion sickness anymore for a reason he couldn't discern. Mavis looked over at him, wondering exactly what kind of person Natsu was. At first, he seemed rather simple, but now she'd learned about his hidden intelligence, as well as his lack of complete trust in his friends. She couldn't entirely blame him, if she was being honest with herself. Erza was always beating him up, Lucy was often irritable in general when it came to him, and Gray would never openly admit that they were anything more than rivals when in fact they were more like brothers. She'd keep to her word, though. How he dealt with them was his concern, not hers, and she wasn't going to make it her concern. However, it did seem as if he trusted her a great deal. Her lips turned into a small smile. It made her happy that he trusted her.

Three hours later

It was sunset when the duo arrived at the small town of Columbia, which was about thirty miles to the southwest of Magnolia. Mavis gently shook him awake. "Natsu-kun, we're at Columbus Station."

He woke up, appearing a little groggy, but he recovered in a matter of about ten seconds as they exited the train. "Did I really sleep the whole way here?"

Mavis nodded. "You were asleep for about three hours."

Natsu was astounded. He'd never been able to go to sleep (without Erza's "assistance," of course) on transportation. "That's awesome! Maybe riding around won't be so bad."

She looked over at the man in slight surprise. "Really? How did you handle the transportation, anyway?"

Natsu's brow furrowed. "I don't know, honestly. If I had to guess, it'd be because I actually had someone talking to me."

She raised a brow, genuine concern crossing her features. "You don't talk to Lucy-san, Erza-san, or Gray-san when you're out on missions with them?"

He shrugged. "Not a lot, no. Plus, Erza usually knocks me unconscious as soon as we get on any kind of transportation, so it's not like I get to talk a lot anyway."

Mavis frowned slightly. "Well, Natsu-kun, feel free to talk to me about whatever comes to mind."

"Thanks, Mavis-chan. And hey," she looked over at him, "don't frown so much. Seeing you smile makes me happy."

Her lips immediately tilted upwards. "Let's go find a hotel, Natsu-kun. I believe there's one with rooms with hot tubs in them. With any luck, we'll be able to check into a vacant room."

Natsu smiled. "Lead the way, Mavis-chan." After a few minutes of walking around, Natsu said, "I don't think I've ever actually stopped here before. We usually left early enough to keep riding past this town and go straight to Greensborough."

"It's a peaceful little town." said Mavis, smiling. "It was only built about fifty years ago, too."

"Say, Mavis-chan, I don't think I ever asked you, but how are you still alive? I mean, you're over four hundred, right?"

She nodded. "I'd like to keep that personal for now if you don't mind, Natsu-kun."

He smiled. "That's fine. I was just curious was all."

They then wandered into the hotel for which Mavis was looking; it was quite nice for such a small town, and the price wasn't that steep, either: only five thousand jewels per night. After paying to stay one night, the duo ascended the stairs to their room.

"Hey, Natsu-kun . . ." said Mavis, looking over at him with a mischievous expression.

"Yeah, Mavis-chan?" asked Natsu, who was unpacking the clothes he was going to sleep in.

"I call first shower!" she yelled before bolting for the door.

"W-WHAT?! NO WAY! GET BACK HERE!" Natsu yelled, attempting to get his foot in the door before she closed it completely and missing by about an inch. He then heard the sound of bubbling. "YOU'RE NOT TAKING A SHOWER! LET ME GET IN FIRST IF YOU'RE GONNA TAKE A BATH!"

"Nope." he heard from the other side of the door. "I beat you in here fair and square."

"Hmph . . ." Natsu huffed, laying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling. A few minutes later, he became bored and reflected on what had transpired in the last month, and he decided it was even crazier than a normal Fairy Tail month. First, there was the whole Oración Seis incident, where he met Wendy, yet another Dragon Slayer. He also made amends with Jellal, who was apparently no longer engulfed in darkness, and with his power defeated Zero. After making those amends, though, Jellal was taken in by the Council for crimes he couldn't even remember committing, and his assistance in the elimination of one of the most dangerous magical creations in Fiore was completely ignored. Erza was utterly broken for a few days after the whole incident. Natsu had never seen her lock up so badly; they could barely even get her to eat. Though, in true Erza fashion, she pushed through her pain and got back to work. The next thing he knew, they returned from a simple job only to discover that the first guild master of Fairy Tail was not only alive but also that she wanted to join their team. Now he was on a mission with the aforementioned woman, and he felt that he trusted her more than any of his other friends despite the fact that they'd only met a few days ago. Even he didn't really know why he trusted her so much. After a while of thinking, he thought that maybe it was because she was so kind and didn't already know him that well. However, that didn't feel quite right either, so he just let it go. He looked over at the clock only to nearly fall off the bed. She'd been in there for over an hour!

Mavis came out a short time later with a towel in her hair and purple pyjamas on. She looked at Natsu (who was glaring at her) and smirked. "Is there a problem, Natsu-kun?"

"Hmph!" Natsu huffed again before walking into the bathroom.

Mavis giggled and got into her bed. She turned on the TV and watched for a little while before wondering exactly why she enjoyed teasing Natsu and messing with him so much in general. She found it odd that she, with a measured IQ of 336, was unable to figure out exactly why this was. Eventually, sleep overtook her, and she drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later, Natsu got out of the shower, looked at the first guild master in her slumber, and he smiled. He then got into bed and slept as well.

The next day

The two boarded the train at ten a.m., a good time to balance both the fatigue of travel and travelling a good distance. Natsu sat down in a seat beside the window, and Mavis sat beside him, slightly surprising him, but he didn't think much of it as he looked over and smiled. "Today's gonna be a bit rougher, isn't it?"

"Yeah . . ." she said, smiling apologetically. "I'm really sorry for picking a mission so far away, Natsu-kun."

He grinned. "I already told you not to worry about it. Besides, now that I actually have someone to talk to, my motion sickness doesn't bother me nearly as badly."

She looked over at him for a moment before he quickly looked away, settling for looking out the window. She inwardly giggled. Natsu, on the other hand, felt an odd sort of nervousness.

At Lorshire, a week and a half later

"You know, you have a bad habit of torturing me." said Natsu said as he stepped off the train at Lorshire Station.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, Natsu-kun." Mavis said innocently as she inwardly laughed at the plurality of trinkets she'd purchased at all the towns in which they'd stayed. Examining all the bags and boxes carefully, she'd estimate that she was forcing the Dragon Slayer to carry roughly eighty pounds of the stuff she'd bought . . . and that wasn't including the weight of his own luggage. She, on the other hand, was carrying about fifteen pounds (her luggage).

"One day, Mavis-chan, one day . . ."

"One day what, Natsu-kun?" she asked, looking him in the eyes.

He felt a brief flash of that odd nervousness before saying, "One day I'll beat you!"

She snorted for effect. "Please, Natsu-kun, don't joke around. You can't even beat my thought projection." Gods, she enjoyed messing with him.

"H-hey!" said Natsu. "You just watch! I'll—"

"Keep dreaming, Na-chan."

"Na-chan?! Where do you even come up with these things?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "If you're done whining, Na-chan, I believe we have a client we need to speak to."

"Fine." Natsu grumbled.

Mavis smirked as they continued down the road, looking for the hotel at which they were planning on staying. After about five minutes, the hotel came into sight, and the two checked in.

Upon entering the room, a large thud was heard as Natsu was finally able to drop the items he was carrying onto the floor. He sighed as he popped his arms. "Alright. Are going to talk to the client?"

She nodded, and the two left. They came upon the client's building. He explained that he was a wealthy businessman and that the bandits had been interfering with his caravans in particular. He suspected that they'd been hired by someone else, but he said he simply wanted them gone. With their mission in mind, the duo searched through the countryside for a few hours and finally discovered a cave. Upon checking it out, the two found signs that the place was inhabited, and, after going a little deeper, heard voices.

Mavis then felt the urge to amuse herself. She looked over at Natsu and said, "Shh, be quiet, Na-chan." Natsu gave her a strange look before feeling a colossal rise in magical power from the woman.

"M-Mavis-chan, what're you—?!"

"Fairy Glitter!" she yelled, and suddenly the entire cave exploded in radiant light. Natsu hung onto a rock with his eyes closed, the force of the wind created by the blast being too much for his body alone to stand. When it was over, he looked around, only to adopt a shocked, dumfounded expression. The entire cave was gone . . . literally. There was now just a gaping hole in the earth where the cave had once been. And the small mountain that housed the entrance to the cave? Well, that was gone too. "Are we having fun yet, Na-chan?" she asked the man cheerfully.

Natsu looked up at her, still dumbfounded. "Mavis-chan, that was so . . . so . . . AWESOME!" he yelled, crying tears of joy and hugging her.

She laughed very hard at that. "I didn't—HAHA—think your reaction—HAHAHA—would be so extreme, Natsu-kun."

"You blew up a mountain! You're my hero!"

That made her laugh even harder. "That may be the single best thing I've ever heard."

After Natsu finally calmed down, the two headed back to inform the client that the job was done. He was pleased and paid them in full. After that, the two headed to the inn. As soon as they walked in the door, Natsu dashed for the shower, only to have Mavis grab him from behind and fling him across the room. "H-hey, don't do this again!"

She looked at him innocently. "Is there a problem, Na-chan?"

He glared at her for a moment before averting his gaze, pouting. "Nope."

"Good." Mavis said, smiling, before stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door.

In Magnolia, just over a week and a half later

"We're back!" yelled Natsu, instinctively dodging a giant fist that never came. He looked up, surprised. "No punching me in the face?"

Makarov raised an eyebrow. "You didn't destroy anything this time. I can't believe it."

Everyone in the guild looked up in surprise, and they all started talking about the world ending and mass conspiracies. Natsu not destroying anything on a job violated the laws of nature in their books.

Natsu and Mavis walked to the front of the guild and reported everything that happened. Makarov nodded and released them. He was surprised, however, when Mavis sat down with Natsu and the others. Not only that, but she sat beside Natsu. Did those two become close during that mission? he wondered.

"NATSUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" yelled a blue cat, flying directly at said man's face. Happy smashed directly into his face, sending Natsu onto the floor.

Natsu smiled, peeling the blue Exceed off his face. "Hey buddy! Did your mission with Wendy and Carla go well?"

"Aye sir! Did yours go well, Natsu?"

"You bet! Mavis-chan and I kicked ass!"

The entire guild went quiet as the same thought passed through everyone's mind. Did Natsu just call her "Mavis-chan?"

"Well, Na-chan, you just watched, but we can pretend." Mavis said, patting his head.

They were even more stunned. Erza raised a brow. What exactly happened on that job to make those two become so close, anyway?

"H-hey! That was only because you—" Natsu started to say, but Mavis covered his mouth with her hand.

"Shhh!" she said, a mischievous smile on her face.

Gods, what have those two done? Makarov thought. He knew about the Shodaime's flair for mischief, but it looked like something big had happened. He could only hope it didn't hurt his wallet later. He then realized something. Natsu likes to destroy everything, and Mavis enjoys causing mayhem! Those two are like fire and gasoline! It's nothing short of a miracle that every town on the way here isn't burnt to the ground. Wait . . . am I sure every town from here to Lorshire isn't gone?! "I'll be right back!" yelled Makarov before running to the back room of the guild hall to make a few calls.

Everyone in the guild looked at one another in confusion. Suddenly, they heard two people laughing: Natsu and Mavis. The duo knew exactly why Makarov had gone away. They then high-fived. Suddenly, Happy said, "They lllllike each other!" Mavis promptly batted him to the ground while still laughing with Natsu, tears beginning to form in the corners of their eyes.

Lucy voiced everyone's thoughts: "What's so funny?" Mavis and Natsu looked at her, then back at each other, and then promptly busted out laughing once more, this time literally rolling on the floor.

"G-God, my ribs!" Natsu yelled.

"M-my throat . . ." said Mavis in between her bouts of laughter.

Gray raised an eyebrow. "Are you gonna tell everyone what's up, or . . .?"

Their answer was given to them a short time later when Makarov yelled, "YOU BLEW UP A MOUNTAIN?!"

"YES!" they yelled in unison before laughing even harder. The entire guild looked at them; everyone was in shock at their outrageous behavior.

"Natsu!" yelled Makarov, enraged at the young man.

"It was me, Makarov." said Mavis, looking down in guilt.

"M-Mavis, you . . .?"

"Yes. It was me. I just . . . wanted to *sniff* have a little fun." Everyone in the guild then looked on as she broke into tears over such a trivial matter. Most of the guild members were freaked out by seeing the guild master cry, including Makarov, so they all simply watched with shock. They were even more shocked when she clung to Natsu.

He then wrapped his arms around the guild master, gently stroking her long hair. "It's alright, Mavis-chan. Shh . . . ."

She looked up at him with teary eyes. "Is it *sniff* is it really?"

"It is. You know how Gramps gets; don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay Natsu-kun." Mavis said, burying her head into his shoulder for a few minutes before she calmed down enough to recompose herself. "I'm sorry about that, everyone. I just *sniff* get carried away by my emotions." She looked into Natsu's eyes, murmuring a quiet "Thank you, Natsu-kun." before getting up.

"Are you alright, Shodaime?" asked Makarov a bit worriedly. He knew that Mavis hated to be scolded (or to be wrong), but to think that she would break down like that greatly surprised him.

"I'm alright now, Makarov. By the way, Natsu-kun . . . where'd you put my stuff?"

"It's outside. I'll go get it." They then watched as Natsu dragged in well over a hundred and fifty pounds of trinkets. "Where do you want it?"

"Just leave it in the corner for now." Mavis said, enjoying watching Natsu struggle with her large pile of useless junk.

Natsu finally put in it the corner, and he rejoined everyone at the table, with Mavis by his side. "What's up everybody?" he asked, laughing.

Soon enough, things were back to normal, and the entire guild had a massive brawl before everyone started going home. Lucy, Gray, and Erza were all going to walk together for a bit, though. The situation with Natsu and Mavis had created this unspoken unanimous decision. This conviction was strengthened when Natsu and Happy left to go fishing and Natsu invited Mavis to come along. She accepted, and the three went off.

Gray, Erza, and Lucy left simultaneously, and the three began walking toward Magnolia's center square. Erza was the first one to speak up. "Okay, so what exactly is going on between Natsu and Mavis?"

Lucy shook her head. "I have no idea. I've never seen Natsu act like this, and I've definitely never heard him call a girl "-chan" before."

The two then looked to the third member of their entourage. "I honestly have no idea what the idiot's up to, but did you see the way she clung to him when she started crying? And how he responded? I've never seen him act like that. At the very least, it seems like those two are really close."

"What about you, Gray?" asked Erza, smirking.

"Huh?" he asked, clearly confused.

"You got back from that job with Juvia a week ago. I thought you said you'd never go on a job with her."

A very faint blush could be seen on Gray's cheeks. "I only went on that because I got tired of her begging."

"Indeed." said Erza, still smirking.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?!" asked Gray, clearly vexed by the knight's response.

"Can we keep discussing Natsu and Mavis? This is some interesting stuff!" said Lucy, who had a bit of a devious look on her face.

"I think you've been spending too much time around Mira, Lucy . . . ." said Gray.

"She's right, though. I want to talk more about it." said Erza.

"Wasn't it crazy how she even got him to haul around all that stuff she bought while they were out?" asked Lucy.

"It was." said Gray. "I also thought it was weird that she was always around Natsu when she was always sitting next to the master before."

The three talked a little longer before they all split up, going to their respective places of dwelling.