Author's Note: hi guys! so, recently, there's been this clamor about the upcoming chapter 418, after the time skip, so I decided to write about a headcanon I have about Natsu's return. I'll summarize the rest of my prediction after the story. But, for the time being... Enjoy some Nalu! {oh, and, for the GMG thing... that was a spoiler. Sorry.}

The Challenger
by alberonas

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{a prediction of chapter 418}

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Chapati Rola's favorite event of the year was Fiore's annual Grand Magic Games. Not only would he be able to see his lovely Chelia-tan hard at work to not uproot her guild's honor, but he'd also be able to work alongside his lovely coworker—

Said man unknowingly emitted a groan as his communications lacrima trilled from the other side of his house—goodness gracious, why did he ever decide to keep that darned thing so far away from his bedroom?—while he was fixing his tie in his full-length mirror. The sunlight filtered through his bedroom window, scattering light on his carpeted floor, as he scampered down the corridor to his study.

"Hello?" he addressed, leaping into his study chair and scrabbling for something to make himself look occupied. The screen blurred and molded into a rather fuzzy projection of his coworker. As soon as the image cleared, Chapati Rola gulped; the face in the lacrima did not look happy.

"Chapati? You had better get here!" The female in the device chastised. "You know what day it is today."

"Yes, yes," Chapati Rola cleared his throat and tried to maintain a dignified posture. "The Grand Magic Games."

"That's right." His coworker said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Her blonde hair, fixed in a high ponytail, swished about in a livelier manner than he felt as she leaned in closer to the lacrima. "Well, don't be late, okay? We need to run over what we're going to say."

"Relax," Chapati Rola waved her off, "everyone's going to love you."

"This is my first time as a commentator for a continental—no, scratch that; very likely international—series of games. I swear, if I mess up, I'll be the laughing stock of Fiorean reporters!" the blonde admonished, furrowing her brows. She reached up a hand to massage her temples. "Just—you know what?" She glared into the lacrima, and Chapati Rola felt a shiver weave its way up his spine. "Why am I even wasting my time talking to you? Get here as soon as possible, okay?"

Before the host could say another word, the communications lacrima blinked off, and he slouched back in his chair.

No doubt that this year's hosting with the famous Sorcerer's Weekly reporter Lucy Heartfilia would be far more than interesting.

Lucy was hard at work at her desk when Chapati Rola burst into the office, breathless undoubtedly from his lack of punctuality. She raised an eyebrow, but did not turn as he threw his notes down and settled down in the chair across from her.

"You really need to work on being more punctual if you want to stay as a chair in the commentator section," Lucy couldn't help but tease, and looked up. She leaned on her elbows and scrutinized the man, who was busy fixing his disheveled wig. "And that wig."

"Shh!" Chapati Rola made a face. "It's my real hair, I tell you."

"Sure. Anyway," Lucy nudged the reading glasses resting on the bridge of her nose and sucked in a breath, "let's exchange notes. I can't screw this up."

"Even if you do," Chapati Rola interjected, "everybody will still love you."

"Is that a jinx or a compliment?" Lucy peered at him over the rim of the glasses and slipped them off. "Whatever, just—I'll find you later, okay? I need to look these and all the events over, or it'll be a mess."

"Of course." The game host stood up and made his way out. "I'll see you in half an hour to review. It's an exciting day!" he called, closing the door behind himself. As soon as the jamb clicked, Lucy reclined back in her chair and released a sigh that contained all the pent-up anger and sadness from her fateful day one.

As she reached for a pen, the back of her hand brushed against the edge of a picture frame. Her eyes flitted to the painfully bare surface of her skin—one that seemed to be missing a certain pink guild mark—and the familiar brush strokes of the picture, where four warm faces with welcoming expressions and another furry cerulean face peering between them gazed back at her like a distant memory. Red, pink, navy, blonde... everything seemed so strikingly unfamiliar to Lucy now.

And when her gaze dropped back to the manuscripts spread out in front of her on the flat mahogany surface of her desk, she couldn't help but think that had things been different, she wouldn't be so...

Heartbroken. Pitiful. Regretful. Reminiscent.

Not okay.

Lucy collapsed as she felt the remnants of her heart shatter like glass, and mentally berated herself for losing self-control. She shook her head, and her hair swayed to and fro across her shoulders.

Silly. Now you've forgotten how to think.

"Welcome to the second day of X792's Annual Grand Magic Games, everybody!" Chapati Rola cried into the mic. Beside him, Lucy resisted the urge to cover her ears; the clamor outside was horrendous, with the balloon fiasco and excessive trumpeting. Was there really such a need for such celebration?

She was brought back to the present out of her bitter musings as the commentator beside her announced, "And this year, one of our newer guest speakers is the Sorcerer's Weekly's most desired reporter—let's welcome Lucy Heartfilia!"

The crowd's cheer was music to her ears, and Lucy felt a grin spread upon her face. "It's a lovely morning," she agreed. "Thank you for having me today. It's really a delight to be able to witness the action from the stands!"

"It really is something," Yajima, her former guild master's old comrade, remarked pleasantly. Lucy sent a smile his way.

"Yeah." She rested her head against her palm, gazing out into the arena.

"Well then, let's introduce our teams! This year, we planned an obstacle course in shape of a pyramid, and, again, we eliminated over one hundred teams who had entered! Of course, this might all seem like old news to our fellow people, but it all comes down to the nitty-gritty of this!" Chapati Rola slammed his fist down on the announcer's table enthusiastically.

"Then again," Yajima interjected, "it's only the second day. Even those at the bottom could seize the chance to climb back to the top!"

"That's also true," Lucy noted.

"Let's see the list," Chapati Rola fumbled for his notes. "Today, our next match will be... oh, what's this?" He lifted up the scroll and inspected it, eyes narrowed. Lucy reached over and snatched it away.

"Well, we have—huh. 'A challenger' versus Branmalth Bighorn from Twilight Ogre? What's this?" the blonde's eyes boggled.

"That would be me," a voice called from down below in the arena, above the cacophony of cheers and hushed whispers from the audience.

"'A challenger?' Is that allowed?" Lucy's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the newcomer's voice. Could it be...? Her thoughts raced at the prospect of it being him—no. She shook her head valiantly to clear her thoughts. It couldn't be. He'd left her cold—but perhaps this was his way of coming back? No. No.

"Lucy-san?" Yajima probed, reaching for the scroll. Said person blinked and managed a smile.

"I'm just surprised, is all," she mumbled, handing the manuscript to the former chef, and leaned over the table to peer down below at the bright yellow sand floor, where a hooded figure swayed his way into the circle. Her eyes widened.

"W-Well!" Chapati Rola patted his wig down, flushed. "Let's all just see how this goes down, shall we?"

"Branmalth-san's a worthy adversary," Yajima observed Twilight Ogre's selected opponent, whose build was overly bulky, as if he was a tanned sack stuffed with balloons—unpopped balloons, that is. Lucy stifled a laugh at his ridiculous build and instead trained her focus on 'the challenger.' Worriedly, she covered her hand over her microphone and leaned towards the judge next to her.

"Who is this 'Branmalth Bighorn?' Is it okay for this challenger to just randomly pop out of nowhere?" she whispered. Yajima frowned and shrugged lightheartedly.

"We'll see how it goes," he replied. At this, Lucy gulped, averting her gaze, when suddenly a wind whipped up and a flash of painstakingly familiar salmon edged out from underneath the frayed black hood. Immediately, Lucy's eyes widened.

Could it be...?

Suddenly, the challenger grinned—Lucy swore she could feel that grin underneath the cloak—a grin that sent chills down Lucy's spine. Absentmindedly, she fiddled with her ponytail.

Immediately, the heat in the arena began rising, and a ring of fire began forming around the challenger. A foreboding sensation tingled in Lucy's veins, and she inhaled sharply when the fire spread to the pews of the audience. The challenger ripped off his hood, and his voice permeated through the smoke.

"I'm all fired up!"

Branmalth Bighorn was one of Twilight Ogre's most ferocious warriors; he wasn't the least bit scared of this 'challenger' figure, so to speak. As Lucy and the other commentators' voices boomed in the distance, he stalked forward, slouching due to his overly bulky build.

"Come on, pinky," he burbled, flexing, and his opponent eyed him with a grin that split his face in half. Out of the blue, Branmalth felt heat coursing up his lower section, and found that the fire had spread to his legs and was weaving its way up his body.

"Kyaaaaaaah!" he screeched despite himself as flames licked at his clothes. Waves of heat spread across the arena, eliciting a reflexive groan from the audience.

"Heh!" Chapati Rola struggled to keep his wig on from the fire enveloping the ground. "Wow, it seems like our challenger is a fire mage! How intense!"

Wistfully, Lucy shook herself from her reverie and allowed a smile to slip onto her face as she fanned herself and pulled her bangs out of her face. Beads of sweat began forming on her forehead. "Yep. And it's really hot..."

Yajima stuck his thumb up. "Good job, Natsu-san," he said, as said challenger raced forward and took out his opponent with a fiery punch. A litany of sharp gasps arose from the onlookers. Chapati Rola gaped and stood up from his seat, peering precariously over the edge of the commentators' desk.

"Th-The challenger defeated Twilight Ogre's mage with a single hit!"

"That's my Natsu..." Lucy sighed under her breath and glanced away. "I wonder how he's been."

Natsu strode over to where the singed mage lay and peeked over him, blinking with curiosity. He pursed his lips childishly, and Lucy's heart ached as the vague memory of how he used to do that every time he was on the verge of a new revelation.

"Hahaha!" The pinkhead suddenly burst into gleeful laughter, "Aw, I hadn't even started and this guy's down? Damn it!"

Bursting with excitement, Chapati Rola slammed his fist down on the desk and cheered, "And the winner is 'The Challenger!'"

And as Natsu's gaze shifted to that of the announcers' desk, Lucy couldn't help but see a vision of all of their team members standing next to him, grinning back up at her like the year that had passed hadn't done anything.

The blooming capital of Crocus, Lucy decided for the umpteenth time as she sauntered through the streets back in the direction of her house, was one of the most breathtakingly beautiful cities she had ever seen. Despite all her qualms about her former guild life, the effervescent blonde was happy that she'd occupied a closer apartment to her workplace.

She passed by the old bar where Fairy Tail had once partied the night away at after the humiliation of their first day in silence. The dim lamplight that illuminated the placard upon the door glinted reminiscently at her, and she couldn't help but hesitate in her step.

As she began walking away from her memories, footsteps sounded behind her, and a voice she hadn't heard in over a year greeted her.

"Lucy?"

Another voice chirped, "Aye sir! Lucy's got long hair now!"

Gulping audibly, Lucy sucked in a breath and swiveled around, slowly at first. Automatically, her hand reached up to her hair. "Natsu?" she breathed out, cherishing how good it felt to say his name once more.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Natsu continued unnaturally quietly. Floating by his shoulder was his faithful Exceed, whose initially irritating voice Lucy now missed.

Lucy's cheeks warmed at their conversation, but she said nothing, only nodding.

Natsu's hair had grown a tad longer and wilder from the last time she'd seen him. Aside from his skin being a tad more tanned than before, his face still harbored the spirit and spitfire that she had longed to see for so long.

"Yeah," she murmured. Natsu was quiet after that, only eyeing her, his wide onyx irises blinking in the lamplight.

"Lucy," he piped up, breaking the silence, "I missed you."

Unable to hold it in any longer, Lucy rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection. Natsu blinked, caught off guard at first, but returned the embrace heartily. Happy fluttered about their heads and latched himself onto Lucy's ponytail. Lucy missed her partner's warmth, and reveled in the hug.

"You didn't have to leave, you know," Lucy said into his cloak, absentmindedly clutching tighter.

Natsu pulled away so he could see her face. He smiled at her teary expression and fingered her elongated hair. "I did it to protect you guys. When I'm stronger," he grinned, "I'll be able to protect you all!"

Lucy sighed once again.

"And, plus, we're still a team, right?" Natsu grinned good-naturedly.

"Mhm." A smile spread across Lucy's face. "Yeah!"

"Then, let's go get back Fairy Tail!" Natsu cheered, his frayed cloak ends swaying in the wind, and held out his hand. Lucy high-fived him, eyes glowing.

"Yeah!"

Endnote: So, I had a feeling it'd be something like this, but then after the end of the arc, maybe they'll have found everybody else and decided to rebuild the guild together or something. I don't know, nakama stuff—oh, and Natsu and Lucy do all that lovey-dovey "we're a team!" thing. The thing about the other guilds coming also doesn't seem likely, because if the strongest guild disbanded, then obviously the other masters would sense the reason, and... well, you know how it all goes down.
Aaand, the chapter just came out. Oh well, time to see how wrong I was, bahahaha.